Having the opportunity to hunt over dogs is in itself a hoot. Having that opportunity to hunt over beagles for bunnies is addictive and should be outlawed it's so much fun.

I received an invite earlier in the week to hunt bunnies with a friend, Jim Branch, and a couple of other hunters. The invite included the chance to hunt over beagles with Doug Affleck. Who in their right mind would blow off an opportuntiy such as this?
It had been a long time since I had shot rabbits using beagles as brush busters but I remember the ocassion vividly as it was one of my favorite excursions, so there was no way I would miss this.

The chosen day was not particularly optimum for success. The evening before saw 4 more inches of snow fall onto an already deeply covered area. It was a sure thing the snow would slow down the bunny dash but it would make life rough for 4 little beagels up to their whats-its in fresh powder.

(((Doug keeping the beagles close))

These little ladies were 'all go and no quit'. They toughed it out under adverse conditions and bayed at the slightest scent by brush piles and assorted discarded farm rubbish. I was getting winded just watching them but it was a sight to behold. Everytime the 'talk' got louder, you knew the action was about to errupt.

We trudged through a thick brush uneventfully but had a large pile of trees, clippings, wood, tires and other assorted goodies in our sights, as did the dogs. Once on the target, things started happening fast.
Bunnies here. Bunnies there. Bunnies everywhere. Beagles going every which way. Diving, crawling, baying little worry mongers. It wasn't a minute into the fray when one rabbit tried to make a run for it. Jason Nemeth, one of our blockers took him out quickly. Within a few seconds, another bunny was headed for somewhere unknown right into my path. Big mistake!
Doug Affleck, owner of the bunny busters, was atop the rubbish pile so he had a great view of the organized confusion before him. He called, coersed and exhorted his little beagles to 'get 'im up'. They didn't disappoint. Another rabbit tried to break free but only made it a few yards before Doug dropped him.

(( shown left to right: Doug Affleck, Jason Nemeth, Jim Branch and the Bunny Busters))

By the time the dust, or in this case, the snow settled, 5 rabbits were headed for the table as honoured guests.
Hunting over bunnies with a handler who knows his dogs and what they're capable of is a treat and should be experienced by every hunter in their hunting lifetime. I thank Jim for the great memory as well as Jason and Doug for their invite. Most of all, I have to thank those little legged dogs that made the day a great time.
Spectacular!

Rabbits Down On The Farm

. . . one of our favorite pastimes

Fresh snow pretty much means bunny hunting in our household. I know I'm pumped for a chase and JT has a hard time sleeping the night before a fresh winter bunny hunt. It makes it all the better when he has a chance to go to grandpas' farm for the hunt and show off his catch for the day. We've all been there.

((JT with his bag-o-bunnies))

I don't think we were more than 2 minutes into the hunt when 'bugs' pops out of a pile of stuff in behind grandpas' house. The bunny wasn't alarmed to the point of a full out run in fact it stopped after a couple of hops and turned just in time to look down JT's barrel. I'm not sure if he saw the 20 gauge #6 shot headed his way but if he had plans on running . . . well he sort of ran out of time.

The snow drifts were starting to pile up around the ditches making it a hard trek along 500 yards of ditch. You know when you're being watched or at least you get that uneasy feeling, kind of a sixth sense, that eyes were on your every step. The bunnies kept themselves hidden rather well along the ditch. Lots of tracks but we just couldn't kick them out if in fact they were there.

((the author with a couple of bunnies - I smell rabbit stew brewin'))

We made plans to head into the bush lot at the back of the property, a favorite spot for lots of rabbits as we found out last year.
I took the easy field side of the lot and made JT 'beagle' the brush in the hopes of kicking out a bunny or two. I'm sure you remember hunting with you dad and being the one that worked the thorns and tangles to the point of extreme blood loss when the hunt was done. Well things have a habit of coming around and now it's my turn to torture my son. Age has it's benefits.

JT had a few words for me and the positioning of ourselves for the hunt but all was forgotten and forgiven when a large cottontail broke through the stubble and headed straight away. I had the first opportunity for a shot and missed well behind the bunny. JT followed him with his 20 gauge after my miss and took him as he jogged left deeper into the lot. "Nice shot JT" I said begrudgingly but still glad the boy made the kill. Just once I'd like to be able to show him somehing. He's a better shot than I am now which is probably why I ask him to come hunting with me on days like this. It's time for that 'boy is father to the man' stuff I guess. "Move over dad, I'll do it". At this point, I'm only too glad to get out of the way.

