Post by yihunt on Feb 15, 2010 11:51:51 GMT -4
Pennsylvania rabbit hunters may enjoy a longer season next winter
Sunday, February 14, 2010
By Ben Moyer
Ben MoyerJim Freidly, of Lancaster County, took his beagles west to near Breezewood for a late season rabbit hunt.That Jim Freidly drove two-thirds of the way across Pennsylvania with three beagles in his truck as a blizzard bore down is no surprise. Freidly is part of the hard-core remnant of the state's rabbit hunters. Hours before a historic snowstorm bulls-eyed the Mason-Dixon Line, and the late rabbit season closed Feb. 6, Freidly returned to his home in Lancaster County from a rabbit hunt near Breezewood. He and three human companions killed five rabbits and the little pack of dogs pursued a dozen others which evaded the guns.
The hunt hearkened a past when beagle yaps climaxed by a shotgun's report were familiar sounds in rural places. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission's annual game-take survey, 738,000 sportsmen identified themselves as rabbit hunters in 1983. By 2007, the game-take survey indicated rabbit hunter ranks had eroded to 136,000 -- an astounding freefall of 82 percent.
The reasons behind hunter declines are diverse. An aging population, urban sprawl, diminished leisure time and lack of hunting opportunity are all acknowledged culprits. A proposal advanced at the Jan. 26 meeting of the Pennsylvania Game Commission is not likely to reverse that trend, but Freidly and the rest of the rabbit fraternity support the initiative with the fervor of hounds on a hot trail.
Prompted by a motion from Commissioner Robert Schlemmer of Export, the Board of Game Commissioners voted preliminary approval to extend the 2010-2011 late rabbit season through Feb. 26 (Dec. 27, 2010-Feb. 26, 2011), which would make next winter's season three weeks longer than the one that just closed.
"Any time afield is precious," Freidly said. "Given the declining hunter base, opportunities to hunt are always a positive thing as long as there is no threat to the resource. But I think this has been worked out elsewhere -- I hunt in New York and Maryland because of those states' winter seasons, which have run through the end of February for some time. These are states with similar landscapes and cover as Pennsylvania, and [state wildlife agencies] wouldn't have gone ahead with longer seasons if their biologists hadn't recommended it."
There appears to be room for additional hunter harvest of rabbits in Pennsylvania. The same 1983 game-take survey determined that hunters killed 2,150,000 rabbits that year. Twenty-four years later, in 2007, hunters placed 418,000 rabbits in their coats.
"When we hunt rabbits today, especially in winter, we just don't see anyone else out there anymore," Freidly said. "The only people out are the dyed-in-the-wool serious hunters who have made an investment in their hounds. This will give those guys more opportunity to get those dogs in the field, or to take along some casual hunters who have never hunted with dogs before. Maybe they'll get interested."
Hounds are a big part of serious rabbit hunting. Freidly thinks the demands of keeping dogs have trimmed rabbit hunter numbers.
"Of all the people I know and hunt with, I am the only one left who keeps a pack of rabbit hounds," Freidly said. "Things are different today. Beagles are noisy, and you need to live someplace where you don't have neighbors, or where the neighbors don't mind. And dogs take space, time and money. In a normal year, without unexpected vet costs, I probably spend $700 for each of these dogs, so I'll be glad to have more days to hunt them."
Another rabbit hunter survivor is Dave Fisher of Smithfield, Fayette County. Fisher, who has authored four books about rabbit hunting with beagles, crusaded for the longer winter rabbit season since 1992. He testified at nearly every Game Commission meeting, corresponded with biologists and amassed data from his hunts.
"I hunt every chance I can," Fisher said, "and one of the main reasons I pursued this [longer winter season] is because of weather. During the middle of January, we lost 12 days of hunting because of deep snow. Rabbits are not out in that and the dogs can't run or track. If the season were longer you could simply wait out the bad weather and hope to get in a few days later.
"For me and the small number of serious rabbit hunters out there, this will mean more quality hunting time -- more time to run our hounds. It's what we live for."
"Today, it's all about finding time to hunt," Freidly said. "Unless I take my vacation time, hunting season is basically Saturdays. Three more Saturdays in February is a big deal to me."
