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Rabbit and Snowshoe Hare Hunting


Topwater Scott

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We, my sons and I, are looking for public land with rabbits or snowshoes and any other small game to hunt. We are in the south east metro. We have hunted Vermilion hills area and a couple other pieces of public land but have not come across many bunnies. We are willing to go just about anywhere in the state for a day of hunting. Any help would be appreciated.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Gotta head up North, further the better usually. Pick a state forest. I would say with all the snow and cold stay somewhat south, like Nemadji or Chengwatana for the rest of this season.

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Amazing how few rabbits I see deer or grouse or pheasant hunting. Hares even fewer. Dogs love 'em around the house, but they ignore them bird hunting or just not many around.

Squirrels are hunted relatively hard within an hour or so of the Twin Cities.

I would think your best bet might be up the I-94 corridor ... look for woodlots near cornfields.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

I did my best on Snowshoes in thick low new growth pines. Try and find some tight pine areas. It's a ways up north but Badoura State Forest is just about all state planted pines and we use to do well up there. Look for the smaller new pine areas. wink

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We typically head to the Minnesota/Iowa boarder for cottontails and this year we did ok, it was slow and slim pickings as most of the farmers cleaned up their groves when the scrap steel prices sky rocketed ,along with trying to get every inch of available ground for crops by getting rid of all the brush plies.

Cottontails still to be had though all you have to do is finds a farm with a good grove on it the thicker the better and stop and ask for permission. I have only had a few farmers say no.

Snowshoes are a up north thing and there is some good tracks of puplic land around Hackensack that hold a few yet.

Good luck

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I plunked a cottontail this weekend and will be going out this weekend to try to get more. We traditionally marinate and crockpot a batch of rabbit and squirrel super bowl Sunday so I had better get going. There is not much better eating than marinated and crock potted rabbit in my opinion. I hunt the groves around the farms and most farmers are happy to let you as long as you stay away from their live stock. I used to hunt rabbit with the good old .22 but in recent years I've started to hunt them with birdshot behing my shotgun as all the rabbits I've shot in the last few years are running at mach 7 and I've got zero chance with the rifle. I think its because of the increase in coyote numbers in west central minnesota, I might be wrong. At any rate a sitting still rabbit is something I don't see where I hunt anymore. Rabbit in the crock pot not too many things are better for sure.

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I'm with Brittman kinda, snowshoe hares ? We used to have them and we haven't seen any since the late 80's the same time the ruffed grouse vanished in the same place. 0 rabbit tracks, we did notice like thick warts on the ears of the last few snowshoe hares we ever got, then haven't seen one since then and we still have this same land so idk kinda sad, no wonder the grouse,ducks,turkeys,pheasants are a bit more wanted by our hawks,owls,coyotes,fox,etc.We used to call hares food for the fox etc. You know what, have hardly seen a red fox since the hares died off or whatever happened, actually not seeing much for Jack Rabbits either. Hmmm. idk.

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Both snowshoes and grouse have big cycles in their population. They fluctuate for reasons somewhat unknown, although of course there are theories...

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  • 3 years later...

What snowshoe hares? They are in a cycle? I don't think they disappear when they cycle. They are gone!

 

The question is what happened to them. They were around for 100 years im sure. Now good luck finding one in northern Minnesota.

 

 

 

 

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I have seen very few snowshoes for many years here in N.E. Minn.

This summer I took a short  evening ride on my 4-wheeler into an area that was logged over then replanted a few years ago.

I saw at least 100 snowshoes of all ages in a 1/2 mile stretch of gravel road!  To say the least, I was amazed!  I saw more rabbits in 1 hour then I have seen in 10 years!

Maybe they have finally started to make a come back? 

Way less fisher ,martins and fox here now then there were a few years ago.

Cliff

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Kettle
      Walked today and yesterday, flushed 9, shot at two and got two. Hopefully next year I'll have a dog to hunt with. Still warm up here, skim of ice on ponds. Weather has been nice. Hopefully walk a bit more the next few weeks. Been pretty cautious walking for birds to not interfere with deer hunters. There sure are not the deer hunters there used to be 
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    • gimruis
      I hunt in the rifle zone so I don't have a need to use a shotgun to hunt deer, but I would be looking at this if there was ever a need to.   There could be state legislation introduced next summer that eliminates the shotgun zone completely.  It has bipartisan support.  Wisconsin removed theirs years ago and MN is usually later to follow.  They've tried to pass it more than once and it came up just short both times.  Probably just a matter of time.
    • Wanderer
      Oh, h e l l no! 
    • leech~~
      Screw that, here's whatch need!  😆   Power-Shok Rifled Slug 10 Gauge 766 Grain Grain Weight: 766 Shotshell Length: 3-1/2in / 89mm Muzzle Velocity: 1280
    • Wanderer
      20 ga has become a real popular deer round in the last 5 or so years.  The rifled barrels are zinging those sabot slugs with rifle like accuracy out to 100 yards easily.  Some go so far as dialing in for a 200 yard shot but really, by 150 they’re falling off pretty low.   I have a single shot Ultraslug in 20 ga that shoots really well at 100 yards.  Most everyone I know that has bought a slug gun lately has gotten the Savage 220 in 20ga.  Problem can be finding the shells you want.
    • leech~~
      My son always bugs me about getting a nice light over-under 20ga for grouse hunting.  I say Heck no, I'm getting a 3 1/2" 10ga so I can put as much lead in the air that I can!!     So, I'm keeping my 12ga.  
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      Wanderer is right on the money and covered it well.  I was wondering too if you had a slug barrel for one of your guns?  If so you could make that your slug gun with a scope, and the other your turkey gun with the Red dot.  As you can afford it. 
    • Wanderer
      Kinda depends on if you want magnification or quick target acquisition.   More magnification options and better accuracy with a scope.  You get what you pay for too so get comfortable with a budget for one.  Tasco and Bushnell work but I find they lose their zero easier, have low contrast and don’t gather light well in low light conditions.  That said, I’m still using one I haven’t replaced yet.  Vortex has been the hot brand for the past several years for bang for the buck.  Good products.  Nothing beats Swarovski though.  Huge dough for those.  Burris is another decent option.   There are some specific models for shotgun/slug hunting in the economy brands and bullet drop compensation (BDC) reticles.  Based on experience I’d recommend not falling for that marketing ploy.   Red dots are usually lower magnification and easier to get on target.  Reasonably accurate but don’t do well with definition, like searching the brush for your target.  I put a HAWKE red dot on a .22 for squirrels and it’s been good.  For turkey, that’s probably the route I’d go.     If your slug shots are normally not too far and too brushy, I’d think a red dot could work there too if you’re only buying 1 scope.  You’ll be better off dimming the reticle to the lowest setting you can easily use to not over shine the target and get a finer aim point.   If you don’t have a slug barrel, you might appreciate one of those.  I had a browning with a smoothbore slug barrel that shot Brenneke 2-3/4 inch well.  The 11-87 would well fitted with a cantelever rifled barrel. 
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