How to Hunt Rabbits in the Brush

Many sportsmen get their first taste of hunting by chasing small species like rabbits. The animals often are present in high numbers, and their meat also makes good table fare. Some of the best rabbit habitat is in heavy brush in places like the edges of farm fields and shelter belts. Brush gives rabbits the protection they need to avoid predation by larger animals, such as coyotes and foxes. As a result, hunters who target brush often can find many rabbits.

Things You'll Need

  • Gun
  • Dog
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Instructions

    • 1

      Find brush along the edges of farm fields or in other places where rabbits are abundant. Brush around vegetable gardens also holds rabbits.

    • 2

      Hunt with firearms such as .22-caliber rifles or small-gauge shotguns.

    • 3

      Post a hunter at one end of the brush and make sure he is ready to shoot. If you are hunting with dogs, send them into the cover and walk to the opposite side of the brush. Have the dogs work toward you and the others in your hunting party.

    • 4

      Walk through the brush yourself if you do not have dogs. Walk slowly and make as much noise as possible by snapping sticks or kicking the brush. Walk in a zigzag pattern and watch ahead of you for rabbits that take off running. If you come across logs or grass as you walk through the brush, kick them.

    • 5

      Walk until you reach the end of the brush. Often, rabbits try to stay in the brush as long as possible, so they may not take off from the brush until you nearly walk over them. If you are hunting the brush with dogs, let them work the brush as long as they want. If they smell a rabbit, they probably will be able to make it leave the brush.

    • 6

      Aim your gun ahead of the rabbit once it breaks out of the brush. If you point directly at the rabbit, you are likely to miss. Instead, shoot at a spot just ahead of the rabbit where you believe the animal will be when the bullet arrives.