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Rabbit Population

14K views 37 replies 29 participants last post by  MarketHunter 
#1 ·
I went rabbit hunting today for the first time since I was a teenager in the 1950s. I spent 4 hours in the field hunting open fields, woodpiles, branbles etc and didn't see one rabbit. Might have helped if I had a Beagle but I must have kicked 20 woodpiles, most of which would have held one or two rabbits back in the 50s. When I was a kid I think I kicked up about one rabbit for every couple of acres hunted. Where have they all gone? I know there are lots of preditors out there but one doe can produce up to 49 offspring in a year. That should feed the preditors as well as the hunters. Is a dog a necessity these days? We had a cold night in the teens followed by sunshine and temps around 50 by the time I quit hunting. This hunting experience reminded me of one more big difference between hunting and Clays. Clay birds are a lot easier to find.
 
#2 ·
I know what you're saying. It seems that back in the day you could kick up a rabbit just by driving down an old country road.

What I try to do while I'm rabbit hunting is walk along the very edges of brush growth, thickets, etc. One thing to remember as well is not to get too concerned with trying to cover a lot of ground too quickly. I'll usually go along at a somewhat slow pace making sure to stop every few steps to just watch and listen (rabbits can't stand this; it kinda mimmicks a predator's movement).

Another thing is to look for droppings. If you've been out to a place several times already and you haven't noticed any droppings and you haven't seen any rabbits, well then there probably aren't any in the area. The one thing I always notice when the rabbit action has been fast and furious is that it seemed everywhere you looked there were droppings.

You probably already know all of this, but it's the only things I can think of right off.

Btw, what part of the country are you in?
 
#3 ·
Ditto for downunder

I'm thirty now, back in my teens and early twenties we used to go just about anywhere and pick up a few rabbits. If we were serious make that number anything up to a dozen on hour.

Nowadays were lucky to bag a dozen per morning and thats with an experienced black Lab scenting and flushing for us.

Over here it has to do with a virus the Govt experimented with on an offshore island that farmers from the mainland smuggled across. It decimated the population of rabbits in a couple of years all accross the eastern seaboard. I hear it was also smuggled by NZ farmers to their shores back in the late nineties too.

The rabbit is a hardy little bugger though. They are making comebacks in areas where there are decent rainfall's. Unfortunately we are in the middle of a huge drought though, so those places are isolated. When the drought breaks we hope the bunnies will recover.

When there are spots uncovered that hold decent numbers, my uncle and I hunt together with our black Lab's. We seek out an area based on local reports. Check for sign like droppings and holes. Then we just let the Lab's sniff around in the low bracken fern's, granite rock hills and long grass until they put a few up for us. We arent too technical about it but have a good track record using this method. For this type of hunting we load up with 12 g U/O's and 32 gram 4's and 6's normally.

We only really vary this method when the weather is warm and snakes are worry in terms of the dog's being bitten. On those trips we leave the Lab's at home and kick the long grass with our boots (stout boots, jeans and thick socks are in order of course to protect against snakes).

As you may have heard we have plenty of nasty crawlies over here. Of the top 7 or 8 most venomous snakes in the world, almost all are Australian. Even here in Victoria, which isn't nearly as full of snakes as it is up north, on a normal day you could run into several examples of two or three of the worlds most venomous snakes. Contrary to what the animal lovers say, they aint allways docile too - I hate em! Load of no 6's sorts em out though when they have a go at you (it's illegal to shoot them unprovoked of course though)
 
#4 ·
I live in Missouri. Actually Chesterfield which is a suburb of St. Louis. I was hunting today at The Busch Wildlife area which is part of the Missouri Conservation Department. In my opinion, Missouri has one of the best Conservation organizations in the Country. They own lots of land which is open to the public for hunting and fishing. When I was leaving the field, I noticed where several rabbits had been cleaned along the roadside. They were pretty fresh so this field may have just been hunted out.
I grew up in Denison, Texas where I did most of my hunting as a kid. I noticed you are from Oklahoma, so it may be close to where you are.
 
#5 ·
Last year at this time in Eastern CA and western NV there were all kinds of jackrabbits and cottontails overrunning our ranch. Sometime this fall the population really dropped off. This summer I went one evening and got about 30 rabbits or so, not as much as if we were shooting an alfalfa field, but great considering it was mostly desert and the shooting was fast.
 
