Hare hunting: description, features, necessary equipment, tips. Winter methods of hunting a hare: from the approach, from ambush and by tracking. Where do hares hide in winter?
Hunting a hare in winter is much more difficult than in summer weather. Not even because there are snowdrifts and cold weather around (and this really causes some inconvenience to the hunter).
During this season of the year, animals have learned to hide quite well from hunters, as well as from various forest predators. Hares have become especially good at camouflage - the color scheme of the fur of animals of this type blends in with their surroundings. But calculating them is quite simple. They are distinguished by their cowardice and absolutely do not know how to hide.
When these animals sense the slightest danger, they try to instantly avoid it by running away. I recommend that you do not go hunting alone, but take several people with you. This way you can track your target faster.
Features of this action
Hare hunting is most successful at temperatures ranging from 3 to 15 degrees. When temperatures drop lower, catching animals becomes much more difficult. The hunter will not be able to withstand such cold for a long time, and his target will gain an advantage and will no longer allow him to approach him.
When preparing for a trip, analyze the expected weather conditions and use your equipment as responsibly as possible. Try to get out into the forest in warm, comfortable weather and favorable conditions.
The best option is to start hunting at the moment when the snow begins to melt. The hares will change their fur coat and will be perfectly visible on ordinary ground.
Where to look for a hare?
Among the places where brown hares live, the following are distinguished: hayfields, plowed fields, as well as meadows and copses.
They can also be found where there are vegetables that have not yet been harvested. Small animals love to hide in places that are open and have some small shelter rooms in their structure. In winter, to succeed, you just need to follow the trail of the hare. And catching him is a matter of technique.
The best time to hunt would be the morning after there has been heavy snowfall.
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Choosing tactics
You need to start searching for a hare by walking around the field.
It is important to move along the perimeter from the place where the land is plowed.
Be careful not to make noise. It can scare away the animal.
Follow not directly behind his trail, but near him. If there are three or more of you and your comrades, then stand so as to form some kind of triangle. This type of group can share responsibilities. Some will serve as beaters, while others will serve as shooters.
Look around you and try to see all possible places where the animal could hide.
The hare's trail looks like an arc. It is laid absolutely unpredictably.
If you notice that the animal has already returned to a certain place, then it is not far from you.
If you are near him, do not stop under any circumstances. Continue walking as if nothing happened. The hare may interpret your stopping as some kind of threat to its life, and then run away in a hurry.
Prepare your gun and wait for the creature's further actions. It can jump out in front of you at any moment.
Look around and think in your head where the animal might come from. He always jumps out unexpectedly. At a distance of ten to fifteen meters from the hunter.
When you see the target, don't rush to shoot. Take aim, take a deep breath, think things through, and then attack. You will have only one attempt and if you waste it, the goal will leave you forever.
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Trap hunting method
This method is used by hunters to easily obtain prey. They set a trap in a certain place, wait for it to slam shut, and soon go home. The fastest method of getting a hare. The only disadvantage of this method is that you will not get any excitement from chasing prey.
Hunting a hare in winter includes several hunting methods. It attracts both hunters who enjoy sport hunting and those who like to ambush their game. We will look at the most common ones below:
- hunting a hare from the approach
- rabbit hunting
- drive hunting
- coursing
- hare hunting with greyhounds
Hunting a hare from the approach
The most common and recognized hare hunting in winter is approach hunting. This hunt will be successful only if you take care in advance to choose a site where there are many hares. You should move with a gun at the ready to the hare’s favorite bedding areas, exclusively on the leeward side: to low fluffy fir trees, to juniper thickets, you also need to pay attention to fallen trees and grass on the outskirts of swamps or fields. The weather for this hunt is moderately humid, little windy, and mild. In such weather, the hare rests soundly in his bed, and since steps on the damp ground are practically inaudible, there is a large
the likelihood that you will remain invisible. You must always be ready to shoot, because the appearance of a hare often leaves you confused for a couple of seconds. He runs away very quickly, trying to move over rough terrain (bushes and grass) and therefore it is very difficult to shoot at him. The hare can reach speeds of up to sixty kilometers per hour. But if you throw the gun from your shoulder in time and manage to aim the bar at the “oblique” one, then the hunt should be crowned with haste, and a trophy is guaranteed. The most common hare shot is No. 1 or No. 2.
