This type of leisure is popular with those hunters who know how to read hare tracks. Although hunting a hare in winter is a very entertaining process, it is not as easy and effective for trophies as it may seem to beginners.

For most fans of hunting with a gun, hunting for hares is practically the only available way to get game in the winter. The main role here is played by the recognition of hare prints, which is very diverse in nature.

The trophy is certainly important - you can easily find many ways to make and use it, as well as dishes that are prepared from hare. But the real hunter is interested in the process itself.

Hunting for a hare in winter is not always carried out in favorable conditions. It is very complex and requires the development of intellectual skills - knowledge of animal habits, good and fast reading in the footsteps. The campaign is ideal when the temperature is about 2 degrees below zero, there is no wind and snow has fallen since the evening (Figure 1).

The most difficult thing to carry out the plan is in severe frost and a piercing wind. The situation is also bad during the powder and along the black-top, when the marks from the paws are almost invisible.

In the absence of fresh snow in the morning, the animals are reluctant to get up from their bed and leave short tracks.

Hunting for a hare with a dog in winter is especially popular, but it has its own clear rules on where to look for prey:

1. The optimal time for her is the black trop or the first snowfall.
2. On a fresh crust, an alarmed bunny rises like a dog on a bed and runs around it until the hunter makes a shot.
3. In the thaw, the four-legged assistant also finds a resting place, where the target hides, tightly clinging to the ground, so that it can be approached for a volley.
4. It is worth remembering that there is not the slightest sense in searching the same places, since the animals are constantly changing their feeding and lying areas.
5. When the weather is damp, they go to the hills, and when it is dry outside, they hide in the lowlands.

Picture 1. Winter hunting on hares

The most important thing is to get a license to shoot, so as not to pay a fine later for illegal actions. If we talk about choosing an assistant, then representatives of hound breeds will best cope with this task.

Let's see what they are strengths so that the winter hare hunt with hounds is successful:

1. First of all, dogs need to be trained and constantly given opportunities to practice.
2. They must be taught that if in the process they see the same fox, they should not switch to it from the same task.
3. You also need to give them a taste of hare so that they have an interest in this game, without such a cunning animal will easily slow down the pace of pursuit and disappear from view.
4. More stringent training is needed if dogs work not only with small furry animals, but also with other animals.

Hunting for a hare in winter with hounds is carried out as follows: representatives of the breed, as a rule, already know their traces and follow them well. They give voice as soon as they come across hare prints, letting the owner know about their location. Hiding from them, the game runs in a circle and returns to its previous position, where a loaded gun is waiting for it.

From the approach

A hare hunt is carried out in winter from the approach before the first snow falls or after the absence of powder for a sufficiently long time so that the hare malik is clearly visible. You should be prepared for the fact that this method will require a lot of patience and endurance from you (Figure 2).

Hunting for a hare in winter from the approach has three extremely important conditions:

1. Availability a large number animals in relatively open areas- if there are few of them, it will turn into fruitless wandering through meadows, fields and clearings, reducing all chances of raising game to zero, and with a poorly visible area where there are weeds and shrubs, small animals are almost impossible to detect.
2. Knowledge of places of animal rest, where they lie down for a day- although these cute creatures settle down to rest almost everywhere where they are securely hidden and easily break off with the approach of danger, it is worth giving preference to untouched plow plots of land near large stones, individual bushes, grooves and pits near poles, clearings with heaps of brushwood and fallen tree tops .
3. Endurance and strong legs of the hunter himself- you will have to walk a lot off-road, leaving up to ten kilometers behind, until you pick up a scythe and get close to him to shoot.

Figure 2. Stalking

Such an event is very exhausting and keeps in constant tension. Its significant disadvantage is that, even after spending the whole day, you can return home empty-handed.

Tracking

This method is used after powder or after a strong snowstorm hides the old animal footprints. Winter hare hunting by trailing is good because it reduces the hunter's adventures to a minimum, guaranteeing him a more likely success.

Having found a fresh malik, you need to follow the animal along it to the bed, pick it up and immediately put it down. accurate shot. Good endurance and openness, a wide view are also important here. hunting grounds. In addition, it is necessary to understand the intricacies of footprints left by hare feet, and their numbers can be very high (Figure 3).

It should be borne in mind that each individual runs a considerable mileage in circles during one night and it will be easier to find its malik than its owner. But you need to trail only the morning traces, in the extreme case, the night tracks left by the beast when he left the shelter and went to the night fattening. It is worth choosing the freshest malik and following its route, sooner or later it will lead you to the oblique one, which is somewhere nearby anyway.

