A hare is a desirable trophy for every hunter. Its meat has good taste and dietary characteristics, and its fur is widely used in the manufacture of clothing. Hunting for hare and hare is one of the most common types of hunting for fur-bearing animals. Since the hare is quite common, it is hunted everywhere and often. In addition, when hunting for this animal, no additional permission is required.
When hunting for a "oblique" you need to understand that he is a cautious and fast beast, so it can be quite difficult to get close to him at a distance of a shot. In this article, we will look at how and where to look for the beast, as well as the features and secrets of successful hunting for hare and hare. So let's get started.
Stalking hunting
Stalking hare hunting is the most common way of hunting, which can be carried out alone and in a group of several people. This type of hunting requires experience and knowledge of the area from the hunter. If you are going to hunt in a territory unknown to you, you should ask local residents or hunters about potential places for hare fattening (fruit plantations, winter and fodder fields).
Hunting features
The essence of hunting from the approach is to find a place where the animal lies, scare it away and make an aimed shot. To successfully complete the hunt, the hunter must find a place to feed, notice the hare before he notices the hunter, and approach him within shooting distance. With this method of hunting, you need to be ready to walk up to 30 kilometers in search of prey.
A significant disadvantage of approach hunting, over other methods, is that in most cases the female will be the prey. The fact is that young individuals and females often hide and let the hunter approach them, while larger males immediately try to hide at the sight of danger. Due to the shooting of females and young individuals, over time, the population of the animal in the area can significantly decrease.
When and where is the best time to hunt?
It is recommended to hunt the animal from the approach in places with good visibility. If the view is minimal, you may simply not notice that the hare has left the place of fattening, smelling you. There is an opinion that you need to hunt a hare in dry and clear weather. Actually this is not true. In such weather, the beast is the most sensitive, since it has a lot of external enemies that it must be wary of. It is also worth mentioning that winter hunting for a hare from an approach is more productive than autumn, since the hunter can see the traces of the animal.
The choice of a hunting place directly depends on weather conditions. If you are hunting in forestry areas, where there is an abundance of the animal, and it is “not scared”, then it is better to hunt in clear calm weather, otherwise you risk passing by and not noticing it. If there are few hare and they are constantly being hunted, windy and humid weather is definitely better here, as it helps you to get as close as possible to the “oblique”.
You need to go hunting at dawn, since in the autumn-winter period the daylight hours are very small, and, as a rule, you will have to go around large areas before you find the "oblique". At night, it is quite productive to hunt in the winter with a full moon.
Uzerka hunting
Hunting for a uzerka has much in common with the previous method, but it is carried out at a certain time and only for a white hare. Its main difference from approach hunting is that the hunter must be quiet in order to see the hare first before he notices him. Hunting for a white hare, like a hare from an approach, is characterized by trampling and lifting the hare from its place of lying. But in both cases, the hunter will need to travel long distances before meeting with the "oblique".
The most effective hunting for the uzerka is during the period when the snow has not yet had time to fall, and the hare has already changed its color to dazzling white. It is worth noting that the whites during this period tend to hide, even if they notice signs of danger, letting the hunter into the distance for a shot. It is better to hunt the uzerka on wet and windy days. It is in such weather that the whites get out to the edges and lie denser, thereby allowing the hunter to notice and get close to them as close as possible.
Hare hunting by trailing
Hunting for a hare on the first snow is carried out by trailing and its essence lies in the fact that, having found fresh hare tracks (malik), go along them to the place of lying. In fact, this method of hunting is effective in open areas, and requires considerable experience, since hares can run quite a lot in a few hours and it becomes problematic to find them on the trail.
You need to trail only a fresh trail of the beast and only after fresh snow, otherwise you risk walking tens of kilometers without encountering any signs of “oblique”.
Hunting a hare by trailing, it is recommended immediately after powder or fresh snow. It is important to take into account that even if the snowfall ended in the evening, in the morning the tracks of the beast will be very numerous, which greatly complicates the chances of finding it. The ideal option would be an exit 1-2 hours after the powder.
Hare footprints in the snow
You need to go to those places where you may find traces of a hare. It can be the outskirts of forests, winters or planting fruit trees. When you find the trail and start trailing, it is important to know that the “gray”, returning from the night fattening to the place of lying, tries to confuse the tracks as much as possible.