#6 ·
The rabbit population has been terrible in recent years here in Wisconsin. Nothing like when I was a kid. I got a rabbit last month just by chance while pheasant hunting, and one of my sons got one this past Sunday on a bunny hunt on the club grounds.

 
#7 ·
Could the great increase of birds of prey be the cause?

I don't remember nearly as many hawks, ospray, eagles, falcons and owls when I was young.

Now they are everywhere.

Plus I see much more blue heron, egrets and cranes.

I rarely saw any of these when I was young in Illinois near Chicago.
 
#8 ·
I feel lucky now as I have an 800ac property right across the road from my place with thousands of bunnies on it, I'm actually taking a young bloke there on Saturday.

He is bringing his ferrets, long nets and his Staghound while I'm taking my Staghound and a Shotgun. The aim of this is to cull around 100 of the little buggers, it should be a great day :twisted:

And yes I have made a lot of room in the freezer :wink:
 
#9 ·
Rabbit hunting has gone down hill for the last 30 years. I used to live in the St. Louis area back in the 60's and 70's. Hunted areas just west of Chesterfield. towns, like Wellsville, Martinsburg, Hawk Point, etc.. We always had dogs and usually shot the limit everytime that we went. Then, the rabbits were everywhere ! It was not unusual to shoot as many as 50 to 60 rabbits a day, and sometime we would kill as many as 200 to 300 off of each farm that we hunted during the season. The limit was ten a piece, and we usaully had five to six hunters.

Now, these same places are lucky to produce ten rabbits. Mostly due to the absence of fencerows, but also due to predators, and pesticides. The very best chance at finding rabbtis is with a dog. Rabbits will take off well before a hunter approaches them, espeicially late in the season. So if you have dog, it would scent them and be a big help. Also this time of year, the females are underground during the day, leaving only the buck rabbtis. The buck rabbits can be very elusive, and even give a dog a fit.

Busch wildlife area is a wonderful loolking place to hunt, but it is, and always has been, over hunted.

Hope you can find some private land to hunt on, as that has always been better than public land.
 
#11 ·
What's a rabbit? :roll:

I live in Illinois, about fifteen miles from St. Louis, and there isn't rabbit one around here, I believe privately or publicly. I blame alot of things though. It could be more birds of prey, I never thought of that, but I know there's a coyote problem too. The DNR reintrodced the coyote due to a rabbit problem, now the rabbits and quail are gone and we've got a coyote problem. Farmers plant all the acreage they can anymore so there's no fallow and or hedgerows for habitat. They also spray pesticies and fertilizers and I know if I was six inches tall and had to live in that crap, it pobably wouldn't do me any good. So there's alot of issues, I think. I do believe that if the DNR would set out to clean up they're coyote problem, that'd help the rabbit alot, at least on public areas where the fetrilitzer and pesticides aren't as present.
 
#13 ·
Hollywood, I agree with you on the birds of prey and coyotes. I see lots of rabbits in the back yards but never in the fields where I can shoot at them.

Sabre41, if i make the trip over from Illinois would you take me to Lambert's for dinner too? :lol:
 
#14 ·
I do think it must be easier w/ beagles. I did my first ever bunny hunt in TN over New Yrs wknd, and there was no lack of action both days we hunted. Two great dogs did all the tough work down in the briars.
But as a homeowner and gardner located away from the city I've noticed how the population rises and falls dramatically over the years. In the summer of 05 we were overrun, and a neighbor shot a dozen or more just to keep em from eating the shrubs and flowers. Fairly normal pop first half 06 but not seeing so many now. I've heard biologist' expl'n that disease has mostly to do w/ pop variation wh makes sense to me.

As to the effect of hawks and such, and particularly as to quail pop east of the Mississippi, seems the debate comes down to birds-of-prey vs agricultural practices, i.e. that farmers now cultivate so as to eliminate the brush that used to exist at edges of fields. I certainly don't know the answer though expect both factors have some effect. Seems the hawk-falcon pop never varies that much really, but the man who runs the quail farm where I hunt swears it was passage of the Endangered Species Act and protecting all birds-of-prey starting back in the 70s. He has stories of coveys destroyed by hawks with some quail killed w/o even being eaten.

