Hare hunting. Hare hunting in February Hare hunting video

Not many people probably know that in the old days February was considered the last month of the year, which is why it got its name “section” - the cutting off year. And he was also called Mezhen, Fierce, Snezhen, Bokogrey - all of these very accurately characterize this time of year and weather.
Situated between winter and spring, he acquired a stern disposition. The present is still far away, good weather does not last long, fine days are often replaced by snowstorms and blizzards. And severe frosts are not uncommon at this time.

February has two friends: a snowstorm and a blizzard.
February is a fierce month, he asks: how are you wearing shoes?

But still, as they said before, February snow smells like spring. This is especially felt on clear days - the bright sky with distant clumps of thinning clouds is widely illuminated by sunlight. The dark tree trunks are already noticeably heating up, and the first thawed patches are forming near them. The revived bird people are having fun with all their might, emitting intricate trills.

The spring of light is already near, but the short February with its fickle weather is very harsh. And if the birds have somewhere to hide - there is deep snow all around, then the inhabitants of forests and rivers have a difficult time.

The winter season is ending, but hunters are in no hurry to tie up their skis, because there is still time for interesting hunts. Of course, they no longer indulge in variety, but in terms of excitement they can compete with anything. Just look at such methods as tracking, hiding and stalking. This is how hares and foxes are hunted.

They wait for hare and hare on moonlit nights in places where they often visit, sometimes attracting them with green food.
They also hunt, but to attract them, they must arrange a meat or fish bait, and at the end of the month, during the period of “fox weddings,” hiding and lying in wait along their paths gives good results.

In February they continue to trap wolves. It’s true that their legs feed them; they continuously roam around their area without staying anywhere for long. Deep and loose snow does not support the weight of animals, so they often move around the land using country roads or their own old paths. Next to them, in convenient places, the traps are alert to them.

These animals are also hunted. High snowdrifts and powerful snowmobiles provide a good opportunity to reduce their numbers.

Although the hunting of fur-bearing animals continues, it is no longer as effective. The main subject of hunting essentially remains pine marten and sable. True, they fall into traps less and less often; they have to show more and more skill when choosing odorous bait.

Semi-aquatic animals - beavers and muskrats - are running out of food supplies. Often at this time you can see such pictures on forest rivers.

Having chosen a convenient moment, the beaver family decides to replenish their supplies.

It’s also not easy for the mink and the otter; extensive ice forms on the reservoirs, preventing them from freely penetrating under the ice.
But the forest polecat doesn’t care; its tracks are still found along streams and ravines, near windbreaks and outbuildings on the edges of the forest.

Of the ungulates, only wild boar is allowed to be taken from organized ambushes. They, like no other animal, are having a hard time right now. Deep snow makes it difficult to move, the cold makes it difficult to freely obtain food in the floodplains and forest floor, and even wolves often follow on their heels, waiting for an opportunity.
For these reasons, these animals sometimes seem to disappear from the land - for a long time, their traces are generally not found. At this time, they usually stop in secluded places, spending a significant part of the time in a small patch of thicket, near a ravine, stream or swamp. Their presence can only be revealed by the paths they have trodden in the snow, more like trenches.

Of the upland game, as before, the most popular is the grouse. They shoot him. It is advisable to go out on such a hunt early in the morning; birds leave their warm shelters at dawn. Only in severe frosts can they not fly out until lunchtime, waiting for the sun to sufficiently warm the air.

For obvious reasons, the most effective hunting for wood grouse with a dog is no longer possible, therefore, like hazel grouse, it is caught mainly by chance, scared out of the snow or from a tree.

Hibernating species still sleep in their burrows and dens, but with the arrival of warm days, especially at the end of February, you can often see traces of a badger and a raccoon dog that have awakened for a while.
They do not go far from their holes; after cleaning their fur and going to the restroom, they climb back and fall into winter sleep again.

