Lots of Rabbits

Hunt6 · Post by **Hunt6** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 10:51 pm

I heard something disturbing a few years back and I hope there's not a grain of truth to it. Some guys that go into honey-holes and strip mines bringing out "hundreds" of rabbits turn around and sell them to people for $5 ea. snp

I've heard the same thing more than once ! It happens.....

Beagle Bill, 350 rabbits - we can all do the math on that one, huh?
snip

Taking what you can use I have no problem with.Most go thru that gotta shoot their limit every day - season - year as young hunters.Most people pass thru that stage fairly quickly and move on.They no longer need to pump their fragile egos with big bag limit numbers.

When I had coon hounds - bird dogs I kept up with the number taken out of each bottom - farm I hunted. After taking a certain number I did not take anymore there based on visual sightings / sign through out the year,I've done the same with rabbits taken off a certain farms. To each their own.For me it ain't about the numbers killed.I take more satisfaction out of the same rabbit being circled past me for the third time by good dogs.But as I said to each their own.
Hunt6 (David)

AlabamaSwamper · Post by **AlabamaSwamper** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 11:14 pm

I ain't from Waynesboro, Tn, please don't insult me like that.

Ted Peercy · Post by **Ted Peercy** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 1:18 am

It's okay to admit where you're from AlSwamper. Everybody has to be from somewhere. If you can publicly admit where you're from, it will help you to start the healing process. Denial can lead to an alter ego and a sense of over value of one's possessions.

Tri-Power · Post by **Tri-Power** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 6:22 am

When we hunt rabbits here we shoot 22 rifles as to us is more sport. We don't shoot on the jump either. We like to see how many times the dogs can bring em around, One reason we shoot 22's is because we hvw some varmits, cats and cyotes in our neck of the woods and i can work on one if he's out there at 80 yds but not with a shotgun. Them things will eat a beagle.
Bill Stone

AlabamaSwamper · Post by **AlabamaSwamper** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 4:21 pm

Ok Ted, my whole family is from Wayne Co, Tn but I was unfortunately born in the cess pool called Florence, Al. I guess Wayne Co is better than that, heck, anything is better than FLorence.

FullCry · Post by **FullCry** » Mon Jul 28, 2003 9:47 pm

Killing all them rabbits does sound bad as well as hoarding or someone selling game but I read an article in a wildlife conservation magazine a while back and it stated that with rabbits whatever number is left in the spring to reproduce isn't affected by hunting either way.This means if there were a place loaded with rabbits and no one hunted them......the predators would take as many or more than if they were hunted or disease or starvation would.Also if a place was hunted and many rabbits were shot....the population would probably be no lower for fewer would be taken by predators and disease.Then in the spring there would probably be as many rabbits left to breed as in scenario one.Now i'm not a scientist but it alls seems logical to me but slaughtering that many rabbits does seem unethical lol............espically on them jump shots for I don't jump shoot either.Of course it is still against the law. FullCry

Alabama John · Post by **Alabama John** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 8:50 am

Hunt 6, We used to do that years ago up until the late 60's. After every hunt, we would stop in town and spread all our rabbits out on a paved main housing street in front of our truck lights. Folks would pick up the rabbits, feel for pellets and offer what they were worth to them. The going price was $5.00.

Deer, possums, coons, and all kinds of fish, but, especially catfish were sold that way also. All were sold whole, but gutted, except the cats and they were cut up as most were large and no one wanted them whole. The smaller ones were sold whole. The cats were caught by grabbing, and trot lines.

Interestingly, only one had to be sold alive and that was the possum and after the sale, we had to put a stick on its neck and jerk its tail in front of the buyer and then it would be taken home to prepare to eat. I never got a good explanation for having to do that, but it was always required.

I know one man that upon being laid off in the last five years at the local deep Jim Walter mines sells his fresh caught fish that way now to feed his family and is doing well. I admire his willingness to not just sit and moan his being laid off, but he had the fortitude to ADAPT AND OVERCOME!! Semper Fi

A country boy, or man can survive.

jeffery · Post by **jeffery** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 10:37 am

My family still sales rabbits but we just get $3.00 each. We sale deer for $45.00 each. We filet our catfish that we catch at the pay lake and get $3.00 per small freezer bag. We get a $1.50 per squirrel that we sale. Every hunting season people around where we live call and ask to buy wild game.

