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  #1  
Old 09-22-2013, 09:32 AM
wally bennett wally bennett is offline
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Location: wrexham north wales U K
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Default Whare have all the rabbits gone

Living in Gods Country Wales in the UK I have had very good rabbit shooting but this last 18 months its been crap. Just on one estate I help out with rabbit and fox control and first year I took 260 rabbits next year it was 180 following year it was 280 next year it was 394 last year it was 120 and this year its only 78.
I know that my bad eyesight and three eye ops and vehicle problems did not help but the truth is if I go down today I could not be certain of seeing any cause there is not the amount of rabbits there. couple of years ago if someone asked me for any amount up to 6 I could bet I would kill enough of good pot rabbits to fill the order Last three times I have been wanting one for myself but not seen any close enough to get a head shot.
This is just on one small estate and I only shoot about 250 acres but I have another estate very close to it and countless small and big farms and private houses and its the same on all of them.
On all of the land the most frequent sigh of wild things is the B****Y Buzzards on one 25 acre just ploughed field 22 buzzards were counted and this has definatly altered the behaviour of the rabbits during daylight hours but if you go out at dusk you still don't see any.
I now have a serviceable bunny bashing landy but no rabbits to shoot at
Wally
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Old 09-22-2013, 02:20 PM
mulepasture mulepasture is offline
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Default At least part of the answer....

Wally,
Not to over simplify but here is a start:

"QUESTION: I have noticed that the rabbit population on my property is way down. Are there diseases that cause a rise and fall of rabbit density?

ANSWER: Rabbit populations are cyclic. They populate to extremely high numbers, then they crash to significantly low numbers. The cycle seems to run in 10-year intervals.

The population during each year can also be traced to the availability of food.

Finally, predation is a factor. Rabbits are prey for practically all meat-eating birds and mammals. An overabundance of predators can decimate the rabbit population in a short time. Fortunately, their reproduction abilities can restore the population in a short time.

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2013/08/17/2613795/rabbit-population-depends-on-cycle.html#storylink=cpy"
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Old 09-22-2013, 02:29 PM
Bill K Bill K is offline
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Location: N.E. Kommie Kalifornia
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Default Where are the rabbits

As previously mentioned. My area, the same, Varmints/raptors take a toll, but more than that the cycle effect comes around every few years. This year it seems like they are down here also, compared to last year. So maybe next year or the next, they will bounce back in higher numbers. Could be the same in your country/area. Bill K
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Old 09-22-2013, 02:44 PM
MarinePMI MarinePMI is offline
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About a 7-10yr cycle here. Coincides with the coyote population as well; which I guess goes with out saying, seeing as litter size is determined by protein intake by the bitches...
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Old 09-23-2013, 01:09 PM
Furhunter Furhunter is offline
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Our rabbits have been almost nonexistent here for the last couple years. This year though it seems we starting the upswing of the cycle because im seeing more all the time. I look forward to the coyotes making a comeback as they've been few and far between for a while now too.
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Old 09-23-2013, 06:51 PM
wally bennett wally bennett is offline
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Drove around the estate last evening from 5 to 8 never saw a single one nor any buzzards or fox but the gamekeeper has sorted quite a few fox out with his Bruno fox altered to 17HH he is very pleased with the calibre and the gun his first 17HH was a Savage big heavy barrel composite stock and he would have changed it very soon if the bolt had not broken so he took the opportunity to send it back and commission a smith to find a donor gun and fit a new 17HH tube on it.
Mid July he had a spate of fox on his land with no fear of humans mostly full grown and well fed and a couple slightly smaller but with a limp all just stood their ground whilst he shot them its obviously some a****e of a charity is dropping them and the stupid bar stewards don't have the sense to drop them in an area without a very active keeper and his dead eye dick helper named Wally.
Its about time that people in the animal welfare realized the stupidity of not checking an area before hand they might as well just kill them before release.
I am not anti-fox I respect them and if I see fox in areas that don't have lambs or pheasants I am likly to just watch them not shoot them.
Back to the rabbits it always been said that they breed from May to Augest yet I have not seen a single baby on the estate this summer and its very hard to find a working burrow with more than I hole .I know the buzzard will take kits and young poults and if hungry enough tackle the full size ones but they cant carry them off I shot a rabbit two year ago and then moved to the other side of the field and when I was glassing the field I saw a full grown buzzard trying to steal my rabbit but all it could do was drag it along flapping like h**l it soon took off when a lead fly passed it at 3,200ft/sec just to scare it honest .
Wally
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Old 09-24-2013, 12:30 AM
trotterlg trotterlg is offline
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May be time to stop shooting Rabbits for a year. Larry
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  #8  
Old 09-24-2013, 11:24 AM
wally bennett wally bennett is offline
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Got to keep on the gamekeepers good side he took a chance when he let two unknown to him shooters on his land so even if I cant shoot rabbits i can shoot fox and corvids and keep an eye on the birds he keepers just short of 7,000 acres so if he knows i am on one side he can go to the other side this time of year he has about 3,000 poults just running about still too stupid to hit the trees and easy pray for any dogs only last fall I saw two women walking 3 dogs and laughing as the dogs chased the then full grown birds the young ones would have no chance. None of them cared a dam cause its a public footpath so I took out my cell phone and pretended to take photos of the dogs and them ( I don't have a camera on that cell ) just in case I see them again I said cause next time I will shoot the if they move an inch off the path.
Not seen them again.
Wally
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  #9  
Old 09-24-2013, 06:04 PM
cpt-t cpt-t is offline
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wallybennet: I live in Wichita Kansas, and in the early 1960`s we had Jackrabbits thick. Everywhere you looked even in town you would see them. I had a friend that was stationed at the McConnell Air Force Base and he told me that they had to have jeeps drive up and down their run ways to keep the Jackrabbits scared off. So they wouldn`t be sucked up the Jet`s that were landing and taking off. I have heard about the 5 to 7 year cycle for Jackrabbits but I question that now. because we just don`t have any Jackrabbits any more in this area. I really have not seen really any fr the last 15 years or so. But back in th earrly 1960`s you go out and kill 40 or 50 Jack`s in an afternoon and the farmer would pay you. They fed the Jack`s to there Hogs. But they still have plenty of Jack`s in Texas and Colorado. I enjoy hearing your storys about the Varmints you hunt. I mainly shoot Coyotes, PD`s, Ground Hogs, and I hope to get a few Bob Cats this winter. Good Luck To You:
ken
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  #10  
Old 09-25-2013, 05:39 AM
bburrell bburrell is offline
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Wally,
Poke little tiny holes in all of their bunny condoms and in no time at all your bunny population will be back where it was.
Burt
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