A day of rabbit hunting in Caswell County
Finally a February day that felt like one instead of day in May. The air had a bite, the wind was really blowing and I actually saw some snow flakes as the front rolled through giving us a small taste of winter. There was about 10 of us and a dozen beagles and lots of great rabbit cover to push to see if we could find some. It didn’t take long for the beagles to pick up a hot scent and the race was on. There is something special listening to the beagles chasing a rabbit through an overgrown clear cut. Anyone who thinks the rabbit doesn’t stand a chance hasn’t done much hunting because they are pretty sly. These rabbits we hunted yesterday seemed to have advanced degrees in eluding the dogs and the coyote signs we saw all over the place told us who the professors at that university was.
We had a number of chases but only 3 rabbits made it to the bag before we called it quits. There is still a few weeks left in the season here in North Carolina but likely this was the last rabbit hunt of the season for me.
Overall it has been a good season even if I haven’t taken a rabbit this season. The thrill of the hunt the social aspects of small game hunting all have made for a fun season. If I’ve learned one thing it’s we need to control the predators and most specifically coyotes. Coyotes are expanding across the state and we’ve got to slow them down a bit but that’s another story for another day.
Young man with a beagle walking down the hedge row
turning the dogs lose
Lucky hunter
