I took buddy last week out to the great village area .. Hes never seen shot or skinned a bunny . We get out of the truck and start walking and i stopped him pointed said theres one, he looked and looked for about a minute , then boom i let the 12ga off, he giggled like a little girl, then we took off walkin again we get to the lowerpart where i seen a fox so we gutted it there.. He almost puked lol after i was all done he looks around and says to me .. Looks like you killed some thing here.. I looked at him chuckled and said no i killed him 10 minutes ago im just cleaning him now.. He laughed and we headed back to the truck ...

 

That's awesome....

 

That is one of the best entries I have ever read on this or any other site. You are a lucky young man to have made a connection with someone so willing to help you. And there is no better way to learn than getting out there and doing it!!

Terry....great job. This was a true example of someone sharing their knowledge and love of the out of doors with a new hunter that we need to read more about. Class act all the way.

It is so refreshing to read something so positive on a hunting site!!

Thanks so much for sharing your time together. I am sure when the time comes you will do the same for some other young hunter and help him/her become an outdoor enthusiast!!

Happy snaring and enjoy the rewards of your work!!
Butch

 

That is one of the best entries I have ever read on this or any other site. You are a lucky young man to have made a connection with someone so willing to help you. And there is no better way to learn than getting out there and doing it!! Terry....great job. This was a true example of someone sharing their knowledge and love of the out of doors with a new hunter that we need to read more about. Class act all the way. It is so refreshing to read something so positive on a hunting site!! Thanks so much for sharing your time together. I am sure when the time comes you will do the same for some other young hunter and help him/her become an outdoor enthusiast!! Happy snaring and enjoy the rewards of your work!! Butch

Yep that is what it all about.!

 

Not long after starting this thread, I got a message from Terry Newcombe saying that if I wanted to, he could take me out Saturday to set some snares and show me the ropes. After talking a bit back and forth, we set up to go out 7:30 Saturday morning. A buddy and I met up with Terry and headed out to one of his snaring spots. Checked a few of his snares, but no rabbits. Finally, on the very last snare, there was a rabbit, dead as a nit. That was the first time I got to see a snared rabbit. It was pretty cool.

Then we went out to a few fresh spots, stomped through the woods for a while looking for their little rabbit roads, and set up a bunch of snares. Terry taught us the right and wrong way to set the snare, what size stick to use, how big to make the loop, how to tie it off so it doesn't come loose (we'll need a bit more practice on that), how to set up a hedge of brush to funnel the rabbit into the snares, how high to put it off the ground, what kind of tracks to look for (I almost set a snare across a porcupine track before Terry told me the difference. I would've had quite the time getting him out a snare), etc., etc.

Around 3:30 or so, we decided to call it a day. We arranged to meet Terry at 6:30 in the morning on Sunday to check the snares. I didn't get much sleep that night. I was anxious to get out and see if we had any rabbits.

The next day, my buddy couldn't make it, so I took another fella with me. We met up with Terry and headed back to our spots to check the snares. The first few we checked were empty, a few pushed aside and a few not touched. In the first line of snares, we got one rabbit, but it was on one of Terry's snares, so technically, I still hadn't got my rabbit.

The day before, my buddy found a little mound with a few rabbit roads running across it, so he set up a snare. "I found a good spot here," he says, "put one there right beside mine." So I set a snare up and we kept going. The only other rabbit we got in our snare lines on Sunday was right on that mound, in my snare

My buddy's kicking himself now over that one.

After we got these two rabbits, Terry says he's going to show us how to clean them. I've cleaned many fish before, but never anything else, so my guts lurched a bit during this part. He showed us how to skin them, twist their head's off, and gut them. His hands were so red from the blood they looked almost black. "There, now you gotta do that one" he says. Not wanting to look like a *****, I grabbed the rabbit and went to work. Skinned him, cranked the head off, cut the belly, drove my hand in and cleaned him out. Wasn't as tough as a thought. We put the two rabbits in plastic bags, stuck them in the box in the back of the truck and kept going.

After cleaning those two rabbits, we went back to Terry's original snare line to see if he had any more. Sure enough, he had two more rabbits. One of them I reached down to grab, and he started moving a bit. "This guy's still alive" I said. "Grab him then! And give him a good chop!" says Terry. So I grabbed him by the back legs, he kicked a bit, then I gave it to him right behind the ears. He twitched a bit more then went limp. One more for the pot (speaking of which, he even told us how to make rabbit pie, rabbit stew, and pot-ay, probably not the way you're supposed to spell it, but it's kind of like rabbit pie but with a big loaf of bread instead of pie crust). Then we were done.