Hunting for a hare from ambush
Hare hunting in winter also includes the option of hunting from ambush. But this type of hunting is most suitable for those places where the hare population is large. Hares feed in stacks of straw, stay close to the barn, and during blizzards and blizzards they can arrange for themselves to lie down in the barn itself, covered with straw, or even under the barn itself. The shelter must be set up on the outskirts of the village; for convenience, it is better to build it in any abandoned barn or in the attic of a house, perhaps near a stack. Since the nights are very cold at this time, it is necessary to dress comfortably and warmly. Clothing will hinder some of your movements, but haste is inappropriate here - the animal will be passive, which will make aiming and shooting easier. Before dusk sets in, you need to hide in a shelter you have chosen in advance and wait. Hares generally emerge from their roosts at night and begin to wander in search of some kind of food source. Favorable conditions are considered to be a moonlit and cloudless night. A hunter needs to learn one most important rule: if you can’t see or barely see your target, don’t shoot. The eyes see worse in the twilight than during the day, and even in the moonlight the situation is not completely visible, so you can inadvertently shoot some village animals. And this, at a minimum, will darken your mood and ruin all the previous positive emotions from hunting. For the best result, you need to prepare an ambush in advance, preferably a couple or three days in advance. In a place more favorable for viewing, we place several sheaves of oats and dig it in with snow. The traces left behind must be covered with a homemade broom or branch. If it is noticeable that the hare periodically feeds near the threshing floor and other buildings, then it is even easier to create an ambush here - it will be placed against a wall or under a sweep of straw. In the steppe, hunters usually hide in a haystack, having previously laid out a cavity, to reduce the noise from the rustling of the straw. The blind must be arranged in such a way that the moon shines from the back and cannot interfere with the hunter’s view. If the hare is in an awkward position for shooting, you can whistle softly to force the hare to rise on its hind legs to improve shooting conditions.
Hunting for a hare by driving
There is also a collective method of hunting a hare - hunting a hare by driving. In this hunt, the more friends gather, the more exciting and effective the hunt. The team is divided into beaters and shooters. On hare trails, arrows are placed in clearings or clearings. At this moment, the beaters, making noise, knocking branches, shouting, walk towards the shooters, thereby “pushing” the hares to their fighting positions. The hares try to keep the beater at a distance, but do not immediately jump out at the shooters. The hare will move to the sides, try to jump where the gaps between the shooters or beaters are large, so the beaters need to move with the same distance between each other, and the shooters need to keep their ears sharp. If the farm where you are going to hunt is rich in hares, drive hunting can be carried out by three people. It’s true that someone needs to know the hare holes and places well. One shooter is left on the hole, along which the hare will probably run, and two other hunters come from opposite sides, driving the hare towards the shooter.
Coursing
The beauty of hare hunting with hounds is very spectacular. Favorable weather for this type of hunting is 10 degrees and shallow snow. If the ground is frozen, the hound may become confused and lose the trail. And when the snow generally lies unevenly, only in places, this is the most inconvenient weather for hounds, since the trail is very quickly lost.
When hunting with hounds, you need to be quiet and observe your surroundings. As soon as the dog picks up the trail and begins to chase the hare, the hunter should listen and find the place where the hare began to run; most likely, he will run through the same path again. If you can’t find the place where the rut began, then estimate approximately where the hare will run, and wait for him on the way. The hare loves to go along paths and through bushes. The hare almost always walks slowly, far from the hound, but if the hounds are very aggressive and run quickly along the trail, then he runs away as fast as he can. In this situation, hare shooting becomes very professional and sporty. If the hare is coming at you, aim at the legs, if from the side, at the head or a little in front of it. If the target is difficult to see, do not shoot at it.
Hare hunting with greyhounds
Hare hunting with greyhounds consists of the following: hunters with dogs (on horseback or on foot) walk around a section of the steppe in a free search. A hare rises from under them. The greyhounds rush after him and catch the hare, grabbing him almost on the run. For such a hunt, you don’t have to take a gun. This is at personal discretion.
