SnowShoe Hares

[deerless]

I'm going out for snowshoe hares tomorrow, and I could use some advice.
I am alone, on foot and do not have a dog. I'm using 12 gauge #5 shot, same as I use for grouse. I know how to hunt grouse and deer, but I've never gone after rabbits before. Brobee and his kid have inspired me to try, anyway :-)

Location
I haven't seen any sign of hares on the land I usually hunt, so I'm going to try somewhere else. Any suggestions for a good spot within an hour or two of Calgary? I was thinking out by Sibbald Flats? How about McClean Creak or the Ghost, anyone seen rabbits out there? I don't want to take anyone's 'secret spot", just a nudge in the right direction.

Habitat and Sign
I've done some reading, and I'm looking for dense bush. Thick clumps of willow and spruce, right? I know they're nocturnal and just hunker down in the daytime, and I know what sign to look for. I guess I just find an area with sign and then walk around slowly, looking for black eyes and eartips. Does wind direction matter? Can I smoke, or will that tip them off? Can I "bump" them accidentally like deer? How quiet do I need to be?

Behavior
I've also read that they like to circle around behind a hunter after he's passed. How far do they normally go? I know grouse don't like to go more than 100 yards from their territories. Do hares have territories like that? How close am I likely to get before they flush?

Thanks for any advice you can give me!

[3blade]

Hopefully you have fresh snow and can wander around where you find fresh tracks. Pretty much the best way to find them. They are much like a spruce grouse, they sit still and let you pass. If they flush they will take off and then hide under an overhang/deadfall/spruce. They eat a lot of rose bush and wild raspberry around here, look for the chewed sticks.

I wouldn't worry about scent control, seen plenty while sweating hard on training hikes. See a lot in 410 but you have to know where it's legal to shoot.

Browned in butter and added to sauce piquant. Delicious. Even most city women will enjoy this if you don't tell them what critter it is.

[J0HN_R1]

It seems they're everywhere, but nowhere...

I always see (sometimes fresh, sometimes old) tracks in the snow anywhere you're aloud to shoot them, but have only ever spotted 1 rabbit/hare in all my travels thru the bush (5+ years now).

[JSAUTO]

Find some newer logged area with thick bush. Good habitat with food and hide. I just take slowly walk in the area with lots of tracks and droppings, sometimes you can see one, sitting still, or running away.

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[vtecngsr]

Originally Posted by JSAUTO

Find some newer logged area with thick bush. Good habitat with food and hide. I just take slowly walk in the area with lots of tracks and droppings, sometimes you can see one, sitting still, or running away.

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If there is one sitting in this photo, it's no wonder I have never seen any in my time in bush. I could use some help spotting them too.

V

[JSAUTO]

Originally Posted by vtecngsr

If there is one sitting in this photo, it's no wonder I have never seen any in my time in bush. I could use some help spotting them too.

V

It's tough to spot them as basically blended in the snow. Takes some time to see the first one or two then will be easier. First thing you can see could be their black circle eyes, or the darker color ear tips. David at Hinton is a expert bunny hunter . Another tip is following the fresh tracks but looking forward carefully as they could be even 10 yards or less from you.

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[Speckle55]

Deerless ..yes to what every one has said and yourself

just be out there if your not seeing tracks and dropping then move

go slow when lots of tracks and move head up and down when moving changing the angle u look ahead

if you find lots of tracks then you slow down and move through that area

if you have a partner the walk side by side 20 yds apart when pushing bush always talking too each other

as you get more and more sightings your eyes will pick up those shapes and eyes ears etc

remember go back to those areas with lots of tracks and find bedding
areas /feeding etc

fresh snow make's tracking easy .. track them down if they run

as always this is

Food for thought

David

[ghl1]

There is no secret to hunting rabbits. Snowshoe hares have a small range, so if you see sign there is a good chance they are hiding in the area. My dad and I use to walk all day, going through the bush and kicking brush piles. We hunted cotton tails, jack rabbits and snowshoes. We used 12 shotguns. If you have a dog, it makes it easier. You have to cover a lot of ground. When you get close you will kick them up. Jack rabbits are the smartest, sometimes letting you walk by and kick up behind you. Not many Jacks left in Ontario.

[Abe89]

[QUOTE=Abe89;3406938]Walk slow, few steps then stop. Go in zig zags. When you walk they figure their safe and stay still, when you stop the figure they've been seen and bolt so be ready!
Go through the thickest nastiest stuff, often they take off right from under you. Nothing like a heart attack.
Keep your eyes moving as far as you can see; often they hop ahead of you then off to the side and hide, no more than 50ish yards. Look for movement or their eyes.
Also keep your eyes moving to the sides and behind. Rabbits have a home and don't like to leave it, so they hop ahead, off to the side, then circle behind.
A partner helps. Stagger when you move...one goes, stops, rest, then the other staying just behind. One covers escape routs the other pounds on deadfall. When by myself I sometimes manage 4 in an hour, sometimes Im skunked after a day.
With a buddy, he moved through bush, I worked parallel on a quad trail. I caught at least 4 or 5 rabbits busting back behind him back away from where he was heading, cutting between us in no more than 10 feet of willow. Another strategy I often flushed rabbits to him that stayed ahead of me. When stopped in a clearing he flushed and I caught 2 of 4 breaking through the clearing. We had 12 rabbits in 1.5 hours, saw at least 10 more but no shots. Sometimes the 22 gets the long shots, mostly a head shot with a 20 gauge punches through brush.
Evenings see the most movement.
I think thats it!
Good luck!
Search "rabbit hunting help" should bring up a past thread on this topic.





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[Bub]

Thought I would bump this up.

I still cannot see the bunny in the photo posted above, if there is supposed to be one.
Took a better one today while walking and thought it might be helpful to someone at least to have an idea of what it might look like (though this one is kind of obvious).