Tommy that guy will make a great hunting partner.The bunnies here in the suburban megalopolipps are out of control! But hunting them will bring helicopters for sure. 15 here this morning, nice and crisp with no wind. Buck sees them through the fence and it drives him nuts.They are waiting for me to plant my garden. They like to nip the bean plants off once they get about an inch or two high. I swear they hop the chicken wire.
Tom, I have a question: Do Cottontail Rabbits have a winter coat that is a different color than the summer coat? (In Louisiana, it was never cold enough to think about that sort of thing.)
Tommy! It's been a long time! Hope all is well with you! Glad you have been able to get out and harvest some bunnies. I'm sure the owls kept you from spotting any on this hunt. Congratulations on your new soon to be hunting partner Rusty, he is one handsome boy! Nice pictures.
Now dat's a cute doggy congrats on the pup!
Thanks for the answer, Tom. Where I am hunting now, I rarely see a rabbit. And in fact, this season I saw exactly 'zero' Cotton Tail rabbits. So I didn't know about the thicker coats in the winter in areas that really get cold [not like Louisiana].Good hunting tonight, my friend.
Quote from: ranchibi on February 06, 2023, 11:10:00 AMTommy! It's been a long time! Hope all is well with you! Glad you have been able to get out and harvest some bunnies. I'm sure the owls kept you from spotting any on this hunt. Congratulations on your new soon to be hunting partner Rusty, he is one handsome boy! Nice pictures.Hi Randall.Thank You for your reply.How is the Rat Hunting going for you ?I am doing fine and have been on several hunts this season.My small game season ends the last day of February.I am looking forward to hunting with a dog again. I can make finding game and tracking game a lot easier. Best Wishes - Tom
Congratulations on the pup Tom. I believe that you are right about the noisy owls. Are the rabbits more active in the morning or the evening?
Cotton tail rabbits do not change color in the winter they are the same color all year. Now snow shoe rabbits (hares) do turn white in the winter time.
Here in Michigan, I had cottontails everywhere this summer. Nothing to see a dozen or more at a time in my food plots. Since the cold weather set in, they dissapeared. Lots of tracks and droppings from nights. But nothing in the daylight. I made lots of brush piles last summer. But haven’t jumped them yet. We have a bow only bunny hunt at the end of February. So they are safe for now. The snow upnorth melted off a couple times and the hares stick out like a sore thumb. They are a lot of fun to hunt.
Quote from: Blowpipe Sam on February 07, 2023, 01:07:31 AMCongratulations on the pup Tom. I believe that you are right about the noisy owls. Are the rabbits more active in the morning or the evening?Hi Capitan Carter.Thank you for your reply.As to when the Cotton Tails are most active, it's a toss up. Sometimes they are more active on early evenings and or late mornings. Then other times they seem to be more active late evenings and early mornings. I am not sure why. I only hunt when there is enough moon light to shoot by. In shooting by moon light there needs to be ample snow cover to reflect the moon light and light things up, otherwise the woods are pretty dark. I have several owls that live in the woods around here. The Barred owl, Boreal owl, Eastern Screech owl, Great Grey owl, Great Horned owl, Northern hawk owl, Northern Saw-whet owl, and Snowy owl.The one I hear the most is the Great Horned Owl. Sometimes at night I will reply to their hoots and they will come looking for me. When they fly in and roost in a tree, you can't hear them coming. They fly totally silent. I only know that they have arrived when they start hooting close by.Best Wishes - Tom