i have been attempting to hunt for rabbits for a year or so, and have not had luck....help!?

Question

i see tons of tracks, but no bunnys.
any tips for spotting, tracking, and stalking appriciated.

please dont answer if you are an anti hunter trying to tell me how bad hunting is. i really dont want your opinion, i dont care what you think.

Answer 1

dogs help a lot.properly trained dogs run rabbit around until run back into you.beagles are the best due to small size they can go through the brush more easily than say a harrier.dogs make rabbit hunting alot more fun.
however if you can't get dogs of your own then rabbit hunting will have to be done all manually.that means lots of kicking brushpiles and tromping through briers.

Answer 2

I do not know where you live or what terain you are huting but here are a few tips.

Tracks do not mean much. One bunny can make alot of tracks. Are there alot of groundhog holes where you hunt? if so I bet you spooked them and they went down the holes.

Before you take the others advice and get a beagle take this into mind. Rabits can be strange. Sometimes you have to literally step on them before they jump, other times they take off 200 yards out when they first see you cross a fence.

Rabits like cover, go through the woods and stomp and kicj every brush pile, stump weed bed ect. And you should see somthing. this is where the cliche "Beat the brush" came from. Its alot of work and is tirring. If you are the type of hunter that walks very fast down a well beaten trail in the woods you will never kill a rabbit.

You need a good set of chaps and walk right through every briar patch and thick area. You will cut yourslf, fall down and get upset but you will see some bunnies then for sure.

Alos remember bunnies are noctornal at times

Answer 3

Spotting, the easiest way is to look for the round black circle that is the rabbits eye. Believe it or not that is far easier than trying to spot the whole bunny wabbit.

Tracking, a bunny wabbits twacks will go in a line of sorts. You see two lines of feet that magically stay the same distance apart. Don't follow the track as a hound would, look at the whole line and try to determine where the rabbit versus where he has been. Again, this is where looking for the little black eye will help.

Stalking, when the two earlier steps enable you to spot a rabbit it is now time to stalk. Try to ensure that the rabbit is pointed right at or away from you as the eyes are on the side of its head. If it is pointing away or to, then SLOWLY creep within striking distance (different for every weapon). Try to move only when he has his head down and is eating. When he stops to knibble his food, YOU STOP.

This is not all there is to it, but use these steps and some of the others posted and you should see marked improvement.

Answer 4

When I'm out deer hunting, I see tons of rabbits and squirrels. I just sit against a tree, and don't move much. I also see them from my treestand when I'm deer hunting. Just my luck, when I'm trying to get a deer, I get a bunch of chicken feed instead. I usually hunt in kinda brushy areas; so, maybe you could find rabbits in areas with a lot of brush. And maybe this is going too far, but I suppose if you have a treestand for some other game, you could sit in that because then those cute, fluffy little bunnies won't see you as easily. I wouldn't run out and buy a treestand just for rabbit hunting though.

Don't tell your friends about hunting rabbits from a treestand because they will probably laugh at you. It's not something that I would do, but I do see plenty of rabbits when I'm sitting in my treestand during deer hunting season, and you seem pretty desperate.

Answer 5

rabbit like cover. thorns and fallen brush are the main nests for them. they feed on alfalfa clover and grass clippings. if they can get to it, they will eat corn, grains and garden vegetables. if you are hunting with 2 other people in high grass, have one on each side and someone going up the middle. if you are on the side, kick the grass and take a few steps into the grass this will spook them and you will have a better shot. i use a 12 gauge, but some people use a .22 but i like my 12 gauge.
good luck you don't have to be super quiet to hunt rabbit.

Answer 6

If you want to increase your encounter with rabbits you need a Beagle as a hunting buddy*.. Until you get one do not hurry or rush when covering the ground you are hunting*.. Cover it completely and take it slow before moving on *.. If you can hunt near or around a stream or brook you may be surprised how many you will find around there*.Hunt fields, woodlots, brushy areas, corn fields near the woods, swampy areas*..

Answer 7

It's easiest to hunt rabbits with a hound, but you can flush them from brush areas and shoot them when they are in the open. Rabbits like low brush cover. Put on some brier pants and start kicking your way through. Sometimes they'll wait until you are on top of them. Anyway, that's how I used to hunt them when I was little and my dad wouldn't let me take the beagles.

Answer 8

The best way is to use a hunting dog, but if they cannot be had, than you should walk normally, try around brushpiles and thorn bushes. if you are walking and you suddenly stop, sometimes rabbits think they have been spotted and make a break for it. if you see em' run and you miss them, they will not leave the immediate area, but make a kind of circle.

btw this works for shotgun only its hard to hit a running bunny with a rifle

Answer 9

If you have a untrained dog or want to train a dog. Look into it. My dog is retired in dog heaven god bless her heart.I had the best time of my life hunting with that dog. It can be alot of work, but once that dog is trained it all pays off. Pheasant hunting was me and my dogs gig.
Hey if ya give up on training like one friend that I know,there's always traps,cages, and patients.

Answer 10

You need to hunt at dawn and right before dusk that is when rabbit's are the most active and the easiest to find!