Catching rabbits humanely?

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Navek

Forager
May 25, 2015
120
18
South
Hunting with other means than a firearm harks back to old times before firearms.
Tradition.
I guess poaching kept those archaic methods alive?


Very much so..my grandfather was a poacher and his farther befor him..not because he wanted to be a roque but out of need to feed his family ...my grandfather taught my mother everything he new and she taught me..and now at 30 years old I’m teaching my son too..think is now tho I use the same technique as the poachers did but I’m doing it with land owners permission so it’s legal...I like the idea that my kids will be able to feed them selfs and have a much better understanding of where there food comes from . Me and my kids all eat wild caught game weekly and I think we’re a lot healthier for it ..
 

Navek

Forager
May 25, 2015
120
18
South
I back net rabbits by setting purse nets on their burrows when they are out feeding at night .
About a week before I net I take a sickle to the vegitation round the burrow mouth to aid the smooth running of the nets. I then stay away until the rabbits are used to the disturbance.
Then on a night when the wind is right I go and set my nets over the burrows and taking a wide sweep get behind the rabbits and drive them home .
You wont5 get a rabbit in every net because by the time you get there some will have slipped the nets but for me it's never about numbers it's about being able to do it.
I now leave my gear hidden close to the netting ground so when I fancy a bunny for the pot I take a stroll over and there's nothing to carry in . 0


I love back netting it was one of the first things I taugh my boy ...he also likes to take one or two purse nets with him now when ever we go out as if he finds some decent rabbit run# in to cover he will pop a net over the runs beat the cover and catch him self some dinner ...it’s nice to see him catch8ngbhis own food ...even if he does make me cook it lol
 
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grip

Forager
Nov 30, 2009
160
45
here and there
I love back netting it was one of the first things I taugh my boy ...he also likes to take one or two purse nets with him now when ever we go out as if he finds some decent rabbit run# in to cover he will pop a net over the runs beat the cover and catch him self some dinner ...it’s nice to see him catch8ngbhis own food ...even if he does make me cook it lol




Great to hear mate these simple skills are worth passing on .
When I was a lad we would use gardeners netlon the plastic mesh for protecting growing plants and with a good marking dog go to those big nettle beds that were in any old pasture fields back then.
If we got a good strong mark offthe dog we would net one side and beat them through got many a meal like that.
Times moved on I've been making nets for over30 years now I've taught a few people including my son again another good skill to pass on.
 

Navek

Forager
May 25, 2015
120
18
South
Great to hear mate these simple skills are worth passing on .
When I was a lad we would use gardeners netlon the plastic mesh for protecting growing plants and with a good marking dog go to those big nettle beds that were in any old pasture fields back then.
If we got a good strong mark offthe dog we would net one side and beat them through got many a meal like that.
Times moved on I've been making nets for over30 years now I've taught a few people including my son again another good skill to pass on.

I made my own longnets once .....credit where credit is due ..good nets aren’t easy to make lol I tried time and time again and in the end I ended up buying sheet netting lol
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
CClaycomb: Please make very damn certain that I have never said a word about any means of killing rabbits
by any means other than shooting them. Any responsible hunter comprehends that a single head shot is correct.
"Two in the body and one in the head, guarantees they're really dead" (is a fool.)
Any shot at a running rabbit with a shotgun (the single most common way they're hunted) is rarely going to be a headshot (you're only going to see the rabbit's backside most of the time, unless you're running dogs that will bring them back towards you) A 12 gauge with #6 shot for cottontails (bunnies) or #4 shot for jackrabbits (hares) will knock him *$$ over teakettle and hopefully kill him instantly. If f not, the heel of my boot will finish the job.
 
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Ascobis

Forager
Nov 3, 2017
141
75
Wisconsin, USA
Aging sucks.
Agreed. But it beats the alternative.

Back on topic, might OP consider raising rabbits for food and fur? The creatures would be fed and safe until harvest and then a sharp whack on the back of the skull with a club and it's over. Put the pens over a carp pond, feed the bunnies your table scraps, and your protein production per are is superlative.

Walk in the woods to digest the hare with plum sauce. Use the money you didn't spend at the market to pay for shooting lessons.

I shoot at paper circles instead of coins, but choose your preference. ;-)
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,353
2,363
Bedfordshire
While I am usually hot on people writing stuff that is relevant to the Original Poster's question, in this case I think that writing to reply to the OP is a lost cause. They came, they made 7 posts in early October 2017, and have not been back to the forum since then. A 24 week absence suggests that they are no longer interested. :frown2:
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
Very good idea!
Just do not give them names!
Playing devil's advocate (and advocating against my ow tendency to wander the subject off course) It's true that the OP might no longer be interested, but the very title and OP attracts others who might be following for the same info. Our wandering kinda short shifts them as well as it would have the OP.
 
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Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Yes, some useful info.
I specially like the one growing your own rabbits. a common thing in the past, (but in UK at least) after WW2 a dying past time.
Once the Commie era ended behing the former Iron Border, less and less people grow them, as you can buy meat everywhere now.

(My Grandmother grew Rabbits, chicken and doves. Good eating.)
 

Faz

Full Member
Mar 24, 2011
244
7
47
Cheshire
I was in the scouts in my teenage years and a local guy came every year with rabbits he had bred at home specifically to show people how to kill them correctly. He showed us the correct way to skin and cook them.

I did the same for my lads when I figured out they thought meat came from plastic wrapped trays at the supermarket.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Hoo-Lee Toot! I get 2 x 3lb (approx) meat rabbits cut and wrappped and delivered to my front door by 9AM tomorrow morning for $20 each.
I learned that the supply is quite steady for the entire year.

Next, I need to read ch 15 = Hasenpfeffer by Glock. "Kill It & Grill It" = an excellent cook book from Ted & Shemane Nugent.
 

Ascobis

Forager
Nov 3, 2017
141
75
Wisconsin, USA
Paraphrasing Steve Martin: "Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me."

“Of all tyrannies, one sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies, for those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience...”
paraphrased C.S. Lewis.

<mildly ticked off>Sorry, moderator, I don't have the login history of every poster readily available. I just respond to the thread, as presented in my browser, with my knowledge and opinions. I am so very sorry that this thread may be of interest to members of the worldwide bushcraft community. Thank you oh so very much for your moral guidance. </mildly ticked off>

Paraphrasing Bill the Cat: "Acktttthhptt"
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,353
2,363
Bedfordshire
Touche on the busybodies. I put that up for a specific reason, the UK Home Office consultation on knife crime, and I suppose I shouldn't be surprised if you read it as moderator hypocrisy. Mind you, as you said in your other thread, "lets all calm down" ;).

My post wasn't a dig at you, I am sorry you took it that way, and got het up about it. It was meant to save you and other folk from putting energy into talking to a guy who has left the forum. Also, I usually ask people not to drift off topic too much and to aim replies so they are relevant to the OP. This thread was going a bit off topic and when you brought it back I wanted to point out that in this case this wasn't necessary...carry on with the wider conversation.

Everyone has access to information about when a person posted and when they last checked in. Posting date is shown on the post. If the post was a long time ago, I tend to look at the number of posts that the person made and when they joined, also visible next to their post. Then if the posts are low for when they joined, I might click on their name, next to that post, and check their profile page, which shows when they were last active. Its quick, and saves talking to people who are no longer there to see your answer. I think most forums allow this access to members, at least VB used to.

:beerchug:
 
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Pumpkin's Dad

New Member
Apr 10, 2018
3
1
61
West Midlands
It's my first day on the site today and its been an education reading this thread.

I'm sure this is off-topic but, well, the OP has long gone.

My Dad (Polish) used to be a farmer before he joined the Polish RAF. He was a much better cook than my (English) Mum. I still remember his recipe for hare.

Take the hare pieces and put them in a pot with clean stones or pebbles and water. Simmer for 3-4 hours. Discard the hare pieces and suck on the pebbles.

A recent acquaintance from Central Europe, now living in the UK, once pointed out an advert on the internet for a huge pet rabbit, free to a good home. "Hey, free food!" she said with glee.

I'm not judging anyone. I like rabbit and don't mind the bones but despite many attempts to trap them as a kid, they always outwitted me. Now I have a decent air-rifle, I've only used it for target practice. I can hit a 5p piece consistently at 20m but that's the range of my local rifle club and my garden. Hard to get that close to wild rabbits...

Honestly, I'm a bit conflicted. I want to go hunt my own food and I've eaten delicious partridge that I hunted years ago. It made me responsible for killing my own food (not to mention all the plucking and gutting and cooking), which made me feel much better about buying meat from the supermarket. I took responsibility. Well, once. These days I respect the fragility of life.

Now I have a couple of big, fat, tasty looking pigeons that frequent my back garden, which is full of fruit trees. Last year, they ate all the leaf buds on my apricot tree. Now it's dead.

I live in suburban Birmingham and like to encourage what wildlife we have into the garden but I'm beginning to see these pigeons as pests and an excellent dinner. No need to pluck, just cut out the breast meat and lightly fry, keeping the centre red. Serve with pepper sauce, green beans and sauteed potatoes.
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,353
2,363
Bedfordshire
Wood pigeon in suburbs. Bait to get them walking on your lawn, shoot down from an upstairs window. Pre-practice the shot angle so you know how it influences point of impact. Aim to hit between the shoulders when they are facing away (shot should break spine and pass through heart/lungs). Be sure the neighbours don't see you.
 
Jan 5, 2007
3
0
57
essex england
you can't beat a good quality air rifle, they are cheaper to run , do not make much noise and if you head shot your rabbits there is less meat damaged giving you more to eat. i have hunted with sub 12ftlb air rifles for years and have never felt they were not upto the task.
 

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