Rabbit hunting vs. Deer Hunting

[Tellico Hunter]

I know a lot of times deer hunters despise the rabbit hunter because they scare away the deer with our shooting and dogs running thru the woods barking and carrying on after a rabbit/hare. I aquired a farm this year of 150 acres to be able to rabbit hunt on only. We went this past Saturday and had a really good day hunting and when we got back to our trucks we all had a note on our truck windshield telling us that they are deer hunting the adjoined property and that we needed to wait until after the deer season is over to rabbit hunt. Needless to say I was a bit upset because I had every right to rabbit hunt where I was at and we never left the property. Now don't get me wrong I deer hunt some, also and I enjoy it as well. Our deer season here in Tennesse runs from the 4th Saturday in September to the 3rd weekend in January non stop, and rabbit season runs from 2nd Saturday in November to Feb 28th. If we waited we would have only 6 weeks of season to hunt rabbits. What would you do? keep hunting the farm when you wanted to or wait until deer season is over to hunt the farm again.

And this hurts us here to hunt the State's WMA land as well because some people will mess with your dogs in East Tennessee if you mess up there deer hunt, but it is public land and both have every right to be there. Now if I get there and a truck/vehicle is there I will move on to another spot. I will not go knowingly in on a deer hunter. I will just go some where else. Its just that some deer hunters believe that deer hunting takes presidence over small game hunting.

[bluemouse]

If I was deer hunting next to a guy that only had 150 acres and he was running hounds, I would set my gun on the arm rest of my stand, reach in my pocket and pull out a cigar light it up and listen to the race, hopeing he would move a deer my way. But thats not what most deer hunters will do these days, they are to fixed on their horn porn to give anybody else respect. In your defense I would try to contact the guy and try to work something out, if he is unreasonable, I would keep on hunting.

[10ACbeagles]

I say keep running! Being from TN I understand exactly what you mean that being said I'd leave a note on his windshield that said "NOPE" with a big ol smiley face.your 100% right you have just as much right to be there running dogs as he does on his property hunting deer.I don't mean to be a prick about it but they can get over it.There is no way I would run my dogs the last few weeks of season only,it opens in Nov for a reason.Let him worry about what happens on his side of the property and you should enjoy all thats happening on your side.He was probably mad cause he was sittin in a stand not seeing anything so you were "the reason" for it.Thats like you telling him to get all his deer killed in sept-early november so you can rabbit hunt.

[BCBeagles]

Unless they have control of the land you are hunting, they have A LOT of nerve even asking you to stop!!! I would personally address this with them in a civil manner. I would keep running my dogs! 150 acres is not a "little" spot and they are probably just mad that they can't deer hunt the farm you are hunting. Man people are just not very intelligent and are extremely SELFISH at times!!! Again I say RUN THEM!!!!

[Joeyman]

We dont' get to hunt Private farms till Deer season is over with. Thats the only way I can get the OK

[Tsa la gi]

Most deer hunters have a BRAIN, until deer season comes in. Then It`s don`t make noise,don`t drive next to my lease,don`t shoot my way,don`t look at that deer it`s mine.ya ya ya ya. I make it understood with all neighberoring hunters,don`t shoot towards me, don`t shoot my dog`s I`ll stay off your prop you stay off mine. If you shoot towards me or shoot one of my hounds you better get out of the tree,cause I will cut it down with my chain saw with you in it.

Likes been said if they would look close enough there is probbaly a deer slipping by you right now.

[Bobby Vest]

There just isn't any happy medium. We try to let the deer hunters have their rifle season here but then you have black powder and bow season to contend with. They don't think you have the right to rabbit hunt any time. The state of Ky. doesn't try to do anything for the small game hunters, it seems to be all for deer hunters. I feel like the only reason they even let us hunt is so they can give tickets, hunter orange, licenses, plugs in guns etc. etc. As long as you have overlapping seasons there is going to be problems.