Having found the fattening, try to go around it in a circle and find the exit point of the “oblique” and only then follow the trail. You need to follow the tracks a little to the side and carefully look around. Quite often, the hare, having completed the circle, returns to the old path.
Paddock hunting
Paddock hunting can be called one of the most productive ways. Its essence lies in the fact that one group of hunters (beaters) raise the hare with noise and drive them to the second group (numbers), which, in turn, can only shoot. This type of hunting, although considered productive and very effective in areas with a large number of fur-bearing animals, requires good organization and interaction between hunters. Since often there are accidents on driven hunting, both through the fault of the shooter and the beater.
It is worth noting that during driven hunting, the first wave of hares consists mainly of males, which are the first to jump out at a shot distance and try to escape along the flanks. In the second wave, females and juveniles are already on their way. Knowing this fact allows you to shoot "oblique" more selectively.
The fewer beaters for each shooter, the smaller the percentage of shot males in relation to females. In order for the ratio of males and females to be 50/50, there must be 3 beaters per shooter.
It should be noted that hunting for a hare by a corral can be carried out both with and without dogs. Of course, hunting for a hare without a dog is less effective and requires more effort from hunters. But at the same time, hunting with a dog requires them to be well adapted to the beast and the ability to follow all commands. We will talk about the features of hunting a hare with dogs in another article.
Hunt from ambush
Hunting from ambush is carried out at night with a full moon, since it is at night that hares are most active. The most effective hunting for a hare in winter is on ambush with a full moon due to better visibility. Its success directly depends on the knowledge of the places of constant fattening of the hare and hare. Usually the animal can be found in fields with winter crops, the remains of grain fields and orchards. Also, a hare can be found at night near straw and hay stacks and other places where food that attracts it can be found.
The search for a feeding place should be carried out during the day, when the tracks of the beast are clearly visible. If you are planning to sit in the winter, then the feeding place is easy to find. The fact that you are in the right place will be evidenced by the many traces left by the animal. Even if you are looking for a place for fattening along the black trope, in wet weather it is also not difficult to find traces.
Arrange a place for a sit-in should be in the evening. Prepare in advance for the fact that you will need to sit for a long time. The ambush should be arranged at a distance of no more than 30 meters from the place of the “oblique” fattening, due to the fact that at night the chances of a well-aimed shot are significantly reduced.
I would like to note that ambush hunting is not very popular, as it is ineffective, and you need not only to track down and wait for the beast, but also to make a well-aimed shot in poor lighting conditions.
What else
A novice hunter should know that the hare is strong on the wound and can run with a shot for long distances. Therefore, if you have a wounded animal, then it is recommended to trail it, and you need to wait about 30 minutes before trailing. A hare knowing that he is being pursued is able to run a lot more. But if he calms down and lies down, it will be very difficult for him to get up.
Hunting for a hare at the beginning of winter after powder is one of the best ways to test your hunting skills: endurance, attentiveness, the ability to recognize and read the trail, reaction and accuracy. A hare caught as a result of trailing is a reward received 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 "laying down". Porosha - snow freshly fallen during the night, sweeps everything, and fresh night hare adventures read like an interesting, freshly written story.
In our places, two species are mainly found - the white hare and the hare. Belyak migrates to forests in winter, prefers copses, dense shrubs, overgrown areas. It feeds in winter by eating twigs and bark of trees. Rusak prefers open spaces, in winter he keeps to the edges, beams, small bushes, loves the area with a good view. Despite the snow, it continues to feed on withered grass and winter seeds, leftovers from vegetable gardens, digging it all out of the snow.
In many regions they live side by side. On good foraging grounds, their feeding areas often overlap and their tracks overlap and become confused. How to distinguish the traces of a hare and a hare from each other, since their habits, which means the places of lying and the manner of confusing the track, are different.
The main difference between the prints of one and the other hare is that the hare has wider paws, and the fingers are spread apart more, the hare already has a paw, fingers pressed closer. Therefore, the paw print of a white hare in the snow will be almost round, while that of a hare will be elongated, oval. There are additional differences as well. The hare's trail is more confusing, and when lying down it goes into the forest and dense thickets, including through deep snow. The hare has a discount, the trailer and racing tracks are longer. Because of the narrow paws, it will not pass through deep snow, like a hare, therefore it prefers to move in more open places, including along already trodden paths and roads.
Where to look for a hare in winter.
