When I was a little boy hunting with my grandfather, better known as Papa, the loss of small game habitat combined with an increase in predator numbers caused a decline in the cottontail rabbit population. Papa loved to hunt rabbits and was always careful in maintaining his rabbit population.

When rabbit season arrived we would load the dogs and Papa would always say, “Son, we are only going to kill one because we want to keep plenty of rabbits on the place for the dogs to run.” It never took long for us to take our first rabbit and afterwards Papa would relax and listen to his dogs as they continued to hunt. Papa has always taken great pride in his dogs and when he would hear them on the scent he would smile and make the comment, “Son, that sound is just like music to your ears isn’t it?”

In the past several years cottontail rabbits have been making a comeback and more and more hunters are discovering the thrill of rabbit hunting.

The key to a successful hunt is to know where to look for rabbits. Rabbits have three concerns in their life; eating, hiding and making baby rabbits.

Knowing how to read the signs can save hours of time. Recognizing indicators such as droppings and hides, places where rabbits spend the day before going out at night to feed, can make or break a day of hunting.

Rabbits and thick cover go hand in hand. At the opening of rabbit season food and cover are still available in abundance. During this time the most common areas to hunt are in thick bottoms, ditches or along hedgerows. Basically any area that supports cover and food sources usually holds a rabbit or two.

By January the weather has reduced the amount of cover and the rabbits have eaten most of the available food sources such as clover, young plants and berries that make up the majority of their diet. Hunting strategies must now be changed in order to have successful late season hunts.

For the late season hunter there are several tips I would recommend. First, find a food source. The cottontail’s favorite food source is clover. Finding a clover patch is almost a guarantee of finding rabbits.

Another good choice for hunters to concentrate on is to hunt around the food plots that have been planted for deer. Rabbits love feeding in these patches at night, especially if good cover is close by.

Brier patches are an excellent area to look for rabbits. They offer both food and protection for the rabbits and there are hundreds of varieties of briers that grow in the wild. Tangles provide protection from aerial and ground predators and most of the varieties remain green all winter.

Another important factor to remember when hunting is the temperature. During cold weather rabbits hold their ground and won’t move unless they are forced to do so. If hunting without a dog hunters need to slow down and ease up on the rabbits. This will cause them to run where if the hunter was walking at a fast clip they would walk right over the rabbit. Hunters should also learn to glance behind when hunting. Rabbits will often freeze until a hunter passes them and then bolt off behind the hunter.

Dogs also tend to hunt better in the winter. Dog seem to smell better in the cold, most likely due to the lack of other smells. Hunters need to keep in mind that rabbits will loop differently when flushed in the winter. Does tend to shorten their loops and bucks will often make larger loops.

For rabbit season a hunter’s best friend is not his gun or dog but the pants he wears. If you don’t have a pair of brier pants that are torn and rugged by the end of the day then you are not hunting in the right spots. A good hunt involves wading into the thick of things to get to the action. After a successful hunt both the hunter and the dog should have “war wounds”, scratches on noses, arms and legs.

For safety, wearing as much orange as possible is a good practice. At the very least an orange hat and vest should be worn. Keep in mind that on a normal hunt you and your friends are wading through the brush, often changing positions and visual aids help in preventing accidents.

I also recommend a 20 gauge or a 12 gauge fro hunting. Most of the rabbits you jump will be 10 to 25 yards away and this shot works well.