Thinking about first Rabbit Hunt, but....

[markjs]

Honestly I got no idea, lol  I also don't have anyone who hunts anything but deer that I know (too macho for small game or non powder burners); these guys I can fish with, but for hunting they're next to useless....

I guess, how do I find rabbits?  Oddly, I can find craploads of the suckers everythere around here in the wee hours, but only driving a car.  It scares them out, otherwise I never see them.  I did consider trying my motorbike in the early ,morning, but I'd rather go old school.  How best to find my quarry?  I know there's lots of them around here.

PS: As far as legality, it's on owned property and they are pests, as we have fruit trees and crops, though the cats keep them out of the gardens, they still hit the trees (them or squirrels, but the squirrels around here are scrawnier than I want to bother with).

Optionally I could hunt bullfrogs, "dang" sure a lot of big ones around, but that would just not feel sporting.  A flashlight and bam, too easy. They have no getaway ability. I'm also not schooled about frog prep and toxicity issues, and just don't wanna shoot frogs.

Even the cats leave the frogs (or toads? we're so close to wetlands I'm not sure which they are) be, they chase and play with them, but I've never seen the cats kill one; though I'm unsure why.  They're easily the size of my fist or bigger....

Oh well, definitely interested in finding a fat bunny.  We have a creek and some sort of wetland plants around may be options, and I plan to scour the net next, but just thoought I'd throw it up here too.  Thanks.

[Bladebum]

Mark, are you in high desert sagebrush or dense forest? That will give you two or more species that are possible to be hunted.

Jackrabbits are a desert dweller and can be found on farmlands and sage brush by simply walking around and flushing them out or spotting them taking shade under sage. People dont typically eat these and theres no season or bag limit anywhere that I know of.

Cottontail on the other hand are heavy cover quarry and do have seasons and bag limits so you will want to check your local regs. People do eat these and are good if done right. In my experience,  they prefer thick brush (blackberrys, piles of brush etc) that are near clearings. They also can be found quite often in junkyard type scenarios(think places farmers keep old broken down equipment)

Jackrabbits are much bigger, smarter and faster. Cottontail tend to be easier to get both because you are typically going to get much closer to them and they hold still longer. That's a general rule of thumb.

[wolverine]

i've only busted 1 rabbit while squirrel hunting in the woods and it took off so fast i had no shot.  my sister has a small farm and the rabbits are in the shorter grasses where the cattle graze, but always just a few yards from taller grass or the fence row.   around sunrise and then again late evening before sunset is best.  keep binoculars with you to scan for them as they blend in with their surroundings quite well.   i don't have to be too stealthy as i usually shoot from the hayloft, but if you're on the ground, good camo clothing is essential, including head and face cover ups.  i've never come across a burrow in the fields, but have found quite a few along the woods and river over 700 yards to the south so they must be traveling that far to graze.  most of my shots are 50 - 100 yards so i use the squeaker from a dog toy to get them to raise their head.


the rabbits on the farm are used to seeing the cattle, goats, horses, and pigs so they pay them no mind.  they don't come within 50 yards of the buildings and that could be because of the barn cats and if the dogs are out, the rabbits aren't. 


if you can find a hunt-able area with edible grasses or small crops, there will be rabbits.  they also leave droppings where they graze, so if you see their pellets you found them and you just need to be there at the right time.


rabbits are good eating and easy to kill, a head shot with even a low power gun will drop them.


good luck on your first hunt!

[Bryan Heimann]

I Just kind of walk around where I can legally hunt them and stumble across them.  They either run before you get in range or freeze in place until you are right on top of them.

I don’t limit out like this but I usually get a couple.

At night, I have used my headlamp to disorient them and just ran them down on foot and caught by hand.  Usually can get a little closer to more of them at night.

[Bryan Heimann]

Oh and they love thick thorny underbrush at edge of the woods.

[Blowpipe Sam]

I hunt rabbits at first light.  The best places to look for them is around a food source.  Cotton tails like to graze fresh green shoots of grass and forbs.  They also like berries and nuts.  They will eat fallen fruit like figs and pears on the ground.  Every gardener knows that cotton tails will mow a young garden flat.  I have surprised cotton tails feeding in my compost heap.  Rabbits prefer edge.  They like to hang around hedgerows, overgrown fences, and treelines.  Old overgrown buildings and farm equipment is another good place to look.  Rabbits are as likely to be found along the edge of a pasture as along the edge of a planted field.  Dense thickets provide cover during the daylight hours but a couple of good dogs will solve that.  Good scouting for potential shooting locations is the key.  When I Rabbit hunt my property I have about ten spots that I check in the course of hunting.  If I don't see a Rabbit in any of the high probability spots,  I sure won't see one any where else.