At the end of the month there is a cheerful Russian holiday - Maslenitsa, everyone says goodbye to winter. But hunters have their own holiday; many of them close the winter season by going to the hunting grounds on the last weekend of February, more for the mood than for trophies.

Duck, goose, goose. On the Black Sea and Caspian coasts, as well as throughout our south, mergansers and goldeneyes are the first to arrive; after 2-3 days - mallard, teal, tufted duck, then blue duck (red-headed duck). A little later, with the onset of warming, teal, pintail, gray duck, shoveler arrive, and after a few more days - wigeon.
Almost simultaneously with the ducks, the first schools of geese and geese appear throughout Transcaucasia and in Central Asian wintering areas. Waterfowl arrive in the Astrakhan Plavni and the Moldavian SSR in early March.

Fans of spring waterfowl hunting need to take care of duck decoys and goose profiles in advance. They are very important in this hunt, since geese and ducks are very fond of stuffed animals. Even with a good decoy, some ducks most often fly up only to their own species (teal, duck, goldeneye, etc.).

The most portable and lightweight are rubber inflatable stuffed animals, but in strong winds they float and tip over. There are also wooden stuffed ducks of various types on sale, but they are not difficult for the hunter himself to make.

To make a stuffed animal, take a piece of wood that is soft for processing (preferably linden, in the absence of it - aspen, maple, etc.). To reduce weight and improve buoyancy, the effigy is made hollow, so after finishing it is roughly sawed or split along the top along the length, and all excess wood is removed from both halves of the effigy using a semicircular chisel. After this, both halves are glued together with fish glue or casein, and the carcass is finally trimmed using a rasp and glass skin. The head is cut out separately and, after fitting it to the carcass, it is fixed on a wooden pin. Then the stuffed animal is primed and painted, and a ring is screwed into the front part of the bottom, to which a string with a weight is tied. This gives the stuffed animal such natural buoyancy that in the twilight it can even be difficult to immediately distinguish it from a living duck.

Stuffed geese are very heavy and bulky, and therefore only profiles are usually used. They are cut out of plywood or tin and painted to resemble the plumage of birds. Goose profiles are mounted on short pointed pegs, which are stuck into the ground during hunting so that the profiles are held vertically. Duck profiles are made in the same way, but then nailed to two wooden planks, which can be moved apart at an angle, secured in this position and launched into the water. However, these profiles, although noticeable from different sides, do not have such a natural appearance as stuffed animals. Ducks do not fly up to them so willingly and never sit down, noticing the deception nearby.

Duck and goose hunting is prohibited in February
On the Black Sea and Caspian coasts, as well as throughout our south, mergansers and goldeneyes are the first to arrive; after 2-3 days - mallard, teal, tufted duck, then blue duck (red-headed duck). A little later, with the onset of warming, teal, pintail, gray duck, shoveler arrive, and after a few more days - wigeon. Almost simultaneously with the ducks, the first schools of geese and geese appear throughout Transcaucasia and in Central Asian wintering areas. Waterfowl arrive in Astrakhan Plavni and Moldova in early March.

This hunt is good. that there is no need to keep hunting dogs, coordinate the time of departure with comrades, provide for the availability of transport, a hunting base, boats, stuffed animals, flags, etc. Here the main details are a gun, a white camouflage coat, a chair, a hunting spotlight, a sheepskin coat and felt boots.

Hunting, of course, takes place in late autumn and winter. Strict reference to any month is not necessary. November and December are good because the beast is not flooded (not shelled), and there is still a lot of it. In February, the hares begin their rut, they move around more and the likelihood of seeing them again increases.

Sitting areas. Old manuals (L. Sabaneev) advise to guard the Rusaks at the threshing floor. But where to find this threshing floor now? New approaches are needed. Brown hares love to feast on thawed winter crops, and in the second half of winter they like to settle in wormwood. Former cabbage fields are also being trampled. But this does not mean that you can sit anywhere in the field. It is advisable to examine it and find the places where the hare pass most often. As a rule, these are intersections of field roads (especially with deep ditches), reclamation ditches, forest plantations, ravines, and shafts with wormwood.

