Man is the snow deep!! What to do about the small game?

Arwin · January 11, 2009, 06:55:00 PM

We have snow up to my knees(which isn't that deep for the average Joe, HA!) Seriously though it seems the small game has gone away to hide. I've been through the thickest cover that I could possibly manage to get through and am finding nothing.
Any tips? I'm getting ready to bust out the ice fishing rod for a few days till some of this melts off.

Tim Fishell · January 11, 2009, 07:09:00 PM

Ariwn, I know what you mean buddy. The snow this year has been crazy around this area. I have bunny hunted a few days and didnt see a thing. I have had some luck with squirrels but am having a hard time getting close to them for a shot with a bow. This has forced me to use different methods of hunting them.

Rick Butler · January 11, 2009, 08:43:00 PM

I was up to our cabin in the eastern U.P. for a couple of days earlier this week. Man if you think there's snow here you should see it up there! I strapped on the snowshoes and headed into the cedar swamps for some hare hunting found one lone coyote track and that was it. Ended up stump hunting with flu-flu's.

Herb Calvin · January 11, 2009, 09:29:00 PM

You guys should come to Ohio. We still have a good rabbit population. Of course I don't hit enough to lower the population.

ratgunner · January 11, 2009, 09:35:00 PM

Knee deep snow aint good for tracking rabbits.lol.I'd let'em alone awhile too.

ishiwannabe · January 11, 2009, 10:34:00 PM

If its bunnies you are after, they probably are there, just in tunnels under the snow. Walk the same route as much as you can as wide to pack the snow down a bit...in the prime areas of course. Gives em less places to hide and more ability to munch on what they want.

Doug in MI · January 11, 2009, 10:47:00 PM

My spots have been terrible this year. No sign and no rabbits period. Coyote tracks every place I go.
Checked out some new spots today and more of the same. Took the predator call with me also. This snow sure gets the heart beating quick. Walked about 3 miles today.

jacobsladder · January 11, 2009, 11:24:00 PM

I've found the opposite.... ive got a spot next to my house that is loaded with bunnies.... ive probably seen 20 the last couple times out..cant hit any ....but they are there... habitat is key... briars, brush, tall grass ...lots of undergrowth...

Drew is seeing a bunch too..... It does make it real tough when the snow is too deep...they will sit real close to thier holes, because they cant run well in the deep snow....

Arwin · January 12, 2009, 11:02:00 AM

I think I might have to scout out a new area and see whats happening. My usual bunny spot is chuck full of briars and wild grape vines that have pulled branches down into perfect hiding spots. I can't find a single track or turd anywhere!!

I have to get up earlier for squirrels, but the warm cozy bed won't let me leave.

Izzy · January 12, 2009, 11:16:00 AM

Hunt late.In some states you can hunt bunnies around the clock without artificial lights.They are readily visible in the moonlight.Hurry though cause theres probably an owl watching the same bunny.

Doug in MI · January 13, 2009, 09:12:00 AM

I've been working on my habitat for rabbits for 4 years now with makeing brushpiles and fertilizing the briers and felling some trees to thicken it up. But this year there are none. I like to have a spot close by to let my beagles have some fun. All my the other spots have good rabbit cover but there arent any tracks, even when they might have been out at night.

Vesty · January 13, 2009, 02:37:00 PM

I slipped out yesterday. My property is in Van Buren County and if you know anything about Michigan, you can imagine the amount of snow I had to deal with. I did find bunnies. As a matter of fact, they abandoned their usual haunts and were all gathered in the thickest cover. There were holes everywhere. Though I never got a shot off, it was amusing seeing them poke their heads out of the hole and then disappearing back into their maze.

Shawn Leonard · January 13, 2009, 09:53:00 PM

I will say that is strange, I agree with Ishiwannabe they are there. One of our best hunts at the Jaon Leonard Memorial Bunny Hunt we had 40"s of snow and we killed 16 bunnies that year. Shawn

Bakes168 · January 13, 2009, 10:59:00 PM

Same thing here, I have seen very little rabbit sign.

Zack

Skipmaster1 · January 14, 2009, 02:35:00 AM

we have almost no rabbits near me. I have seen 3 in my hunting areas in the past 10 years! Upstate and near some local farms we see more, but not anywhere I hunt.

Stone Knife · January 14, 2009, 04:16:00 AM

The bunny population is thin this year by us and the snow is deep also. Get a rabbit squealer and hunt some fox.