As already mentioned, 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 best to hunt it in the morning when he had already settled down and calmed down. The day should be chosen fine, mild with little wind. On such days, the hare easily rises from the bed, and does not sit there until the last, as in bad weather or severe frost. In addition, the noise of the wind will hide your steps.
They are looking for a hare trail, especially a hare, along rural lands, fields, vegetable gardens, mowing and meadows, under stacks and stacks of straw, closer to the middle of winter in gardens. Belyak can be found in floodplains of rivers overgrown with young willows, in young aspen and birch forests, in gardens and summer cottages, where he regales himself on the bark of fruit trees.
The process of trailing a hare
The nightly adventures of a hare are quite monotonous. With the beginning of the night, he leaves the haul, first carefully looking around, and then, with fairly fast jumps, goes to the feeding places. In feeding places, it moves slowly in short jumps, very chaotically (confused). Between feeding areas, its run accelerates, and the length of jumps increases. Sometimes, on bright, quiet nights, hares begin to frolic and drive through the snow, then their jumps become especially long.
Having had a snack, at the end of the night, the hare goes to the daytime bed. In the process of this he begins to confuse the trail to confuse would-be hunters. His run speeds up, then slows down, he can return to his tracks, and then run further. It can return a little back to make a strong jump to the side and run further. It makes loops, runs out onto well-found paths and other people's paths, etc. During such a 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.
place of fattening The process of unraveling all the nocturnal hare adventures, usually from the place of fattening (feeding) to its very bed, is trailing. Trailing begins with the fact that, walking along the edge of a field, or meadow, along forest paths or just along a country road, they look out for a hare trail. Usually, hare paths lead towards fields and the like in the direction of fattening, and from there to thickets and shrubs - to lying.
The direction of movement of the hare is indicated to us by its hind legs, their prints are larger, more elongated and located in front of the prints of the front paws. If we were lucky to immediately find a trail leading from the places of feeding to the hay, go unravel it, otherwise head to the place of fattening and start tracing from there.
Types of hare paths (maliks)
All hare tracks can be divided into four types, fattening, racing, trailer 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 places of fattening is very tangled, winding, can intersect with the tracks of other hares, often accompanied by hare droppings. Fattening monograms are usually not unraveled, but after going around the place of fattening in a circle, they look for a waste trail when the hare went to the bed, and they are already trailing it.
racing trail
The hare leaves a racing trail when it jumps at full speed. He can either run away from someone or just 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 distance between the front and hind legs is greater than when walking. The racing track at the end is replaced by a small fat or slower running track.
Running (end) track
When the hare goes from the fattening place home to the laying place, its trail from the fattening place passes to a more purposeful, but still unhurried running (terminal) one. The distances between jumps increase, and the prints of the front paws go one after the other. It is this trail that is the most important, because it leads to the place where he is hiding. Actually, it is only on him that hare “arts”, loops, discounts, deuces and triples begin, with which he tries to confuse, to prevent you from reaching his bed. The running track, especially for the hare, can pass along trodden paths and roads, intertwine with the tracks of other hares and other animals, in this case you need to go along and look for the place where the hare leaves to the side.
Twos, threes and loops
Walking along the running trail, you will meet hare loops, deuces and triples. This suggests that you are getting closer to his bed.
A loop appears when the hare, having made a circle, returns to its track, crossing it or walking a little back 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 in its wake, and then abruptly changes direction, making a discount or simply changing the direction of the run.
Troika occurs when the hare, having gone back along its track, nevertheless decides to move further in the original direction and again goes along its path. After the triple, there is usually no discount and the oblique after it rarely goes to the prone.
Discounts (estimates)
A discount is a big jump that a hare makes to the side of its track. 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 deuces with a discount. Usually, after the second time, it's time to start turning your head in all directions, looking for a hare.
Unraveling Maliki
So, what does the whole process of trailing a hare look like. Having found its trace (malik), first of all we determine its direction so as not to come to the previously abandoned prone. You can recognize it by fingerprints or by the position of the front and hind legs and the distance between the tracks, remember that in a hare the prints of the hind legs are in front of the front ones. We are heading along the found malik, a little away from it, so as not to trample. If he led you to the fattening place, we go around this place in a circle in search of a waste trace, you should not waste time unraveling the fattening loops.