This is where you need to look for specific hiding places with convenient sectors of fire and natural shelters for camouflage. When going to a sit-down, you need to know the lighting conditions - the phases of the moon. On a new moon it is dark, the most effective shooting will be only with a hunting spotlight (halogen headlight 6 V 15W). In the first quarter, the moon shines in the evening, in the full moon - at midnight, in the last quarter - in the morning. When using a “night light”, a laser target designator or LED on the front sight makes aiming easier. Rubbing the aiming bar with chalk, gluing white stripes to it, and installing phosphorescent front sights are less effective: when shooting quickly at a moving animal, the eye does not have time to distinguish them.

So, specifically about means that make hunting in the dark easier. Spotlight. In hunting stores it is sold under the designation OP-1 (“Boar”). Personally, I don't like it. The fact is that its headlight is mounted above the aiming bar, so aiming is not very convenient. I have the headlight mount mounted under the barrels. The switch is on the left side of the fore-end (on a common bracket) under the thumb of the left hand. The switch is silent. The click is unacceptable, it greatly frightens the animal. It’s not difficult to make a spotlight yourself. A 6V 15 Watt halogen lamp can be mounted in the socket of a regular 2.5-3V light bulb, filled with epoxy. Then it will fit any reflector from a battery-powered flashlight. All that remains is to adjust the bracket so that it clasps the lower trunk.

I attach the laser target designator in a similar way, close to the barrels. Then the beam-dot will “cross” less with the aiming line. The shooting comfort is exceptional. It is enough to align the point with the target, and you can press the shutter. There is no need to aim in the usual way (pressing the comb of the butt against the cheek). This is especially convenient in thick winter clothing. If the batteries are located inside the laser center, they must be carried separately on wires approximately 150 cm long. In cold weather, it is better to carry the battery under a warm jacket, and pull the wires through the left sleeve or under the hollow. Otherwise, the laser center will fail. The point fades in the cold and does not “hit” further than 10-15 m.

A 1.5-3 V LED is placed in a tube with a diameter of 4-5 mm and a length of 12-16 mm. The tube is attached to the sighting bar close to the front sight. The mirror is directed towards the shooter's eye. Battery - 2 “pancakes” from an electric flashlight are attached with a bracket under the barrels close to the forend. On the same bracket there is a switch (on the left, under the thumb). Please note that the switches for all devices are the same. After all, there is no time to think at night when an animal suddenly appears. When the LED is turned on, you can see it in the tube only after you have touched the gun correctly. If the application is incorrect, you will not see the LED. For the shooter, this is a signal: the gun is aimed past the target.

Night vision sight (NVG). I do not consider it in detail due to its high cost, heavy weight, bulkiness, and imbalance. The specificity of aiming does not make it possible to make an accurate shot at 30-50 meters at a suddenly appearing animal. Another thing is a bullet shot at a long distance at a sedentary target (deer, wild boar).

Collimator sight. Not everything is so simple with him. Aiming is specific: with two eyes. It covers the target a lot. With your right eye you need to align the mark in the collimator, and your left eye looks at the target. The brain connects everything together. Personally, I don’t want to relearn how to aim. Maybe you can get used to collimator sights, but from the beginning of your hunting career. Another important detail. With NVGs, optical and collimator sights, you cannot make an instant jump and a quick shot. But the beast does not wait. Frightened by rustling and movement, he tries to hide.

It is advisable to have a shotgun of 12 or 16 gauge, double-barreled or self-loading. Cartridges: shot No. 2, Sokol gunpowder 2:2 g, 2 cardboard spacers, one greased and one ungreased felt wad, container or cylinder. Tight twist: when shaking, the shot should not be audible. It is better to remove the shoulder strap and receiver swivel.

