Busting Snow Bunnies

When the temperature drops to zero or colder, taking a breath can feel like inhaling broken glass

- Jeffrey Miller

On a calm day without any wind chill, such cold still burns the skin and burrows deep into the bones. As odd as it may sound, I welcome that frigid air.

When the forecast calls for a cold spell with little to no wind, I may even put in for a vacation day. There is no better time to hunt rabbits in the upper Midwest.

Cottontail rabbits don't dig burrows to escape the winter cold. They grow a thicker coat of fur and otherwise adapt to endure harsh weather. Knowing the preferred habitat and understanding these adaptations are key to bagging bunnies.

I was granted permission to hunt a farmstead where rabbits were ravishing recently planted trees and bushes, leaving nipped stems in their wake. When I arrived, I could see why rabbits were hammering the place.

The property, save for the yard around the house, was a brushy overgrown tree claim. Old machinery parked when it no longer worked dotted the land. I couldn't have designed better rabbit cover.

Rabbits are usually quick to bounce out when danger is perceived. However, when the air is truly frigid, they act differently to maintain body heat. They sit tight in forms, the shallow depressions they make in weeds. When spooked, they generally don't run far.

During winter, rabbits survive almost entirely on browse, preferring the tender stems of young trees and shrubs. A rabbit may remain in an area with good browse for days on end, moving as little as possible. They have inefficient digestive tracts and must do all they can to maximize nutrition uptake, including re-ingesting their own droppings, known as coprophagy.

During times of snow and intense cold, rabbits hunker down, not unlike whitetail deer. They pack trails in the snow. Where there are no trails, tracks or evidence of browsing, the area is probably not worth hunting.