Put & Take Pheasants

. . . still a challenge of sorts

Southwestern Ontario, specifically Essex County, hasn't had a wild pheasant population to talk about for at least 30 years and many hunters would argue that figure should be much higher. With urban sprawl and rural agricultural land being turned into residential neighbourhoods at an astonishing rate, something had to give and naturally, or unnaturally as you may see it, the wild game species took the hit. The ringneck pheasant bore the brunt of the intrusion seeing its numbers dwindle down to just a very few thousand at best. They've been pushed into ever smaller pockets of appropriate agricultural land where the enterprising coyotes and feral cats await them at every turn. In fact, finding a wild bird with a tail longer 12" is quite a trophy and you can bet it would take a full days' walk about to find one and that's if you were looking in the right area.
Enter the "put & take pheasantry". We have a couple operations in the Essex County region, one of which is the New Breed Game Farm owned by Ken Collenutt in Essex proper. Ken raises elk and buffalo for the game meat, not for hunting, that is sold locally to the public and a handful of diners. His pheasant operation is the best known catering to hunters looking for a great day afield with friends and for the chance obviously to take a few pheasants and/or chukars. It's not a cheap proposition at about $16 a bird, more or less, but it's still a hunt that involves a fair bit of walking and of course a good shot, something I'm personally working on.

((Astro coming back for a pat on the noggin from John after a good bust))

Hunters are allowed to bring their own dog for their hunt or a guide with a dog can be supplied for a charge.

On this day in early December '07, I had the opportunity to hunt the private pheasant hunting preserve New Breed Game Farm with a good friend of many years, John Sim. John's springer spaniel Astro (aptly named for his boundless energy) accompanied us this day and I truly think we would have been lost without him. Not only that but given the fact that John and I are up in years, the sluggin' through knee high corn and sorghum crop would have done us in much earlier in the day.
The hunt started at a conventional 10:00am after a coffee, breakfast and heaping helping of lies from past exploits and accomplishments. The birds were "dropped" throughout our first corn field a half-hour before us entering the field. At first you think that all you have to do is walk up and down the rows of stubble and the birds would automatically jump up for you but nothing could be further from the truth. I was beginning to doubt the fact that there were actually birds in the field for the first 15 minutes. Astro was quartering beautifully about 15 yards out in front of us with his held high trying to pick up a scent. We had walked approximately 70 yards before he started acting "birdy". John cautioned me to cover my left while he positioned himself for a right angle shot opportunity. Astro stopped dead on command then leapt into the sorghum tangle at John's instruction. The big cock bird busted out in full cackle to John's right and with one shot from his Browning Auto 5, the bird dropped in a heap 30 yards out. Now that's how I remember hunting pheasants 40 years ago. It still makes your heart skip a beat when explode from cover like that and it's something you never forget.
These birds wake up a few minutes after being dropped in the field and some will hold tight while others get up and run for better cover than what they were placed into. It was another 50 yards down field before Astro ran headlong into a pile of corn husks and stubble on my edge of the field and kicked out a nice bird that fell, amazingly enough, to my second shot pulling straight away from me. The "big boy" retrieved my bird to hand, thank you so much and saved my knees for another couple of hours of more hunting. Another 5 birds were taken on first pass of the field in various degrees of shooting difficulty, man made and natural. I would guess that's about average, 7 of 10 birds shot for the pot. Occasionally you get lucky and shoot all of your birds but with the amount of land and cover for these pen raised birds to run to, more get away than into your game bag, but that's part of the experience.

((you can barely see Astro in the cover working the field for pheasants with John in hot pursuit))

After a couple of hours in the field, we stopped for a quick hot sausage lunch, more lies and the chance to meet up with friends hunting in other sections of the property. By all accounts it's been a decent morning. The dogs were working well and the hunters shooting well with better than average results.
The order was put out for a drop of 10 chukars for our next pass. I've never hunted chukar before and was looking forward to the opportunity. The chukar is a smaller bird, quail like in appearance and quite fast on the wing presenting a difficult shot for the best of us. My shooting didn't need any rising degree of difficulty but I was still game. It wasn't long before Astro began pushing out of the field, literally, with her nose until the bird hit the edge of cover and then all hell broke loose. The shooting was much faster for the chukars than it was for the pheasants. They didn't fly far, perhaps 20 yards tops and then they'd drop back into cover where it seemed as though they just disappeared. All in all, I think I actually prefer the chukar to the pheasant except when it comes to dinner time. Where it takes one pheasant for a meal you can count on 3 chukars to do the same job.

Given the pheasant situation or actually lack of, in Essex County, I truly believe the put & take hunting for this great game bird is a fantastic solution. It's becoming more popular year after year and is very similar to walking the fields for put & take birds in the county but with better chances of success. The municipalities drop birds annually a week before pheasant season but I know from experience that very few of those birds ever see the season opener. Coyotes, feral cats, foxes, hawks and owls take their toll on the released birds long before hunters get the opportunity to take them. Even after the season if complete, perhaps only 1 of every hundred or more live to see another year. This hunter will be back to the New Breed Game Farm for more bird hunting next year and this time I'll bring my shootin' eye.