Most rabbit hunters use dogs to flush the long-eared critters from their lairs, but sportsmen without dogs can still get in on the action.
The most common rabbit species in Alabama, eastern cottontails, thrive statewide. They like drier, upland places with abundant briar thickets and other cover. Swamp rabbits also occur statewide, but prefer bottomland forests, swamps and other moist places. The highest concentrations of swamp rabbits occur in southern Alabama. Marsh rabbits primarily live in coastal wetlands. Appalachian cottontails stay at higher elevations in the rugged mountainous habitat of northern Alabama.
Every predator on land or in the air, each much more proficient than humans, wants to eat the “bread of the forest.” Therefore, rabbits spend significant time in the thickest cover trying to stay alive. They establish home territories and don’t like to leave familiar ground. They know their escape routes. Rabbits can easily see and hear people approaching and quickly vanish.
Sportsmen without trained dogs usually bag rabbits as bonus game while hunting something else. People who intentionally hunt rabbits without dogs must work harder, smarter, louder and hope for considerable luck to roust rabbits from their hiding places.
“Rabbit hunting is a good sport to get kids involved,” says Steve Byrd, a rabbit hunter from Citronelle. “They don’t have to worry about staying quiet and being too still. They could get plenty of opportunities to shoot. It’s a lot of fun for kids and adults. We need to get kids out in the woods and excited about hunting.”
First, go where rabbits live. Rarely, someone spots a rabbit sitting still in the open during shooting hours. Separated at safe distances, hunters could walk through fields kicking every hiding spot that might conceal a bunny. When a rabbit flushes, someone might get a shot.
When a rabbit bolts from cover, shooters must react fast. One or two hops from those powerful hind legs and Mr. Longears swiftly disappears. People seldom get a second shot at a rabbit. Shots rarely exceed 25 yards so use open chokes with Number 6 or 7 ½ shot.
Also, take turns “bird dogging” rabbits. One hunter smashes through the thickest cover while others watch possible escape routes for flushing bunnies. Wear heavy canvas “brush buster” pants or leather briar chaps for protection.
When hunting thick cover, rabbit hunters must communicate so everyone knows exactly where everyone else stands at any time. They should also wear orange and never fire without positively identifying the target and what’s close to or behind it. If in doubt, don’t shoot, even if it means that the biggest rabbit in history gets away.
“I highly recommend that rabbit hunters wear orange for the safety of everyone all around,” says James Sealy, a rabbit hunter from Citronelle. “It’s not hard to disappear from sight while rabbit hunting. Always make sure to keep everyone safe.”
If hunting alone, look for chokepoints, like water, fence openings and obstructions that channel rabbits. In soggy places, a thin strip of higher ground surrounded by water could force rabbits into smaller areas. Hunters walking along such constricted ground might jump the same rabbit several times.
Strong swimmers, swamp rabbits readily take to water. To escape danger, swampers habitually submerge themselves under tangled roots or fallen branches with only their nostrils protruding from the surface. They stay submerged until the danger passes.
A recently burned or clear-cut section of forest creates an excellent place to look for rabbits by eliminating cover and forcing bunnies into remaining hiding places. Any remaining clump might hold several bunnies. In addition, with most of the trees and underbrush removed, tender new shoots spring up where the sunshine hits the ground.
Those green morsels offer tempting meals for hungry rabbits in late winter. At first or last light, rabbits usually stop right on the edge of cover looking into the open for danger before venturing out to eat. Walk slowly along a firebreak, clear-cut edge or field boundary watching for rabbits to emerge from cover to feed.
After deer season ends, sit in a shooting house or stand overlooking food plots. Watch the plot edges at dawn or dusk for rabbits emerging from cover to nibble the succulent sprouts. Pick them off with scoped .22 rifles.
The Alabama rabbit season runs through March 2 with a limit of eight per day. Most public hunting properties hold rabbit populations. For information on public hunting lands in the Cotton State, visit outdooralabama.com/hunting/where-hunt-alabama.
John N. Felsher is a professional freelance writer who lives in Semmes, Ala. He also hosts an outdoors tips show for WAVH FM Talk 106.5 radio station in Mobile, Ala. Contact him at [email protected] or through Facebook.
