# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Hunting & Trapping >  Hares and Rabbits

## pgvoutdoors

I just returned from a backpacking trip to New Mexico and while out there I came across a fair amount of these jack rabbits.  If approached slowly you can get very close to them without spooking them at all.  This would make them very easy to hunt.

Here in Ohio we have an abundance of cotton tail rabbits.  These rabbits spook easily, but always seem to run only a short distance before stopping.  This first stopping point is where you get them.

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## trax

Never eaten jackrabbit, but I hear they're a mite on the stringy side (course you boil anything long enough, lol) Back home I'd just whistle at cotton tails or snowshoe rabbits and they stop and sit up, and ping! rabbit stew.

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## pgvoutdoors

Well I have to admit, those jackrabbits were a little on the skinny side.  I don't think I would pay for a hunting trip for them.  But, in a survival situation I'll take all I can get.

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## Rick

Don't you guys carry a pressure cooker with you? Nice and tender!

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## Ole WV Coot

Tried one once, chipped a tooth but a little goes a long long way.

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## BraggSurvivor

In the late spring I take the .22 or .410 and pop a couple young cottontails. I salt and marinate in pure honey overnight and deep fry in oil the next day. 

Another way is plain old vegetable barley soup with boiled rabbit meat. 

Making me hungry............ :Smile:

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## canid

don't get me started on the pressure cooker. what can't you do with one of those. the only problem is deciding between the 8qt and the 18qt.

the jack rabbits around here spook verry easily, and they will sometimes bound away a good 50 yards for no clear reason. they are almost the only hare we have around. luckily, they're plentiful.

what i don't get is why so many people are shy of 'gamy' game and stringy texture. i mean, we eat jerky don't we? pheasant and vennison? i guess i just love the taste of meat. especially when i'm hungry.

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## crashdive123

Ha!  I ain't skeerd of nutin!

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## Gray Wolf

> these jack rabbits.  If approached slowly you can get very close to them without spooking them at all.


pgv, did you take a good look at that rabbits eyes!  :EEK!:

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## crashdive123

Zombie rabbits?

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## Gray Wolf

I don't need no stinkin gun for Zombie rabbits, I'll get that sponge!!

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## Rick

I like mine fried, thank you. Just like chicken (the frying part, not the taste.).

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## Beo

I have eatn more rabbit than I can remember, personally I like them cooked over an open fire or boil them in a pot for several hours till the meat just falls off the bones and pitch in some potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, radishes, and rice and have a good stew. Mmmm Mmmm Good.
As PGVOutdoors said here in Ohio they tend to run in short bursts, and cliping one after the first sprint is easiest, in Kentucky and Tennessee they kinda do the same and taste the same too. Most I have found here are pretty full bodied same as Kentucky and Tennessee.
Beo,

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## Ole WV Coot

Everything eaten in this area is fried. We don't have cholesterol problems, keeps the veins & arteries well lubricated.

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## Beo

Yeah I don't do the whole non fat thing, I eat what I want, red meat, cheese and so on, my grandpap drank, smoked, ate fried foods, cheese, and just about everything else. He lived to be 89 and died of a tumor not caused by any of that stuff.
As Remy said, Live Everyday Like Its Your Last Battle. Those words are so true.

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## smokelessfire

crash, thanx, that jackelope pic is now my desktop background. i have a question for all, my friends are partially self-sufficient, and eat rabbit alot, but they told me they dont eat them until after the first frost, because supposedly they have a liver disease or something, and that after the first frost it dies or goes away. this really sounds absurd to me, considering my cousins from kentucky raise rabbits for food and eat them year round. any advice?

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## Beo

I live in Ohio and eat rabbit from here, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and have eat'n them from the east coast in NY State, Mass, and Conn. and been fine, most times I boil it though and make a good stew. Does sound dumb to me though.

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## BraggSurvivor

Anyone here eatin muskrat? Same texture and flavor to me.

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## Beo

No and i'm telling the Captain & Tennille,  you can't eat Muskrat you love them...
Ohhhh Muskrat Luuuuuu... uuuuuve!!!

