Rabbits in KY?

[502hunter]

Hey did any of you guys leave any rabbits for the new guy? I have just started rabbit hunting in the last two weeks. I bought two black and tan beagles off of my boss and went at it (had never been rabbit hunting,ever). My question is, is the hunting not so good this year in KY or is it the dogs, the places I'm going, or me? These dogs have been hunted all season and produced for my boss, and I put them into the thickest stuff I can find and they really get in it hard. Yet have only jumped 2 or 3 rabbits out of 10+ hunts. I finally got my first rabbit on Friday, is this just hunting or is it just my bad luck? My boss told me that keeping the dogs where there aren't any rabbits is the worst thing for them? The only places that I have to hunt is on WMA's and my boss keeps telling me that it's probably to late in the season to be hunting there due to all the pressure they have probably gotten. Any tips or replies are greatly appreciated.

[DRamey]

I drove to WInchester once to hunt in a place my brother had described as full of rabbits. It wasn't. I was there in January and there were shotgun hulls everywhere. You may be hunting on ground that is hunted to death. Find some new places, make some new friends and you will be ok. Wait until the first crop of new rabbits comes up in late March, early April. You also may be hunting a place that looks like it should have rabbits but in reality has little or none of what rabbits need: cover and food nearby.

[deerstalker]

I've been hunting WMA ground that looked good as well, and have yet to find any real rabbit population on it. Moved to private ground, usually run 5-8 rabbits a day at least, in a full day running. This is running 2-3 dog pack. Look for some private ground, maybe farmland to hunt. If the ground has plenty of deer, it may well hold plenty of rabbits so I've been told, also as long as there is cover and food, as stated above. Drive door to door, ask friends, etc. There are still some people who will let you rabbit hunt on their property.
Good luck,
Bryan

[GCKYBEAGLER]

I've been hunting all season here in Kentucky and the rabbit population seems way down this year compared to last year. We've had some good runs, but here as of late the dogs just act like they have a hard time tracking the rabbits. I hunt on private land that (atleast last year) had a pretty good crop of rabbits and we left quite a few for this year, but either they moved on or the preditors have hit them pretty hard.

[Ky. Hunter]

I am having the same problem. Can't seem to find them anymore but during last spring, summer and fall I could find plenty to run. I have lost some of my hunting places and there are other places that I usually hunt on weekends that you can tell have been hunted to death. There are shot gun shells every where you look and when you do jump one it is heading to the hole from a season of hunting pressure along with the coyotes. Like stated above, some of the places that look like they should have a large population of rabbits just don't have them this year. I believe the population is down.

[S.R.Patch]

I've picked up a lot more empty hulls afield than rabbits and brought them home in the game bag over the years, always bothered me to see any trash left from where hunter had been. We live on a road to a rifle range, lots of trash and sandwich bags/drink cups thrown out along the road, always saddens me to see people care so little, you pick it up because it reflects bad on all of us.
Four trucks been hunting the back woods the last two weekends, when they stop coming, I figure they'll 'bout have it cleaned out, no one has asked permission. Spring pups will have to work hard for a start but they'll be better jumpdawgs for it I guess. The storms and floods have created new brushpiles, when the summer growth fills the voids, the rabbits will populate and enjoy their newly provided homes and cover. We always have the yard rabbits that survive behind the sheds of the houses along the highway filter back into the woods to repopulate the thickets, those rabbits can't be hunted and are the brood stock to restock the woods for us. The later the winter, the more the cover is beat down, tree tops in the cut woods is the best cover. We had a area of old spoil banks burn out one year, the next five years it was full of rabbits as the burn opened the ground to the sun and the brier and honeysuckle took over. Now, the canopy has recovered and the low cover is about gone and so are the rabbits...

[Mapel Valley Kennels LLC.]

Hey patch where do you live at?

[S.R.Patch]

Ole Ben Coal I

[CHRIS WHITT]

502hunter What part of Frankfort do you live in ? When I lived in Frankfort I used to run on the banks of Benson creek , and I had several places right past the game farm ... It was private land but I stopped and ask to run my dogs // no shooting // and they had no problem with it . After just a few trips and getting to know the land owner they allowed me to gun hunt .

Chris Whitt