You can shoot a hare, and after it is wounded, the greyhounds will get it. It is better if there are two greyhounds: one chases the hare, the other runs across it. If there are more than three dogs, they should run with different agility, that is, at different speeds. Greyhounds must work together, not interfere with each other, be well trained, have good instincts and endurance. Dogs should not chase livestock and poultry. The greyhound must grab the hare as soon as it catches up with him. They should also not tear the caught hare, spoil the skin, or play with it, tearing it out of each other’s teeth. Dogs must be hardy. If an unprepared dog is immediately sent after a hare, it may become exhausted and stop working. Usually, for preparation, competitions are organized - greyhound racing.
Hare hunting at the beginning of winter after the powder is one of the best ways to test your hunting skills: endurance, attentiveness, ability to recognize and read a trail, reaction and accuracy. A hare obtained as a result of tracking is a reward obtained solely thanks to your efforts and hunting skills.
Differences between hare and hare tracks
The hare remains active in winter. It feeds at night, in the pre-dawn hours, and hides during the day, remaining on the so-called “bed”. Powder - the snow that has freshly fallen overnight, sweeps everything away, and the fresh night adventures of the hare read like an interesting, freshly written story.
In our area, there are mainly two species - the white hare and the brown hare. The white hare moves to forest areas in winter, preferring copses, dense bushes, and overgrown areas. In winter it feeds by eating twigs and tree bark. The hare prefers open spaces; in winter it sticks to edges, beams, small bushes, and loves areas with good visibility. Despite the snow, it continues to feed on withered grass and seeds, winter crops, and leftovers from gardens, digging it all out from the snow.
In many regions they live nearby. On good feeding grounds, their feeding zones often intersect, and their tracks overlap and become confused. How to distinguish the tracks of a hare and a hare from each other, since their habits, and therefore the places where they lie and the manner of confusing the tracks, are different.
The main difference between the prints of one and the other hare is that The white hare has wider paws, and the fingers are spread further apart, the hare already has a paw, fingers pressed closer. Therefore, the paw print of a hare in the snow will be almost round, while that of a hare will be elongated, oval. There are additional differences. The hare's track is more confused, and when lying down it goes into the forest and dense thickets, including through deep snow. The hare has a discount, the trailing and racing tracks are longer. Due to its narrow paws, it cannot walk through deep snow like a white hare, so it prefers to move through more open places, including along already trodden paths and roads.
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Where to look for a hare in winter.
As already written, the hare goes out to feed at night and finishes it in the morning, at dawn, after which it hides for the whole day. That's why the best time to hunt it is in the morning when he had already settled down and calmed down. You need to choose a fine, mild day with little wind. On such days, the hare easily gets up from lying down, and does not sit there until the last minute, as in bad weather or severe frost. In addition, the noise of the wind will hide your steps.
They look for the trail of a hare, especially a hare, along rural lands, fields, vegetable gardens, meadows and meadows, under stacks and stacks of straw, closer to the middle of winter in gardens. White hare can be looked for in floodplains of rivers overgrown with young willow trees, in young aspen and birch forests, in gardens and summer cottages, where it feasts on the bark of fruit trees.
The process of tracking a hare
The night adventures of the hare are quite monotonous. At the beginning of the night, he emerges from his resting place, first carefully looking around, and then in fairly quick leaps he goes to the feeding areas. In feeding areas, it moves slowly in short leaps, very chaotically (confused). Between feeding areas, its running speeds up and the length of its jumps increases. Sometimes, on bright, quiet nights, hares begin to frolic and race in the snow, then their jumps become especially long.
After having a snack at the end of the night, the hare heads to its daytime rest. In the process he begins to confuse the trail in order to confuse possible hunters. His run either speeds up or slows down, he can retrace his steps and then run on. He can go back a little and make a strong jump to the side and run further. Makes loops, runs out onto established paths and other people's paths, etc. During this journey, the hare, depending on experience, performs each of these maneuvers from one to three times and only after all this hides in its shelter.
