The rabbbit ran a tight circle and came back to the hilltop where he had so rudely been jumped. I flicked the safety off and started to raise the 1929, 16 gauge, Fox to my shoulder. At the bang of the 16 gauge, the rabbit flipped in the air. I paused, with the Fox only halfway to my shoulder, to yell out ”You got him, Rye. I suppose that extra sleep sharpened your eyesight.” Rye had overslept this morning and Cuz’s Boy had impatiently waited with dogs and gator loaded after Brag had left to meet djmed and myself at the Bleeker Junction store.

Cuz was a no show this morning between a bad back and a late night that went into the morning. Tiny also was a no show. I heard he was catching bass down at his fishing lease near Green Fields. So, today’s hunters were Rimfire, Rye, Brag, Brag’s cuz,djmed , our host, Brent, Cuz’s Boy and Rye’s son-in-law, Scott and youngest grandson, Johnathon, came late in the morning. It's always nice to have teats and pre-teats along on a hunt. Or at least a Kid

We had stopped and spread out when the dogs jumped the first rabbit on a thin hilltop. He led the nine beagles down the hill into the bottom below. It was a beautiful sound, it was; the voices of nine little beagles on a blistering hot rabbit track rising in a full richness from the hardwood bottom below. They made a short circuit below us before the rabbit led them back to the briar patch he had just departed from.
He headed straight for me but Rye got him as he passed. Lately, Rye’s been knocking them down with that old Browning Sweet 16 he shoots. He had been on a dry spell till

The second rabbit was Brags on a short race.
“There he goes.”
“Here!”
“Bang!”
“Here!”
“ Never mind. Got him”

Brent, our host, took out one rabbit, to be charitable, at “close range”. I think with #6 in a 12ga. The rabbit required little cleaning. But to be fair it was a little thick with only narrow lanes and I to have been known to.


We had a short hunt day, around three hours or so and back at the truck by 12:30 with six rabbits

Final score
Not that I keep up with such.
Brag 2
Erwin 1
Rye 1
Brent 1
Rimfire 1, with another of those 1 pellet wonders. I try to tell everybody, I’m just trying to save meat.