[antsi]

Going to be doing some rabbit hunting. The things are infesting my neighborhood, getting in to the garden, etc. I will have my vengance, and I will have my hassenfeffer.

I know about rabbit fever, and I must wear gloves when cleaning them.

Otherwise, I am looking for any help advice and tips you can give.

[patentnonsense]

I'm curious too - rabbit is quite a bit tastier than most really-small game.

Lights Out, I think, has some tips on how to spot a very diseased rabbit -but I think lots of rabbits are carriers.

[schromf]

Its been years since I rabbit hunted seriously. But some rules I always followed, never hunt rabiits in the summer, period. Wait till fall or maybe even winter if your in hot country.

Take a look at the rabbits you shoot BEFORE you touch it. If its crawling with bugs or infested don't touch it. The get back in your truck and go hunting somewhere else cause if you have found one that is infested the chances are pretty good that every other rabbit you shot from the same local will be the same.

If you follow the fall/winter rule this is very rarely an issue.

Boy it it been a long time since I have had a brace of bunnies.

[Stinger]

I agree with schromf,

If you are just out for a little eradication, then by ball means, fire away.

But I was always taught (probably here at THR) that summer was not the right time to hunt rabbits as potential food.

YMMV,

Stinger

[HankB]

The old conventional wisdom was to only hunt rabbits for the table after you've had a hard freeze or two, and when there was snow on the ground. The theory was that the cold weather would kill off the sick ones.

Tularemia is always a problem, and you can't depend on only "WELL" rabbits to be around, even in midwinter.

You might try calling your local Department of Natural Resources to see whether or not they have any info on rabbit-borne diseases in your locality.

Personally, I don't plan on eating anything that you're supposed to wear gloves to clean to avoid disease.

[macavada]

It never freezes down where I live:D . But, I agree that you only fool with 'em in fall and winter, and maybe early spring. I heard someone once say that you avoid hunting and eating rabbits during the same months that you avoid oysters. I think if you go by that rule, you're probably o.k.

If you need to eradicate for control purposes, there is probably no better time than in the summer, one to two hours before sunset, but don't fool with 'em.

Marco

[Harve Curry]

If your rabbits are healthy a quick way to gut and clean them is grab them with both hands (gloved) behind the front legs, squeeze hard and press all the insides to the rear of the rabbit. A bulge will be there, give it a sudden jerk and it all comes out pretty clean. With your fingers pull the fur off the hind legs, keep going with the fur till your over the head. Cut the head off .
It can be done in 1 minute.

[Brian Williams]

Carry a Ziploc
tis best while bunny still warm,
when cold the skin sticks to the carcass

While hunting
cut around the rear legs at the ankle and down each leg and around the ????.
hold bunny around neck and squeeze the innards like previously mentioned and hang the bunny by a rear ankle from a fork in a tree and peel skin down and when it gets to the fore legs peel and cut off fore feet at elbow and when you get to the neck cut off the head. toss the skin and head in gut pile.

I always hunted on an out and back route, entering and leaving the woods or field at the same place so I would leave the carcass hang and track my way back to it and pick it up on my out of the woods, as I passed I would retrive the carcass and put it in a ziploc and have cleaned bunny ready for washing and the pot.
leaving the carcass hang would allow it to cool and allow any remaining fluids to drain.