I Believe We’ll Bag Some Bunnies

Right around Easter, Michelle started finding snowshoe hare tracks on our trail. Ironically, so close to a holiday known for its cotton tailed mascot, we began laying plans to bag some bunnies.

The irony of this situation is not lost on me. Nor am I unaware of the possibility of offending reader sensibilities. If you love bunnies, I recommend you read no further in this post.

hare tracks

Snowshoe hare sign in the snow (Photo: Michelle Zeiger).

Friday, Michelle brought home a reel of 22 gauge copper wire, and I’ve fashioned a set of loop snares. We’re setting them along the trail today.

Snaring isn’t the nicest way to hunt, but it’s the most efficient method to harvest some of our area’s best free meat. It certainly makes more sense than chasing after them with a rifle.

We’ve eaten rabbit before and really liked it, in spite of the circumstances. We attended a Christmas party thrown by cousins and attended by all of the nearby relatives. The fare included a dish made from some domestic rabbits the host family raised for meat. Unfortunately, another cousin, sister-in-law to the hostess, keeps rabbits as pets. We had to mingle strategically that evening, to make sure we weren’t too obvious about enjoying the rabbit dish in front of the wrong people!

We have seen hare sign around here over the years, but we’ve never seen tracks this often. It makes us guess that the hare population may be on the rise. It also means we should be watching for other interesting sign on the peninsula, such as lynx. We may even sight a snowy owl if we’re extremely lucky. Both of these prime hare predators visit our area when the hare cycle increases.

We’ve seen lynx scat on the trail in past years, but have never sighted the animal itself, although a neighbor once did. We’re anxious for hare in the pot, but I’d give up every chance at that just to see a lynx around here!

Our season ends April 30, so the window’s a small one. We’ll see if we can bag a few bunnies before then.

This entry was posted in Hunting/Fishing, Local Wildlife and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to I Believe We’ll Bag Some Bunnies

  1. Linn Hartman says:

    I thought I would leave this one alone -but what the heck – Snaring – It certainly makes more sense than chasing after them with a rifle.- from your standpoint or the rabbits –

  2. Mark Zeiger says:

    I guess my concern is more the neighbors. The main trackway is on one of the more frequented stretches of trail, with no sight lines longer than about 6 feet. I take the rifle for dispatching, but not for hunting in those confines.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *