spread in a picket line across the hardwood/pine hillside with the nine short legged beagles checking out each potential rabbit hiding spot when the shot rang out.
The dogs hurried over to help, only to find their services weren’t needed. Cuz had snapshot on the jump, tumbling the bunny onto the forest floor. He looked a little sheepish as he explained that instincts had taken over as the reason for depriving the dogs of their first chase in a month.

No harm done. Oh and The Rabbit Journal Picture Show 05-06 is up and running We jumped again on that same hillside and the race was on. On the second circuit, Cuz’s 20 ga. barked again. Another rabbit in the bag.

The third jump came a few minutes later. I shot this one as he went down into a deep gully. It was a easy shot that I still almost blew. He loped down the hill as I tracked his head but for some reason I hesitated my swing in the second before I shot. A kill, but messy.

I jumped another rabbit less than a hundred yards away on the 80 acre property of thick planted pines and blackberry briars. I waited in the briar patch he was jumped in and spotted him as he spotted me. I flipped up the Fox and killed a sweet gum sapling before administering the coup de grace to a nearby bush. Brag, my rabbit hunting partner, also fired two shots from his own double barreled scattergun. According to him he killed two patches of fine Alabama clay. Brag made up for it a few minutes later with a fine running shot.

Now, I ain’t one to keep count on individual scores, since rabbit hunting is a group sport. Nope, I prefer to think of it as “WE” got eleven regardless of what I’ve said in past Rabbit Journals and posts. But to keep Cuz, Brag and Rye happy I will tell you it was one rabbit after another, all day long. Fifteen races, eleven rabbits and the dogs didn’t run any trash. Brag killed 5, Cuz 3, Rye 2, and myself killed, well, I really don‘t keep up with stuff like that.

Now, there were a lot of shots fired, not that I keep up with stuff like that. Rye missed with three consecutive shots at a charging rabbit and Brag and Cuz missing a bunch of other shots, including some that I felt were easy ones, not that they would admit to it and not that I would say to much about it since I don’t keep up with such.

It was a good day.