rabbit closed season

[Ideation 8,216]

Aye, makes me laugh. Saw an offer of some permission on here the other day at a golf course with 'millions' of rabbits I lose count of the number of times i've been called to come look at some land with a 'serious' rabbit problem, and its been maybe a few dozen rabbits doing the damage. When you see a serious rabbit problem, you know it, and even then, these days, you are lucky to be able to take 50 + in a sitting regular off even the most highly populated areas. WIth the combination of disease, and predation, and hunting, i think in years to come we will really struggle to find rabbits.

 

Because believe me, if there are some pockets that hold good numbers (such as the dales) and lots that don't - those pockets get fecking hammered!

[milegajo 595]

yeh your right mate it does but it also paints a false picture of our country side

 

Who cares!? Not the man in the city, country is a nasty yucky place... ewwwww!

MONEY MONEY MONEY! GIMME GIMME GIMME!!! MORE MORE MORE!!!!!

 

YEEEHAAAAA

 

[Sweeney-Todd 208]

:laugh: Why would they publish a load of crap, whats to gain?

 

Can you honestly say an article like this will sell more papers????.....I think not

 

Mixy isnt as prodominant as it was years ago ( Thank God ), and natural predators are not there in numbers anymore.

The figures talked about covers the whole country, not selected areas.

Granted some areas are hammered, but you wont get them all. you may think you have.

 

Warmer winters and climate are aiding the breeding no end.

[ftm 3,357]

so why is it that most lads on here have noticed a big decline in thier numbers ?not an argument or owt just an opinion-billy

[Sweeney-Todd 208]

Should have gone to spec-savers ...............Billy

[Sweeney-Todd 208]

Here in Devon, last year, there were huge numbers of kits showing, some of which we put to rest.

This year, from what I have heard from the farm hands, its gone crazy, my shooting buddy has also reported large numbers of kits about the place.

There may be areas that are getting a good hammering, by hunters, netters, dog men, long netters etc, but there are also areas that are thriving beyond belief.

[Metalman2 45]

Here in Devon, last year, there were huge numbers of kits showing, some of which we put to rest.

This year, from what I have heard from the farm hands, its gone crazy, my shooting buddy has also reported large numbers of kits about the place.

There may be areas that are getting a good hammering, by hunters, netters, dog men, long netters etc, but there are also areas that are thriving beyond belief.

 

 

SHHHHHHH

[ftm 3,357]

i believe there will be some great spots in certain areas but as a whole i think the rabbit population is down on recent years

[j j m 6,550]

i dont start shooting rabbits till may as a rule,thats the way ive always done it

[villaman 9,983]

So what time of the year do stop shooting rabbits ?

[Sweeney-Todd 208]

So what time of the year do stop shooting rabbits ?

 

 

 

 

 

When he runs out of pellets .................... ...................sorry............Ill get me coat

[stealthy1 3,964]

So what time of the year do stop shooting rabbits ?

 

When the ferreting season starts

[bunny tickler 876]

For those areas that are not getting real rabbit problems I believe a good break is only fair and right or your following years stock will fall low. I try not to shoot kits at all if I can help it unless instructed to. As of last year I decided that there was no real enjoyment in shooting them so I gave up. Anyone can shoot a kit at 10 metres, but the reward in regards to meat and self pleasure is negligible. I haven't shot a rabbit now for about 4 or 5 weeks since reviewing that Nite - Hunter NV kit and I probably won't again till later in the Summer when the bunnies have bred or until I visit one of my permissions again where rabbit numbers are very high and the property owners want them thinning a bit. Even then its just a case of taking 4 or 5 each visit and not personally targeting kits.

I like shooting the corvids at this time of year and the magpies and crows around my permissions are getting hit at the moment really hard. They are the 2 species I will shoot all year around young or old.

 

Si.

excellent si ,common sense prevails ,my m8s shoot a huge area of the dales .killing 100s even 1000s make little difference on them ,what i am saying is there is a definite shortage of rabbits in general . on some estates where the lucky people have permission & some big farms i know they have to be killed year round as sometimes the habitat & cover protects them from all predation but once again overall the rabbits are in decline countrywide .common sense is needed

[goldfinger 135]

The farmer wants them off so I take em off, simples.

[Ideation 8,216]

I have travelled all over the country, catching rabbits in many different counties, on many different types of land. Over the last couple of seasons especially, everyone, every where, has noticed a drop in rabbits. Either, put down to disease etc, or to lads coming from areas with depleted stocks, to grab what they can from areas that seem better. If you speak to anyone who has been in the game long, they say the same thing. The only lads who think it looks good, are those who have only been in it a few years, and have gone from permissions with feck all, to have decent bits of land.