Cloth. Two sweaters, a fur or cloth vest, a down jacket or a sheepskin coat. I have a special forces jacket with fur. Instead of a scarf (it gets confused), I use a woolen “bib”. Wrapped in half, it provides good protection from wind and frost. Woolen underwear and cotton or fur trousers, woolen socks, cloth foot wraps and felt boots with galoshes, fur mittens and double five-fingered gloves are required.

A folding chair (preferably with a backrest) is a mandatory accessory for a sitter. You can’t sit silently on a stone, log, or cramp for long, and you might catch a cold.

A white camouflage coat with long skirts, so that when you sit on a chair, you can cover your knees and felt boots with it.

I take a rechargeable flashlight and charge it before hunting. Beneficial for the family budget: no need to buy batteries.

The knife is taiga, with a blade length of up to 150 mm, a handle of 130 mm. They are good at cutting down bushes when clearing the shelling sector, chipping ice from skis, etc.

If there are no roads, I go skiing. For the field I have them 11 cm wide, for the forest - “Taiga” 16 cm wide. Belts made of conveyor belt, wide, adjustable with leather ties. They are elastic and “keep their shape”. The ski pads are lined with bicycle tires. It “bubbles” and snow freezes less on it.

Bag: large, made of thin canvas with wide straps. It includes weapons, equipment and a spare sweater, which, like a sleeveless vest, I put on already on the spot so as not to sweat on the way.

The weather for hunting hare is preferably frosty - up to -150C. It has been noticed that when it gets colder, hares move more in search of food. But in bitter cold, especially with wind, it’s uncomfortable to sit on your own. According to my many years of observations, hares run no less in strong winds.

In rain or wet snow, you rarely see a hare; he hides, afraid of getting his fur coat wet, under sloping trees and stumps. There is also little good in the fog; the target is poorly visible.

There is no need to rush to go hunting in the evening. You are not going after foxes, which you need to intercept on the way from the forest to the fattening. Russians have the most intense fat gain from approximately 22:00 to 24:00. Be sure to have a hearty dinner. I don’t take anything with me for food, since I hunt only the first half of the night (4-5 hours). There is no point in sitting all night: your arms, back, eyes get tired, and when an animal appears, it is almost impossible to take it.

When hunting, it is not necessary to take into account the direction of the wind, as is done when hunting foxes. But camouflage should not be neglected. Of course, a hare’s eyesight is worse than that of a fox, but he will notice a black “carcass” on a white field and be wary. The exit of the fox is also possible.

If I hunt with a spotlight, I choose a place so that there is clearing ahead without bushes and grass. When you turn on the headlights, they will create an invisible background. When “arming” sparse bushes or LEDs with a laser pointer or LED, reeds are not a hindrance. I study the shooting sector in advance, memorize bumps, stones, cramps, stumps, so as not to confuse them with an animal in the dark. I determine by eye the distance to them. I consider all possible options for the hare’s exit, this helps to react faster when it suddenly appears.

While sitting, any movements are undesirable. You must learn to warm yourself in the taiga way, without moving, drawing in and lowering your stomach, straining and weakening the muscles of your back and shoulders. This procedure must be repeated periodically, as soon as the cold begins to bother you. There is no point in turning your head, trying to look at something from behind or from the side. Even if you see a slant, you won’t be able to turn around silently to shoot.

The shooting technique is very diverse. It depends on the behavior of the animal, lighting, and devices that facilitate aiming. Often, when the headlight is turned on, the hare stops and sits down. It's easier to hit him. If a hare is overtaken or shot, it may not stop. You have to jump up and hit the person running. If the hare has not noticed the hunter (in thick grass, reeds), then with a laser pointer or LED a leisurely shot at a sitting animal is possible. Sometimes the hare stops at the sound of a rustle when he raises his gun, and sometimes he just needs to snort with his lips.

The first shot plays a big role. Having missed, it is extremely difficult to take an animal at night with a second shot. It is not for nothing that fishermen equate one aimed shot with eight unaimed ones. You cannot hit an animal hiding in dense bushes; shooting at a distance of more than 50 meters is also undesirable, especially in the chest and at the carjack.