[bucks better beagles]

Aggravating as hell for the beagle hunter. It is the same in Michigan. I don't even like to read about deer hunters adventures on my beagle sites. With all that being said, I also cannot take the chance of being harassed by deer hunters so I hunt at night during the October (bow) and November (gun) seasons. After that, it is usually too cold for the muzzleloaders and the rest of the December bow people. We have the hunter harassment law in Michigan so I try to stay polite when a deer hunter approaches but will tell them to go on about their business or call the law but, please, do not bother me or my dogs. It does not hurt to let them know that you are also carrying a pistol by a movement of your coat.

There is also spring and fall turkey season up here and they must be considered. We have a long rabbit season but by the time you deal with all the deer and turkey hunters, there is usually too much snow to do much good on cottontails. Makes you wonder why we do it if your goal is to kill rabbits.

[Fleetwood]

I take some comfort from this thread knowing that I am not alone in my frustration. Here in northwestern NC, they extended the deer rifle season all the way until Dec. 31. The rabbit season opened the 20th of November and closes on the last day of February. So if I wait until after deer season to rabbit hunt, I'll only have 8 weeks to hunt rabbits. As someone who works 5 days a week, I'm pretty limited to Saturdays...we can't hunt on Sundays. That's not a lot of hunting time.

So I'm trying to stay positive and continue to try to find a place where I can hunt during the gun season. It's tough though because it seems like every piece of property here thats bigger than a couple of acres is leased up with deer hunters. I've had no problem securing permission to unt some nice places, however, The stipulation is I have to wait until the deer season is over. What do you do? If I do find a place where I can huntin during the deer season, I'm worried that with all the chopped up pieces of property up here, my dogs will get onto another piece of property and get shot by an angry deer hunter. It does happen unfortunately. I just need to win the lottery so I can buy about a thousand acres.

Anyway, If I were in your shoes with permission to rabbit hunt 150 acres during the deer season. That's plenty big enough. You've got every right to be there and as long as you stay on your property he can't say a thing. He sure has a lot of nerve leaving you that note. Frankly, it's none of his business what you do on the land you have permission to hunt. He needs to get over it. If you feel the need, then talk to him and try to work something out. I think, were it me, i'd just keep on hunting.

[warddog]

I deer and rabbit hunt both so I know what folks are talking about from both sides of the fence. I also know that a lot of property is being leased by deer hunters and land owners are even going on the internet to find hunting lease web sites to handle the leasing of their property. What I would be very careful of in this situation of having 150 acres to rabbit hunt on is to not alienate or cause friction among neighbors as this guy my approach his neighbor to lease him the land. I have seen it happen quite often with property close to mine. I see signs on property that was once not posted at all with "No trespassing, this property is managed by huntingleases.com" or something to that affect. I have seen a ton of these signs here in Indiana on private farms. The other thing that I have seen is property the mines once owned being sold and posted to the hilt. What I realized some time ago is coming to pass and the only way a person is going to have a decent place to hunt in the very near future is to own or lease it. What will happen then is that the State wildlife areas will be even more pressured and the small game will be nearly non existant on them as the state doesn't put much work in on rabbit as it does with the deer, turkey and pheasants. I've hunted some of the State wildlife areas as I live only a few miles form two of them and a hunter is pretty hard pressed to jump many rabbits on either one in the places we have hunted. My cousin and I have since became members of a hunting club that leases 1500 acres but most members are deer and turkey hunters so we wait until deer gun season is over to even hunt our beagles. Yes, muzzle loader and bow season is still in and we hunt with muzzle loaders as well but we also turn the beagles loose during those seasons too. We have club meetings and the members know when they become a member that any member is free to hunt however they want during any season as long as it is legal. ALL are well aware that it is a possibility that rabbit hunters and or their dogs may be hunting the area all around where they are deer hunting although most of us rabbit hunting try to keep clear of areas where vehicles are parked without dog boxes during muzzle loader season and about all of us don;'t turn loose during deer gun season for two weeks.

[10ACbeagles]

The state of Ky. doesn't try to do anything for the small game hunters, it seems to be all for deer hunters. I feel like the only reason they even let us hunt is so they can give tickets, hunter orange, licenses, plugs in guns etc. etc.