Having found the waste, we begin to trail it already, it will either lead to a new place for fattening, or two loops and discounts will begin, which indicates the proximity of the hare bed. The loops must be passed completely, otherwise there is a chance to go astray and get on the trail of another hare crossing the one you are looking for. If the malik went onto a path, road or other trail and went, or even merged with them, go along this path of three hundred to four hundred steps, in one direction and the other, until you find a place of descent. To determine a fresh print against the background of old ones, you can slightly crush it with your finger, the snow on the fresh one will crumble, while on the old one it does not.
Remember places where you can lose your track, trail crossings, etc. you may have to go back there. Usually, after the first loops, triples, deuces and discounts begin. You should be wary after the first deuce at a discount, and after the second you need to look around in all directions and be ready to shoot. Experienced hunters say that in no case should you stop tracking a hare. Even if you need to look around carefully, step in place, your stop can provoke a scythe to rush out of the shelter. If you cannot specifically determine the location of the bed, start carefully, in a circle, bypass the proposed area of its placement, looking in the direction of the track.
Place of bed
How to find a bed? You need to pay attention to those places where the hare likes to hide. Rusak prefers to hide in places with good visibility, in bushes scattered across the field, in the roots or near tree trunks on hills, at the base of snowdrifts and sediments, along ruts, hollows, near shelters like sheds, old huts or fences. White hare in early snow can hide in bushes near fields and on the edges, in heavy snow in the forest, deeper, in spruce forests, dense thickets, at eversion, near windbreaks, sometimes along the edge of forest glades.
hare lying The place of lying can be determined by a hill of snow, often different in color, with lumps of earth that the animal sketched when digging a hole for itself. But it should be borne in mind 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, follow out of the corner of your eye, and approach not directly, but passing a little to the side. Having approached the place of prone, try to shoot him on the spot. If you raised a hare, you need to shoot after him. After the shot, carefully watch the hare. If he continues to run but behaved strangely, follow his trail, he may well be injured and without even leaving drops of blood he will collapse after running 300 - 400 meters. If, nevertheless, you missed, 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 lie low and wait, he may well, having cut a few circles, return to the prone position or simply calm down and lie down in another place, then drag him out again.
Equipment and weapons
Two things are important when hunting by trailing in winter, 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 is also important, in clothing, and noiselessness, and the absence of pungent odors, so try to adhere to the following rules:
- A camouflage coat should correspond not only to the season, but also to the external environment. So on the first snow, when not everything is covered with it, the camouflage coat should be with dark spots, but after heavy snowfalls it should be pure white.
- Clothes and ammunition should not rustle loudly, squeak or jingle, avoid squeaky leather or loudly rustling synthetics.
- Shoes should be wearable, comfortable, but at the same time not creak in the snow, rubber shoes, for example, sin with this. Boots or boots are well suited for such hunting..
- It is quite difficult to frighten a hare with a smell, but avoid strong odors, clothes should be clean, preferably specially designed for hunting.
- If good shoes are enough for the first snow, then in winter it is better to ski in deep snow. Skis use wide ones, they also should not rustle loudly, and the bindings creak.
- For hunting a hare, usually smooth-bore guns are used, preferably machine guns, so that you can quickly fire several shots in a row. Accuracy is of great importance, so the barrel is taken by choke or pay. Shoot cartridge from #3 to #0 with a sharp shot.
- It is better not to take a dog for tracking, it will rather scare away the hare, raise it ahead of time, when you will not be ready for the shot yet.
The first winter powders are an exciting time for every hunter. Finally, there is an opportunity to show their skills as a tracker. At this time, you can easily read the tracks without the help of a dog. The most common hunting at this time is hunting for a hare in the first snow. This is not just a traditional walking hunt, but often the only one possible for a city dweller for a fur-bearing animal.
About the hare and his habits
The hare, a typical representative of the forest and forest-steppe fauna of Russia, is an interesting animal, smart and able to disguise itself well, confuse tracks, and sometimes even repulse the pursuer. There are many testimonies when the hare upholstered with success from birds of prey. Caught in a noose, an adult hare may well rip open a jacket and tear a soldier's belt with a blow from his hind legs with long claws. Trail hunting is a very exciting activity, even if the hare turns out to be the winner. If the hunter managed to track him down, unravel all the intricacies of the tracks and make a successful shot, the hunt turns into a real triumphant action. But for this you need to know the habits of the animal, the characteristics of behavior in different periods of time and be patient.