The fabulousness of a moonlit night and the uniqueness of the situation make this seemingly passive hunt attractive and interesting. Of course, a lot of patience is required from the hunter - not every hunt ends with a trophy.

It is better for restless people not to start. But if you find the strength to sit in the cold for several hours, success is guaranteed. I had seasons when I took up to 30 hare and 7-8 foxes. There are many instructive examples in my memory. Once I settled down on the slope of a ravine with an IZH-27 (with a headlight). In front of me is a cleaning. Dark. About three hours later I saw a hare on the opposite slope. He raised his gun and turned on the spotlight. It blinked and went out. The hare rushed. After the headlight flashes, I go blind for a while. Here the halogen light again snatches the rushing animal. I don't have time to hit. Conclusion: it is advisable to solder all connections of the battery and wires well and check them first.

Another time I took up a position at a crossroads. Full moon, sparkling snow, frost -130C. A point is approaching ahead. Getting closer and closer. He reaches the crossroads. Sits at a crossroads. Obviously, he is wondering which way to run. I'm waiting. Of course he saw me. I ran. I snorted - no such luck! He added speed. I hit from 15 - 17 meters and was unsuccessful. I shoot at the oblique one hiding behind the tall grass - I miss.

Hare hunting in winter is a very common way for hunters to spend their time. When deciding on such an event, you need to understand that this will not be an easy walk, but a rather long walk through the habitats of the scythe or sitting in ambush for many hours near the animal’s hiding place. If you are ready for this, get ready and go!

Hunting with dogs is generally more productive than hunting without dogs. But if you know the hare’s possible habitats and are patient enough, success is guaranteed. The main methods of hunting a hare are:

approach hunting;
hunting by tracking;
hunting from ambush.

Choosing a place and time to hunt

The choice of place for hunting must be approached carefully, since the amount of game caught will depend on the correctness of your decision. Where hares are often hunted, there are few animals, and they are very careful. In such places you will be incredibly difficult to find even one representative of the family in question. Therefore, choose an area where hares are found, but they are rarely hunted - away from cities and villages, especially hunting ones.

You will be lucky if there is light frost on the day of the hunt; It will rain, after which drops will begin, or simply windless but humid weather will set in. On such days, the hare is easy-going, he cannot sit in one place, he constantly moves, looking for warmer shelter. After all, the sounds of dripping frighten him, and the cold frosty air forces him to move away from his homes.

Favorite places where hares hide can be power poles, plow holes, grass and hollows under fallen trees, a lonely growing bush, or just a pile of branches. At the same time, remember that there may be several such places, and this complicates the search for an oblique trail. Also be prepared for the hare to jump out from under your feet when you get too close to it. Therefore, keep your weapon ready so you can make an aimed shot.

Hunting a hare from the approach

This method can be used to hunt both in the snow and when there is no snow yet. The most important thing in this case is a large number of hares in a given area, knowledge of possible places for day rest and strong legs.

If you choose a place for hunting where there are few hares, this event risks turning into many hours of wandering through fields, meadows and surrounding forests. And even when there are a lot of them, but the area is very saturated with bushes and weeds, you may simply not notice the animal silently getting up and running away. Therefore, look carefully ahead at the horizon line, do not look out for something slanting under your feet.

The hare lies down for a day's rest only where it feels protected, and approaching danger can be seen from afar. This could be the edge of a ditch overgrown with weeds in the middle of a field, areas untouched by a plow near large stones, supports of high-voltage lines or telegraph poles, a separate bush or a pile of brushwood.

But be prepared for the fact that you will have to walk several kilometers before you lift the hare from its shelter. In addition, the terrain will be difficult: arable land, hummocks, cluttered clearings, etc. And you need to be ready to shoot at any moment - the scythe, as a rule, appears unexpectedly and disappears very quickly.

