# Survival > Primitive Skills & Technology >  Rabbit

## Tootsiepop254

Whats the best way to hunt and prepare rabbit?  Is there any point in saving the skin?  If so, whats the best way to preserve the hide without chemicals?
~T

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## Rick

I've always hunted with a 12 gauge shotgun using beagles. I've never tried to save the fur although I've seen a lot of bunny fur stuff. The fur seems pretty loose to me. You can pull the hair out pretty easily. 

You can also split a stick about 8-10 inches and insert a small twig to hold the stick open slightly. If you can catch a rabbit down a hole then you can slide the stick in beside him and slowly rotate the stick. It will wrap the rabbit's fur up in the stick and you can pull the rabbit out of the hole. Of course, once you do that you have a really pi**ed off bunny to deal with. I've only seen it done once and I think he picked the only deranged, killer rabbit in the county. The rabbit was fine until it came out of the hole and then it was killer fur on a stick.

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## 2dumb2kwit

> The rabbit was fine until it came out of the hole and then it was killer fur on a stick.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCI18qAoKq4

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## canid

rabbit pelts are a pain to proccess, as they are thin skinned and as rick mentioned, the fur comes out easily.

on the other hand, they are extremely soft and warm so it's a question of your levels of patience and free time.

best way to prepare them is tricky. any method you might cook a chicken is good for rabbit. if you try to dry heat cook them [oven bake, etc] you will want to use cotton twine/string to tie the limbs in close against the body, or they will dry out.

you can cut them into frier pieces like you would a chicken [remove the rear legs by cutting around the hip and twisting to pop the femur from the pelvis, remove the front limbs by using he same procedure around the shoulder, cut the torso into two halves by cutting the ribs on one side along the spine].

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## crashdive123

> I've always hunted with a 12 gauge shotgun using beagles.


I would have never thought about that.  But I guess - once the beagle clears the barrel he's upset enough, with the powder burn on his butt, that when he gets to the rabbit he's got to take it out on something.

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## canid

oh! i had it *way* wrong. i've been giving the beagles he shotgun.

i mean sure; the dogs make a good haul, but with that gun in their paws, it's heck getting them to turn them over afterward.

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## Rick

Actually......the beagle just grabs the rabbit as he flies by. 

I don't think I've had them any way but fried or in a stew. I don't think I've ever tried it baked.

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## 2dumb2kwit

> Actually......the beagle just grabs the rabbit as he flies by. 
> 
> I don't think I've had them any way but fried or in a stew. I don't think I've ever tried it baked.


 I've never had beagle. (Fried, stewed, or baked.) :Innocent:

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## Rick

Seriously? They are really easy to skin. You stand on their hind feet and gently pull their ears and the hide comes right off. Here's a pic of Lyndon Johnson demonstrating how to do it. 

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## crashdive123

> I've never had beagle. (Fried, stewed, or baked.)


They're pretty good with cream cheese.  Oh wait - you said beagle.  - never mind.

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## your_comforting_company

I wouldnt recommend tanning a rabbit pelt into a fur. as mentioned the hair comes out quite readily and will get everywhere. rather scrape the hair and grain off and make buckskin of it. "no chemicals" means use brains, but dont bother with a frame, just hand soften it. it is so thin you will only do a couple hours work.
they make excellent gloves and undergarments, very soft. If you do manage to keep the fur on, they are also very warm undergarments; keep in mind that furs require pickling (opposite of bucking). headwear and handbags come to mind also. cut into strips, they make fine cordage and thongs for various crafts and tying.
as far as hunting, I generally use a .22 and only take headshots (I'm a bit OCD about skins).
I cook them like squirrels, salt and pepper, butterflied, with bacon wrapped around and seared/fried on a hot rock. mmm mmm good!

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## Rick

See? Someone else mentioned a thong!

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## 2dumb2kwit

Rick.....a rabbit fur thong.......I think I just threw up, a little. :Blushing:

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## Rick

I have a picture....just sayin'.

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## crashdive123

I was going to take this course in wilderness survival and weapons until I read through the course work and saw that we'd be working with slings and thongs.  Now that just ain't right.

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## 2dumb2kwit

> I have a picture....just sayin'.



 I'd throw up.....a lot.

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## Rick

But it really is soft. It sort of tickles when it rides up a bit.

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## Tootsiepop254

:EEK!:  :EEK!: That would be a whole new lever of strange.  I would need a LOT of rabbits lol.
As far as the bunny stick.. a scene from the movie Labrynth comes to mind...

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## Rick

The stick method is not legal here. You can't use a ferret or other animals to shoo them out of their hole and the law terms it "other means".

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## rwc1969

We used to just reach in and pull em outta their holes, with gloves. I think rabbit is one of the tastiest wild games, but, after reading this thread I've lost my appetite.

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## Tootsiepop254

> I think rabbit is one of the tastiest wild games, but, after reading this thread I've lost my appetite.


LOL.  I haven't had it since I was a little girl, when my cousin would go hunting and make us skin them.  The supermarket sometimes carries rabbit, but I'm trying to get away from commercially produced meats, and want to teach my boy how to skin.  As for hunting, we feed them kitchen scraps, so we can get pretty close to them.  
~T

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## COWBOYSURVIVAL

I have eaten rabbit most every way possible. By far ground rabbit burgers were absolutely the best! Just debone and grind!

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## Tootsiepop254

Can I take a home killed rabbit somewhere and have them grind it?  Sorry for all the questions...

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## COWBOYSURVIVAL

Down South There are wildgame processors. I am not sure about your neck of the woods..... I would order the hand grinder from Cabela's and do my own as it will take a few rabbits to make any satisfactory amount of ground meat. This would also open alot of doors such as ground venison half and half with ground pork. Yummy!

