Getting started rabbit hunting - Indiana

N

NoirFan

New member
Hello,

I’d like to ask the advice of the experienced hunters here. I have never hunted a thing in my life but I’d really like to start. I’ve always admired the hunting idea of preparing a meal every step of the way, from field to dinner plate, and I think it’s a shame that so many people are so disconnected from the meat we eat.

I am a suburban boy from an immigrant family, so while I’ve gone on many hiking and camping trips I have ZERO hunting background. So please don’t think of something and then think “well he already knows this”, because I probably don’t! I live in Indianapolis, and I have a CZ452 .22LR, and S&W19 .357 magnum. For rabbits I’m guessing I want to use the rifle and not the revolver. Here’s what I’d like to ask:

What other equipment do I need beside a firearm?
How do I find land to hunt on?
What permits would I need to acquire?
And any other advice would be very welcome!

Thanks
 
What other equipment do I need beside a firearm?
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BLAZE orange hat and game vest (pouch in back for the rabbits) are PARAMOUNT for your safety and the hat is likely a minimum legal requirement.
How do I find land to hunt on?
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Contact your fish and game dept. for public access land locations... in florida the WMA's (wildlife mangement areas) have brochures for each one as seperate rules for each are common. we have them in every tax, tag and title office.
Door knocking while properly clothed and groomed to speak to farmers etc. is another good way. Offer to give them a hand with grunt work chores like fence repair or other tasks you are skilled at goes a long way too... also promise and keep the promise to leave the place better than you found it (bottles and cans you see can be toted out in the game pouch) and alert them to any thing askew on the place.
What permits would I need to acquire?
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Again, contact your fish and game and individual WMA rules if they apply.
And any other advice would be very welcome!
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Early morning or before dark where grassy type (new growth is best) where it butts up to denser cover is prime scouting/starting spots for .22 rifle hunting. Big brush piles are good for "Kicking" them up if you are good with point shooting running game with a shot gun... or if you are real good with the .22 rifle...
BE CAREFUL OF ALL FIREARMS SAFETY RULES!!!
Brent
 
Pizza,
I have hunted behind the beagles a time or 10 but they weren't mine... Right before I met the dog owner I heard "That dern kid is shootin' our rabbits again..."
After I told them "Heck ya' when i hear them dogs bawlin' I come a runnin'..." The old time dog man told me I was invited to join them any time I heard the dogs so long as I got into the "rotation" instead of settin' up to nail ALL the rabbits..." And they were all well impressed at my use of that .410 bolt Mossberg repeater... Over well received coke on the tailgate after a run these old guys couldn't pride me enuff on my skills while chiding each other over the pile of dead 28, 20, 16 and 12 gauge hulls they had picked up and my paltry 6 or 7 tiny .410 hulls for a dead 5 or 6 rabbits. I was offered a pair of them dog's pups but I politely declined explaining that one day I would but at that time I felt I was just to poor to give them the life they deserved. I think them conversations set the path I have taken with dogs as well as life in general. Them ol' cajuns really treated me with respect and the main dog man ended up giving me some work for pocket money so I could do a bit better by the bulldogs I already had.
Off topic but in a way it shows what lengths hunters will go to show respect to all this world that deserves it.
Brent
 
Them ol' cajuns really treated me with respect and the main dog man ended up giving me some work for pocket money so I could do a bit better by the bulldogs I already had.
Off topic but in a way it shows what lengths hunters will go to show respect to all this world that deserves it.
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Ah, the good ol' days. There aren't a lot of guys around like that anymore. Most people take life way to fast and serious to live like that...:(
 
Hi,

If you have never hunted before, then a hunter safety education course from your state game department is your first and foremost step. That can't be stressed enough, and is almost 100 percent required by law to hunt most wild, protected species. Some game farms will allow you to hunt without a license, but it's still a good idea to learn the safe way to do it first.

Hogdogs steered you right in the other areas.

Oh, brush pants if there are thorns by you, or chaps are great, too!
 
G'day. How well can you shoot the .22 or the pistols? Which one is your prefered weapon?
I spent my teenage years shooting rabbit. There are a few methods that can be used to good effect.
1. Set up within range of a set of burrows and Wait quietly.
2. Try and stalk into range of known rabbit habitat.
3. Just go for a walk and hope you spook something.
Method 3 works if you don't have local knowledge of where to look. I often combine the 3 methods depending on the terrain and cover available.
You will get better at identifying rabbit the more times you go looking. They can be difficult to see until after they move, then it could be to late.
 
you would be better off if truly serious by obtaining a break-open 20ga H&R 'starter' shotty for #6 shot.
rabbit hunting is my favorite behind deer and pheasant/quail.
very good eating.
 
Indiana rabbit

As a lifetime Hoosier,nothting was more fun than rabbit hunting on Thanksgiving afternoons with family. However as a small farm owner who has left habitat for wildlife, the rabbit population in western Indiana is not what it was. I believe do to low fur prices, the fox and mainly coyote have taken there toll. However from Indy Attebury FWA is probably the best and closest for you.
 
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