Sunday, we arranged a rabbit-hunting trip at Churchill Hunting Club.
It was a cool 55-degree overcast morning. We entered the woods and set-up a line of hunters ahead of the dogs. Tim Cador, Garland Thomson, Jimmy Jack and Burt Thomas released the dogs and they raced off to find some rabbits.
Little did we know that later on that day we would be posing with 24 dead rabbits.
Quickly, Warren, Jimmy, Austin, Cameron and Nathan were firing at rabbits trying to escape the oncoming dogs.
“Rabbits are running everywhere!” yelled Warren.
Out of the first briar patch we killed four rabbits. We moved the dogs up and they began jumping one rabbit at a time. The surrounding hunters began taking turns getting some good shots.
When we reached an area on the School Bus Road, Andrew Callais saw a rabbit run across the road. Right behind the rabbits, one of the dogs was on a hot pursuit with her short yelps. The rest of the pack of dogs followed her across a wide ditch.
The hunters crossed the ditch on fallen willow trees. Once on the other side of the ditch, a line of hunters was set-up and the dogs must have jumped five or six different rabbits.
You could tell where the rabbits were by the shot fired in the woods. We managed to take six rabbits in that spot.
When returning to the School Bus Road, Jimmy Hicks tried crossing the ditch on the log, slipped and fell into the cold water.
He let out an “OH THAT WATER IS COLD!” The other hunters joked and kidded him the rest of the hunt.
All through the morning we jumped rabbits using dogs and the strategy of the hunt. Rabbits, once jumped, like to make big circle when the dogs are chasing them.
Hunters usually stop and wait until the dogs turn the rabbit and head him back to his jump spot.
Other hunters will listen to the dogs and find a spot when the dogs turn the rabbit.
Sometimes the rabbit will be ten yards ahead of the dogs and other times fast rabbits will be 50 to 100 yards ahead.
When we completed our hunt, discussion of smothered rabbits and white beans was the order of the day.
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