After dropping Terry off at his vehicle, we thanked him for taking us out and teaching us all about snaring and cleaning rabbits. When I brought him over his rabbits, he was even nice enough to give them to us. Me and my buddy cleaned these three on the way home. For whatever reason, these three were easier on the stomach then that first one, and we got them cleaned and bagged in no time.

Thanks Terry, me and the buddies had a great weekend.

PS - We got these rabbits way out in Pugwash. There's a million of them out there, eh Terry?

Picture 003

• MainlandCaper
• Jan 28, 2013

Still with their sweaters on.

Picture 002

• MainlandCaper
• Jan 28, 2013

All cleaned up.

 

Yes Kevin I was all smiles for about an hour.

 

Well after reading this thread last week I got inspired to snare a rabbit this weekend for a lille nostalgia . As it turned out I couldn't get any wire near home but my wife handed me an old snare she found in a coat I haven't worn for at least twenty years maybe more. So late Friday afternoon armed with my one snare I scouted around my backyard thickets for a decent trail. As cold as it has been they were running all over the place with only one decent trail in the open between two little thickets. I decided to make this my spot. One place they were running between two small trees right in the open. We had been trimming some pine around there so I set my snare and used some pine bows to make a barrier on either side of the set and some over the top so it looked like a bit of a hiding place. Checked it Saturday morning no luck. Sunday morning I told the wife I thought I would take up the snare as the likely hood of catching a rabbit with one snare on 86 acres is pretty slim, considering there are not many anyway. So my pointer and I went back to remove it. Guess what? I had a rabbit and couldn't believe it. Parmesan chicken with rabbit tonight for my supper. Thanks for the inspiration gentleman.

 

Hard to beat THAT kinda track record 6pt.......now you can tell everyone that when you went out snaring rabbits.....you had a rabbit in every one of them

 

Awesome

 

awesome

 

Just a final note in regards to my snaring adventure. I had set 8 snares a couple days ago which I check every morning. Nothing Friday morning.....yesterday day one in a snare, one stretched snare(a miss) and one caught but gone: broken off or taken by an owl perhaps...but no sign of yote or other track so I figure just broke off.....lost either way. So 7 snares left set. Out today...got two so time to pull remaining snares as I only wanted a couple tp see if I could still snare.

Stepped on the woods road today carrying the 2 bunnies jusr=t as an 'older' couple were going by in their pick up. They rolled down the window and they knew me. Apparently I taught their son years ago...I didn't remember them but I rarely do. After a short talk the gentlemen asked how long the bunnies had been in the snare and I told him I check them daily. He then asked if I wanted to sell them as he hadn't had a good stew in years. I smiled as I suspected hthey wanted them. I tossed them in the back of the truck and told them to enjoy....no money needed as myself and the crew I also hunt with enjoy sharing the bounty. Well folks....the appreciation these two displayed could not be matched with dollars.

I came home empty handed and happy as heck. I only wish I could have cleaned them for them but they were frozen. The old guy said not to worry as "the wife always cleans mine and I bet she still knows how!" She laughed and nodded yes as they drove away.

Just another reason why we hunt, fish, trap and enjoy the beautiful bounties of our woodland!

Butch

 

Mannnn....your SOOOOOOO hard to get along with !!

Awesome gesture Butch !! Well done! It's nice to see a few gentlemen still around.

 

only if you are checking traps for fur barriers

 

Yes that was what i read

 

I thoughtin the handbook it said you can carry a 22 on sundays while checking your snares. And if you are carrying a combination rifle you may not be in possesion of shotshells

 

With a intenseive search i am wrong

no you cannot

 

Gotta feeling I'd end up eatin that myself!! No bunnies in the snares today. Really didn't care if I got any or not. But I'll leave them another day or so just for fun.

Butch

 

You could always chop up some carrots and mix it with a little rum they eat that itll slow them down

 

Ya said a mouthful there Elmer....I have a hard enough time with a 12 gauge in my hand...I'd be in tough shape with just a club.