The hare feeds at night, during the day it rests on a bed in a secluded place, after carefully confusing the tracks. It prefers to feed in the fields; in late autumn, the hare can often be found on winter crops. The hare prefers to live in fields with copses, meadow lands and in pegs, the white hare is a forest dweller. With a cold snap, with deep snow cover, the brown hare moves closer to human habitation, the white hare moves away to aspen and willow young. Rusak continues to feed on herbs and their seeds all winter, sometimes raids people's gardens and orchards. Haystacks in the fields are his favorite feeding grounds. Only with very deep snow and snow crust does it switch to feeding on the bark of bushes and trees.
They also choose places for daylight hours in different ways. Belyaki, like forest dwellers, prefer to hide in windbreaks, dense undergrowth or bushes. The hare lays down for a daytime rest on the border of the land, in the copses, on the edges of the forest. This predetermines the way the hare leaves the pursuers. Rusak loves a good view from his day, when climbing he leaves an open place where he can develop sufficient speed, and then changes grounds. He skillfully uses protective grounds, ravines, beams, thickets of bushes along the floodplains of streams.
Powder trailing
Porosha - fresh snow that fell at night, a convenient way to spot the animal during the daytime. This is the most interesting. Search by trailing a hare develops attentiveness, logic, endurance and helps to communicate with nature in its original form. According to the types of powder, it is divided into fresh and deaf, according to the consistency of snow, printing powder is distinguished. By origin - upper and alluvial drifting. Deaf powder means that the snow has just stopped, the forest dwellers did not have time to leave traces. With prolonged bad weather, the hare may not leave the shelter for a long time, waiting out the bad weather, but after it it can feed until the morning and during the day. Fresh powder - when the snow stopped in the evening, all night fat traces are in full view, and unraveling the malik (chain of hare tracks) is a pleasure. Printing powder occurs during thaws, in this case the snow retains traces very well, all the details of the trace itself are visible and the hunter can determine not only the type of hare, but also its age and condition. The upper powder is formed during snowfall, alluvial - during a light blizzard or drifting snow, which overwrites old traces. Alluvial powders are very difficult to read, as the wind is not uniform everywhere.
Hare tracks and tricks
The hare skillfully confuses the traces after fattening, going on a day trip. Examining the grounds where it is likely to meet an oblique, sooner or later, the hunter finds a hare malik. When feeding, the distances between the tracks are short, the line is winding, the trace of the hind paw is imprinted completely. Often there is a sitting track, when all the paws are placed side by side, so the hare looks around. If the line is straight, and the distance between the tracks is about 50 cm, the hare should lie down.
If the jumps are long, up to a meter, then someone scared the hare, and he runs away. If sharp jumps to the side are noticeable, the hare left the chase, in this case it is best to look for another trace.
Before going to rest, the hare will definitely make a double track and a discount. Such tricks ensure his safety not only from the hunter or dogs.
In nature, the oblique has many natural enemies and he confuses the trail, realizing that it is much easier to find him in the snow than in the black trope. As already mentioned, the hare prefers to choose a place to rest on the border of the land, having natural shelters and enough open space to control the area. These are the edges of a sparse forest, steppe pegs, a boundary or furrow overgrown with grass, a ravine or a ditch. The hare's sense of smell leaves much to be desired, so it does not take into account the movement of air, but it relies completely on the eyes and ears
Before approaching the chosen place, the hare makes one or two doubles with discounts. This method of disguising the trail looks like this: a hare in an open place returns along its trail for several meters, and then leaves its malik with a long jump to the side. After the discount, he lays another double or construction, the triple is also performed, but the passage along the trail is triple. A discount from the second double (construction site) is made for some kind of natural shelter to hide the trail. On this double, the malik, as it were, breaks off, and the hare leaves for shelter. Then the animal lays the loop and lies down. It is interesting that he lays down along the way in front of his trail to the discount with his muzzle towards him. If there is a chase on the trail, she will hesitate at the discount, and the hare will see all this.
Old experienced hares, especially in areas where there are many predators, make a wide loop and up to twos, and deceitful feints are laid carefully and at least two. Moving along the malik, the hunter must always be on the alert, any double-building can be in front of the laying. Therefore, there is one hunting trick - to move at a steady pace and never stop. As soon as the hunter has stopped, this serves as a signal for the animal to break loose. When examining traces, trying to read and unravel them, hunters always shift from foot to foot imitating steps. The hare rises sharply, makes several long straight jumps in exactly the opposite direction from the pursuer. Thus, he breaks the distance as much as possible, and then begins to wind around on the run, laying a wide circle.
It is necessary to shoot exactly at the moment when the hare goes into the distance. They aim over the ears, so anticipating movement. A shot at a hare moving at an angle to the shooter is very difficult. If the hunter fails to shoot in time, it is better not to pursue immediately. Feeling no chase, the hare lays a circle and goes to the old place of lying. If the hunter is in a camouflage robe and does not give himself away by movement, the scythe can pass just a few meters from him. Even after that, if the shot is not fired, the hare will lay another circle, but already a much larger one. It is much more interesting to hunt a hare without a dog if sports interest is pursued in the first place. In this case, you can observe all the tricks, study them, you can see many incidents that are not available to dog lovers.
Choice of terrain, hunting time and conditions
Under normal conditions, the hare finishes feeding in the morning, before dawn, and goes to rest. The best time for trailing is early morning. The weather is better to choose mild, with a light breeze. So the sounds of steps are better concealed, and the animal is less alert than in the cold. According to the first powders, the hare is hunted in the fields, agricultural lands, where the animals feed on the left spikelets. Closer to winter, it is better to look for a hare on mowing, under haystacks, stacks of straw, along floodplains of rivers with young willow bushes. At the end of the hunting season, in frosts, with deep snow, the hare moves to housing, to gardens, to human household services. It can also harm gardens, nibbling young fruit trees, and graze in vegetable gardens, looking for abandoned vegetables.
Weapons and equipment
The main thing in powder hunting is camouflage. Disguise should be in everything - in clothes, in sounds, in smells. A few tips:
- maskhalat should be in season. If at the beginning of autumn the powder does not cover the entire space, then the maskhalat should not be white, but with black patches. In winter, when everything is covered with snow, the maskhalat is pure white;
- shoes should not creak when walking. Passion for rubber boots, even very well insulated leads to unmasking. Rubber creaks even in warm weather on snow. The best shoes are high boots or felt boots;
- in deep snow use wide skis. Lined with skins make less noise. Fasteners should also not creak. Many hunters sew special covers for shoes that close the bindings and muffle the sound;
- the smells of a hare are of little concern, but a strong human smell can alert even him. Clothing must be clean and preferably special.
Weapons are used in a variety of ways, mostly smooth-bore. You have to shoot at a moving target, which makes a bullet shot ineffective. The shot is used from No. 3 to No. 0, in winter it is larger in frosts. Of great importance is the sharpness of the shot and accuracy. Machine guns that allow you to make several shots to steal have proven themselves well, but they place high demands on the endurance of the hunter - they are heavy. According to hunting tradition and ethics, blood is squeezed from the wound from the hare, straightened and hung on a shoulder strap. Putting prey in a backpack is considered ugly.
Among the huge variety of ways to catch a hare, hunting by trailing on powder (on freshly fallen snow) is far from the last place in popularity among hunters. And there are many explanations for this. Firstly, it is a quiet, calm hunting, which allows you to temporarily escape from the bustle of the city, already fed up with the noise of highways. Secondly, this is a great opportunity to be alone with nature, observe the beauty of the winter forest, breathe clean air ... In general, every avid hunter likes hunting for a hare in his own way. And for those hunters who have not yet got a hunting dog, this method of catching hares is ideal.
Hunting a hare by trailing is both simple and complex at the same time. As mentioned above, dogs are not needed for this hunt, the hunter himself will have to look for the hare in his footsteps. But not all hunters from the first time succeed in unraveling the hare “twos”, “constructions” and approaching the hare's daytime hare at a distance of a shot. A novice hunter can walk through the forest for hours, solving hare puzzles, but still be left without prey. This is fine. Success in trailing a hare in the snow comes with experience. But you can and should avoid the typical mistakes of beginners and get your first hare as quickly as possible! In this article, you will learn about the features of trailing a hare in the snow without a dog, about what time and weather is best to go on this hunt, where to look for a hare, how it lies down for a day, and also about the most common mistakes beginners make.
Walking through the forest, you probably noticed a huge number of hare tracks, or, as the hunters say, “malik”. Some footprints were left last night, and some even a week ago. It is quite difficult to understand which of them are fresh and which are not very good. Especially if the weather is clear and frosty and there has been no snow for a whole week. In such conditions, even the most experienced hunter will get confused.