[oledawg]

I hunt rabbits at first light.  The best places to look for them is around a food source.  Cotton tails like to graze fresh green shoots of grass and forbs.  They also like berries and nuts.  They will eat fallen fruit like figs and pears on the ground.  Every gardener knows that cotton tails will mow a young garden flat.  I have surprised cotton tails feeding in my compost heap.  Rabbits prefer edge.  They like to hang around hedgerows, overgrown fences, and treelines.  Old overgrown buildings and farm equipment is another good place to look.  Rabbits are as likely to be found along the edge of a pasture as along the edge of a planted field.  Dense thickets provide cover during the daylight hours but a couple of good dogs will solve that.  Good scouting for potential shooting locations is the key.  When I Rabbit hunt my property I have about ten spots that I check in the course of hunting.  If I don't see a Rabbit in any of the high probability spots,  I sure won't see one any where else.

 Mark I agree with Carter, mornings are the best second best is dusk they will come out to forage again. If you go out scouting durning these times get a bag of carrots 🥕 and break one up, toss it on the grown then hide and wait. If we have old carrots or sometimes I buy a big bag of baby carrots At Costco and throw them out in the summer, they get moisture and nutrients. Generally only takes a few minutes and the bunnies come out of the shadows for the carrots.

[markjs]

Mark, are you in high desert sagebrush or dense forest? That will give you two or more species that are possible to be hunted.

Jackrabbits are a desert dweller and can be found on farmlands and sage brush by simply walking around and flushing them out or spotting them taking shade under sage. People dont typically eat these and theres no season or bag limit anywhere that I know of.

Cottontail on the other hand are heavy cover quarry and do have seasons and bag limits so you will want to check your local regs. People do eat these and are good if done right. In my experience,  they prefer thick brush (blackberrys, piles of brush etc) that are near clearings. They also can be found quite often in junkyard type scenarios(think places farmers keep old broken down equipment)

Jackrabbits are much bigger, smarter and faster. Cottontail tend to be easier to get both because you are typically going to get much closer to them and they hold still longer. That's a general rule of thumb.

Forest farmland, woods near a creek at the base of foothills. Pacific nortwest temperate climate, high grasses.

[Rico14]

It would be best to check the Fish and Game laws in your state. Here in Ca, if the animal is classified as a game animal and has a season,  which the cottontail rabbit is, you cannot just say they are a pest and shoot them. You can get a depredation permit, but you have to list the non lethal methods you have used to get rid of them. lethal methods can be used if all non lethal methods fail. It would not be good to get caught shooting a game animal out of season. And yes, this applies to private property in Ca. And, you need a hunting license here, to shoot ANY animal, even pests. Good hunting

[KevinJBrown]

If you have cottontails (I'm guessing Jackrabbits are similar). They like the edges. I shoot my targets along a line of pine trees that have grass that I mow and don't treat (for weeds) so it has clover in it. Rabbits are comfortable that they can get back under the cover of the pines and sit out to feed and play in this area all day long, but especially in the evening and morning. I run my dogs at them sometimes, but since the rabbits go into the trees and I call my dogs back from under the trees (poison ivy). The rabbits don't leave the area. They come up and play havoc with my garden at night (why didn't I buy a thermal?). If you stay in the shadows and are quiet you can walk up on most animals including feeding rabbits. I've played this game since I was young and walked up to touch deer and other animals. You can certainly get within range to see and unsling a rifle. Learn to stagger step to ambush. Also if you know where they feed, just set down and be calm with known ranges and wait for them. Any night that it was legal, I could take 5 or 6 around my targets because they are accustomed to me being there.

Ditto on knowing the laws, and the local law enforcement officers imho. I'm trying to learn my equipment so that I know how to hit a rabbit (or squirrel) at the ranges I'm going to be able to kill them at. No different than hunting with a PB, bow, slingshot or rock again imho.

Also good to know the anatomy of a rabbit to know where to shoot to kill them.

FWIW - I have a permit to shoot/kill rabbits and squirrels on my property and I still only kill them if they are in my garden.

Last modification - they also like apples.