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The process of unraveling all the nightly adventures of a hare, usually from the place of fattening (feeding) to the very place where it lies, is tracking. They start tracking by walking along the edge of a field or meadow, along forest paths or just along a country road, looking out for a hare's trail. Usually, hare paths lead towards fields and the like in the direction of the bedding area, and from there to thickets and bushes - to the bedding area.
The direction of movement of the hare is indicated to us by its hind paws; their prints are larger, more elongated and located in front of the prints of the front paws. If we are lucky enough to immediately find a trail leading from the feeding areas to the bedding area, go untangle it, otherwise head to the feeding area and start tracking from there.
Types of hare trails (maliks)
All hare tracks can be divided into four types: fatty, rutting, end and hare tricks like twos, threes and discounts.
Fat trace
The hare leaves it, moving slowly, in short jumps, usually while feeding or looking around. The distance between the front and hind legs is small, and the track itself in the areas of fat is very tangled, winding, can intersect with the tracks of other hares, and is often accompanied by hare droppings. The fat monograms are usually not untangled, but after going around the fat spot in a circle, they look for the escape trail when the hare goes to bed, and then follow it.
Racing trail
The hare leaves a rutting trail when he gallops at full speed. He can either run away from someone or simply frolic, rushing back and forth. The distances between jumps are large, sometimes up to two meters, the front legs are parallel to each other, the distances between the front and hind legs are greater than during walking. The racing trail at the end is replaced by a small fatty trail or a slower running trail.
Running (end) trail
When the hare goes home from the fattening site to the resting place, its trail from the fattening area switches to a more purposeful, but still leisurely running (trailer). The distances between jumps increase, and the prints of the front paws follow one after another. It is this trail that is the most important, since it leads to the place where he is hiding. Actually, it’s only on him that the hare’s “arts” begin, loops, discounts, twos and threes, with which he tries to confuse you and prevent you from getting to his bed. The walking trail, especially of a hare, can run along well-trodden paths and roads, intertwined with the tracks of other hares and other animals, in this case you need to walk along and look for where the hare has gone to the side.
Twos, threes and loops
Walking along the running trail, you will encounter hare loops, twos and threes. This indicates that you are getting closer to his bed.
A loop appears when the hare, having made a circle, returns to its trail, crossing it or walking back a little along it. Loops usually appear closer to the bed, so when you see it you need to be more careful.
Deuce- this is when a hare, having run forward, returns a little back along its trail, and then abruptly changes direction, making a discount or simply changing the direction of running.
Troika occurs when the hare, having retraced its tracks, nevertheless decides to move further in the original direction and again follows its path. After a three, there is usually no discount and the oblique after it is rarely sent to the prone.
Discounts (estimates)
A jump is a big jump that a hare makes away from its tracks. A discount is usually made after a deuce, and the direction of movement after it usually changes sharply to perpendicular to the previous one. On the way to the shelter, the animal rarely makes more than three discounts or two discounts. Usually after the second it’s time to start turning your head in all directions, looking for the hare.
Unraveling the maliks
So, what does the whole process of tracking a hare look like? Having found its trace (malik), we first determine its direction so as not to come to a previously abandoned bed. You can recognize it by fingerprints or by the position of the front and hind paws and the distance between the tracks, remember that a hare's hind paw prints are in front of the front ones. We head along the small road we found, a little away from it, so as not to trample it. If he led you to the fattening site, we go around this place in a circle in search of a waste trail; you should not waste time untangling the fattening loops.
Having found a departure, we begin to follow it, it will either lead to a new fattening site, or double loops and discounts will begin, which indicates the proximity of the hare's bed. The loops must be completed completely, otherwise there is a chance of getting lost and following the trail of another hare crossing the one you are looking for. If a malik came out onto a path, road or other trail and walked, or even merged with them, walk along this path three hundred to four hundred paces, in one direction and the other, until you find the meeting place. You can identify a fresh print against the background of old ones by lightly pressing it with your finger; the snow on the fresh one will crumple, whereas on the old one it will not.
