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Swamp Rabbits
#8976069
12/21/23 06:00 AM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 102
Alan S.
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 102 |
Anyone have experiences or info on Swamp Rabbits?
Don't know a whole lot about Rabbits and Hares other than the standard Cottontails/Jackrabbits. Been seeing loads of wabbits this year and decided to pick up a few, didn't realize how big these buggers are until you get one in the hand, very surprised in the size/weight difference from a Cottontail.
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Re: Swamp Rabbits
[Re: Alan S.]
#8976070
12/21/23 06:36 AM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 21,572
Sniper John
gumshoe
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gumshoe
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 21,572 |
I have shot my fair share of them over my lifetime. They are a species of cottontail, so I suspect a lot of people have shot them thinking they just shot a really big cottontail. I used to see them a lot while I was running coonhounds at night. I could always tell if I was in a good area for them by all the big rabbit poop on logs and stumps along the creek bottoms I hunted, but I seldom saw/see them during the day. My East Texas Hog hunting lease has them. The area my hog hunting camper stand is located my hunting partner there calls "the swamp". Them things are always setting off my Murs driveway sensors meant to alert me for hogs. For years whenever I clear brush and fallen limbs or logs around a stand feeder setup, I always pile it all in big piles near where I am hunting for small game and other animals to benefit from it. I have a few of those brush piles around my stand in "the swamp". I was watching some Swamp Rabbits with my night vision scope just last week and they are very much utilizing those brush piles I made. Between that, me trapping predators, and the natural population cycle, there are more Swamp Rabbits in my swamp this year than I have seen in the last 4 years. I will take them if I jump any while squirrel hunting. I am also convinced they can jump twice as high as a regular cottontail.
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Re: Swamp Rabbits
[Re: Alan S.]
#8976119
12/21/23 01:30 PM
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 33,121
kmon11
junior
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junior
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 33,121 |
Swamp rabbits also known as cane cutters are generally like their name implies creatures of the wetter places. I have lots of them on my place in Mississippi and a few hillbillies as the locals call the standard cotton tail. Generally they look just a except for size. Swamp rabbits do not mind water and will often go to it to try and evade rabbit dogs or other predators, they do not mind swimming. Saw one this week go to a small brush pile near the stand.
At one of my Mississippi feeders I get more pictures of Swamp Rabbits than the little Cottontails. Thinking I will start taking the 22 with short hollow points with me when sitting there and after deer season get a couple friends in there with their beagles for a bit of rabbit hunting. At the feeder along the creek we have had pics this year with 5 rabbits eating corn under it at one time, all swamp rabbits.
One I killed as a kid seemed really big, weighed it and 9+ lbs is a big wild rabbit to me. Sure was good eating though.
lf the saying "Liar, Liar your pants on fire" were true Mainstream news might be fun to watch
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Re: Swamp Rabbits
[Re: Alan S.]
#8976135
12/21/23 02:03 PM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 16,987
603Country
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 16,987 |
Some of my favorite memories are from hunting Swamp Rabbits in NE Louisiana. That’s what a rabbit looked like to me back then, so when I moved to Texas and encountered Cottontails, they looked like midget rabbits.
I used a single shot 410 and 6’s for the Swamp Rabbits.
Not my monkeys, not my circus...
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Re: Swamp Rabbits
[Re: Alan S.]
#8976137
12/21/23 02:05 PM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,686
flintknapper
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,686 |
I have them on my property....in an area where a Spring Branch runs through it.
Locally....they are referred to as 'Cane Cutters' and are much larger than regular cottontails.
They live in wet areas with dense undercover nearby.
They look just like a cottontail except have a slightly longer ear and as already mentioned are markedly larger.
Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
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Re: Swamp Rabbits
[Re: Alan S.]
#8976175
12/21/23 02:58 PM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,882
MO
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,882 |
I have made several fishing trips to the Shell Beach /Delacroix LA area. Some years the road from Chalmette to Shell Beach is lined with these big rabbits. I've wondered if they are good to eat, and if they hunt them down there.
MO
 MY BACKYARD , 20,000 ACRES , NO MOWING
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Re: Swamp Rabbits
[Re: Alan S.]
#8977425
12/24/23 06:25 AM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 102
Alan S.
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 102 |
Thanks for the info guys. I do vaguely remember hearing about them at my uncle's squirrel camp as a real little kid, guess I thought it was a local thing. Here are some pics of the ones we got to reference if people are interested in them. Thanks ![[Linked Image]](https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/pics/userpics/2023/12/full-9106-409180-rabbit_1.jpeg) ![[Linked Image]](https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/pics/userpics/2023/12/full-9106-409181-rabbit_2.jpeg) ![[Linked Image]](https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/pics/userpics/2023/12/full-9106-409182-long_toes.jpeg) ![[Linked Image]](https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/pics/userpics/2023/12/full-9106-409183-18_inch_length.jpeg)
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Re: Swamp Rabbits
[Re: Alan S.]
#8977436
12/24/23 07:29 AM
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Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 4,583
10 Gauge
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 4,583 |
This is awesome. I never had a swamp rabbit.
Joshua 1:9
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Re: Swamp Rabbits
[Re: Alan S.]
#8977758
12/24/23 10:18 PM
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Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 20,947
Biscuit
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 20,947 |
Really cool thread reminds me of hunting swampies back hole in Memphis as a kid
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Re: Swamp Rabbits
[Re: Alan S.]
#8977879
12/25/23 02:47 AM
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 33,121
kmon11
junior
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junior
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 33,121 |
Have some up to 5 on this camera every night Hrre is one from early this am ![[Linked Image]](https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/pics/userpics/2023/12/full-3669-409263-1000003021.jpg)
lf the saying "Liar, Liar your pants on fire" were true Mainstream news might be fun to watch
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Re: Swamp Rabbits
[Re: Alan S.]
#8978046
12/25/23 04:33 PM
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,018
DUKFVR
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,018 |
Great memories walking the local bayou with my dad as a kid hunting them.
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Re: Swamp Rabbits
[Re: Alan S.]
#8978211
12/25/23 10:35 PM
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,572
ElkOne
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,572 |
Hunted them as a kid on the Big Black, and Pearl River bottoms in Mississippi. Big cottontails, real good to eat! 
ElkOne
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Re: Swamp Rabbits
[Re: Alan S.]
#8978581
12/27/23 12:28 AM
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 15,290
ntxtrapper
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 15,290 |
Thanks for the info guys. I do vaguely remember hearing about them at my uncle's squirrel camp as a real little kid, guess I thought it was a local thing. Here are some pics of the ones we got to reference if people are interested in them. Thanks ![[Linked Image]](https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/pics/userpics/2023/12/full-9106-409180-rabbit_1.jpeg) ![[Linked Image]](https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/pics/userpics/2023/12/full-9106-409181-rabbit_2.jpeg) ![[Linked Image]](https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/pics/userpics/2023/12/full-9106-409182-long_toes.jpeg) Very nice!
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Re: Swamp Rabbits
[Re: Alan S.]
#8978615
12/27/23 02:00 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,388
Deans
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,388 |
Used to hunt them when I was younger on some creek bottom land that my grandfather leased. Had a couple dogs that did double duty as rabbit/cow dogs that we hunted with. Shot a few as they crossed back across the creek way ahead of the dogs. Let the dogs catch up to them smell them and they be off looking for another rabbit. Always hunted them in February/March after freezes.
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” ISAIAH 41:10
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