New Years Day Rabbit Hunt

[Horace Debussy Jones]

I hope this innocently started thread that is simply about enjoying the great outdoors gets locked. Sorry WH1, it was a good thread.

 

[Two Types]

WH1: :eusa_clap

 

[PADDY]

It's a good thread that celebrates the joy of respecting and valuing nature & life and is quite in keeping with this room that is for those of us who love the Great Outdoors and nature. Stick with 'that' Gents and we'll be just fine. Those uncomfortable with it ...well, there's probably another TFL room to walk into and enjoy.

Respectfully,

PADDY.

 

[PADDY]

PM'd you TT to explain chum. Thanks.

 

[Two Types]

No problems - I'm going home to cook a rabbit stew.

 

[cchgn]

No, not that sensitive really. Hunting seems to me fine for those who need to do it to eat-- or if it is necessary to cull some animals for genuine reasons. But when a bunch of folk (who, quite frankly, often look like a salad would be more advisable than more meat) clamber out of their pick-ups and go out killing deer, ducks , squirrels, etc etc for "a fun day out " that just irritates me a little. I'd quite like to see these folk dumped in, say, the Sunderbans without their weaponry and see how they enjoyed the tigers having a little "sport" ....

I'm not sure what your argument is, but surely the English tradition of fox hunting is a bad. Don't get me wrong, I agree with you, the modern day poor excuse of hunting( sitting in a tree stand, overlooking a baited area, for a wandering deer) is ridiculous to me. That's why we raise our meat nowadays. I wouldn't eat a wild animal if you gave it to me.

Still, hunting is a tradition that harks back to our deepest instincts. There is no other way to experience the thrill of trained hunting dogs doing what they were bred to do, engaging their deepest instincts. Florida's second passtime( besides fishing) is hunting wild hogs with dogs. My Dad's family is from Eastern Kentucky, where Beagles for rabbits and hounds for coon are as muc a part of their culture as moonshine and coal mining.

IMO, I've had the pleasure of experiencing that thrill when a pack of beagles 'scare's up some rabbits. Now, the thing about rabbits is, they'll run in a circle and the whole job of the dogs is to chase them in that circle, back to you. For the dog to catch and hurt the rabbit is a bad trait and the dog will likely be culled( like a dog that gets the taste of chicken eggs or chickens).

Same with coon hunting, the job of the dog is tree the coon and hold it there until the hunter gets there. Same with hog hunting, the job of the dog is to find and hold them in one place. If a dog gets too close to a wild hog, it's likely not to survive the encounter.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Just a little additional information here. Many experienced deer hunters agree that venison taken from a tree stand is tastier than that taken from in front of dogs. This is because there is less adrenalin in the meat when the deer is taken from a stand. Also, stand hunting isn’t terribly modern. It's been popular in Eastern North Carolina for my entire fifty eight years. Indeed, Robert Ruark wrote of his childhood experiences stand hunting with his grandfather, and that would have been in the 'twenties. Finally, many populated jurisdictions now require that hunters take deer from elevated stands. This is because a slug fired from a tree stand toward a deer on the ground generally has a downward trajectory. This causes it to “ground” in a shorter distance than if fired level.

AF

 

[cchgn]

Just a little additional information here. Many experienced deer hunters agree that venison taken from a tree stand is tastier than that taken from in front of dogs. This is because there is less adrenalin in the meat when the deer is taken from a stand. Also, stand hunting isn’t terribly modern. It's been popular in Eastern North Carolina for my entire fifty eight years. Indeed, Robert Ruark wrote of his childhood experiences stand hunting with his grandfather, and that would have been in the 'twenties. Finally, many populated jurisdictions now require that hunters take deer from elevated stands. This is because a slug fired from a tree stand toward a deer on the ground generally has a downward trajectory. This causes it to “ground” in a shorter distance than if fired level.

AF

I understand that, I's simply comparing it to traditonal sport of stalking the deer( which alot of folks still do), like our ancestors did vs a leased plot that have deer inserted and are fenced in and trained to eat from the feeders, etc. I akin that to fishing out of a barrel or pay lake. Not really a sport at all.

The context is in a person's abhorrance to hunting in general. I's simply relating my abhorrance to certain practices, in the name of hunting. Speaking of adrenaline dump, my Grandpa believed that if the animal knew it was going to die, it tainted the meat and wouldn't eat it. I adhere to that principle to this day.

 

[Nobert]

I'm not weighing in with and opinion on this, it just made me think of a book called Living Wild and Domestic, written by Robert Kimber. In it, he contemplates some of the ethical quandaries he runs into as both an animal lover/humanitarian type and a lifelong hunter and outdoorsman. He doesn't come up with any pat solutions, but reading it made me reevaluate some of my own preconceptions (even as a non-hunter who is not anti-hunting), and I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in a thoughtful and complex approach to the subject.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Watching certain dog breeds work can be quite amazing. Especially those retrieving or pointing very much by instinct. I've watch Labs with the playful urge to retrieve as very young pups. Later easily controlled by a simple whistle.
HD

 

[Atticus Finch]

Strange how things happen. I've been following this thread since yesterday thinking about how much I've missed upland hunting. Unless sitting in a corn field on the opening day of dove season counts, I haven't been upland hunting since before one of the guys in my earlier photo passed away...probably ten years, now.

Completely out of the blue, a friend just called me and invited me to quail hunting. Here, quail hunting is a bit like rabbit hunting, except it’s done with one or two good pointers as opposed to a pack of beagles. And it is a slow, thoughtful sort of hunting where conversation and cordiality among the hunters is more important than any game that may be taken. Even if not a shot is fired, the worst thing a quail hunt can be is a walk in the fields with your friends...and a nip of bourbon at end of the day.

