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It was the weirdest rabbit hunting this whole season. We hunted hard saturday and sunday and barely jumped many rabbits. We walked all over the place. This is the thing their was rabbit droppings almost everywhere we looked. Most of it looked fresh and some of it was old. This was the case both days of hunting. Saturday the dogs jumped one rabbit out of a brush pile we ended up killing it. That was the only one the whole day.
Sunday was a little better. We jumped 5 rabbits and took home 4. But we did alot of walking. Hit the area pretty hard and searching none stop. Saw a bunch of fresh rabbit droppings but not that many rabbits.
This here is the 6 shot rabbit. I shot this rabbit 6 times. First time I saw it coming I shot twice and missed. The dogs brought it back around and again another 2 shots and nothing. Dogs continue to run it. I was looking and looking for it to pop out of the brush when my dad yells out there it is. IT WAS BEHIND ME I shot another 2 at it the thing kept running. Dogs behind it pushing hard. They took some distance and then were quiet. I let them work it out for 5 minutes still nothing. So I started calling and calling. At a distance here comes one dog then another. Then here comes my male dog Pistol with the rabbit in his mouth. I couldn't believe it. I just about hugged the dog when he brought it up to me. I was proud of him.
Here is the days kill. I only got the one and that's because the dog brought it to me lol.
Missouri rabbits running for their lives!!!!
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We were up at Busch CA saturday, ran 6 and bagged 3. Our dogs seemed to be having a rough time especially earlier in the day. They couldn't seem to get a rabbit 1/2 a circle before they lost it. I jumped a couple and put the dogs on the trail and the dogs couldnt smell em, but walk em down the trail about 50 yards and they picked em up but lost em before they got em circled. As the day went on it got better so i guess conditions early were just bad. Talked to a couple others running hounds out there and they were experiancing the same things.
My dogs aint world beaters by no means but they've always been able to circle the majority of the rabbits they get up. This year so far though has been very strange, they struggle more often then not. I'm not sure if the rabbits are just holeing up fast or conditions are just terrible on the days i've been running.
We're supposed to be up there again this weekend, hopefully it'll be better.
Good luck on the rest of your hunts Joey and thanks for the Pics, I enjoy seeing them.
Yeah we were at busch sunday. That is where we got the four. Not that many rabbits left at Busch. We went last week and didn't do so well. To many people hunt busch. On opening day half of st. louis was there. There were so many people it was unreal. Shots rang out one after another for a few hours. We jumped 16-18 rabbits that day. You couldn't go more than a few yards and not jump a rabbit. That is how many there were. You go in there now and it takes forever till one is up and moving.
I sort of ran out of places to hunt. I may just call the season good. We still got till Feb15th. I may start driving around on them back roads trying to find a farm to hunt. See if I can't get permission. It's not worth the time and gas to drive out so far for nothing.
I may go to busch again this weekend I don't know yet.
Missouri rabbits running for their lives!!!!
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Yep I agree with you. All I hunt is Public land. I have a handfull of places I hunt. I spread the hunts out over the course of the season. I pick different CA's to hunt every weekend and also different areas of the CA to hunt each time we go out. I don't hit the same fields over and over all season long till there is nothing left. I try and leave a bunch for seed. But that's me I have no idea what the other people are doing when they hunt the same spots we hunt. After all it's PUBLIC land and anyone can go there.
Missouri rabbits running for their lives!!!!
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I'm in about the same position as you, Not many places to hunt at all, thats why we're heading to bush again this weekend. Seems like all the places that held rabbits last year for me are barren this year. We went to Magnollia holler CA in bloomsdale a few weeks back and hunted 2 days and jumped 1 rabbit ...Last year around this time i could spend 4 hours out there and run 1/2 a dozen. Same with some private land i hunt here at home ...last year there were plenty of races and this year nothing.
Gunna start checking the places that didnt have rabbits for me last year ...maybe those are the new honey holes this year.
Theres a couple CA's close to hillsboro that we jumped a few on a couple weeks back when it was real windy, I'm gunna check those out again soon and see how it is on a decent day.
Yep Bill, I agree also, Like Joey almost all we hunt is public land and we spread it out as much as possible as not to over kill. now if we could get everyone else that hunts those public lands to do the same.
Hahahaha magnoilia hollow is where we went saturday. Boy talk about hills. I think i went up and down every hill out there. The place is nice and looks like it would hold a bunch of rabbits. We saw plenty of fresh rabbit droppings. Those rabbits are smart out there. They hide from all the preditors probably don't come out till dark.
That was the first time i ever went to Magnoilia hollow. A friend of mine took me. I think it was the last time I went there too. lol
Missouri rabbits running for their lives!!!!
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Yep, Those hills are fun! I wont be going back there again this year either.
They added alot more cover there last year so i figured this year would be great but i jumped on every piece of brush there was out there the 2 days we were there and nothing. Hopefully next year!
There are definately rabbits there though like you said, there was plenty of droppings when we were there also.
As you may know, the females start to hole up during the day beginnning around the 1st. of the year in Missouri. Here in Illinois, the females are in the holes by the second week of December. The reason that you are seeing the rabbit pellets and not finding the rabbits during the day is because the rabbit that made the scat are underground during the day. It is nature's way to ensure preservation of the species.
Tallasan wrote:Yep, Those hills are fun! I wont be going back there again this year either.
They added alot more cover there last year so i figured this year would be great but i jumped on every piece of brush there was out there the 2 days we were there and nothing. Hopefully next year!
There are definately rabbits there though like you said, there was plenty of droppings when we were there also.
did you guys get any up when you were there?
-Tim
Yeah we jumped one. One of my females went into a brusch pile I heard a loud rumble and out shot the rabbit. They ran it back around and down it went. That was it. Nothing the rest of the time we were there.
Missouri rabbits running for their lives!!!!
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rabbitteer wrote:As you may know, the females start to hole up during the day beginnning around the 1st. of the year in Missouri. Here in Illinois, the females are in the holes by the second week of December. The reason that you are seeing the rabbit pellets and not finding the rabbits during the day is because the rabbit that made the scat are underground during the day. It is nature's way to ensure preservation of the species.
That is what I figured too. We killed a rabbit that was breed Jan 1st. It had 4 baby rabbits in it already. Wierd
Missouri rabbits running for their lives!!!!
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These were new places that I've not been to this season. The rabbits are there, just not sitting out in the fields. The rabbit dropping were very fresh. Probably from nighttime. We just couldn't find where they were hiding.
I think it's because we are hunting late season rabbits that are smart. Most them have been chased and who knows what else so they know how to escape and are to the point of just staying in the hole and big brush piles. That's why it's called hunting
Missouri rabbits running for their lives!!!!
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