Remember places where you can get lost, trail intersections, etc. you may have to go back there. Usually after the first loops threes, twos and discounts begin. You should be wary after the first two at a discount, and after the second you need to look around in all directions and be ready to shoot. Experienced hunters say that when tracking a hare you should never stop. Even if you need to look around carefully, walk in place; your stop may provoke the oblique to rush out of the shelter. If you cannot specifically determine the location of the bedding, begin carefully, walking in a circle around the intended area of its placement, looking in the direction of the track
Lying place
How to find a resting place? You need to pay attention to those places where the hare likes to hide. The hare prefers to hide in places with a good view, in bushes scattered across the field, in the roots or near the trunks of trees on hills, at the base of snowdrifts and sediments, in ruts, hollows, near shelters such as barns, old huts or fences. During the early snow, the white hare can hide in the bushes near fields and on the edges, in heavy snow in the forest, deeper, in spruce forests, dense thickets, at turns, near windbreaks, sometimes along the edges of forest clearings.
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The resting place can be determined by a pile of snow, often different in color, with lumps of earth, which the animal scattered while digging a hole for itself. But it is worth considering that, in search of a good bed, he can sketch several such slides in different places.
When you notice a hare lying down, do not look directly at him, this will provoke him to jerk, watch out of the corner of your eye, and do not approach directly, but passing a little to the side. When you get to the place where it lies, try to shoot it on the spot. If you pick up a hare, you need to shoot after him. After the shot, watch the hare carefully. If he continues to run but behaved strangely, follow his trail, he may well be wounded and, without even leaving a drop of blood, he will collapse after running 300 - 400 meters. If you still miss, you don’t need to immediately track down the runaway hare, you still won’t keep up with him, and he will lead you until the evening. It’s better to hide and wait, he may well, after cutting a few circles, return to lying down or simply calm down and lie down in another place, then drag him out again.
Equipment and weapons
When hunting by tracking in winter, two things are important: camouflage and the ability to walk for a long time, including in deep snow. This determines the selection of equipment and equipment for such a hunt.
In equipment, external camouflage, clothing, noiselessness, and the absence of strong odors are also important, so try to adhere to the following rules:
- The camouflage coat must correspond not only to the season, but also to the external environment. So in the first snow, when not everything is covered with it, the camouflage coat should have dark spots, but after heavy snowfalls it should be pure white.
- Clothing and equipment should not rustle loudly, squeak or jingle, avoid squeaky leather or loudly rustling synthetics.
- Shoes should be wearable, comfortable, but not squeak in the snow; rubber shoes, for example, are guilty of this. Felt boots or high boots are well suited for such hunting.
- It is quite difficult to scare off a hare by smell, but avoid strong odors; clothing should be clean, preferably specially designed for hunting.
- If good shoes are enough in the first snow, then in winter it is better to ski in deep snow. The skis used are wide, they also should not rustle loudly, and the bindings should not creak.
- To hunt a hare, they usually use smooth-bore guns, preferably machine guns, so that they can quickly fire several shots in a row. Accuracy is of great importance, so the barrel is taken with a choke or a payload. They shoot cartridges from No. 3 to No. 0 with a sharp shot.
- It is better not to take a dog for tracking; it will most likely scare away the hare, raising it ahead of time, when you are not yet ready to shoot.
Winter hare hunting is very popular among amateur hunters, especially among novice shooters. There is a strong opinion that there is nothing easier than getting a hare. But this is far from true; not everyone knows how to properly hunt a hare in winter.
The hunter needs to take into account weather factors, be well versed in the terrain and know many of the subtleties of the behavior of the oblique in order to return from the hunt not empty-handed.
The hare hunt usually opens at the end of October and lasts until the beginning of February. The hare is successfully hunted along river beds, along ravines overgrown with vegetation, on the edge of dry swamps and in bush plantings. In the steppes you can often find the hare, the hare in the forests, and near human habitation a cross between these species - the cuff. Tumak almost never leaves the vicinity of settlements; he likes to feed in the gardens of surrounding dachas.
