3/14/2010 - Lowell, VT

Date of hunt: 3/14/2010
Location: Doug Duffy's
Weather: Scattered Rain Showers
Temperature: 35 °F (Start) 45°F (End)
Companions: Adam Raymond, John Roberts, Henry Robare
Dogs of mine: Belvidere Bailey & Wild Seasons Mountain Snickers
Other Dogs: Casey & Chuck
# of Rabbits Ran: 5
# of Rabbits Shot: 2

We signed up for the 35th annual Orlean's Hare Hunt. It cost $17 for this last day of the season tournament. The object was to hunt anywhere you wanted to and then weigh in your rabbits at the end of the day. The legal limit is 3 daily so they have designed the tournament around that. We had to be in Orleans by around 5 to be on time to weigh in before the prime rib dinner.

John wanted to go to Peacham to get away from everyone and run in a spot that is loaded with hare. Adam met me at 4:30am at the house and then we left to pick up John for 5. I had my 6 dog dog box with the intent on keeping Bailey, Remi and Snickers on one side with John's 3 dogs on the other; Chuck, Casey and Buster. John knew it might be an issue between Chuck and Buster and that it was. We ended up strapping John's box on top of mine to transport his dogs to Richmond. We transferred John's box over to Henry's truck and headed south to Peacham.

Once there we found a really nice softwood forest with remnants of a fresh logging operation. The snow was deep, soft and grainy. The dogs were sinking in up to there belly on every step, and we were struggling on snowshoes just the same. We worked the woods for a good 2 hours with nothing at all. John lost Chuck and went looking for him. I headed down off the mountain to Calais to hopefully find some honey holes without snow and with rabbits. John met us down at the first potential spot and Adam and I scoped it out real quick. Nothing. We decided to travel a half hour towards Hardwick to a spot that John found earlier in the year. Once there we searched for any sign. John found a track and thought there might be more down closer to the swamp. I let out Bailey and Snickers and we searched for about an hour. Nothing. We finally decided to head to Lowell as we knew for sure that there were hare there.

Another 45 minutes later we were ready to go in Lowell. It was now noon and the sky was getting darker threatening with rain. We cast Bailey, Snickers, Chuck and Casey and headed down the logging road to my first honey hole. Bailey got the start and Chuck joined in. Soon all 4 dogs were pushing hard through the tough running snow and managed to bring the hare back to John. He got the hare on the 4th shot but was skeptical if it was a stray or the one they were running. It was a good 4 or 5 hundred yards in front of the dogs. The dogs came right up on the track to John, the snow sure was slowing the dogs down drastically.

We worked our way over to the cutout with the popular tree in it. We got a lot of hits but didn't get any starts for the next 45 minutes, now 1:30. Henry radio'd from the truck and said he was leaving. He took Buster home with him and left all of John's stuff on the empty side of my dog box, except John's change of pants which he left out in the rain.

John radio'd and asked me to find another honey hole to get things started. Adam and I worked off the edge of clear cut towards the 4 wheeler trail and I got a stray jump. Adam got to see it and got off a shot, gun was empty. I saw where the rabbit stopped and I quickly loaded Dad's single shot 20 gauge. Adam told me that the shot was too far but I took it anyway. The rabbit fell over just as the dogs picked up on the trail it had just left. Bailey got the start first and to the downed rabbit first. As Adam and I talked Bailey got into a blow down and started to bark. Adam and I set up around the blow down waiting for a hare to bust out. Snickers picked up the trail about 20 yards down and the chase was on. The rabbit crossed the 4 wheeler trail and went down towards the powerline. It turned up towards the bend and I thought it would cross in front of Adam at any time. They switched up on another hare that turned them out across the powerline. They ran a couple of circles on the other side of the powerline and then lost it. I called in the dogs to the last set of tracks that I saw where they switched up. Bailey picked up the scent but couldn't run with it. Casey picked up the start and the dogs were off. They took the hare up across the 4 wheeler trail and tried to bring it back down to us. Either the hare ran a bunch of small circles up high or they switched up again, but the hare never came back down. After a while they lost out and we gathered up the dogs. It was 4:30.

The dinner was great, and it was a fun day. The winning hare was 4.25 pounds, second was 4.00 pounds and third was 3.99 pounds. My hare was 3.87 pounds and John's was 3.67 pounds.