They hunt both the brown hare and the white hare from the approach. You will be very lucky if winter comes late this year: the snow has not yet fallen, but the hare has already moulted and turned white. And although some of them may be hiding near a birch stump, woodpiles of birch firewood or near other white objects, they are quite easy to spot even from a great distance. Therefore, everything that turns white may turn out to be a hare.

Hunting for a hare in the snow by tracking

This method consists of following a malik (fresh trail) to the hare's resting place, picking it up and trying to kill it with a bullet. In this case, not only a fairly open area is important, but also the ability to read hare tracks. And you will find a lot of them, even if there are few animals in the vicinity.

It is worth following the trail only in the morning, in the worst case - at night. Sometimes even experienced hunters find it difficult to figure out when traces are left, so they hunt a hare by tracking after powder or heavy drifting snow. As a rule, at this time only the freshest hare tracks remain in the snow.

So, the powder has fallen, let's go hunting. We must remember that the hare is a cunning animal that will always try to confuse its tracks. He can walk along them in the opposite direction, he can throw himself to the side, he can lead you along a well-worn road for some time, and from there make a jump into the nearest bushes - to where it will be very difficult to find his trace.

In order not to complicate your task, you need to walk not along the trail itself, but nearby, without stepping on it. At the same time, you need to concentrate your gaze not only by looking at your feet, you also need to constantly raise your head and peer into the horizon line. The hare very often, after tangling the trail, returns back and arranges a lie near the places where it passed before. Therefore, do not get so carried away with the process of walking along the trail that you do not notice the oblique one running away from under your nose.

For a successful hunt, you need to look closely at all suitable places for shelter. At the site of the hare's fat, you should not look for any logical explanation for the huge number of tracks, just go around them in a circle and find the trail that comes out. This way you will reduce your search time.

When twos, threes or discounts start appearing along the route, stop and take a closer look at the area. Already somewhere here there may be a beast lying down that is capable of rising at any second. At the same time, he may turn out to be in a completely different direction from your search, and even running away.

As a rule, in warm and windy weather the hare allows the hunter very close to him, but in cold weather he stands far away. If the animal is slightly frightened or not even shot, it will lie down nearby. Therefore, after letting him rest, you can continue tracking in order to approach the shot.

During a winter hare hunt, the hunter learns a lot about the habits and way of life of the animal by tracking. Not only is this interesting, but it can also be useful when you hunt in other ways.

Hunting for a hare from ambush

In late autumn and winter, you can hunt a hare from a blind or a storage shed. In this case, a prerequisite is good knowledge of hunting areas. These are, as a rule, fields of winter crops, poorly harvested farmland, and gardens. Traces of a hare can be seen here not only in winter, but also along the black trail. It is also worth hunting near stacks, haystacks or straw - where there is suitable food for the animal.

Choose a place that will be comfortable for long sitting, as well as good from the point of view of shooting, and set up a storage area there in the evening. If you are lucky and the night is moonlit, you will be able to get a good look at the approaching prey and make an accurate shot. Although on such a hunt it is often not possible to even see the hare, which passes a few steps away from you. Plus, trees, bushes and uneven ground cast shadows on the ground that can distract your attention and lead to a missed shot.

But still, hunting from ambush is very interesting, especially at first. Most often you will first hear and only then see the approaching scythe. Especially when the leaves and grass on the ground are already frozen and creaking. But at the same time, the hunter himself must maintain absolute silence - the hare will never approach where suspicious sounds are heard.

More often than not, hares are not strong against wounds, but there are exceptions. Therefore, if you are already hunting in the snow and wounded an animal, it makes sense to follow its trail, perhaps the prey is somewhere nearby. For shooting, as a rule, they use shot No. 3, No. 2 or No. 1, less often – No. 4.

Whatever method of winter hare hunting you choose, remember that this animal fulfills its regulatory role in nature. You should not shoot a lot of game, because next year you will want to return to this activity again, and the campaign will only be successful if there are enough animals in the area.