I do wish something cd be done to bring the wild birds back.
 
#15 ·
If one remembers, one will also find that coinciding with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that the U.S. government launched a program to "Feed the World" that encouraged the practice of cultivating every field from property line to property line. This meant pulling out fence rows, "cleaning up" brush piles, old machinery, and other odd acrage so they can be put under the plow, pretty much a cessation of rotational planting where fields were allowed to lie fallow, the switch to row crops like corn and soybeans (an increase of wheat rust also helped to hasten this), increased use of pesticides and herbicides which also decreased cover and food, an increase in fall plowing which reduced winter food and cover in many places, the end of the Water Bank program which helped protect wetlands and some adjoining upland cover all encouraged by Federal grants and price supports. This also helped to convert the remain Soil Bank acres (this program was stopped in the early to mid-1960s but many acres were still left as there was no finanicial incentive to farm them) into farm land which further reduced habitat. Add in "urban sprawl" and the amount of habitat for rabbits and other small animals drop drastically. The increase of avian predators since their protection does play a factor as the lack of escape cover for rabbits in this case, is greatly reduced which concentrates both predators and prey to smaller areas. The migration of coyotes (no governmental body has "introduced" them to any location) to new areas I believe also has an effect. Again, habitat is a greater issue as more habitat would spread out the predators and allow for larger prey populations. This concentration also allows for a better and quicker spread of diseases which rabbits seem very suscptable to. About 15 years ago there was an outbreak of some sort of disease in rabbits up here (I don't think it was Tularmia) that took several years to pass. Lately, rabbit populations around here have seemed to grow a fair bit; at least it is a never ending battle keeping them out of the garden.
 
#16 ·
If you want Rabbits come down to Fla. You're welcome to take all you want.

Rabbits were listed as Varmits about 50 years ago. The numbers have really skyrocketed since Castro came to power in Cuba. Now Fla. provides 90% of the sugar for the world. It just so happens that cane fields provide the perfect enviroment for Rabbits.

There are literally millions of them. I know of pickers that take hundreds at a time, with only a broomstick. If you used a Shotgun, you would not be able to carry enough Ammo to last more than an hour or so.

One problem though, You would'nt want to use your dog as lots of Rabbits, means lots of Rattlesnakes. For Sure your dog will find several in a days hunt.
 
#17 ·
RPcooldude said:
Now Fla. provides 90% of the sugar for the world.
I hate to get off topic here, but this statement is soooo beyond false that I had to comment. The European Union, Brazil, Guatemala, Thailand and Australia dominate sugar export trade. The major sugar importers include China, Russia, the United States of America, Canada and Japan. The U.S. for a long time has placed high tariffs on imported sugar and sugar cane. Because of this, and because U.S. sugar cane production cannot in any way come close to meeting U.S. demand, food companies are forced to use the much more unhealthy substitute corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup. Not that sugar in large quantities is healthy, but it sure beats the alternative. http://www.lewrockwell.com/alston/alston13.html

Today's alternative fuel of the day, ethanol, is also derived from corn in the U.S. instead of cane sugar because of these high tariffs. This is even despite the fact that corn based ethanol is much less efficient than sugar cane based ethanol. Corn based ethanol produces only 0.8 to 1.2 units of energy for every unit of energy it costs to produce it. On the other hand, sugar cane based ethanol produces 6 to 8 units of energy for every unit of energy it costs to produce it. E85 fuel (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) is all the rage in the U.S. these days, but South America has been enjoying cheap (around $0.21/gallon now) 'E85' fuel since the 1970's.

So, the next time time you fill up your gas tank or bite into that corn syrup sweetened food item, thank your U.S. government bureaucracy for siphoning your wallet and risking your health in order to provide protectionism to a few U.S. sugar producers.
 