Muskrat, muskrat candlelight 
Doin' the town and doin' it right 
In the evenin' 
It's pretty pleasin' 

Muskrat Susie, Muskrat Sam 
Do the jitterbug out in muskrat land 
And they shimmy 
And Sammy's so skinny 

And they whirled and they twirled and they tangoed 
Singin' and jingin' the jango 
Floatin' like the heavens above 
It looks like muskrat love 

Nibbling on bacon, chewin' on cheese 
Sammy says to Susie "Honey, would you please be my missus?" 
And she say yes 
With her kisses 

And now he's ticklin' her fancy 
Rubbin' her toes 
Muzzle to muzzle, now anything goes 
As they wriggle, and Sue starts to giggle 

And they whirled and they twirled and they tangoed 
Singin' and jingin' the jango 
Floatin' like the heavens above 
It looks like muskrat love 

La da da da da ... 

How frig'n gay is that  :Big Grin:  (Not that there's anything wrong with man to man love'n, although I find it sick and nasty)

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## canid

around here we have a lot of tularemia [in the animal populations, it's still rare as heck in humans]. the disease is actually named for the nearby tulare county. this disease, rabies and a few others tend to infect mammal populations, particularly of social species, as they become dense and the contact paterns between individuals and groups overlap, and either inhibit normal feeding behavior or the ability to accumulate subcutanaeous fat [eg. chronic wasting disease in deer]. these infected aminals tend to die during the cold season.

general precautions, such as discarding any diseased organs like liver [showing discolored, usually whitish lesions], heart, etc, avoiding other organ meats, proper cooking of any and all parts used and safe handling of hides, furs, fluids [wearing gloves, and for the truly paranoid; facial mask/respirator] for the  are generally considered adequate measures.

it's just about safe handling and preperation. it's an odds game. remember that 5-10% of tularemia cases in the US for example are transmitted by contaminated water, and an unknown percentage from deer flies.

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## canid

many people will advise not to eat any animal with signs of disease, such as organic lesions, abnormal, sluggish behavior, stupor, etc and this is good practice, but many people get by just fine by simply avoiding obvious sings [the stupor, or sluggishness, as i believe was advised in a USDA pamphlet i once read] and by safe handling. that seems fine to me, but i also advise people to be as careful as they feel nessecary. it's your health afterall.

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## Rick

Well, I'm going to start walking around in a stupor. Zombies are sure to leave me alone if they think I'm sick.

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## BraggSurvivor

Just tell the Zombies you have worms Rick, they will back away.   :Big Grin:

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## gourdhead1997

Well, I am from Kentucky. There is definitely something to this summer thing. There is something called "woolves" (not sure how it is spelled or if this is scientific name). It is a parasite they get that causes cysts under the skin. They always say around here that you don't hunt them in a month with an "r" in it (May, June, July and August). They are also susceptible to tularemia. I haven't been able to find out more about this  but I would love to know the truth. Any vet's out there?

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## gourdhead1997

I did find this bit of info:

http://wildlife.utah.gov/uplandgame/...gy_ecology.php

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## Ole WV Coot

> Well, I am from Kentucky. There is definitely something to this summer thing. There is something called "woolves" (not sure how it is spelled or if this is scientific name). It is a parasite they get that causes cysts under the skin. They always say around here that you don't hunt them in a month with an "r" in it (May, June, July and August). They are also susceptible to tularemia. I haven't been able to find out more about this  but I would love to know the truth. Any vet's out there?


I know what you are talking about. The first thing I ever saw them in was a squirrel. They look like a great big worm and I never flipped one out to take a good look. Seems like a lot more in Eastern KY and Southern WV in the last 10 yrs or so. Not that many people hunt anymore and lots more game than when I was a kid. I don't know anyone in KY that hunts them now. Way, Way back when I was always told to never shoot one sitting or didn't run like crazy from a dog. If you find out for sure PM me and let me know, I'm curious why they have been around over 100 yrs that I was told. I wouldn't even bother to clean them.

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## Ryleyboy

i never thought of eating muskrat. i always trap them and just take there fur . and then feed the meat to the coyotes but mabye i will try to eat it. how do you recommend i cook it.

