Where has the rabbits gone in Northern Missouri

lab · Post by **lab** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 7:28 pm

Been out over 6 to 7 times hunting in Northern Missouri where there was many rabbits last year but very few to none at these same places this year. Is anyone else running into the same problem not finding many rabbits. What is the problem

BrewerMo · Post by **BrewerMo** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 7:33 pm

We have been seeing a bunch or rabbits up there this bow season. Tuesday we went up to a part of our lease ground that we haven't hunted the past 3 or 4 years and they were all over the place.

MObeagler79 · Post by **MObeagler79** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 8:08 pm

I thought you said you killed 50 with one pair of dogs and 40 with another pair you were trying to sell ? that sounds like you are finding plenty of rabbits to me.

lab · Post by **lab** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 8:19 pm

Maybe I have been spoil. Four of us have been out 8 times and hunted most of the day and I guess we have killed maybe 60 rabbits. In other years we were well over a 100 by now. Glad to hear other are seeing rabbits. Someone tryed to tell me the dry weather did most of the rabbits in.

lab · Post by **lab** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 8:30 pm

Just want to let you know that the males I have for sale have been hunted together . I think I said that two of the dogs had 40 rabbits killed over them and two of the other have had 50 killed over them. These dogs have been on most of the hunts at the same time.

bigjohn · Post by **bigjohn** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 10:01 pm

real spotty around here too.i haven't even ran 40 rabbits let alone kill that many,but then again I've been hunting mostly Conservation ground and around here they get alot of pressure.

mjd · Post by **mjd** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 12:26 am

i thought the postman delivered rain,sleet,hail or snow

Post by **Pike Ridge Beagles** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 12:38 am

Plenty of rabbits here in Oh.
Joeyman may have killed them all.

thh058 · Post by **thh058** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:30 am

i have never found what people call alot of rabbits. but i hunt all conservatoin ground here in mo...that is probably why. if i can go out and jump 4 rabbits in 3 hours, i'm doing pretty good.

bigjohn · Post by **bigjohn** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:12 am

th,that's about what I've been doing.When we had a snow on I'd follow tracks and find their hangouts.Run the dogs there and kill maybe one rabbit and never find tracks around there again.I've got a couple of small pieces of private land that I just let the dogs run and don't kill the rabbits,but if we have snow very long the coyotes,bobcats,hawks,and owls will get them.I wish our conservation dept would put as much effort in bring back rabbits as they do the high money making game like turkey and deer.Here in a little bit(let it warmup alittle) I'm going to Grand Pass WA to try my luck.There were a lot of rabbits tis summer there,but will have to use steel shot.

Joeyman · Post by **Joeyman** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:51 am

If you have killed 60 rabbits in just 8 hunts I think you are doing really good. We can't do that. It has be taking us all season to reach 100 rabbits. But we are just two people shooting. So it is a little harder for us.

We hunt only CA land. I have been to a private farm once this season and only jumped 10 rabbits took home 6. Our average hunt we come home with 5 rabbits. Some times we get 7 sometimes we come home with 4 rabbits on a 4hour hunt. Yes we jumped more then 4 but most them hole or the dogs lose them some how. It all depends. Jan 1st 2008 we saw 16 rabbits and only came home with 8. Bad shooting and terrible wind did us in. It all depends. Every hunt is different. CA's have had a good amount of rabbits this season.

Tallasan · Post by **Tallasan** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 11:02 am

I need to hit those CA's you're hitting then Joey!

The CA's down here arent holding squat for rabbits =/

Wen't to a couple near Hillsboro and found a few rabbits on the 1st but the wind drove me out early. Hoping to get back up there on a calmer day soon.

-Tim

lab · Post by **lab** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 12:31 pm

I was borned and raised in Jefferson County. I thought all the rabbits were gone from that area. I still have buddies down there and they usually come this way to hunt, because of rabbit population. I remember being home in Festus and my dad,s neighbor was talking about only shooting 65 rabbit a year. My Dad and I thought if that was all we killed we would sell the dogs. I guess I am a meat hunter and expect each year to be a big year.

khensler01 · Post by **khensler01** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 12:42 pm

Not tring to smart but you can't run a dead rabbit.enough said Ken

lab · Post by **lab** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 12:57 pm

Your probably right. I alway said we blame alot on coyotes, hawks owls and bobcats for not having many rabbits but I think and know in my case Remingtons, winchesters and Browning has done more damage on the rabbit populations. It just seem like during the spring and summer when we took the dogs out we had no trouble finding rabbits and now we go back to the same places and find very little to none on those farms. I have around 15 private farms I can hunt on in NOrthern Missouri and I only hit a farm one time during the year. I guess nothing stays the same.