FOXES LIKE COTTONTAILS

[J. A. Early]

The snow was finally unfrozen today. We only hunted four hours as the dogs and hunters have gotten out of shape sitting in houses with a foot of snow recently. Jumped eight and got six of them. I took my Fox AE and used the skeet and modified barrels with only one ounce of shot. It is a 12 so not the lightest gun for rabbits but I had never taken it after rabbits. I ended up with four and the Fox did its job. Also pictured is my cousin's SW 20 which he has gone four for four after I sent it off and had the right barrel opened from a tight modified to cylinder. Most rabbit shots are from ten to twenty yards and now he can't miss, after taking it soon after he purchased it and missing six in one day. The left remains full for those long open shots when the rabbits decide to hit the fields for a while.

[Jim Cloninger]

How do you cook the rabbits? Jim

[Jeff S]

Nice hunt, and I love beagles!

I haven’t cooked a rabbit in years, but we used to par boil them and then throw them into a frying pan.

[J. A. Early]

Jim,

Par boil then flour them adding salt and pepper and brown first on both sides, then fry at a simmer. But what I miss the most is my mother's gravy she used to fix with them, and I can't master the gravy like she could.

[Jim Cloninger]

They sound good. However, I have not shot a rabbit since I was a kid

[Jeff S]

One of the secrets to good gravy is to use “Wondra” instead of regular flour. No lumps!

[coues]

I would love to hunt rabbits with Dogs some day.
My mom used to pressure cook the rabbit for awhile then remove the meat. She had a recipe that used yellow curry powder, apples, and plenty of yellow onions on a bed of rice. I need o go through some of her old cook books and see if I can find a recipe that she may have used.
I won’t shoot rabbits over my Pointers so I haven’t shot a cottontail for years.I may need to cook up some curry with some duck breast or quail.

[J. A. Early]

As one gets older we revert in many things to our childhood. I am hunting with my cousin who has the dogs and is approaching eighty years. His grandsons go and I started out rabbit hunting with his dad, my uncle in the 1960s. Except for all the leg cramps I get at night now along with the briar cuts that are tougher than when I was young it is exciting to try to outsmart a rabbit being run by beagles. We don't shoot on the jump and love to let the dogs chase, lose him, find him again, over and over. We hunt for four hours now whereas we hunted from sun up to sundown in our younger days. It is fun for me as I take a different gun every day, and am using my late uncles' guns often. We went again Thursday and we got another six and had a great day on a freezing cold and windy day. I took my dad's 16 Bernadelli Gamecock that day. Straight stock, skeet and I.M., 6 1/2 pounds. A perfect rabbit killer. Shot at four and got three rascally wabbits.

[Jim Cloninger]

J A, what state are you hunting rabbits?

[J. A. Early]

The Old Dominion

[DarylC]

Is Mosby jealous?

[Mike of the Mountain]

Reminds me of my youth. Hunted rabbits and roosters on my Pappy's farm. We lived right next to it and I'd take a walk every day after school and Saturday afternoons. It was unusual not to take 4-6 rabbits each trip and at least one rooster. The farm was loaded with small game. That was before the days of turkey and high deer numbers in Lehigh County. Good times, good times.

[J. A. Early]

Is Mosby jealous?

I don't tell him about it. But one day I did not have any rabbit dogs so I took him. We never jumped any but if we did he may have never come back chasing it until he caught up with it.

[DarylC]

If I have a gun or I'm coming out of my man cave with hunting stuff the dogs are on red alert. You must have had Mosby locked up for him to not see you leaving.

[J. A. Early]

As soon as I get a gun out of the safe Mosby jumps up and down and barks like crazy. So I have to leave him in the bedroom and make a silent escape. Will take him Friday for geese to keep him happy.