rabbit hunting

[Vancouver1234]

Hey everyone, new to hunting and yes ive searched the threads for some information but i could not find what i need. Not asking for a secret spot or anything but i am just wondering what kind of land i should be looking for out in the bush to find rabbits? I plan on going around harrison or mission or around skagit river area, maybe even squamish. Do you find them up high often?


thanks

[biggyun68]

Stick to the Fraser Valley right now: I always see them either next to big Black Berry briar's or on old FSRs at the grassy verge: You will most likely being seeing coyotes too.

[hare_assassin]

I know this is a bit late, but for next season, anyway... Not really sure about habitat in your area, but in my neck of the woods I tend to find them mostly in areas were there is a mixture of newish coniferous regrowth (12-15 years) that has lots of deciduous shrubs interspersed but then adjacent older growth areas with dead-fall. They really do like the thick stuff to hide in, but on the nicer winter days they seem to rely on their coats to hide them and they are often just sitting there by a log or at the base of a tree waiting to get shot. Elevation-wise, the biggest patch of them I have found is around 1300-1400m. If you find an area that has lots of sign, but lots of predator sign as well, expect the hare to be very jumpy - you'll see them as they run away at mach 3. The best area I found has tons of hare sign and very little predator sign, which makes for some very productive hunting. Snowshoes and a .22 and it is easy to come home with lots of the little buggers. :yes:

[hare_assassin]

Oh, one other thing; if you find a "perfect" area with lots of sign, but you don't see any hare, go back another day. I hunted hare almost every weekend this winter and I can say without any doubt at all that some days they "just disappear". It's really weird. It "feels" like a great hare day, but they just aren't there. It can be frustrating, but then you go back the following week, or even the following day, and they are all over the place.

Some inspiration (this was my best day of the winter -one short of the bag limit)

(note: they were all head-shot, but they bled all over each other in my pack)

http://www.cogitech.ca/photos/9_hare.jpg

[Singleshotneeded]

The Hare Assasin's advice is good, mixed deciduous bushes and pines, as you're getting into the hills.
Remember their population is on a cycle of about 7 years, when it's high the hunting's good!

[monasheemountainman]

how often do you have a bad hare day?

[hare_assassin]

how often do you have a bad hare day?

I'll assume the pun is not intended here. ;)

Out of the many hunts I went on this winter, I was skunked only twice.

An "average" day was 3-5 hare. A good day was 6-9 hare. I never limited out, but there's always next season. :)

[Surrey Boy]

What do you think of using a shotgun?

[Wullfen]

You can't hunt Hare in the skagit valley, check your regs!

[seanps]

I hunted the Squamish valley for three seasons and NEVER saw a rabbit or sign .... until one day last fall, when I saw three on one road in a matter of hours. Blew my mind. Didn't think they were there.

Don't have my Mapbook anymore, but working from Google Earth, here's the best directions I can give you:

Follow Squamish FSR past Elaho turnoff.

Eventually the road forks -- go the left. You'll go down a small hill and over a bridge. You'll soon hit another fork; go left.

Climb up high.

[parttimeexplorer]

Thanks seanps! I was hoping to find a good spot in either Squamish or Permberton and every little bit of info helps. I guess the Richmond Automall is probably off limits eh?

[hare_assassin]

What do you think of using a shotgun?

Sorry I missed this post...

Shotgun would be handy for the ones that spring out from under your feet, but more often than not they just sit there and wait to be shot. I would say out of 68 hare that I shot this winter, I might have missed 4 runners. I have considered slinging the .22 and being ready with a .410 for the runners (but still using the .22 for the sitters). After this past season, I don't think it is worth the extra weight and hassle to have the shotty. Lots of people like shotgun plus a couple of Beagles. I prefer stalk and snipe.

Last fall I did shoot a few with my SxS 12GA. It wasn't very practical. One was about 5 meters away in thick bramble and I knocked his head clear off his body. It landed about 2 meters away. His neck and most of his front shoulders had turned to "pink mist". Funny, sure, but not very practical.

[Singleshotneeded]

What do you think of using a shotgun?

Nothing wrong with using a shotgun, until I got the 10/22(peep sight) all I had was a scoped .17 HMR, and the hares tend
to come out at dusk...so I like irons. The high brass warmer loads in #6 shot do a fine job on them, with 12/16/20 gauge
you can anchor them even on a longer shot and not have them escape to die in the thick brush where it's hard to find them.
If you do come across one that's really close, you'll have to aim just over it's head to nail the head and not ruin the body.