AF

 

[PADDY]

Great way to start 2014! The wife and I got up early this morning and went rabbit hunting with a great group of gentlemen. We were hunting with a pack of beagles. It was like dove hunting. Surrounded a large section of cedars and scrub brush which they had brush hogged paths through. The dogs and 2 hunters worked the cover. When they got the scent of a rabbit they began to bay. A the sound came closer to your position on the perimeter you prepared for the rabbit to cross the path or break cover. It was a pleasure to watch the dogs working and the company was great. Tonight for dinner I cooked a rabbit with bacon (of course), oregano, marjoram, basil, salt and pepper simmered in dry white wine and finished with a cream sauce. Very Tasty. Used the side by side 20 gauge, first time I have ever done a southern style rabbit hunt.

View attachment 7758

Back to the beginning Gentlemen. Share this man's enjoyment and feel the privilege that he has shown you a glimpse through a window into a very personal moment. Please do not disrespect the trust another member has put in you by sharing this moment.
Its not about anything other than the pleasure and pure enjoyment of being outdoors with his dogs, in nature's environment getting his own fresh food and cooking it up at the days end.
Please refrain from tarnishing this shared moment. Trust me please when I ask this of you to walk silently away if this doesn't agree with you.

Respectfully, PADDY.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I would rather hunt quail than practically any other game and did so for years over much of the state of Indiana until a horrific blizzard killed off many in the '70s. They have come back now...but sadly permission to hunt farmers land has become a rarity here since many of the old timers have died off.
HD

 

[esteban68]

What Paddy said +1

Also I'd rather hunt and eat my own rabbit( and did so up to the late 1980's helping to feed the village during the miners strike of 1984)or have them culled by shooting/hunting than having to eat imported battery rabbits from China which is often what we know get in the UK...sadly the population has been controlled in many countries using modified and imported diseases that kill horrifically and the animal is wasted, surely it's better to cull where needed and use the high protein low fat meat for food and yes even use the fur instead of using synthetic fur made using industrial processes using coal,oil, polymers etc that have possible toxic downsides....if the animal is to be killed/culled then we surely have a duty to use all the animal.

 

[PADDY]

I live on the Scottish Borders in a rural area of mountains; high moorland; salmon & trout rivers; beaches & dunes that stretch for miles and too many castles to mention (a legacy of the wars and skirmishes between two opposing Kingdoms). Wax jackets and welly boots are everyday wear as are the sights of pheasant & grouse shoots or fly fishing on the rivers. People will prepare and eat their catch in a communal setting afterwards as part of the bond of country folk living off the land (as much as they can these days realistically ) & the social/communal enjoyment of it. The ritual of hunting (& never guaranteed to get something - certainly when I fish just on a fly without any other aids, but experience and being familiar with ones natural surroundings and elements) and then preparing the food afterwards and orally sharing the day with others over a glass of Port or a beer is almost religious in its communal aspect but also in the respect and reverence of respect for the life one has taken.
Not dissimilar to how much more ancient cultures (native Americans spring to mind) had a respect and reverence for the animals they had the privilege to hunt.

 

[cchgn]

I live on the Scottish Borders in a rural area of mountains; high moorland; salmon & trout rivers; beaches & dunes that stretch for miles and too many castles to mention (a legacy of the wars and skirmishes between two opposing Kingdoms). Wax jackets and welly boots are everyday wear as are the sights of pheasant & grouse shoots or fly fishing on the rivers. People will prepare and eat their catch in a communal setting afterwards as part of the bond of country folk living off the land (as much as they can these days realistically ) & the social/communal enjoyment of it. The ritual of hunting (& never guaranteed to get something - certainly when I fish just on a fly without any other aids, but experience and being familiar with ones natural surroundings and elements) and then preparing the food afterwards and orally sharing the day with others over a glass of Port or a beer is almost religious in its communal aspect but also in the respect and reverence of respect for the life one has taken.
Not dissimilar to how much more ancient cultures (native Americans spring to mind) had a respect and reverence for the animals they had the privilege to hunt.

yes, even in America, most folks eat what they kill. Our version of honoring the animals is to take pictures with it and hang it on the wall.

 

[Michaelshane]

In New Mexico we hunt rabbits differently.We have wide open spaces so we use 22 rifles.One shot to the head,no ruined meat.I love rabbit cut into pieces dusted with flour and fried like chicken,served with mashed potatoes and white gravy.I started hunting rabbits at about age ten.Thats how boys of my era were introduced to hunting by their fathers before graduating to big game.

 

[Oldsarge]

My favorite rabbit recipe is to marinate the cut up rabbit in Tabasco for about an hour, then dredge in flour, brown and just before you clap on the lid, add a third cup of each chicken stock and dry sherry. Cover and simmer about 25 minutes until tender, the thicken the sauce with either a roux or cream and serve the whole lot over a pile of steamed rice. I do this with any sort of upland game. With doves, I've had reputed anti-hunters come back for seconds.

 

[dh66]

Strange how things happen. I've been following this thread since yesterday thinking about how much I've missed upland hunting. Unless sitting in a corn field on the opening day of dove season counts, I haven't been upland hunting since before one of the guys in my earlier photo passed away...probably ten years, now.

Completely out of the blue, a friend just called me and invited me to quail hunting. Here, quail hunting is a bit like rabbit hunting, except it’s done with one or two good pointers as opposed to a pack of beagles. And it is a slow, thoughtful sort of hunting where conversation and cordiality among the hunters is more important than any game that may be taken. Even if not a shot is fired, the worst thing a quail hunt can be is a walk in the fields with your friends...and a nip of bourbon at end of the day.

AF

This is my kind of hunting. Only we don't normally wait til the end of the day.

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

 

[scotrace]

Rabbit always sounds good, but each time I've made it, yuck. I need a good recipe.