On the trails left by the game, it is also possible to hunt a hare with a loop in winter:

1. The best place to set the trap is in a ditch or a fallen tree on the trail.
2. The free end of the loop is attached to a tree or bush with a belt or cord, and twigs are stuck into the snow around, on which it is stretched.
3. Such a trap is placed at the level of the hare's head, about 10 cm from the ground, the diameter of the noose is about 20 cm and the same length remains for fastenings.
4. To disguise the loops, a ski track is used, hiding the trap under the ski trail on an already beaten track.
5. Up to 10 pieces of loops are placed at a time for a greater likelihood of hitting an oblique - they are left for a couple of days, especially if the installation was carried out without ski tracks.

Figure 3. Trapping a trophy

At first, the bunny is cautious and does not approach the trap at first, but then it gets used to the situation and gets caught, which makes this method one of the most productive.

Into the uzerka

This method is applicable for a very short time, when a thaw occurs or the winter is snowless (Figure 4).

This winter hare hunt is entirely based on the habits of the scythes:

• In frosty weather, the animals lie tightly pressed to the ground in their thickets;
• When the snow and ice melt or it rains heavily, drops begin to fall from the branches, which drive the hares out of their shelters;
• Those get out on the glades adjoining the forest, fields and edges, as they cannot stand drops;
• In open areas, it is much easier to hit the beast, which makes it easier to shoot at it, although the same hare is not easy to spot because of its fur that has shed to the cold, which merges with the snowless landscape.

Figure 4. Tracking a hare in the footsteps

Out of the ambush

For those who like to hunt at night and have the necessary patience, hunting for a hare without a dog in winter from an ambush is perfect. To do this, a moonlit and bright night and a place where the animals go to feed in abundant quantities are selected. They come to stacks, haystacks, fields with crop residues, where you can find some kind of food (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Ambush on a hare

The hunter in the evening chooses a position for himself where it will be comfortable for him to sit for a long time and then make a successful shot. As a rule, the animals give themselves away by the characteristic noise, which is clearly audible when the snow is stuck in the infusion, and the grass and leaves covering the ground have already frozen.

It is very difficult to hit such a quick target, since it is very difficult to consider the outlines of an oblique one and not confuse them with a shadow or a domestic cat. Therefore, the method is rarely lucrative and very peculiar, requiring absolute silence.

In order for such a hare hunt to be successful in winter, you should be guided by these rules:

1. Choose cover so that the hare stitch goes towards him and the shadow of the animal does not prevent you from making an accurate shot.
2. Being in an ambush, it is strictly forbidden to make noise and move sharply, smoke.
3. It is necessary to raise the gun at the moment when potential prey begins to eat complementary foods - apple tree branches, hay or cabbage.
4. In order not to fall into the shadow, it is worth remembering that the silhouette of the animal will always be lighter than its projection on the snow.
5. For a shot in the back, they aim at the front of the body, and if the prey sensed danger and began to run, shots are fired at the tips of its ears.
6. When the target panics and rushes towards you in a panic, the volley is fired at the front paws.

Hunting for a hare in winter along the black trail

If the hunters decide to hunt along the black trope, then they most often trail the hares, since it is very problematic to track the hare because of the thorough entanglement of their tracks and white skin, merging with the landscape (Figure 6).

Figure 5. Hare hunting along the black trope

As a rule, this is hunting for a hare with a dog in winter:

• It also requires silence and extreme concentration, the ability to shoot at the right time;
• A large company of 5-7 people takes part in the action, which is divided into shooters and beaters with hounds;
• For this, large lands are selected with hare stitches trodden on the ground;
• When a fresh malik is found, the dogs are lowered down it and they silently lead to the prey, giving a voice only when it is discovered.

Hunting for a hare in a very snowy winter

In heavy snowfalls, the animals become more cautious, so it is very difficult to hit them. They hide well and do not give themselves away under any circumstances. Hunting a hare with a dog in winter at this time is also very difficult, due to the fact that it will be difficult for the dog to chase prey in deep snow, and the hunter himself cannot do without skis or snowshoes.

As the winter 2018 hare hunt video shows, it is best to start an event in snowy weather in the early morning. At dawn, the scythes like to go out to feed, with little or no danger.

From this moment, you can follow the behavior of the animals, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, hiding behind the nearest snow-covered tree or bush, a large snowdrift.