[ruger#1]

Nothing wrong with using a shotgun, until I got the 10/22(peep sight) all I had was a scoped .17 HMR, and the hares tend
to come out at dusk...so I like irons. The high brass warmer loads in #6 shot do a fine job on them, with 12/16/20 gauge
you can anchor them even on a longer shot and not have them escape to die in the thick brush where it's hard to find them.
If you do come across one that's really close, you'll have to aim just over it's head to nail the head and not ruin the body.
Thats the way we did it in Clinton. I mostly snared them in the winter. Lots of fun. Just look for some small pines that have been chewed on and your on your way.

[Singleshotneeded]

Thats the way we did it in Clinton. I mostly snared them in the winter. Lots of fun. Just look for some small pines that have been choowed on and your on your way.

Hey Ruger#1, at what point of the season did you find they weren't as tasty, probably from having to eat bark? I found them
tastiest from August 1st to late October.

[ruger#1]

November is when they tasted like pine. Some grouse taste like that also. I hunt them at a high elevation and have had fun hunting them when they are white and the ground is brown. Still haven't shot one with the 17HMR.

[Singleshotneeded]

Yup, our experience matches up on that...November the taste experience goes downhill...:-)
If you go with the .17, best to use the 20 grain and hit them in the head.

[hare_assassin]

I eat them all winter. Never noticed a pine taste at all, but I am sure that is due to my processing. I put them in a basin of cold water with a fist full of sea salt and put them in the fridge over night. Next day I debone them, vacuum pack, and freeze (or eat 1 or two fresh after processing).

Zero pine taste, zero "gaminess". Tastes like dark-meat turkey.

P.S. Another advantage of the .22 is the cost of rounds. If you shoot a lot of hare, cost of shot shells could add up quickly.

[Singleshotneeded]

I hunt for fun and natural organic meat...the cost is the cost...but I do see your point! :-)

[hare_assassin]

I hunt for fun and natural organic meat...the cost is the cost...but I do see your point! :-)

...and I agree with your points as well. I hunt for exactly the same reasons. It's just that I already pay plenty of money to fuel the truck to get where the bunnies are, so any way I can keep costs down...

Plus, I just love the stalk and snipe. So much more fun, and much more effective (for me). Keeps my marksmanship sharp, makes less noise (I don't bother with hearing protection), etc.

[BuckNaked]

Are there any hares in the LML, all i see are eastern cottontails.

[Wackman]

In the reg's I can only find a season for snowshoe hare,
do rabbits fall under the same category? Wouldn't mind
putting a few bunnies in the freezer, I see them all over
the place.

[hare_assassin]

In the reg's I can only find a season for snowshoe hare,
do rabbits fall under the same category? Wouldn't mind
putting a few bunnies in the freezer, I see them all over
the place.

Lots of people call snowshoe hare "rabbits". That leads to confusion. They are hare, of course. I am guilty of saying "rabbit" as well, since when I say "hare" many people have no idea what I am talking about, or they think I am being obtuse by using the proper English term for the animal.

Here's the breakdown;

1) Snowshoe Hare - The season for snowshoe hare is listed in the regs and the bag limit, as you can see, is 10 per day. Everything I have said in this and other posts is related to this species.
2) Eastern Cottontail - These are actual rabbits and are categorized as "Schedule C" (kill as many as you want, whenever you want) - mostly found on VI.
3) European Rabbit - most commonly found on VI (but have a strong hold in Kelowna, it seems) also "Schedule C".

In the Kamloops area, you can be pretty sure that any "bunny" you see is a snowshoe hare. I have heard "lore" of huge Jacks around here, but don't know anyone who has ever seen one.

I have heard there are tons of "rabbits" in Kelowna (in the actual city) but I am uncertain as to what species they are. Anyone know?

EDIT: Just found the answer. The Kelowna rabbits are European Rabbits (feral) and considered invasive : http://www.kelowna.ca/CM/page1605.aspx

[Wackman]

Thanks for the info, hare assassin! I appreciate it :-)

[marcus44]

The Kelowna city rabbits were dealt with a few years back, at a time you could drive down a cpl roads and see 100+ bunnies nibbling in the grass. Haven't seen any though lately, most of the were moved or culled. As for up in the sticks I've only seen snowshoes.

[hare_assassin]

The Kelowna city rabbits were dealt with a few years back, at a time you could drive down a cpl roads and see 100+ bunnies nibbling in the grass. Haven't seen any though lately, most of the were moved or culled. As for up in the sticks I've only seen snowshoes.

If I had lived there at the time, there would have been far less of a problem. Was anyone eating the little b*st*rds?

