Hunter shows off the only rabbit we took
Small game season is in full swing here in North Carolina and I jumped at the chance to join some friends as they chased bunnies yesterday near the Cape Fear River. While for many the lack of winter weather around here is a blessing for hunters it has been a curse. Yesterday was the last day of duck season and a pretty dismal season with the unseasonable warm winter we have been having. So I past on the duck hunting and headed out with some rabbit hunters and soon found out the warm weather was having a negative effect on them as well.
The hunting land was some overgrown cut overs that had some of the nicest crop of briars, blackberry bushes and holly I’ve ever seen. My face and arms today show the scars of me trying to push through that stuff to keep up with the dogs. The beagles ran some rabbits but if you weren’t right up on them it was so thick you’d hear the rabbit but never see him. We had a few nice chases and bagged one lone bunny before we called it quits around lunch time. The temperatures by then were close to 60′ and the dogs and us hunters were feeling the terrain and the warm weather.
I got back to the truck and checked my pedometer and saw that I’d covered a little over 6 miles that morning the dogs easily did 3 to 4 times that I’m sure. As I said before hunting success is not only measured in what you bag but the experience you shared.
I’d never hunted with these guys before but I really had a blast. They are a pretty dedicated group of rabbit hunters and hopefully before the season goes out maybe I’ll get out with them again. It would be nice if the weather would turn more seasonable and help things out.
beagles are a great dog to hunt rabbits with
The song of the beagle is a special one to hear. Hopefully before the season goes out I’ll get the chance to experience it again maybe this time that rascally rabbit will pass close enough to me for a shot.
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Game Page
