The American Beagler Forum

Good article.....

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/hunt ... id=2726947

We all should probably have a good coyote rifle.

And, how about a good coyote coat to wear...

That's one thing that impressed me was, in Mi. there is a thing call "The Sportsmans Club", when you buy a hunting licenses, there is a $1.00 of the fee that goes to the Sportsman Club to pay bounty on coyote. It's a great insentive (helps buy a few more shells) for the varmit hunters. I'm for something like this in every State that wants it...

Hardly ever see a groundhog anymore and they make the holes for the rabbits. Coyotes love groundhog for supper... Bandit the coon also likes tender rabbit young to eat & ol Joe crow gets his share also...Redtail hawks scan & patrol the fields endlessly, finds of pulled hair and feathers show their success rates. No doubt the advantage lies with the number of predators today...

I got some guys with coyote hounds that I'm using on our place.

Coyotes don't have a chance in that situation.

They do when your packin the gun.......

There's more to it than just the predators, and I don't think anyone knows just what it is. Some places are still full of rabbits while others that have all the things we believe are needed for a good population are barren. The wildlife people managed to get us plenty of deer and turkey around here, when for many years we had none. There is not much incentive for them to do the same with quail and rabbit, although I hear they are doing something called CURE here in NC probably as a lip service more or less. I am not too sure they could do it even if they wanted to. The rabbit mortality at our club's grounds is unbelievable. I hear the same thing from most everybody around here that has a running pen. The club is paying $15 per and I hear some are paying $20 to try to keep something to run.

Larry why don't the club plant some black berries or even multi floria rose, the rabbits have to have a place to hide where coyotes and hawks and owls can't get to them, and put out some salt.

Has anyone thought that maybe with all the pesticides and herbicides that are used anymore might have something to do with the rabbit population also? We have a farm that has a huge powerline running through the middle of it. They sprayed it three years ago killing everything, brush, briars and small trees. Just this year we were able to jump some rabbits underneath it in the cover that come back. Now i know cover is one thing but you cant tell me that the spraying itself didnt do some damage to the rabbits. Around here where we live most farms anymore and cut clean. no cover in most places. Where there is cover and no spraying you can find rabbits. Look at some of the public hunting places. glendale for instance, absolutely the best place ive ever hunted for rabbits. Cover (for the most part) food, and no spraying of anything, the salt they put out doesnt hurt either. something to ponder!!!!

The Missouri Department of Conservation has been making a big push for quail populations. Alot of MDC owned lands where they are making this push have great rabbit populations every year. These lands get hunted hard and have plenty of predators but the habitat is so good it maintains populations. The problem is that is hard to find private lands with the same kind of situation.

You answered your own ? They sprayed killed all your cover and food sources. Now that the cover is growing back the rabbits are moving back in. Pesticide ,herbicide don't really have an effect considering the life cycle of a wild cottontail is so short. Has to do with habitat no food, no cover, no rabbits. Farmers been using pesticides and herbicides for years with no effect on wild populations. When farmers change the way they farm you begin to see declines in populations. All prey wildlife needs cover and an immediate food source in order to survive. Take away one or the other and they packing it up and moving on.

Earlybird wrote:

Larry why don't the club plant some black berries or even multi floria rose, the rabbits have to have a place to hide where coyotes and hawks and owls can't get to them, and put out some salt.


I don't know about the salt, but there is no lack of cover, water and food. I will mention the salt to the management.

I do know that DP&L gives the landowners a choice of spray or cut. The farm I hunt on is cut only. I been hunting there for about 16 years and just recently in past 4 have in seen rabbits. Even with all the predators on the farm.

The wildlife people managed to get us plenty of deer and turkey around here, when for many years we had none. There is not much incentive for them to do the same with quail and rabbit

Larry G hit the nail on the head. There is big money in ducks, deer and turkey. No one gave a rats hind end about the small game. Most public wildlife management areas are designed for waterfowl, or big game/turkey. No dense cover means no small game. Until the wildlife biologists start managing habitat for small game, there will never be great small game hunting on most public WMA's.

Emery

Anyone on this board a fisherman? ... Strange question I know but I will explain.
If you fish a certain area and you keep what you catch... fish population declines. Common knowledge and is not getting recognized by the state.
Now I run-n-gun as much as the next man but I have never brought out the number of rabbits like I see in some of these photo's. Most people lay off the gun on grounds that thier club uses or thier own personal land but when it comes to public land it seems the only hold back for most hunters is the state limit. Now yotes and bobcats and all kill a load of our bunnies every year, but what hurt are we doing to it ourselves?

Tim, I have seem wildlife documentaries that differ from your fishing statement. There are so many eggs layed by fish that no matter how many fish you keep, there are still enough left for ample reproduction. Now, I can't remember exactly where I saw that but I am thinking it was on In-Fisherman.

Emery

It is nearly impossible to over hunt a rabbit population from year to year. Sure there may be less in late winter than in early fall, but rabbits breed often and rebound quickly. Over hunting is the least of your worries. If the habitat is there so will be the bunnies.

Catch and release on fish will increase numbers, but it mainly increases the size of the fish you catch.