[marcus44]

The area they were didn't provide much opportunity for guys to get in there and help control the population, on fairly well travelled roads within city limits in a bit of a commercial/retail stores. And of course right in the public eye so lots of talk and debate about it as the numbers grew. Not a lot in the way of predators in the area either, a few coyotes coming off the mountain, but they are getting pushed away as the population grows in the area.

[Singleshotneeded]

They were just off Hwy 97/Harvey, the main drag through town...or we would've been busy with air rifles

[Cookie1965]

Bunny season opens this week! Saw a few on my scouting trips earlier this summer hopefully it's a good year for them.

[Singleshotneeded]

I've seen a few as well...I think it's supposed to be a middling year for snowshoes.

[widger]

I am going out this weekend with my son for the first time for hares and really appreciate all the information. I could not believe how many I have seen this year while bear hunting south of town. One question is what is the preferred method for cooking them? Do most people slow cook them or in the stew pot?

[Singleshotneeded]

In my opinion cacciatore style or in a slow cooker is best...cook them wet and don't overcook, the meat dries out fast.

[Redneck Rocket]

I am going out this weekend with my son for the first time for hares and really appreciate all the information. I could not believe how many I have seen this year while bear hunting south of town. One question is what is the preferred method for cooking them? Do most people slow cook them or in the stew pot?

Get a stew pot or dutch oven. I picked up a nice kitchenaid one at the flea market for 7 bucks. I like them like this:

11am: Brown some onions & garlic in olive oil. Throw in some cubed chorizo and brown that off. Put in your pieces of hare and sear them for 20-30 seconds per side. Deglaze the cooker with a generous amount of red wine (like half a bottle.) Crank the heat up, and throw in enough stock to cover everything up. Bring it to a boil and then place in the oven, preheated to 200 degrees.

5pm: Take it out of the oven, add a can of baked beans, a rinsed can of kidney beans and a rinsed can of white beans. Salt & Pepper it, give it a stir, add a little more stock if necessary and throw it back in the oven.

7pm: Remove from the oven, take a couple of ladle fulls of liquid out and whisk in some cornstarch until there are no lumps. Stir that back in to thicken, and serve with a nice heel of bread to soak up the last of the liquid when you're done.

If you don't like beans/chorizo, you can mess around with all sorts of stuff. Lemon & Thyme is good, and you can add a little cream at the end to thicken, maybe deglaze with brandy instead of wine.

[Cookie1965]

Cooked a few up this week at the cabin, low and slow in the oven in a curry sauce. Pretty good stuff.

[hare_assassin]

My two favourite ways of eating them are "Hare & Mushroom Pie" and "Hare Pesto Linguini". http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?94646-Hare-Pesto-Linguini

I'll try to post up the "Hare & Mushroom Pie" recipe some time soon. I've made it for several dinner parties and it is always a huge hit.

When in doubt and not quite prepared, I just google for chicken recipes and then substitute the (deboned) hare meat. Me and my family love it every time.

[HIGHRPM]

We use a slow cooker recipe for sweet and sour chicken wings, comes out super tender !

[Singleshotneeded]

We use a slow cooker recipe for sweet and sour chicken wings, comes out super tender !

I'm in, I'll bring the beer or wine...keep me posted! :-D

[Singleshotneeded]

My two favourite ways of eating them are "Hare & Mushroom Pie" and "Hare Pesto Linguini". http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?94646-Hare-Pesto-Linguini

I'll try to post up the "Hare & Mushroom Pie" recipe some time soon. I've made it for several dinner parties and it is always a huge hit.

When in doubt and not quite prepared, I just google for chicken recipes and then substitute the (deboned) hare meat. Me and my family love it every time.
Damn that sounds good...hmmm...I can bring the beer or wine...we're talking an hour and forty from Westbank...:-D

[Redneck Rocket]

Just tried a new one, had a couple of good sized snowshoes to cook. Onions & garlic in the dutch oven (or a big cast iron pot, or just a big steel pot will do.) about 1 minutes to sear the pieces and then a liter of stock and some apple cider vinegar into the mix. Left it on all day, 9 hours or so in the oven at 190 degrees. Cooled it and then put in the fridge overnight. I pulled all the pieces off the bone and put them in the food processor with some more apple cider vinegar, paprika, chili, salt, and honey. Hit it for 15 seconds or so and then re-warmed in the pot with some of the leftover broth to moisten it up a little.

Put it in burritos with some black beans, cheese and veggies. Worked out very nicely, going to mix some beans into the leftovers for chili.