Since animals become more cautious during snowfalls, the best places for their search will be fields and plowing, where they will try to lie down in the grooves or hide in loose snow.

Selection of equipment for winter hare hunting

Preparation for the event deserves special attention. Winter hunting for a hare requires special equipment and warm clothing that does not restrict movement. It is best to put some extra warm clothes and ammunition in a backpack, put on semi-overalls to protect your lower back from the cold. In addition to clothes, you should take with you a first aid kit, a thermos and a flashlight, a folding chair and, if necessary, a newspaper for lighting a fire.

Hunting a hare with small things in winter also has its own characteristics:

1. Small shots are suitable for distances of no more than 70 m, it is better if it is a simple double-barreled 12-16 caliber, since a single-shot gun will be ineffective.
2. The ideal distance to the target is 15-20m, so long-range shots are all numbers from 1 to 0.
3. When shooting from 30-40 m, standard cartridges with shot 2 and 3 are chosen, from 25 m you can use No. 4.
4. If the temperature is below 15 degrees, fire bullets with felt or wood fiber wads.
5. Long-range cartridges are loaded into plastic bags or containers with dry potato flour, after which they are taken out on the spot and carried in a closed bandolier.
6. When using rifled weapons on individuals weighing from 4 kg, the main requirement is that it can hit the target in a range of up to 300 m.

Hunting with a bow for a hare in winter, as the first winter campaign, is a very difficult task in terms of finding and defeating game, since trailing it is easy. Problems arise with the firing of the gun itself, since the waxed bowstring becomes stiff in severe frosts, and the moisture accumulated in the blocks wedges them.

Most hunters give up on this project almost immediately, as it will take a long time to prepare archery equipment, and the event itself will be unpleasant and unlikely to bring any loot.

Winter hunting for hares is very popular among amateur hunters, especially among beginner shooters. There is a strong opinion that there is nothing easier than to get a hare. But this is far from how it is right to hunt a hare in winter correctly, not everyone knows.

The hunter needs to take into account weather factors, navigate the terrain well and know many subtleties of the oblique behavior in order to return from the hunt not empty-handed.

The hunt for a hare usually opens at the end of October, and lasts until the beginning of February. The hare is successfully hunted along riverbeds, along ravines overgrown with vegetation, on the edge of dry marshes and along bush plantings. In the steppes, you can often meet a hare, in the forests of a white hare, and near human habitation, a mixture of these species is a cuff. Tumak almost never leaves the vicinity of the settlements, he likes to feed in the gardens of the surrounding dachas.

The most exciting and popular way of hunting for hares is trailing. Its essence is to track down the beast on the trail. This method of hunting starts from the first snow and continues until the end of the hunting season. A hare footprint is called a malik. At different types the trail of hares is different, in a hare it is oblong, and in a hare it is round and larger in size. Beginners who master trailing need to know that when running, the hare brings its hind legs forward through the front ones, so there will be an imprint on the snow, first the hind legs, and then the front legs. Not knowing this, the hunter begins to trail in the heel. The hare is most often trailed, because it lies in relatively open places. In many places there is even a synonym for the word trailing - rusachenie. On the first night after a snowfall, the hares practically do not go out to feed, but on the second night they fatten to the fullest, after which they go to rest for the day. It is easier to start trailing by finding a running malik, it differs from a fat and rutting track. The running track is a clear imprint of a series of even, calm jumps of a hare. It is not recommended to follow the trail clearly because, approaching the oblique prone, it is easy to draw his attention to yourself. It is better to go at a distance of 10 meters away from the malik. It often happens that the tracks converge or intersect, you should not change the route, so you can wander through the maliks all day and not see a single hare. It happens that a new track is a loop made by the same animal, following which you can spend a lot of time. It’s easier to look closely at the trail, there are no two birds with the same paws. If you still have doubts, of course, it is better to go through the loop and continue the pursuit further. After some time, the hunter comes to the oncoming trail, which will be located close to or even along the first trail and break off without continuing. This is the so-called "two". After walking fifteen meters further along the original direction, it is easy to notice that the hare turned back. You should not go along the "deuce", this is an indicator that the hare's couch is not far at all. Here you need to quickly find the trace of a huge hare jump to the side, the so-called "discount". There are three or four discounts, and the last one always goes to the eared bed. Pay your attention to the nearest hedges, bushes, bumps, most likely the hare lay down there. Do not go along the malik from the "discount", the beast will immediately notice and jump up instantly, not even letting you shoot.

