scotttomo Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 I've had a permission close to my work now for around 4 months and in total I've probably had about 8 rabbits in the bag, all with my .177 S10. The last four times though that I've been on the farm, I have not seen one solitary rabbit. I've been approaching from the same area and I normally see one or two which sometimes results in me bagging one, but if not I normally lay up and they soon emerge again within 40mins or so. As I say though I have had not one sighting the last four times I've been, could I have bagged them all? Surly not?! I'm almost certain that the last time I did see one and bagged it, that another ran for cover but if it was a male and the only one left would it of moved onto different pastures? I'm totally baffled on this one ladies and gents, if anyone has any suggestions I would really like to hear them Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljaddy12 Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 is there just you with permission on that land? seen similar results after being ferreted in good spots. if it was mixi ud still be seeing em. all i can say is pop back if possible just before dawn and again at dusk or at night with lamp if still nowt wait a month till cold weather hits if nowt then then they booked it packed it and ****** off lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 I've had a permission close to my work now for around 4 months and in total I've probably had about 8 rabbits in the bag, all with my .177 S10. The last four times though that I've been on the farm, I have not seen one solitary rabbit. I've been approaching from the same area and I normally see one or two which sometimes results in me bagging one, but if not I normally lay up and they soon emerge again within 40mins or so. As I say though I have had not one sighting the last four times I've been, could I have bagged them all? Surly not?! I'm almost certain that the last time I did see one and bagged it, that another ran for cover but if it was a male and the only one left would it of moved onto different pastures? I'm totally baffled on this one ladies and gents, if anyone has any suggestions I would really like to hear them Scott Sounds like that piece of land doesn't have much of a rabbit problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotttomo Posted November 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 is there just you with permission on that land? seen similar results after being ferreted in good spots. if it was mixi ud still be seeing em. all i can say is pop back if possible just before dawn and again at dusk or at night with lamp if still nowt wait a month till cold weather hits if nowt then then they booked it packed it and ****** off lol I have lamped the land on all the occasions that I hadn't seen one. I usually arrive just before dusk and normally see some on my approach to the area in which they normally gather. If not though I normally lay up until night fall, then if there's still no sign or if they've slipped past me (the area is quite crowded with machinery, so it's possible) I take a walk around the fields with the lamp, but as I say I've seen no sign :( There is another guy who shoots the land but from what the farmer was saying he sticks to the pigeons with a shotty. I did meet a guy in the field on Saturday who had a beautiful harris hawk that he uses, but he said he'd had no luck with rabbits for as long as he'd worked the farm, although he did get a pheasant not so long ago I suppose if there are other predators about on the permisswion and the bunny numbers are low maybe they're getting a bit more scarce. I think I'll try a dawn raid one day this week as it's only a 5 mins drive from work, might be worth a try. Sounds like that piece of land doesn't have much of a rabbit problem. What do you mean? There's obviously a problem, or the farmer seems to think so, otherwise why would he ask me to shoot them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MM Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 just try a random time Scott. Turn up at 3am, and stick a filter on your lamp. something different might do the trick, as its good to turn things around once in a while. I just do it by not lamping for a few months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotttomo Posted November 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 just try a random time Scott. Turn up at 3am, and stick a filter on your lamp. something different might do the trick, as its good to turn things around once in a while. I just do it by not lamping for a few months. Cheers Mart I have left it quite a while between sessions, but maybe a midnight flit could be the answer. Cheers for the advice chaps Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 I have lamped the land on all the occasions that I hadn't seen one. I usually arrive just before dusk and normally see some on my approach to the area in which they normally gather. If not though I normally lay up until night fall, then if there's still no sign or if they've slipped past me (the area is quite crowded with machinery, so it's possible) I take a walk around the fields with the lamp, but as I say I've seen no sign :( There is another guy who shoots the land but from what the farmer was saying he sticks to the pigeons with a shotty. I did meet a guy in the field on Saturday who had a beautiful harris hawk that he uses, but he said he'd had no luck with rabbits for as long as he'd worked the farm, although he did get a pheasant not so long ago I suppose if there are other predators about on the permisswion and the bunny numbers are low maybe they're getting a bit more scarce. I think I'll try a dawn raid one day this week as it's only a 5 mins drive from work, might be worth a try. What do you mean? There's obviously a problem, or the farmer seems to think so, otherwise why would he ask me to shoot them? I have land to shoot on where i could easily shoot 100+ in a night - the rabbits are everywhere. If you hardly even see a rabbit at night, then there can't be much of a rabbit problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Mike Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 If you have a rabbit population of sufficient size to be a problem you will see the evidence of them. They wont generally venture too far from the Burrow or Warren to the feeding areas and you will see runs through nettles and grass, piles of droppings and scuffs where they have been digging for roots. Not all rabbits are a sign of over populations these days, some arable/grassland can support large populations some cannot. Also natural predation by predators which are all increasing in numbers are keeping Rabbit numbers stable in some areas, Foxes, Buzzards, Stoats etc. Rabbit numbers generally are no where near what they were back in the 30's & 40s when the Ministry used to long net huge numbers in these areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caeser Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 (edited) I'm a bit suspicious about the guy with the Harris hawk. If he's had no luck with rabbits for as long as he'd worked the land, then I wonder why he still goes there ? Is he just saying that to you ,to put you off going there ? Harris hawks love rabbits. ( I apologise to the hawk guy if I'm way off course.) Edited November 10, 2011 by caeser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotttomo Posted November 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 I'm a bit suspicious about the guy with the Harris hawk. If he's had no luck with rabbits for as long as he'd worked the land, then I wonder why he still goes there ? Is he just saying that to you ,to put you off going there ? Harris hawks love rabbits. ( I apologise to the hawk guy if I'm way off course.) Hi there, I don't think he was trying to put me off, I'd not seen him before until that day and I've been plenty of times day and night. He said he worked other farms in the area but if he was trying to put me off, it didn't work I'll be checkeing the surrounding area out in the next week or so to discover if they've moved somewhere else and hopefully find some positive results Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outlander Posted November 17, 2011 Report Share Posted November 17, 2011 Have a good look round your permission and concentrate on areas of high activity, ground work is the key to any shoot, vary your times and routes and it will come good in the end for you. Outlander/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bi9johnny Posted November 17, 2011 Report Share Posted November 17, 2011 reccie reccie reccie is the answer watch 10x more than you shoot to realy know whats going on on your permissions mate...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted November 17, 2011 Report Share Posted November 17, 2011 (edited) I find late autumn to be an odd time for rabbits. They can get erratic in their behaviour, more so with very mild weather like we've been having down here. Most of the year I shoot the majority of my rabbits at dusk but at this time of year they can be out at any time of day. I find dawn much more productive than dusk now, and lamping best a couple of hours before dawn rather the earlier in the night. You probably don't have a heavy rabbit population, but keeping it that way is much harder than producing big impressive bags when the place is hopping with them. A small population is a pressured population and those ones are canny. As bi9johnny says observation is the key. Droppings are a better indicator than scratchings. Look for small juvenile droppings too. Where there's youngsters there'll be a proper colony. The bloke who wrote Watership Down knew his stuff. Entire rabbit populations do up sticks and disappear over night for no obvious reason, though too much pressure from clumsy shooters will do it every time, and the shooter thinks he's done a great job when really they've just moved, and s*ds law usually to somewhere where you can't touch them. If the ground isn't being heavily shot or ferreted they'll be there. Do some discreet fieldwork and you'll find them. Rabbit shooting should not be neglected in winter. The ones you shoot are the survivors that start the population explosion in the spring. 20 rabbits in December is worth 100 by May. Edited November 17, 2011 by Gimlet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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