#19 ·
260rem what is the bag limit for rabbitts there. If I counted correctly there was 26 rabittits.Here in Ohio we are only allowed 4 rabitts. Here in Ohio I used to be able to get my limit in a couple of hours, now I'lll be lucky to get 1. I don't know what the problem is but somebody better find it out to save the world! or at least the World of rabbit hunting
 
#20 ·
splitarrow said:
260rem what is the bag limit for rabbitts there. If I counted correctly there was 26 rabittits.Here in Ohio we are only allowed 4 rabitts. Here in Ohio I used to be able to get my limit in a couple of hours, now I'lll be lucky to get 1. I don't know what the problem is but somebody better find it out to save the world! or at least the World of rabbit hunting
I'm sure 260rem will answer as well.

My 5 cents worth:

Rabbits in Aust are classified as "vermin" i.e. no bag limits and no restrictions on how you get em. You can use anything from centerfires, down to air-guns and trap's. Spotlighting from a vehicle is another very popular method. I hunt them with a shotgun over pointing labrador's mostly.

Other times my mate and I get out the 22's and stand up in the Jeep with the one taking turn driving swinging around the spotlight out the drivers window.
 
#21 ·
splitarrow said:
260rem what is the bag limit for rabbitts there. If I counted correctly there was 26 rabittits.Here in Ohio we are only allowed 4 rabitts. Here in Ohio I used to be able to get my limit in a couple of hours, now I'lll be lucky to get 1. I don't know what the problem is but somebody better find it out to save the world! or at least the World of rabbit hunting
That depends on just how many bags can you carry :twisted:
 
#23 ·
We're at a population low here in NW Michigan, too. Local DNR officer was just in the paper saying it's mostly due to a higher coyote population, plus the avian predators. When we were kids a friend raised beagles & boy, did they hunt. What a great time.

Hey, to the guys down under - hoist a VB for a Yank who loves Australia, would you? One of the best beers in the world & you can't get it here. We can get your shiraz, though, and it's great!
 
#24 ·
Hollywood_Heat said:
What's a rabbit? :roll:

The DNR reintrodced the coyote due to a rabbit problem, now the rabbits and quail are gone and we've got a coyote problem. Farmers plant all the acreage they can anymore so there's no fallow and or hedgerows for habitat. They also spray pesticies and fertilizers and I know if I was six inches tall and had to live in that crap, it pobably wouldn't do me any good. So there's alot of issues, I think. I do believe that if the DNR would set out to clean up they're coyote problem, that'd help the rabbit alot, at least on public areas where the fetrilitzer and pesticides aren't as present.
Some great "local wisdom" here :roll:

Habitat-Habitat-Habitat....provide them a home and they breed like well...rabbits. Leave your fencerows "messy" and quit fracking mowing everthing in sight! I see plenty on heavily-hunted public land in central WI along with lots of yotes and hawks! Additionally, I believe the local vegetable growers are some of the most pesticide-intensive producers in the US.
 
#25 ·
Here in central Indiana, we see tons of rabbits during harvest, especially during corn harvest. We definitely see more rabbits the closer we are to houses, but not necessarily the closer we are to lots of cover.

As we combine, at least once a day we see coyotes chasing the rabbits as we shell corn, and at least once a day we see hawks nailing rabbits as well. It makes for some interesting days in the field, you feel like you're watching the experts. When I go back to hunt the fence rows in those areas a few weeks after harvest, the rabbits are gone.

I think they (the rabbits) are there during summer, and early fall, but they don't last very long. It's funny but the further you are from houses, and in the deepest cover, with woods, unmowed waterways, and fencerows, those are often (not always) the areas we see the fewest rabbits. Makes you wonder if it's a coyote problem mainly. I think the old red foxes that used to prowl these fields liked to eat rabbits when they could, but mainly ate mice.

Obviously lack of habitat is a problem, but even in areas with a lot of cover, the rabbits still are not there. Same problem with quail. The farmers in pheasant country in the prarie areas leave cover, and they get birds. If you leave cover in the quail and rabbit areas, you may only get possums, skunks, and coyotes. :cry: Sorry to chime in, here.
 
#26 ·
way too many Hawks. We drove down one road tnd every fence post had a Hawk on it ready to pounce.

Down here in Southwest TN we had some down years for rabbits but they are on a comeback. Some boys have 2000 Westvaco acres they manage with foodplots for Deer and the rabbits are in good numbers. Both Swampers and Hillbillys.

By they way they'll shoot a Coyote and Bobcat in a heartbeat.

Deer are nearly as thick as rabbits here now as well.
 
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