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## canid

try stewing them, roasting them, etc.

basically i find you get the best texture out of anything that you cook whole and that has small appendages if you do it in a way that keeps them from drying out to much. this can be as simple as tying them before roasting, as you might do with fowl, to cooking them in their broth or a stew.

alternately, you could dress them out and butcher them and cook them like any other small cut or chopped meat.

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## chiggersngrits

this "woolves" thing as i understand it are some kind of fly larvae, maybe blowfly? i have ate squirels that had them on them. i read a story one time about some native american hunters who took an elk and got into a fight over which one would get the "woolve" off its back as they considered them a delicasy.

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## catfish10101

Down here, most people will not hunt small game b4 the first frost because they are full of the "wolves" parasites. I do not know exactly what it is but the first frost kills them and gets rid of most of them.

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## Rick

Can someone post a link on this parasite? I can't seem to find anything related on the web but would like to know specifically what it is. Perhaps it's a regional thing. Our squirrel season begins August 15, long before the first frost, and I've never encountered a problem.

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## crashdive123

Rick - I'm not familiar with the problem, but found this http://www.bio.net/bionet/mm/parasit...st/000948.html

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## Rick

Bot flies!! Thanks! I suppose we have those in Indiana but I've never seen an animal infected with them.

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## chiggersngrits

good link crash. i saw where they are also called warbles.

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## Ole WV Coot

> good link crash. i saw where they are also called warbles.


I guess that's what they are. I just was told not to hunt or eat them if they had em. Must be more of a regional thing. I don't think I could handle eating one. :EEK!:

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## chiggersngrits

well i am not eating the worm just the squirrel that came with it. its been awhile but best i can remember when you skin the squirrel out the worm comes off with it with just a small dark spot on the meat were the "woolve" was. most often they were on the back of the squirrel just behind the front shoulders. i  mostly just cooked up the front and hind quarters not much meat on the back and ribs.

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## Ole WV Coot

> well i am not eating the worm just the squirrel that came with it. its been awhile but best i can remember when you skin the squirrel out the worm comes off with it with just a small dark spot on the meat were the "woolve" was. most often they were on the back of the squirrel just behind the front shoulders. i  mostly just cooked up the front and hind quarters not much meat on the back and ribs.


The only place I've seen them is on the neck and a few on each side of the neck. They could have been attached the the front of the leg for all I remember. We just didn't mess with them. Can't remember them on their back but sounds like they could be anywhere. I learned something new for a change.

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## gourdhead1997

Thanks for the info, Crash. I am glad to finally know what these things were.

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## crashdive123

Glad it was useful.  As I said, I'm not familiar with the problem but that's all I could find that made sense.

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## maximilian

Well I'm glad to finally find out what these things are. Here in NW Georgia I've seen them mostly in my farm cats, all my life. They get in the cats' necks where they can't lick, sometimes two at a time. So far the best medication I've found is "blue lotion ointment," a local antiseptic we use for animal wounds. Anyone with better ways to remove them from live animals? Dad always called them "wolfs" too.
I never saw one in wild game but I've gone by that rule involving the months with r's in them.

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## sgtdraino

A survival book I once read suggested rabbits as being a good source of food to cultivate in captivity, because they are easy to feed, and breed rapidly.

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## canid

hundreds of thousands of people world wide would probably agree. cuniculture is a more common practice than many people think [based on the bizare looks people have given me over the subject].

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## Rick

Welcome maximilian. Why not worm your way over to the Introduction section and tell us a bit about yourself?

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## Jericho117

There is Cottontails everywhere around my house, and they're so used to human activity that I can walk up to a mature rabbit and pick them up. I just can't hunt them because when I bring out my bow I get crazy looks from my neighbors.

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## crashdive123

If you're taking them for food, and can just pick them up.........

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## Beo

I agree Crash, out to the garage or down to the basement and "SNAP!" that neck or "CHUNK!" that head off and skin away in the stationary tub, then its time to eat.

