Bow Hunting for Rabbits?

When thinking about bow hunting most of times it comes to mind a scene of deer hunting or some other big game, while regarding rabbits hunting most of people will think about a bunch of dogs pushing rabbits towards a group of hunters using shotguns.

But even when these are "modern paradigms", the fact is that rabbits bow hunting is as old as the first hunter, furthermore, for ancient hunters it was safer to go behind a rabbit than chasing bigger, more dangerous catches!

With the pass of time, hunting techniques changed and from the XIX Century up to nowadays rabbits hunting become mainly a matter of dogs and shotguns, but despite of tendencies, there's still a group of hunters loving self demand who prefer the old fashioned, bow hunting techniques because even when the success odds are lower than shotgun hunting, the necessary skills as well the adrenaline rush associated to bow hunting are quite bigger!

Regarding rabbits bow hunting, essential techniques are almost the same than shotgun hunting but adapting everything to a shorter range since archers need to be closer to their games than shotgun hunters; thus if you know how to chase rabbits with a  shotgun, you'll be able to do it with a bow, of course if you have developed the necessary shooting skills with this weapon.

In fact the main difference is on the equipment, but not only regarding bow/shotgun differences but also bow types. Most of big game hunters prefer long, composed material bows because they will have a longer range and a more powerful shot, however taking an instinctive shot with such bows is not the usual thing; moreover, long bows are inconvenient on tight bushy areas and both, hunter and equipment could get trapped  on the bushes before being able to kill a fast and agile cottontail running away from you.

To address such problem a more traditional gear is necessary, in fact, recurved, short bows are the best choice since you'll be able to maneuver on complicated areas and still be able to make a quick shot not only to stationary rabbits but also those running away.

Regarding the arrow, it's a matter of personal preferences, you may use aluminium, wood and even carbon arrows, everything depends of what you like; however regardless your choice, be sure you are familiar with all your gear, including the arrows, since bunnies bow hunting gives not too much time to think.

Once you have the right equipment it's time to talk about specific bow hunting rabbits techniques as you'll see on the next post.