Aim for its nose

The early spring bank holiday proves just the time to have a go at the bunnies once again and put some advice into practice

- JAMIE TUSTING

In January, I whiled away the New Year's Day bank holiday meandering through the woods in search of a rabbit. While it is always a joy to be out in the woods, the rabbits well and truly beat me that day, and I returned home without a single bunny in the bag. It was very disheartening and, in truth, it set me back for the rest of the season. I had several frustrating days thereafter.

Such was my frustration with the whole day, I took myself off to a nearby clay ground to practise on rabbits; I think I shot at 50 clays, all of them flinging along the ground and bouncing erratically. By the end of the day, I'd been consistently back in business.

Demons

On the first May bank holiday, when the sun finally seemed to put some warmth into the air, I decided I needed to try to put those rabbit demons to bed for good and planned for another bunny outing on May Day.

I set out to a different part of the estate to last time; open farmland criss-crossed with tracks and hedges, surrounding a 60-acre mature woodland. I knew this would be a likely hunting ground and might yield some results.

Early May has to be one of the most glorious times of the year. When I reached the woods, I was greeted by the sweet scent of blooming flowers and fresh foliage.

The explosion of life that erupts from the leaf-covered floor every spring makes you wonder where that life has been hiding through the long winter months. The trees, previously bare and stark, were adorned with vibrant leaves that rustled softly in the gentle breeze.