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## Jay

> There is Cottontails everywhere around my house, and they're so used to human activity that I can walk up to a mature rabbit and pick them up. I just can't hunt them because when I bring out my bow I get crazy looks from my neighbors.


Just take out the neighbors first!!!

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## Jericho117

No my next door neighbors kids Joe and Brian are letting me set a couple simple snares near well used openings in thier bushes beside there houses. I just hope there parents don't find out. The only problem with the Rabbits is if I do shoot one they scream sometimes really loud and people will know. That happened to me before and I thought I almost got caught. It happened near the football field, I put an arrow between the calf muscle of the Rabbit and it flopped around screaming really loud. I thrust my knife in its head after. I hope I can get one near my house soon.

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## crashdive123

OK - I'll ask.  What are you shooting rabbits for? and what are you doing with them after you shoot them?

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## nell67

*I* wasn't gonna ask

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## crashdive123

Yeah, didn't want to get into another nail in a stick thing, but there may be a teaching/learning opportunity.

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## Gray Wolf

Jericho, killing rabbits or any other animal is NOT a sport! If you want to get better with your bow, get a target!!!

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## Jericho117

I eat them. Think before you speak. Lol. I don't believe in hunting for sport. I like to boil them with sprinkled Sassafras leaves. I don't waste the blood eithier. Whatever I kill I eat.

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## Jericho117

Im good with my bow, if I want to practice I aim at this bundle of dry grass in my backyard.

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## Jericho117

And please don't assume im doing something a certain way.......lol. I hunt for food, no other reason

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## Gray Wolf

> There is Cottontails everywhere around my house, and they're so used to human activity that I can walk up to a mature rabbit and pick them up.


Then why are you shooting them with a arrow?




> I put an arrow between the calf muscle of the Rabbit and it flopped around screaming really loud. I thrust my knife in its head after.


And making them suffer?

Never mind, I'm assuming again. They might have enjoyed flopping around screaming really loud, and having your knife thrust in their head.

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## Jericho117

yeah im sure they did, lets not have one of these inmature arguements there not worth it

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## coldkill13

Hey its just a rabbit, and the fact that he can _hit_ one with a bow is impressive to me. If you can hit a rabbit with a bow you can hit the killzone on a deer with no problem. I've never personally taken small game with a bow but I know plenty who have. I even once seen a guy on TV hit a pheasant out of the air with a bow while he was walking out from his deer stand. And if you really need archery practice (or a good laugh) watch this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyPaxIpoyM0

As for the whole 'liver disease' thing, I've never heard of it. However I do know this, if you shoot an animal when theres snow on the ground, it may be best to let them sit for a few minutes so the ticks and fleas will jump off the cooling body and freeze in the snow. We always do so we dont end up like my buddy with lyme disease. Also I have once shot a squirell that I though had mange, maybe it was worms, anywho, I left it for the scavengers. Theres too many squirells around here to take that chance.

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## nell67

In my opinion the goal is to kill the animal on the first attempt,not having an animal screaming in agony. No humor in that at all,even IF he hit a rabbit with a bow.

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## trax

> Hey its just a rabbit, and the fact that he can _hit_ one with a bow is impressive to me. If you can hit a rabbit with a bow you can hit the killzone on a deer with no problem. I've never personally taken small game with a bow but I know plenty who have. I even once seen a guy on TV hit a pheasant out of the air with a bow while he was walking out from his deer stand. And if you really need archery practice (or a good laugh) watch this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyPaxIpoyM0


I'm thinking of some big ol' grizzly bear saying to himself "hey it's just a human"....

I once saw a guy on TV walk through the Great Wall of China, I think his name was David Copperfield....now you youngsters get out there and try eveything you see on TV OK? (back up kids, that's called sarcasm)  And don't worry if what you're doing involves animal torture, it's not like there's already organized groups of anti-hunters protesting everything all hunters (even the responsible ones) do.

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## coldkill13

I would assume his intent _was_ to kill the animal on the first shot, however nothing ever goes exactly as according to plan. As a hunter I have found myself in nearly the same situation many times before. Many times I have had to break the necks of wing-shot fowl by hand. But I did it as soon as I retrieved the downed animal to minimize its suffering as did Jericho. Of course I do not condone animals suffering and I always try to make a clean kill on the first shot, but I hardly consider this _torture_. 