The most exciting and popular way of hunting hares is tracking. Its essence is to track the animal along the trail. This method of hunting begins with the first snow and continues until the end of the hunting season. A hare's trail is called a malik. The footprint of different types of hares is different; the hare's is oblong, while the hare's is round and larger in size. Beginners learning to trail need to know that when running, the hare brings its hind legs forward over its front legs, so there will be an imprint on the snow, first from the hind legs and then from the front legs. Without knowing this, the hunter begins to target the heel. The hare is most often targeted because it lies in relatively open places. In many localities there is even a synonym for the word tracking - harping. On the first night after a snowfall, the hare practically does not go out to feed, but on the second night they fatten to the fullest, after which they go to rest for the day. It’s easier to start tracking by finding a running trail; it differs from a fat and rutting trail. The walking track is a clear imprint of a series of uniform, calm jumps of a hare. It is not recommended to follow the trail clearly because when approaching the slant's bed, it is easy to attract its attention. It is better to walk 10 meters away from the malik. It often happens that the tracks converge or intersect; there is no need to change the route, as you can wander through the small areas all day and not see a single hare. It happens that a new trail is a loop made by the same animal, following which you can waste a lot of time. It’s easier to look closely at the footprint; there are no two birds with the same paws. If you still have doubts, it is better, of course, to follow the loop and continue the pursuit further. After some time, the hunter comes to an oncoming trail, which will be located closely or even along the first trail and break off without continuation. This is the so-called “deuce”. Having walked fifteen meters further in the original direction, it is easy to notice that the hare has turned back. You should not walk along the “two”, this is an indicator that the hare’s bed is not far away. Here you need to quickly find the trace of a huge sideways hare jump, the so-called “discount”. There are three or four discounts, and the last one necessarily goes to the eared one. Pay attention to the nearest hedges, bushes, hummocks, most likely the hare is lying there. Don’t walk along the mall with a “discount”, the animal will immediately notice and jump up instantly, not even allowing you to shoot.
It is necessary to approach the intended prone position from the opposite side, so there is a chance of approaching at a distance of twenty steps and making a successful and effective shot.
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Hunting a hare from the approach requires certain skills, dexterity and experience in shooting this cunning animal, distinguished by its intelligence and constantly changing behavior patterns. To understand this, just watch a video illustrating this complex but incredibly exciting activity. The method is ideal for those who have not yet acquired a specially trained dog or enjoy long walks in the first snow. Its essence is to find the animal’s feeding area, scare it and hit it the moment it tries to hide.
The main difficulty of approach hunting is that the hunter must be well versed in the area and be familiar first-hand with the behavioral characteristics of his target. The task is significantly complicated by the fact that the hare notices a person before he himself comes into the latter’s field of vision. Secondly, the hunter should be prepared to walk for many hours in the snow. Sometimes you have to walk up to 20-30 kilometers in a day, which, taking into account the capricious autumn weather, requires stamina and good physical fitness.
Such an unfortunate circumstance as the lack of a sufficient amount of game in the hunting zone will make the outing ineffective, turning it into just a long walk, during which not a single shot will be fired. Successful hunting from the approach is greatly facilitated by a detailed study of the habits of the hare and typical places of its days. In order not to waste time, you can find video files in advance that capture the habits of the animal and the characteristic shelters of its daytime rest. However, only through personal experience can one experience the beauty of approach hunting and learn the intricacies of this matter.
When and where is hunting a hare from the approach effective?
The optimal period for approach hunting is considered to be the end of autumn - the very beginning of winter, when the ground is not yet covered with snow and raindrops from the branches force the animals to rest in open areas of the area. As a rule, hares lie in ditches surrounded by natural or artificial barriers, under uprooted snags and any structures where they can feel safe, having a clear view of the territory and remaining hidden from the eyes of predators and humans.
During a snowfall, hares do not hesitate to take cover under drifts. In places with difficult visibility, approach hunting is ineffective, since hares, especially if we are talking about mature individuals, are able to leave the feeding area quietly and disappear without attracting the attention of hunters. It is best to go for prey on a fine, bright day, as the animals will be more active and will not remain in shelter until the last minute, as happens during rain or snowfall. Most often, hare are located in meadows, harvested fields and clearings, where there are many potential shelters and a good view opens from any point.