Therefore, to hunt a hare by trailing, we need to wait for a good snowfall, which would cover all the old tracks. Well, or in extreme cases, a good squally wind, so that it powders the old malik. A particularly good time for hunting hare and hare by powder will be the day before which it snowed all night and ended only in the morning. Thus, only the freshest traces will remain in the forest.
In addition, after a snowfall, relatively warm weather persists, when the hare lies on the hare to the last, letting the hunter very close to him. In frosty weather, some very shy individuals break off immediately, sensing danger even a few hundred meters away.
You should go hunting early so that you can already be in the forest at dawn. It is better to start hunting for a hare by trailing a hare, as it is less cunning than a white hare. The white hare winds very well and lies down for a day somewhere in the windbreak, he sleeps very sensitively and at the slightest danger will run even deeper into the impassable thicket. Rusak is much easier to catch. The main task of the hunter now is to determine where the trace of the hare is, and where the hare is. Luckily, it's very easy! The hare's paws are more rounded, and the tracks leave wider, while the hare's footprint is narrower and longer.
We figured out the traces, now we are starting to trail the hare through the freshly fallen snow! Now the fun part of the hunt begins! Hunter, be careful, otherwise the cunning hare will fool you!
Some hunters prefer to start hunting from places where the hare is fattening - aspen, small shrubs, gardens, that is, where the hare fed that night. These places are very easy to identify - there are a large number of tracks that lead from one tree to another. It happens that several hares feed on one fattening.
The hunter goes around the fattening area and looks for the exit trail, because he knows that the hare will never lie down for the day where he fed that night. You need to follow the trail carefully, without damaging the malik itself, since it is possible that the hare will outwit you, and you will have to go back and solve the hare puzzles again.
To be successful in snow hunting, you must know how to hare obfuscates its tracks.
Firstly, he can wind, i.e., make circles of different sizes;
Secondly, he can return several times in his own footsteps back several times, which also confuses his enemies a lot - wolves , foxes and man;
Thirdly, he can follow in the footsteps of other hares, incredibly complicating an already difficult task.
But with experience, you will learn to unravel all the intricacies of the hares, you just have to go out into the field a few times and practice. Now let's get back to the hare trail. So far, there is an even track on the snow, without any zigzags. But here you see that the tracks of the hare intersect. These, of course, may be traces of two different oblique ones, or maybe even our bunny began to wind! Some hunters may be tempted not to go around the entire loop and immediately turn onto a new track. But still, I advise you to go around the whole loop and look very carefully to see if the hare has made discounts. He can easily return along the trail and somewhere near a bush, a ravine, i.e., where his new tracks will not be visible, jump off to the side for several meters. If you didn’t see any discounts, then continue trailing the hare.
The further you move away from fat, the more careful you need to be. Look around, seeing a discount to the side, go to it. Then the hare can make a few more loops and discounts. On the snow, you should walk carefully, without touching the branches and not make noise.
You should also know that for a day the hare lies with its muzzle in the direction from which the wind blows. So that the hare does not smell you ahead of time, it is advisable to move towards the wind.
There is one more important detail to be aware of when hunting in the snow without a dog. Hares often lie close to their path to see the pursuer. Therefore, even if the tracks in the snow lead into the distance, the hare can be several tens of meters away from you and watch you. And as soon as you turn your back on him, he will run away with all his might.
So look around carefully. Always be ready to throw up gun and shoot. Pay special attention to hummocks, young spruces, fallen trees - under them a hare can dig a mink for itself. Very often, hares lay down right in the field, this is noticeable by a small tubercle of snow dug by a hare. Eared can jump out at any moment, he does not run away straight, but in zigzags, and often changes the direction of his run. No wonder you can't get into it the first time. If, nevertheless, the hare is gone, then it is pointless to run after him, it is better to start tracing through the snow for another hare, and return to this later, when he lies down again and calms down. Moreover, without a dog, a frightened hare cannot be immediately caught.
But if the hare is wounded, then you simply have to get it like a real hunter! Moreover, the wounded hare does not run far, and hides somewhere nearby. It's not difficult to find him on the blood trail.
For hunting hares by tracking in the snow, shot No. 1, 2, 3 is used.
Everything comes with experience, dear friends! So do not despair if your first hunt for a hare in the snow turns out to be unsuccessful. You just need to learn the necessary lessons and then everything will work out! In addition, there are other ways to hunt a hare, both with a dog and without it. You can read about these methods. Break a leg!
