Apr 22, 2022 4 min read

Back into time we go. As I get older, I reminisce a lot. I was thinking about the sport that used to be of rabbit hunting.

With Easter just past, I guess it got me to thinking about rabbits. Back when I was a young man, people who hunted went out and hunted rabbits. There were a lot of them around. The country had just gone through a depression and people ate about anything then, including rabbits.

Rabbit hunting usually went this way: You called a friend or took your dog out to an area known to be good for rabbit hunting. Then you took your shotgun or .22 out and, with the aid of your valuable dog or partner, attempted to jump some bunnies. Now, a beagle will chase a rabbit at a nice slow pace and not panic it too quickly into its hole. This was usually the best way to hunt rabbits.

I had a friend who had some beagles we took out and we had some adventures with them. His first beagle was a small pretty thing that his wife loved and called Lady. She had a good nose and could be trusted to find game. Sometimes during these rabbit hunts, we jumped birds like pheasant or grouse. The rabbits or birds were considered food then and this was the way it was.

I can’t really say I know anyone who hunts rabbits reliably anymore. My wife and our family ate rabbits in stews and pot pies.

The problem we had with the hunting came about when Ed got his second Beagle – Ralph.

Ralph seemed like a good idea. He was out of good stock and could hunt. He listened well and wasn’t gun shy. The first few times out, he turned out some bunnies and made that beautiful noise that makes beagles popular, baying loudly. The rabbit ran past us and Ed shot it. We praised the dog and Ed was proud of him. After two rabbits, the dog laid down panting loudly and would not get up. We tried resting him and waited to no avail. Ed was mad and hollered at him, but Ralph was done.

Later that evening, I called him to see how the dog was. He said that he seemed fine. So, we made a plan to put Ralph out again that Saturday.

Saturday rolled around and out we went to a field close to home. The dog was in fine voice and took off like a shot. We both smiled, anticipating a rabbit. Sure enough, one popped out and we waited for Ralph. Ed raised his shotgun and down went rabbit one. Just as he got it cleaned and stowed, the dog ran off after another rabbit. I waited and when the rabbit ran, I shot him. Down went Ralph and flopped right on his side again. He was panting so hard I was concerned. Ed decided to call the vet and we drove him there together in our hunting gear.

The vet drew blood and looked the dog over. It seemed the dog had low blood sugar. After that day we carried candy bars with us when hunting with Ralph. He loved Mars bars and would be fine as long as Ed gave him candy.

Rabbit hunting used to be such a big sport. In medieval times hunters would go after rabbits with falcons or trained hawks. There were big hunts in the UK with ferrets or hounds. People coursed rabbits with Greyhounds for sport. I’m sure you have seen movies where people gathered to go fox hunting with hounds and horns blowing. They also hunted rabbits in this manner. People have hunted rabbits for centuries.

I was thinking about the high cost of food these days in the stores. I saw that police in Peters Township just harvested 125 deer in McMurray and donated the venison to a food bank. It is interesting to me to think that the old ways of doing things might have to come back. Maybe some folks think this is bad, but to those of us who did live through it, well, we had a lot of fun hunting back then.