It is customary to distinguish between day and night hunting. In the first case, it is advisable to go out at dawn, since at this time of year the duration of daylight is not long, and you need to go around huge areas. It is convenient to hunt at night if the first snow falls, since the tracks of the animal become visible on the ground, based on the clarity of which one can make an accurate conclusion about the remoteness of the feeding site. However, it is difficult to find a video recording of a night hunt, since poor lighting does not have the best effect on the quality of the recording.
Equipment and choice of weapons for hunting
Careful preparation and selection of equipment is of great importance for the success of a hunt. Considering the fact that hunting is carried out in late autumn or at the very beginning of winter, it is necessary to take care of the availability of comfortable camouflage clothing and waterproof shoes with high tops. Training videos usually show white robes, allowing you to blend into the surrounding landscape.
Equipment a hunter will need:
- A well-aimed gun. Of primary importance is not so much the quality of the weapon and its ammunition, but rather the skill and reaction speed of the hunter;
- Loot Bag;
- Hunting knife;
- Skis for moving on loose snow;
- Goggles to protect your eyes from snow;
- Video camera to capture the foray and take into account any mistakes made later.
Hunting on horseback is not so tiring and the hares let you get much closer. However, when moving on foot, the hunter can notice many more signs indicating the location of the bedding and more accurately determine the direction of movement. Be sure to take a thermos with hot drinks and packed lunches with you. Not only video reviews on the Internet, but even professional literature are silent about this, and after walking for half a day through the autumn forest, a person urgently needs support.
Approach hunting technique
The specificity of approach hunting is the need to read the hare's tracks and understand the animal's habits. Experienced hunters know that hares are quite smart and each individual reacts differently to approaching danger. If one takes off from lying down at the sight of people, then the other will hide, hoping to remain unnoticed until they literally step on him. To understand the intricacies of an animal’s behavior and instincts, it would be a good idea to first watch a training video, read literature and consult with professionals.
They begin the hunt by exploring the area. The hunter must have keen vision and distinguish the direction of movement of the animal, focusing on its tracks. The colder the weather during this period of autumn, the shorter the transitions are, which must be taken into account. Professionals, which is clearly visible in any video film, move in circles, slowly walking around the site. First of all, ditches and uneven ground are examined.
At the same time, the hunter must be prepared to instantly fire a shot, since the hare can literally jump out from under his feet. The most common mistake that even experienced hare hunters make is being too hasty. In an effort to hit the target, the hunter forgets that the most lethal distance is 20-30 meters and you can always give yourself a few seconds to aim without fuss.
Having noticed traces of an animal’s blood in the snow or a stray trail, which indicates its injury, you should become more active, remembering that now the hare will not be able to go further than 100-200 meters. It is much more difficult to shoot prey when it changes its resting place and hides. Merging with the surface of the earth, the hare is practically invisible to the eye and the hunter will need all his skill and luck.
Hares, especially hare, are very smart animals, fast and quick-witted. However, knowing their psychology, you can force even the most cautious and experienced ones to get out of bed. The most effective trick is to pretend that the hunter has spotted a hare. To do this, you need to, while moving along the loop of his tracks, at some point freeze and raise your gun. An animal watching a person from a hiding place will perceive this movement as if it had been noticed and will try to escape.
Hunting a hare from the approach is a very exciting activity, the success of which depends on a number of factors. Having acquired the necessary knowledge and experience, learned to read the tracks of an animal and become familiar with its habits, the hunter will most likely be left with rich prey and receive a lot of positive emotions. No matter how informative and educational books, notes and videos are, they cannot convey all the charm and excitement of approach hunting. Everyone should try this at least once, even if he is not an avid hunter.
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Comments
- Timofey
Anti-aircraft gunners!)))) Five shots is too much!) I go with MTs21-12, 3 shots is the limit. Two shots at the hare - a side dish of lead for the meat.
- Anonymous
I try to kill the hare with the first shot
- Alexander
I’m from Kazakhstan and love hunting very much, but it so happened that there was no teacher, so we shoot from a car or a snowmobile.
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