Been hunting Cass County (40miles South of Texarcana) for a number of years.
Have seen more rabbits this year than any time previously.
I hope to be able to allow my grand daughters to try for them come Fall.

Bob:

I'm sure you know this, but you don't have to make your grand daughters wait until Fall. Rabbits in all counties in Texas can be hunted year round, 24 hours a day.

Gato,
I and my son are aware of that. We believe it applies to pigs also.
Our intent would be for any we get to be table fare.
My dad used to say that rabbit hunting should be done after first frost because of parasites. I'm not sure that waiting for frost would apply in Texas, since it comes late in the Fall.
Also, my son and I are averse to hunting at our place when temperatures are up above 90.
I can't fault anyone for the temperature aversion.

quote:

Also, my son and I are averse to hunting at our place when temperatures are up above 90.

What, you don't have one of the state issued personal air conditioning packs?

Seriously, you can spotlight them and it is usually cooler and a lot of fun for kids. Usually a good idea to give local game warden a call ahead of time. Not required, but it helps prevent the hunters being spotlighted.

I prefer not to interact with game wardens.
From experience of others, it seems that game wardens and motocycle cops are not usually your friends.
Not saying that they occasionally they don't do a good deed, it's just their nature to look for a violation, even when you just stop to say Hi and be frienly.

To each his own.

I prefer to help/interact with my local game wardens, one of which has killed at least one man while on the job (it was a cop stop, GW was second on scene, (we are in a large county with small number of sheriffs offices on duty at any one time and all LEOs assist each other)man had a gun and was threatening to shoot cop, he didn't get that far before a bullet thru his head stopped all aggressive actions). We have a large night hunting problem on and around my ranch so we try to help wardens when we can.

I think GWs have a tough job, and, some of them overdo it, but they didn't make the laws, they just enforce them. I want to help them not waste their time. That said, we don't always or even usually call them about using lights at night on our place because of the terrain, but if it is closer to deer season or winter, we usually do. You are not required to make the call, it is just a courtesy that may save you and the wardens some time. I like them to think of me as one of the good guys.

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Nisbet:
Gato,
I and my son are aware of that. We believe it applies to pigs also.
Our intent would be for any we get to be table fare.
My dad used to say that rabbit hunting should be done after first frost because of parasites. I'm not sure that waiting for frost would apply in Texas, since it comes late in the Fall.
Also, my son and I are averse to hunting at our place when temperatures are up above 90.
I can't fault anyone for the temperature aversion.

Unless you are eating internal organs or the skin there is no problem with eating rabbits year around.

It is just a matter of personal taste but I simply do not like cotton tail rabbits but really love jack rabbit. A pair of hind hams cooked over mesquite wood is one of the best wild meats one can eat. The hams are just about the size of a pork chop, and are delicious! I wouldn't trade a pair of those jack rabbit hams for twenty cotton tails.

Jack lighting jacks with a .22 rifle or pistol is a traditional Texas pass time, and supplies a lot of food, and also modifies garden damage from rabbits. However it is simply a lot of fun, and has been said it is much cooler than hunting them in the daylight!
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I shoot cottontails year round. Used to chicken fry them then a couple of years back started grilling them. Then started doing the same thing with frog leds and rattlesnake. Tastes better than fried to me.

The old saying I used to hear from my Dad was to not shoot cottontails in a month that does not have an "R" in its name, May/June/July/August. I think it had more to do with people believing that was the time that the animals were breeding and raising young, sort of an "Old Wives Tale" concept to keep from over hunting them.

Jack Rabbits are just beginning to come back into this area, Archer and Young counties, the population crashed a few years back, not sure why, but as a kid growing up in the 50's and 60's, you could see a half a dozen jacks in a two mile stretch of dirt road. When I moved back to this area in 2010, if you saw A jackrabbit in six months, it was a minor miracle, and I spend a lot of times driving dirt roads and pasture roads.

The population has finally reached the point, in my opinion, that if I see 5 in one day, number 6 is in trouble. I like to take the back straps from the jacks, cut them into 1/2 inch thick medallions, season them up, flour them and chicken fry them.

Fed quite a few hunters on the guided javelina hunts I used to do out at Fort Stockton in west Texas a lot of jackrabbit that had been grazing on alfalfa.

As for the GW's with only one exception over my 50 year hunting career, I have found them to be pretty easy to get along with as long as you are honest and upfront with them when dealing with them.

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
To each his own.

I prefer to help/interact with my local game wardens, one of which has killed at least one man while on the job (it was a cop stop, GW was second on scene, (we are in a large county with small number of sheriffs offices on duty at any one time and all LEOs assist each other)man had a gun and was threatening to shoot cop, he didn't get that far before a bullet thru his head stopped all aggressive actions). We have a large night hunting problem on and around my ranch so we try to help wardens when we can.

I think GWs have a tough job, and, some of them overdo it, but they didn't make the laws, they just enforce them. I want to help them not waste their time. That said, we don't always or even usually call them about using lights at night on our place because of the terrain, but if it is closer to deer season or winter, we usually do. You are not required to make the call, it is just a courtesy that may save you and the wardens some time. I like them to think of me as one of the good guys.

I'm with Gato on this one, the there is a huge poaching problem in Navarro County (50 miles south of Dallas)around our places and the local game wardens (2 in the county) work pretty hard to catch them, mostly road hunters with a spotlight. One of my places has a hill overlooking a hayfield beside a gravel road that is heavily used by deer and poachers alike. I've given the game warden keys to this place and he sometimes sits on this hill and watches the hayfield, on one occasion caught 4 different spotlighters in one night. Also, he is a no BS kind of guy...if he catches anyone trespassing, they are going to jail, period. I like that because I spend a lot of time and money improving my land and I don't do it for someone else to use without my permission.

I am thiking that the coyote population has hit the local rabit population real hard since my original post.
Since the beginning of November I have not been seeing many rabits. Did several traverses along 3 miles of private road and saw only one. When I originally posted, this same ride along that road at dusk and shortly after dark would scare up at least a dozen.

Don't know about other parts of the state, but the cottontail populations in Archer and Young county seem to still be in good shape.

Coyote populations out here have increased or so it appears, most likely due to the number of ranchers running stocker calves on their wheat ground, and there are always calves getting sick and going down so the coyotes are getting extra feeding opportunities.

A little over a month back I saw 7 coyotes in a loose pack in one wheat field.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
Don't know about other parts of the state, but the cottontail populations in Archer and Young county seem to still be in good shape.

Coyote populations out here have increased or so it appears, most likely due to the number of ranchers running stocker calves on their wheat ground, and there are always calves getting sick and going down so the coyotes are getting extra feeding opportunities.

A little over a month back I saw 7 coyotes in a loose pack in one wheat field.

Crazy:

How do you grill your rabbits? Are they tough? I have an electric spit and thought that might be a good way to do it.