Swafford agrees with most biologists and hunters that the best time to hunt squirrels is when the leaves are coming off the trees and nuts are plentiful. He added that rabbit hunting is best in the winter months. Although squirrel and rabbit populations are improving in Region III, Swafford said there could still be some work done in that area. The lack of hunting pressure has helped build populations since small-game hunting just isn't at the forefront of hunters' minds these days. Because of that, squirrel and rabbit hunting still offers some good opportunities afield.

REGION IV
Biologist David Brandenburg in Region IV said squirrels are underutilized there as well and seem to be abundant based on the number of nuisance calls coming in about them. With bear, deer and turkey populations at all-time highs, you just don't see the interest you once saw in squirrel hunting.

Brandenburg said rabbit populations cycle up and down, but they are higher than they've been in some time. He also noted that rabbits are essentially a byproduct of habitat. The good thing about rabbits is they do best when you do nothing. Brandenburg explained as long as you have idle areas, rabbits are fine. He added that cottontail populations for some reason are better the farther west you go across the state, but all areas are losing rabbit hunters.

He said rabbit populations coincidently are highest in the fall when the season rolls around. Brandenburg, who is also heavily into training beagles, said the cool fall weather is the best time to run dogs. Brandenburg agreed the best time to squirrel hunt is when the leaves hit the ground, but he's concerned about the lack of mast this year and the effect it might have on squirrels.

The veteran biologist also said people need to take advantage of a solid squirrel population. He doesn't understand why hunters don't combine deer scouting in the early fall with squirrel hunting. Brandenburg also said he hopes rabbit hunting hasn't seen its best days, because it's taken him 40 years to get the quality hounds he's putting on the ground now. He's definitely looking forward to the next 20 years.

TIME-TESTED RABBIT HUNTING
Tim Seaton of Pigeon Creek Kennels in Greene County has been running beagles hardcore since 1992. Seaton's field trialing has slowed down a little in recent years, but he's still going. He's a past member of the executive board of the American Rabbit Hound Association and knows beagles. Pigeon Creek Kennels is still home to 14 active beagles, and Seaton likes to run four to five of them when he's hunting rabbits.

The rabbit veteran will run dogs all year long, keeping them in shape and ready to hunt or field trial at any time. Seaton's first love is field trailing but don't think he won't gun hunt when given the opportunity. The truth is he knows to keep the dogs interested and every now and then, you have to reward them with a gun hunt. It's a reward for the hunter as well. But whether running his dogs in competition or in the field with a shotgun, Seaton's rabbit hunting has always been about the beagles themselves. Like other hunting sports that rely on hounds to locate game, the hunting is really about the dogs.

When it comes to which beagles to put in the field, Seaton hunts both males and females but prefers the hunting style of females. He said they just hunt better. Males spend plenty of time stopping to mark territory as males often do, while females get down to the business of hunting.

The advantage of having a good male that'll hunt and gain a reputation, especially when it comes to field trialing, is that you can garner a good stud fee once the word gets out, and it does. The other disadvantage to hunting only females is that as nature has it, they'll come into heat, and sometimes that's during hunting season or when a key field trial is slated.

Once the late season arrives, Seaton turns his beagles loose in fields that have mild flora bushes left. Briars are a big deal this time of year and are about the only cover left. He said many of the grasses are now gone and he looks for overgrown fields and overgrown fencerows that hold late-season rabbits. With all the recent development even in rural areas, you have to get out and look for areas to hunt.