You've said something there!!!But it ain't just KY I think thats a lot of states,it seems especially true here.I've contacted TWRA,TN Sportsman magazine seeing why this is and get b.s. answers.TWRA goes through the whole "Rabbit/squirrel season opens this weekend its a great way to introduce kids to the outdoors" but yet won't do anything other than a mention to put it out there that rabbit huntin aint dead here.I've heard of some hunts put together but its nothing compared to how they do for big game.It's really sad small game hunting is almost being forgotten these days due to these deer hunters planting food plots and chasing a pope and young deer especially since most of them got their start under a hickory tree shootin squirrels or waitin on a beagle to circle the rabbit.I'll take a hot race with my dogs over a deer(no matter the rack size)any day of the week.No disrespect to deer hunting but as it was said above,when season opens deer hunters turn their brains off.

[windsplitters]

In the county I live in here in tenn its hard to find a place to run dogs during deer season. we have as much right as the deer hunters to be in the woods, I would never intentionally drop dogs on someone deer hunting although it would probally help them if they would stop and think about it, the deer would get up and move out of the thicketts they are beded in. I would keep running the farm but try not to let your dogs cross to were he is deer hunting. If he has enuff nerve to leave you a note about land he dont own or lease its untelling what he may do if your dogs get over on him. this guy that left you the note sounds like a IMO

the reason TWRA wont help the small game hunters is because they make most of their money from the deer tags/licence sales
28.00 licence in state
28.00 bow tag in state
28.00 muzzel loader tag in state
28.00 riffel tag in state
Verses
28.00 licence to rabbit hunt

[underdog]

I know where you are coming from. I live in Missouri and very little is being done for the small game hunter. Back in the day when I first started deer hunting you had to put your name in a drawing to kill a doe in certain units, now you can buy as many doe tags as you want for $7 and kill does anywhere in the state. Some type of deer season opens September 15th and doesn't close until January 15th. Rabbit season opens October 1st and runs until Febuary 15 but most of the beagle hunters I know run a little from Oct to Nov. rifle season and wait two weeks to get back in the woods with our dogs. We figure if you haven't killed old mossy horns by now you aren't going to.

Our Missouri rifle season used to only be 9 days, but now it seems like it last forever. Back then rabbit and quail hunting was popular...the bird hunters wanted us rabbit hunters to kill rabbits in their bird hunting spots so their bird dogs wouldn't point them. We all got along fine and could hunt the same farm the same day without any problem because they wouldn't shoot rabbits over their bird dogs and we wouldn't shoot quail over our beagles. We all usually went deer hunting and waited out the 9 days to get back to the sports we really loved.

I would try to find some common ground so that you both could hunt without any problems, but it is hard because some deer hunters have bucks on the brain.

Good luck
Underdog

[BigStrutter]

Just a thought, you might want to check with your landowner about who the nieghbor is or might be. You have every right to be hunting the land you lease during rabbit season wether deer season is on or not. Also the nieghbor has NO say so over what someone else does on the land they control.

The reason I say check with your landowner, is if they are buddies and the nieghbor complains it might cost you the lease. Check with your landowner, make sure he and you are on the same page and let the dogs run. You never know the deer hunting nieghbor might get mad and not lease the land again next year and you could gain some more land!!!

Ned

[Hippy]

Deer Hunters, The guys who SIT ON THEIR ASS in a tree 30 feet in the air with their heaters. R they really hunting or SNIPING???
Unfortunatly I lost a place to run because I had the same issue. My Future Brother In Law is a future owner of his GrandFathers Farm BUT the Spoiled Brat in the family believes HE is the only one that has Hunting Rights on the property. It has a few deer but nothing where I run the dogs I even agreed to run them 10 Months and let him have Nov and Dec BUT you know how that goes.

I really don't want my dogs running in a area where the DOG Haters are deer hunting and usually wait till Mid Dec and hope we don't get Snow like last year.

Bottom LINE " Why can't just get along?"

Jim