*tor·ture* [tawr-cher] 
noun, verb, -tured, -tur·ing. 
–noun 1. the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty.  

This is Dictionary.com's definition of torture. Now did Jericho shoot the hind end of the rabbit _as punishment or revenge, or for sheer cruelty_. I think not. Additionally, I did not find humor in the animals 'suffering'. In the old testament, Genesis 9:2-3, God says to Noah; "And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things." I personally take every word of the old testament to be the God given truth and first and foremost above mans law. Although I dont condone suffering of the innocent, including animals, I see nowhere in the Good Book any mention of applying additional effort to ensure the comfortable death of the prey. Im not saying go out and take any available shot on an animal or intentionally make a poor shot but accidents happen and I dont think Jericho or myself or anyone else for that matter should recieve any flak for them, especially if the situation is appropriately dealt with afterword.

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## coldkill13

I once took a shot at a 6-point buck at the very last moments of the seaon when there were several other deer in my bait pile. I had waited to get the perfect broadside shot before pulling the trigger. But just as I did a fawn a few yards closer to me than the buck lifted his head up to recieve the 12 guage slug square in the neck. There was little left of the creatures neck to be found. I was disgusted with myself, I didn't want to even look at the animal on the ground before me. I knew that things like this happen but I am a skilled marksman and I never thought it would happen to me. Eventually I began thinking about how the deer was legally and ethically killed and how my grandpa shoots these small deer on purpose as they are more tender and I got over my grief and field dressed the animal. Despite what my name may imply (and what some of you already think by now) _I do have a conscious_.

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## coldkill13

Here is a story of animal cruelty that I think is due to ignorance and stupidity and I think something like this would never and should never happen to a responsible outdoorsman and sportsman.

An employee of my dads who lives on a farm poaches deer in his backyard for trophy, without licences for them. Last hunting season he nicked an 8-point buck in the spine dropping the deer in his tracks although it continued to live and breath. He shot the deer from his barn with a .50 caliber muzzle loader but neglected to pack a knife or extra powder and slugs. Upon approaching the animal he immediately noticed it was still alive and proceded to drag it back the 50 somethin yards to the barn. From there he sat his 300+ pounds on the deers chest and called his son, who is at the house, on his cell phone and instructed him to bring him his 12 guage and a slug to finish the creature off. His son did so, but when he stepped off the deer it bolted away and he took the shot anyways, missing completely. Instead of going after it, he spent the next few hours going grocery shopping. When he returned he found his non-registered .22 pistol and a flashlight and went in search of the deer, as darkness was approaching. The blood trail easily allowed for him to find the dying deer, which was by now incapable of walking. He approached it and shot the deer in the head point blank and found that this had not yet killed it. He put two more shots into its skull before assuming the deer was well finished and he gutted the deer at the site. Being an inexperienced hunter, the failed to open and clean the chest cavity of the deer before dragging it to the barn and hanging it to drip. Once there, he discovered this error and opened the deers chest to find its still beating heart and breathing lungs. Removing these, the deer was finally finished.

Now, would anyone care to point out his mistakes?

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## Gray Wolf

I've posted this before, but maybe for some here it needs to be posted again:

People who eat only muscle-meats tend to get into a state of "rabbit-starvation", where they can't process the protein they eat because they don't have enough of the raw animal fats which are needed for the absorption of protein.This is apparently what happened to many American settlers who ate only the muscle-meat from lean animals such as rabbits.

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## Gray Wolf

coldkill13, I think your missing my point.
Jericho stated:



> There is Cottontails everywhere around my house, and they're so used to human activity that I can walk up to a mature rabbit and pick them up.


Then he had an option, he just could have pick them up and snap their neck, with just a millisecond of pain (or worse give a BEAR G. karate chop to the neck...Joke) No reason to make them suffer by shoot them with an arrow. He could have missed a tad more and ruined the meat. It just sounded like he was seeing if his shot was going to work. That's why I brought up using a very small target to become proficient at small game. It wasn't a flame, just advice.

