Winter can be as much fun to hunt as the warmer temps of fall if you modify the format. Sitting motionless in a tree stand in frigid temperatures can be a challenge, yet what about small game and a more active approach?
Rabbits are one of the great white-meat foods of winter, and they’re lots of fun to hunt. Beagles are the icing on the cake, yet you don’t need a dog to bag a bunny or two. At this time of year, you’ll have little competition from other hunters. Most landowners will allow rabbit hunting even if their land is posted. Orchardists hate rabbits because they use their sharp front teeth to girdle small fruit trees, killing them the next summer.
Rabbits are plentiful, but difficult to hit with a shotgun.
Whether gathered around an empty pickup truck bed or the wood stove at camp, hunters love to whine. At one time or another, we’ve all moaned about how the bucks have gone nocturnal, the ducks are short-stopped up north, and the turkeys aren’t gobbling. Might as well throw in, “The rabbit hunting just isn’t what it used to be.”
When it comes to bunnies, at least, I’m not buying it. The population cycle isn’t always down. The coyotes haven’t eaten them all, nor has all their habitat vanished. I may not be ready to proclaim a return to the good old days of wintertime rabbit hunting, but I will say that it can be pretty darn good if you’re willing to bust a little brush. The reward? Let’s just say that Hasenpfeffer beats roasted coyote any day.
Here are my three favorite strategies for cottontail rabbits and snowshoe hares and where to hit them hard this winter.
1. Slash and Dash
What to look for: Newly logged or cleared pieces of mature forest.
Why it’s prime: Waste treetops, brush piles, and branches provide prime escape and loafing cover for cottontails and hares. New growth, which typically includes wild berry brambles, is a great food source.
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