by Bill Graves
Nobody in my immediate family harbored much interest in rabbit hunting during my high school years so I set out to learn about the sport on my own. Although I enjoyed snowshoeing throughout the nearby woodlots, my first couple of outings were scenic and invigorating, yet rabbit sightings were rare and shooting success nonexistent. Thankfully, a random meeting with a veteran snowshoe hare hunter put me on the right track, and I’m still at it 40-years later.
Contributed photo
Local guide Tom Tardiff hunkers down to get a better shot at a snowshoe hare that thought it was well hidden in the fluffy snow under a fir tree, but the black eyes and twitching ears gave its location away.
The old woodsman had a limit of rabbits hanging from his belt, when out paths crossed. After an hour of snow tramping, brush-busting hunting, I had only tracks to show for my effort. His terse advice changed my results that day, and my rabbit hunting success ever since.
“The secret to findin’ bunnies in the brush, young feller, is all in the eyes,” he pronounced. The elder hunter went on to explain that I had to use my eyes and search unlikely hideouts with thorough attention. The real trick to constant success, he declared, was not looking for white rabbits in white snow drifts, but locating the black shiny eyes staring back.
I was hunting Bill Gardner’s woodlot along the B & A railroad bridge over Three Brooks in Robinson that eye-opening day. I bagged two rabbits within the next hour, and have continued to hunt the area to this day to commemorate my learning experience, and because there is always good gunning.
Our local rabbits are actually varying hare, a breed larger and hardier than the cottontail rabbit found in many states. The name “varying” comes from the fact that these animals change fur color from warm weather brown to cold weather white for natural winter camouflage. The blending color, speed, large feet that keep them on top of the snow, and the fact that they are the most populous small game animal in Maine, make for a perfect winter quarry.
During late February and March, rabbits begin their mating season, and therefore move about and range further from their home territory seeking a mate. Whereas dawn and dusk are feeding times and high activity periods every day, hunters should experience multiple sightings and good shooting all day long for the remainder of this month and next. Even for novice rabbit gunners it’s easy to locate areas of high population and travel thanks to the tracks, trails, droppings and gnawed, barkless saplings, where numerous rabbits are traveling and feeding daily.
At this time of year sportsmen must depend on snowsleds and snowshoes to reach likely thickets and ferret out rabbits on foot. A snowmobile will aid gunners in visiting secluded, off road sites, far from regular snowsled trails. Once on location a pair of snowshoes is a must to wander through swales, cedar swamps, woodlots and fir thickets. If a snowmobile isn’t available, or too much trouble for a short outing, there are plenty of roadside second growth fields, hedgerows, tree farms and woodlots to explore by just climbing over a high snow bank.
Walking up rabbits in deep snow and among trees is a slow, painstaking process. Minimal use of the legs and maximum use of the eyes will produce the best results. Once in a while you’ll spot a rabbit as it’s moving from one spot to another, but more often than not the hare will hear or see you first and hunker down to await your passing. Unless a rabbit feels it’s been spotted, or is almost stepped on, it will not break cover.
Proper hunting tactics include taking between five or ten steps and then standing for at least a minute or two slowly perusing under and beside every fir, blow-down, brush pile and stump within eyesight. Since white fur on white snow doesn’t stand out very well, narrow your vision to pinpoint glistening black eyes, and the pink of a nose or inner ear. Stand and search a spot long enough and a rabbit may get nervous enough to make a break for it.
There’s no doubt that two or three hunters walking 10 yards abreast of each other will roust more rabbits and provide a shot for someone. Distance between gunners is always determined by thickness of the forest, but they should always be able to see each other. Plenty of orange clothing helps, and verbal communication is an asset to maintain an even line and might even scare reluctant rabbits into flight.
Farm fields gone to second growth are perfect bunny brush. Several good ones are located on the Hersom and Hoyt Roads in Easton. The East Chapman Road in Presque Isle and the Packard and Buckley Roads in Bridgewater are sure bets as well. Also potato and grain fields have plenty of hedge rows, rock piles, and brushy edges that make perfect rabbit cover, and are only a short hike from plowed roads. Check out the fields along Murphy Road in Caribou and Obar Road in Limestone for likely hare havens.
There are some great spots to find snowshoe hare along the Harvey Siding Road in Monticello too, and check out the Ludlow and Foxcroft Road in Houlton for an array of various types of hunting covers to satisfy every liking.
Shotguns are the favorite firearm for bagging fast moving snowshoe hare, but can be too much gun when the quarry is spotted hunkered down under a tree five yards away. For this reason, many shooters favor a short barreled, lightweight .22 rifle. Conversely, potting a fast fleeing hare with a .22 takes some fine shooting. I solve the problem by lugging an over and under rifle/shotgun combination. A single shot .22 rifle barrel over a single shot 20 gauge shotgun with a compact stock and short barrel length is perfect for a smooth swing at a fast target in thick brush or with a flick of the selector can provide pin point accuracy.
Small game quarry they may be, but snowshoe hare offer excitement and a challenge in the field, guaranteed gunning, and some great tasting table fare as well. Rabbit are also a good game with which to introduce young sportsmen to various important aspects of tracking, shooting, safety and woods lure. Success will depend on getting into the brush to ferret out the rabbits when hunting thickets. Using stop and go tactics, along with close examination under blowdowns and firs in the more open areas, will often reveal something staring back. This will be one time that having hare in your eyes will be beneficial!