DarrinG · Post by **DarrinG** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 11:16 am

If I am not mistaken, it's illegal in NC to sell wild game.

Little Dog · Post by **Little Dog** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 11:17 am

Alabama, maybe he'd feed that possum some grain or something for a week or two to clear out the system. At least I heard of doing that once to make them palatable.

Lynn Perkins · Post by **Lynn Perkins** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 12:48 pm

Talking about that possum brings back an old joke we pulled as boys growning up.I was from the country but went to the city school system to play football.Now back then you could pretty much choose what classes in high school you were going to take.So my junior year some of my friends and I decide we are going to take HOME EC you know cooking,sex education and stuff like that.
So the second half of the school year was cooking,so after a couple mths of showing us the do's and don'ts of cooking the teacher planned a big dinner for all the high school teachers and the home ec students got to pick what they wanted to fix.
So we split up into groups,of course my buddies and i where together in our group.We decide we are going to make something barbcue,rabbit that was it but where was we to get a rabbit in the spring to fix.Well anyways it was friday and we had all weekend to come up with something,so friday night we had a coonhunt planned.Off we went hunting never treed a thing but the dogs caught a BIG ole Possum on the ground and then the light came on in my head and we had ourselves a "rabbit".
We took our possum home skinned it and quartered it up,took it to school barbecued it and the Teachers all loved it,along with other goodies the other kids fixed and our "rabbit" they are were stuffed.We all went on to get A's for our hard work at cooking and still today when i run across some of the teachers that eat that meal,that still brag on it and have never eat rabbit that taste like that rabbit since,me i just SMILE and say my pleasure.
There probably a few parts to this story missing but it is all true,i went on to get great honors in home ec,head of the class.Just thought i'd share a little bit of a teenage boys growing up,man i miss them days.

beagles · Post by **beagles** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 1:22 pm

That is a funny one lynn. It reminds me of a story my older neighbor told me when I was young. He came home late from Honky Tonkin and was feeling no pain and his mom had left a kettle stewing on the stove. He opened it up and it had what he thought was a oppossum in it. So he ate it. The next morning his mom woke him up and asked him if he had eaten what was in the kettle. He told her he did and it was the best oppossum hed had in a while. She informed him it was a skunk. She had a chest cold and the old timers would kill a skunk, boil it and breath in the stinch. Howd you like to hear that with a white lightening hangover. lol He said he couldnt eat oppossum for years after than. lol

MasonsBeagles

Plow · Post by **Plow** » Tue Jul 29, 2003 1:33 pm

When I was a teen we had to leave a foot on the rabbit if it was skinned. Boy that sure hurt business because we couldn't sell them anymore house cats. Now I wouldn't kill a rabbit, just to sell, for any price. I also have never believed the theory if you don't kill them a predetor will. I had a controlled 30 acre honey hole for 10 years, the first 2 years we jumped about 2 rabbits per 5 acres, the 3rd year through the last year we had it everywhere you stepped you would jump a rabbit & the only thing we changed was not allowing gunning. The county then condemned the property & took it away from the owner for an industrial park & public use.
Now after just 3 years of that it is back down to 2 rabbits per 5 acres on a good day, no habitat changes or predetor changes during the whole time. That convinced me. At present I kill about 25 per year because that is all my family & I will eat, after that I kinda fudge on my hunting buddies when the rabbit comes around by saying "I didn't see him" or "I didn't have a god shot"

dosgris · Post by **dosgris** » Wed Jul 30, 2003 10:00 am

unfortunately it seems that they have those people everywhere. at least in farm country they can come up with a decent excuse,,, the farmer wants them gone. here in swamp country, what is the rationale for killing 60 or 70 swampers a day.

Alabama John · Post by **Alabama John** » Wed Jul 30, 2003 10:57 am

Jeffery, squirrel brains and eggs, what a breakfast! In Alabama, you can take a deer to a processing plant, pay the processing fee and designate it to charity and they (homeless shelters, orphans homes, etc.) will get the meat. Killing does everyday is encouraged.

dosgris, I can't imagine killing 50 swampers in one day as they run too far before they come back in our country. The Louisiana swamps must be full of them. There has to be a Cajun recipe or dish for using that many at a get together to eat, sing, play music, and dance.

The American Beagler Forum

Lots of Rabbits

22's

That was a good one lynn