Rabbits in Germany, A new style with FERRETS.

[addicted]

Well I did something rather nifty today. I went on a rabbit hunt. But this was no ordinary rabbit hunt, this hunt we used ferrets. Started out the morning with greetings and cogniac, not unlike most mornings at a german social hunt. There was to be 6 guns in the group, 1 dog, and 2 ferrets.

It was a simple yet revolutionary spin on the common rabbit hunt. Find the rabbit holes in the vinyard, let a ferret run down the hole, and shoot any escaping rabbits providing a safe shot oppourtunity. It was a blast.The day started out with a bang and a dead rabbit on the first hole then slowed down for while with a few missed shots. I didnt pull the trigger on the first few sets as I was still trying to get ahold of the whole scheme. Once I figured how the germans liked each situation to be handled gave it a go. Put the bead on an escaping rabbit(cotton tailish) and gave him the ol pop and tumble. He started to make for the embankment and his hole and the germans called for another shot which i biffed looking for the second trigger on the SXS I had never fired before. Once we saw my shot hit the ground infront of the rabbit he released the dog which quickly closed the distance to the rabbit and retrieved it with one of the greatest dog grins i've ever seen. A short while later I made a quick snap shot on a rabbit that dove from the bank and only got its front feet on the ground before I toppled him. The Germans were impressed(as was I) and we ended the morning shortly after.  In the end we were short a ferret but i guess they are usually recovered.

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In one of the early dens a ferret went in and didnt come out in a timely manner. They expect the ferrets to be done with a den fairly quicky. Most of  the holes were cleared in less than a minute. On the particular one we waited 7-10 minutes without the white ferret coming back out. The handler figured that the ferret might be chasing the rabbits in circles because the den appear large with many openings.So he sent in the second ferret. A minute later the white ferret came out but not the second. He set up traps at the openings so that when the ferret comes up he will be captured.

If a ferret does catch a rabbit and kill it which doesnt happen too often but can happen, especially if a shot rabbit runs back into a hole the ferret will gorge himself then sleep a few hours and gorge himself again. The ferret will do this for days until the rabbit is used up then return to the surface looking for food.

[addicted]

we probably saw 10 rabbits, which they said is a very slow day, and shot 6.

They said on a good day you will see 100+ rabbits and go home with 50-60.

Depending on the state laws i would really like to try this when i get back to the states.

[Special T]

Very cool thanks for sharing!

[400out]

That is sweet! I would love to be present for that hunt !

[addicted]

Wish I had more pictures of the ferrets, but if they were out, we were moving.

[runamuk]

very cool.....what type of dogs were they using?  Long ago whippets were commonly used....

[addicted]

some sort of wirehair pointer. He was 2 years old. the size and shape of a small lab.

[runamuk]

some sort of wirehair pointer. He was 2 years old. the size and shape of a small lab.

awesome...sounds like a bunch of fun to me....

[ribka]

Really neat hunt. Al ways interested in seeing how other cultures hunt. Thanks for sharing
Did you get to keep and eat any of the rabbit?

[bowhunterforever]

Sounds like a blast

[addicted]

He probably would have let me have all of them but I dont have time to deal with it. He probably sold most of them and put a couple in the freezer.

[carpsniperg2]

That is very cool! Thanks for sharing the pics