Pennsylvania Game News - March 2017 - 9

HEN A RABBIT RUNS and
gets away, it lives to be hunted
another day.
And in my short time running a lone
rabbit dog, I've had fair success on rabbits
that jumped from the same spots and ran
essentially the same routes as those the
dog had run days or weeks before.
It would seem reasonable to believe
they were the same rabbits.
And I had a couple of recent escapees
in mind when I picked the spot for the
afternoon's hunt.
Rose had hit scent maybe 10 minutes
into that hunt - six days prior - but she
really had to work to kick the rabbit loose.
From the sounds of it, he was in some
pretty thick cover, and likely betting he
could stay there, even with a yipping dog
approaching.
I could almost hear her belly-crawling
the track to the now-pressured rabbit that
had made it, and when she opened up, I
knew he was on the run.
He came very near me on the first
circle, but got past without me seeing him.
When I heard boots on boulders below
me, and looked to see a blaze orange
jacket barreling in, I guessed another
hunter was hustling to cut in on the chase.
As it turned out, it was someone concerned the bawling beagle was in distress.
And when she brought her good intentions
through the middle of the chase, and
turned the rabbit off its course and away
from the dog's nose, it seemed time to
leash the pup and come back another time.
Today was the day.
Travis said he was going rabbit hunting in the afternoon, and I was glad it
suited my schedule and I'd get to go along.
I had a spot in mind. But when he
returned my text message, I could tell he
MARCH 2017

liked his idea better.
He didn't say why, but we made plans
to meet. I was happy to be out there either
way, and there's always a good chance of
action when Rose is working.
As much as hunting the site of a rabbit's previous escape is reason for optimism, it's easy to start second-guessing
yourself when the dog doesn't hit scent
there the next time out.
Such was the case today; we hit that
same patch hard, and as far as I could
tell, no rabbit was above ground within it.
The hunt took a more leisurely pace,
with Dad and I talking about a few things,
including the previous chases there.
We'd ambled out the trail a few hundred yards, and weren't paying particular
attention to the dog, when she started on
a track.
Travis peeled back the trail, and
around a bend to watch below.
When a chase starts, you never know
which direction it's going to head. Any
spot has potential.
But the action quickly moved away
from us. When I heard the dog heading
back, I saw a flash in the opening just
ahead of me, and raised the 20-gauge to
a disappearing rabbit that soon would be
heading away again on its second circle.
Travis whistled, and with a raised arm
pointed down over the hillside.
He wanted to move in closer.
I knew I was in a good spot already.
I always question whether I'm making
the right move in trying to move on a running rabbit. I've demonstrated a real talent
for vacating spots that would have offered
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Pennsylvania Game News - March 2017

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