[outfishing13]

My sons passed their hunters safety last fall and I wanted to take them rabbit hunting this year. We went a couple times last year with no success. I live in Utah county and don't mind getting out and driving.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[Mavis13]

The last two years have been poor for us; we generally hunt on the BLM land north of the Great Salt Lake west of Promontory. We've seen quite a few Jacks but not many cotton tails.

 

[outdoorser]

Hey mavis I've been trying to find that BLM land on a map and can't. Could you explain to me where exactly it is? How to get there? Thanks

 

[outfishing13]

Mavis,

Thanks for the reply. We are going to try around Eureka or just north of the Sand Dunes tomorrow.

 

[rooster96]

Mavis,

Thanks for the reply. We are going to try around Eureka or just north of the Sand Dunes tomorrow.

Hit the rest area on the way to the sand dunes there's a dirt road that takes you east lots of thick brush makes it hard though

 

[Critter]

Take a drive either late at night or early in the morning and see how many rabbits are running around on the roads. If you don't see very many don't waist you time on that area. Dog Valley west of Nephi used to be fantastic but that was a quite a few years ago, also the road out to the sand dunes and the surrounding area. If you are looking for cotton tails concentrate on brushy areas, if you just want jacks then look for more open areas.

 

[outfishing13]

Thanks for the tip, Critter. My dad used to tell me that if there weren't some dead rabbits on the road to keep looking.

I am curious what the rising coyote population has done to the rabbit population.

 

[wyoming2utah]

Drive to Otter Creek Reservoir....the sage on either side of the highway between Koosharem and the reservoir is loaded with rabbits.

 

[outfishing13]

Wyoming,

Thanks that is good to know. Are there cottontails there or just jacks?

 

[johnnycake]

Long drive, but LaSal mountain is loaded with cottontails this year....

 

[Mavis13]

Maybe it's not BLM land but I thought it was... there's a few ways to get out there; there's dirt roads from Park Valley area to Snowville area to the Promontory area. We generaly start on the dirt road that starts near the trun off by the visitors center in Promontory that heads towards locomotive springs and just drive untill we see a spot with tall brush. We hunt for 30min or so if we dont see anything we drive farther twards Park Valley and try some more. We got into all kinds of Jacks last year but never saw any cotton tails. I haven't been yet this year but I'd love to find a closer place to Cache Valley.

 

[outfishing13]

Johny,

Thanks for the tip. I might have to make a weekend of a trip like that. The drive out to Moab is always beautiful.

I have heard that cottontails around Beaver is on the rise as well.

 

[johnnycake]

yeah, we didn't see too many rabbits on the beaver unit this september(not claiming to be an expert on the area as it was our first time on the mountains there). But driving on the LaSals we averaged seeing 100 cottontails in the last hour or so of daylight every day. Way more than I have seen elsewhere in the state recently. TONS of coyotes too, fyi, and like 3-4 together in a clearing at 2 in the afternoon, seriously fat and stupid dogs.

 

[outfishing13]

Johny,

Thanks again for the information. We'll eventually find a good place to hunt for rabbits that is closer, although it would be a nice trip out to the Moab area. When I lived in Alaska the snowshoe hare population was very cyclical and when there was a bunch they were fun to hunt.

 

[El Casador]

Head north plenty of bunnies every where passed snowville lots of cotton tails and plenty of jacks to let loose on.

 

[Critter]

I drove through the Otter Creek area this last weekend and will have to admit that there are a lot of jacks out there south of Greenwich on HWY 62. The plus side is that fishing was great.

 

[wyoming2utah]

Wyoming,

Thanks that is good to know. Are there cottontails there or just jacks?

Both...but mostly jacks. I was out deer hunting on saturday and saw lots of cottontails just above Bicknell on the Boulder as well.

Another good area is around Parowan Gap near Parowan. Drive west through the gap and hunt the sage on either side of the road....lots of rabbits. I will also head out south of my home in monroe on poverty and find a few rabbits as well.

 

[ajwildcat]

:hungry:

 

[outfishing13]

Wyoming,

Thanks for the locations.

Years ago, back in 1980, my dad took my brothers and me hunting for jacks on the west side of Utah Lake. It was just a couple days after Christmas. Anyhow, the rabbits were pretty thick. My little brother was with me and was was helping me carry the rabbits I had shot. Pretty soon we had several. My dad came over and asked us why we were carrying them. We said so we could eat them. He explained that Jacks weren't good for eating. "Why are we shooting them?" we asked. He looked at us and said that was a good question. I think that was the last time he took us hunting for Jacks. A couple years later, I read an Outdoor Life article that had several recipes for Jack rabbit. Never did have the chance to try them out though. lol.

The snowshoe hares in Alaska are pretty tasty. Looking forward to some cotton tail and perhaps some snowshoes, if I can find some.

 

[KineKilla]

You don't eat Jacks...but cottontails are an option I suppose.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tularemia