Sunday, February 14, 2010
By Ben Moyer
Ben MoyerJim Freidly, of Lancaster County, took his beagles west to near Breezewood for a late season rabbit hunt.That Jim Freidly drove two-thirds of the way across Pennsylvania with three beagles in his truck as a blizzard bore down is no surprise. Freidly is part of the hard-core remnant of the state's rabbit hunters. Hours before a historic snowstorm bulls-eyed the Mason-Dixon Line, and the late rabbit season closed Feb. 6, Freidly returned to his home in Lancaster County from a rabbit hunt near Breezewood. He and three human companions killed five rabbits and the little pack of dogs pursued a dozen others which evaded the guns.
The hunt hearkened a past when beagle yaps climaxed by a shotgun's report were familiar sounds in rural places. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission's annual game-take survey, 738,000 sportsmen identified themselves as rabbit hunters in 1983. By 2007, the game-take survey indicated rabbit hunter ranks had eroded to 136,000 -- an astounding freefall of 82 percent.
The reasons behind hunter declines are diverse. An aging population, urban sprawl, diminished leisure time and lack of hunting opportunity are all acknowledged culprits. A proposal advanced at the Jan. 26 meeting of the Pennsylvania Game Commission is not likely to reverse that trend, but Freidly and the rest of the rabbit fraternity support the initiative with the fervor of hounds on a hot trail.
Prompted by a motion from Commissioner Robert Schlemmer of Export, the Board of Game Commissioners voted preliminary approval to extend the 2010-2011 late rabbit season through Feb. 26 (Dec. 27, 2010-Feb. 26, 2011), which would make next winter's season three weeks longer than the one that just closed.
"Any time afield is precious," Freidly said. "Given the declining hunter base, opportunities to hunt are always a positive thing as long as there is no threat to the resource. But I think this has been worked out elsewhere -- I hunt in New York and Maryland because of those states' winter seasons, which have run through the end of February for some time. These are states with similar landscapes and cover as Pennsylvania, and [state wildlife agencies] wouldn't have gone ahead with longer seasons if their biologists hadn't recommended it."
There appears to be room for additional hunter harvest of rabbits in Pennsylvania. The same 1983 game-take survey determined that hunters killed 2,150,000 rabbits that year. Twenty-four years later, in 2007, hunters placed 418,000 rabbits in their coats.
"When we hunt rabbits today, especially in winter, we just don't see anyone else out there anymore," Freidly said. "The only people out are the dyed-in-the-wool serious hunters who have made an investment in their hounds. This will give those guys more opportunity to get those dogs in the field, or to take along some casual hunters who have never hunted with dogs before. Maybe they'll get interested."
Hounds are a big part of serious rabbit hunting. Freidly thinks the demands of keeping dogs have trimmed rabbit hunter numbers.
"Of all the people I know and hunt with, I am the only one left who keeps a pack of rabbit hounds," Freidly said. "Things are different today. Beagles are noisy, and you need to live someplace where you don't have neighbors, or where the neighbors don't mind. And dogs take space, time and money. In a normal year, without unexpected vet costs, I probably spend $700 for each of these dogs, so I'll be glad to have more days to hunt them."
Another rabbit hunter survivor is Dave Fisher of Smithfield, Fayette County. Fisher, who has authored four books about rabbit hunting with beagles, crusaded for the longer winter rabbit season since 1992. He testified at nearly every Game Commission meeting, corresponded with biologists and amassed data from his hunts.
"I hunt every chance I can," Fisher said, "and one of the main reasons I pursued this [longer winter season] is because of weather. During the middle of January, we lost 12 days of hunting because of deep snow. Rabbits are not out in that and the dogs can't run or track. If the season were longer you could simply wait out the bad weather and hope to get in a few days later.
"For me and the small number of serious rabbit hunters out there, this will mean more quality hunting time -- more time to run our hounds. It's what we live for."
"Today, it's all about finding time to hunt," Freidly said. "Unless I take my vacation time, hunting season is basically Saturdays. Three more Saturdays in February is a big deal to me."