Having said that, I was bored today and after writing the above thread I made 8 snares and took them out the road and set them. Will check them tomorrow and maybe try a few days or might just pull them. Just did it to see if I still could......and to enjoy a bit of nostalgic memory. It was cold as heck but the snow was firm and trails well established. Ideal snaring weather. I'll let ya know how I make out tomorrow. If ya don't hear from me...send help....I'll be chasing a bunny with a stick!!

Butch

 

Good thing you gave up snaring butch, how would you catch them now on the run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Waye Out There - Good to know. If I snag a live one I'll try and grab him quick before he has a chance to take off.

only6pt - Can I bring out a .22 with me on a Sunday?

hairy_one - Haha thanks for the story. I wish I had some stories like this, but no one in my family really hunts. All in good time though. All I need now are some kids, and some rabbits lol

Do you guys think out around Antrim Road (off Old Guysborough Road) is a half decent place to hunt/snare? I'm living right in Halifax, but I don't mind a hour or so drive to find a decent spot.

 

There's a pretty good population of Yote's around Antrim area i hear.. Buddy of mine was down by miller rd and didn't see any bunnies, and ended up calling 2 yotes in within 10 minutes.. Was also talking to a guy the other day who said he deer hunted that area and yotes were especially bad this year...

 

Nice post Butch. I agree 110%. Both my boys did a lot of snaring with me when they were kids. In fact that is really why I did it, to pass on what my father taught me. They are both still very interested in the outdoors, shooting, and are very at home in the woods.

 

Agree with the whack on the head with a stick...one solid snap does it. Have found several still alive...often just hit snare before I got there. Two in particular stand out. 27 years ago I set 4 snares with my first daughter when she was only 3. The next day we checked them and the first snare had a fresh, live bunny sitting in it...in my eyes a poor timing situation as I did not want to kill it in front of her. But, I simply asked her to sit on a near by stump...looking the other way.."in case a rabbit was coming up that trail...and I walked up and dispatched it. She never knew what happened.

A few years later I took my 2 youngest...Jasmine 4 ad Nicholas 6 in and set 4 snares...two very near the exact place as I had set the ones for my daughter several years before. And you guessed it....the first snare had a live bunny. The kids had spotted this one as it was still trying to get loose. As they were a bit older...and I was a bit more experienced as a dad... I thought it would be fine to tell them what I was going to do and then do it...so I did...that was when all that could go wrong...went wrong. Just as I whacked the bunny with a short 'club'...it moved...I hit the wire...and the race was on....the rabbit was struggling but could still run....I had to get the friggin thing as it had a snare on its neck so off I went after it. The kids...a couple or real characters were laughing to beat the band and yelling...there he goes daddy ,,,,get him! Well, I did get that bunny after crashing around like a fool for about 2 minutes. The kids thought rabbit snaring was a great sport and all was well in the world. But to this day....20 years later...each and every rabbit season I can be sure that one or both of these two kids will remind me of my great lesson on how to dispatch of a snared rabbit in a quick, humane way!! Frankly...a story I love to hear and have repeated many times myself.

Snaring bunnies should be a right of passage for all hunters and getting one live in the snare is a great learning experience.

Have fun!

Butch

 

The likely-hood of finding one alive in the snare is remote and usually happens when the weather is above freezing. I may have had 3 or 4 out of the hundreds of rabbits I snared that were still alive. Once in along while you will chase one into a snare but rarely. I believe the cause of death is not always choking but rather hypothermia or a combination of both. A walking stick is very useful for dispatching them as per the advice above, but a 22 is best.

 

Easiest way to dispatch a rabbit is to lift it up by the back legs, wait for it to straighten out and give it a (karate) chop with the side of your hand right behind the ears. If you do get a live one in a snare grab it right away, it is always the last jump that breaks a snare and you never know when that jump is going to take place.
Nothing worst than standing there watching a rabitt run away knowing that you could of had it.

Good Luck

 

Right on, thanks Sandy for the quick reply.

I'll use your advice on setting the snares and let you know how I made out. If I get any I'll upload some pictures.

 

rabbit hunting is fun shooting or snaring. If you have a rabbit in a snare still alive take a stick and hit him on the nose they die quickly from that. While setting snare take your time find some well use runs, with the snow on do not step in the runs that you are putting a snare on. step over them and go in from the side to set snares. Do not over block the side of the run, a few sticks on each side of the snare is good. Checking snares in the morning is best so you get there before owls and other things.