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## Tootsiepop254

You have much knowledge.

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## COWBOYSURVIVAL

Like this...

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...set=ISO-8859-1

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## hoosierarcher

Snares, the skin of a wild rabbit is only good for making a coyote lure. 
When I was growing up we raised rabbits as table fair. Their hides were usable for glove linings. We just salted them with lots of Kosher salt  on the inside and rolled them up and froze them then took them to a processor that tanned them.

In the field one of my favorite recipes is to brine the rabbit in the cooler overnight in one quart of vegetable stock 1 quart of apple cider, one cup of pickling salt, one large finger of ginger sliced, four or five crushed cloves of garlic, and 1/4 cup cracked black pepper and a handful of sage rough chopped.
then roasting it over coals while lightly basting it with butter or lard or bacon grease.
As for at home I really love chicken fried rabbit; but I still brine it the same way first.

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## hoosierarcher

Oh by the way more recipes will cost ya as my "intellectual property" has real world market value. 
Because I am an artist afterall  :art: 
 :Tongue Smilie:

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## Tootsiepop254

Wow. I've never thought about pickling rabbit... Sounds weird.

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## your_comforting_company

cabelas is pretty proud of the products they sell. Pretty much anything they have in the catalog can be gotten somewhere else cheaper. I got my hand crank grinder from wally world and it came with all the attachments, & extra blades for 25 bucks.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...ct_id=11371623
this one is similar, but I think mine was the "ozark trail" wally brand. easy to clean and unjam if sinews get around the blade base. I dont take anything to game processors. they want money and thats something I don't have much of.

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## hoosierarcher

> Wow. I've never thought about pickling rabbit... Sounds weird.


Brining is not pickling.

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## crashdive123

Drinking a fifth of whiskey is pickling.

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## trax

Rabbit meat has been proven to be one of the healthiest meats available, wild rabbit is better for you than domesticated. I believe I posted a link to a chart here once upon a time that delineated fat/protein ratios and cholesterol levels in different domestic and wild meats, but that was a long time ago and I don't recall what thread it was.

Skinning the little boogers is the easiest thing in the world and their skins are great for lining mitts and slippers.

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## Old GI

Ahem.  Matron,  think  it's time to lock the doors (before they all get out).

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## COWBOYSURVIVAL

I have investigated raising meat rabbits, White new Zealands are the predominant breed. You can buy the meat via the internet where I live there are very few breeders of meat rabbits in the SE. It is still a possibility for me and actually could be a great homestead survival plan.

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## nell67

Californians are also a desired breed (most poular breed in my area) stay away from breeds with colored fur if you plan on selling them for meat,people do not want the blacks,browns and reds as the fur tends to show up more on the meat when skinning.

If you can get contracts to sell to the fancy restaraunts out east,you can make a killing selling them,big bucks (pun ,pun!) in that aspect of it.


Unless all your rabbits die,there is no way you can lose raising rabbits,what you don't sell,goes into your freezer,or as replacement breeding stock

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## rwc1969

I saw a big, fluffy, grey, tame rabbit in the wild the other day. It let me walk right up to it. I don't think it's gonna make it in the wild. It's the second one I've seen.

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## nell67

> I saw a big, fluffy, grey, tame rabbit in the wild the other day. It let me walk right up to it. I don't think it's gonna make it in the wild. It's the second one I've seen.


 Which is why I do not advocate breeding and selling rabbits for pets,the majority of them end up being turned loose after the new wears off,I did sell for pet one year,just to have half the people tell me they had turned them loose after only a week because no one wanted to take care of them,it's a rabbit,doesn't require a whole lot,food,water and shelter and they are good to go.

I never allow my rabbits on the ground,nor feed them grass,so I don't have issues with worms and other diseases you might find in the wild rabbits,only thing I ever have a problem with is ear mites,and may see one case of that a year,easily remedied with a few drops of baby oil in the ears for a couple of days,it smothers the mites,they loosen up and the rabbit shakes them out.then a thurough cleaning of the hutch with bleach to kill any remaining mites that may be around.

If you really want a pet,try keeping it in the house,rabbits tend to potty in the same area,find where they do it,and place a litter box there,it's that easy.

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## Rick

My luck it would be in the middle of the kitchen table.

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## nell67

> My luck it would be in the middle of the kitchen table.


In your case,set out a bowl,add milk and enjoy! Cuz we all know trix are for .....RICK!

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## Ken

> I would have never thought about that. But I guess - once the beagle clears the barrel he's upset enough, with the powder burn on his butt, that when he gets to the rabbit he's got to take it out on something.





> I've never had beagle. (Fried, stewed, or baked.)


First it's squirrels.  Now, you guys are gonna' start on Beagles.  Clyde and Snooper are NOT amused.   :Sneaky2:

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## crashdive123

Hey - it wasn't our idea.

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## Survival Guy 10

rabbit skin + thong = one sore @#*

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## 2dumb2kwit

> First it's squirrels.  Now, you guys are gonna' start on Beagles.  Clyde and Snooper are NOT amused.


 Uh, sorry Ken....you're barking up the wrong tree. (Snicker, Snicker)

 You need to talk to Rick. I said I've *never* had beagle. :Sneaky2:

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## 2dumb2kwit

> rabbit skin + thong = one sore @#*


 Oh, dude! You've actually made and worn, a rabbit skin thong?
I don't think I would have admitted that! LOL :Blushing:

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## Tootsiepop254

LOL!  I love you guys!
~T

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