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## Ole WV Coot

I don't hunt anymore, don't care for it like I once did. I never killed a game animal for fun. Beo is right, a rabbits neck is easily broken and that's the way I did. I always got a clean kill by actually hunting and I don't see shooting at hundreds of yards unless you are in open territory, positive of your shot and need the meat. I bet most of my shots have been under 50yds. In the woods if you can't stalk to a positive shot with open sights you should learn. Never understood a trophy hunter and never will. My opinion killing game animals for fun is see the shrink time.

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## erunkiswldrnssurvival

one of my favorite hunting tools for rabbit is the throwing stick, this one is a pine burlGuests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

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## Gray Wolf

> one of my favorite hunting tools for rabbit is the throwing stick


That is a good if you are in a real survival situation, but like I said to someone else here, practice with a small target. Yes, you can hit the rabbit, maybe crack a rib, break a facial bone etc. and the rabbit still can get away, suffer a lot, and possibly die, and all you'll have is the knowledge that you hit it but it got away. If your not in a survival situation, you don't need to try to take the rabbit that way. I hope you understand what I'm saying, and do not take offense.

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## erunkiswldrnssurvival

> That is a good if you are in a real survival situation, but like I said to someone else here, practice with a small target. Yes, you can hit the rabbit, maybe crack a rib, break a facial bone etc. and the rabbit still can get away, suffer a lot, and possibly die, and all you'll have is the knowledge that you hit it but it got away. If your not in a survival situation, you don't need to try to take the rabbit that way. I hope you understand what I'm saying, and do not take offense.


Not at all offended, i am a crack shot, and even i agree that "MERCYFUL" hunting practices is the way, but i do practice daily in my hunting skills. I dont own guns, THERE was an indian wise man who said, IF you do what you know and everbody expects that of you youve done right by them.

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## Gray Wolf

> THERE was an indian wise man who said, IF you do what you know and everbody expects that of you youve done right by them.


But he got fired from his position as a wise man, and had to take a job working on the Mayan calendar.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 


P.S. You didn't get what I was saying.



> i agree that "MERCYFUL" hunting practices is the way, but i do practice daily in my hunting skills. I dont own guns


Then maybe you should practice snares and traps. It's hard to believe that you have never missed with your stick, and if they got away, you don't know what kind of damage you did, and what kind of suffering you may have caused. Again, knowledge of the throwing stick is very useful in a real survival situation, but you can accomplish being a "crack shot" like a trained sniper does, WITH A SMALL non living target. JMHO

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## erunkiswldrnssurvival

I would expect to under stand what ive seen and heard,I have never said anything with out purpose.I have found more than rocks,out there in the wilderness.you can say what ever you want. there realy is something that you government doesnt want you to know about.read what I said and youll know what they said. If you think that mankind is explained by clovis points thats only some of what you should have said. tell me who said: The winds between the stars lead to whirling void pockets; surrounded by seeds of thought, the basis of all creation?

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## Gray Wolf

Never mind, I'll just get a aluminum hat. Oh and the answer to your question "tell me who said: The winds between the stars lead to whirling void pockets; surrounded by seeds of thought, the basis of all creation?"

Timothy Leary....

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## erunkiswldrnssurvival

I didnt mean that I hunted daily, I practice daily, Sorry but, I havent missed yet. I use other weapons. animals are fragile. it doesnt take much to break them, just read my signature,When I need, I ask, I recieve.you can only serve one master


I do not exist would disquiet you and the Gospel of the Messiah,an Angel from Heaven should announce differently than from what we have announced let him be accursed. As I have just said,now I again say it that if anyone announces you differently from what ye have recieved let him accursed. For now do I persuade men or D;or do I seek to please Men? For if i had now pleased Men I should not have been an ANT of the Messiah.

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## erunkiswldrnssurvival

Please Understand that I havent missed any thing hunting if it does ever happen, I agree
that I have caused suffering, I would feel bad about that. By hunting in groups that chance could possibly be reduced.

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