It is necessary to approach the proposed prone from the opposite side, so there is a chance to approach a distance of twenty steps and make a successful and effective shot.

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Hare is always coveted trophy for any hunter. Hares are widespread in our forests and steppes. Therefore, hunting for this animal is very popular and does not require any additional documentary permission.

I must say that hares are quite fast and cautious animals that do not let people close to them. So for a successful hunt, you need to have certain skills.

Hare: description, habits, habitats

Hares have excellent hearing and poor eyesight, therefore, from their enemies, he, first of all, flees. To do this, they have very developed hind limbs, which can cause torn, deep cuts. Such a hunt is available to both professionals and beginners who have just set foot on this path.

There are many subspecies of the hare family. And those people who think that a rabbit is a domestic hare are mistaken. Wild rabbits live in the forests and steppes of the Rostov region and in the North Caucasus, in the Krasnodar Territory and in Ukraine. Rabbits live in large flocks in burrows dug by them. Outwardly, they also differ from hares, as they do not change color and have much shorter ears. Mating does not occur between hares and rabbits.

On the territory of the Russian Federation there are such types of hares as:

• hare;
• hare;
• Manchurian hare;
• tolay.

In total, approximately 30 species of hares live on the planet. These are loners, changing the color of the skin seasonally. They live where they have to, occupying other people's minks or depressions. The offspring are not brought up: the female, having given birth to the cubs, leaves them once and for all in a week.

Hare habitats are different. From the European part to the Far East, the white hare lives in the forest-steppe zone. The length of his body is about 50 cm, weight is from 2 to 4.5 kg. Very wide paws give out great running speed even in melting snow and this is its advantage so that you can escape. In winter, this animal is white, only the tips of the ears are black. During the period of famine, it comes out at sunset and prowls in search of food until dawn.

Larger than a white hare is a hare, its weight reaches 7 kg, and its body length is 65 cm. Its tail is black. The hare does not change color in winter, it is only slightly lighter than in summer. They are never white. Mostly individuals live in the European part of Russia in open areas.

Tolai is similar to a hare, but lives in Southern Siberia and Transbaikalia. The Manchurian hare looks like a rabbit and lives in the Far East.

Types of hunting

Many do not know how to catch a hare in winter, consider some options.

WITH rifled weapons Hare can be hunted in different ways:

• from the approach;
• tracking;
• into the narrow

There are strict requirements for weapons and ammunition. The weapon must be sighted not only in the shooting range, but also on the hunt, the magnification of the sight should be 6. It is good if there is an optics, since it is easier to find the victim with its help.

To hunt a hare in winter, you need to have at least a simple 12-gauge double-barreled shotgun. You can shoot from a single-barreled gun, but here you need to have excellent accuracy. The distance to the animal should be from 15 to 50 meters.

For shooting from a distance of 50 meters, you must have long-range cartridges with shot No. 1, No. 0. And when firing at close range, carry standard cartridges with shot No. 2, No. 3.

If the weather drops 15 degrees below zero, then cartridges with wood-fiber wads are used. The cartridges are placed in a sealed bandolier so that snow does not get on them. Although experienced hunters advise a couple of cartridges, just in case, put in a pocket with a valve.

To hit the hare, you need to point the sight of the gun at:

1. front grooves of a moving hare;
2. the upper part of the shoulder blade, if the animal is sitting;
3. a little ahead of the head if running up or down a hillock;
4. the sacrum, if it sits a few meters away;
5. a couple of centimeters above the ears of a hare running from a hunter.

From the approach

This is the most common way to hunt hares in winter. It needs special weather- calm weather with high humidity. In such weather, it will not be heard how the hunter walks on soft flooring, and the hare will lie in its bed in winter.

When conducting such a hunt, one must be ready to instantly make a shot, since the hare, having heard the hunter, quickly runs away.

Tracking

Tracking - reading tracks, the most interesting and entertaining winter hare hunting. Here, the highest quality weapons do not have such success as the knowledge of the ranger. After all, to be able to read footprints in the snow means to know the habits of the beast, to have ingenuity and endurance.

A white hare can be seen by its black nose and eyes. A brown hare is lying on a hillock of snow, which he digs for shelter.

This hunt should be carried out only on freshly fallen snow, so that there are no extra traces. In winter, a hare lies in its bed all day and only in the evening goes out to look for food, leaving footprints in the snow. These tracks are called by hunters - malik.

It is important to distinguish between traces - in hare they are wide and round with widely spaced fingers. The brown paw is narrow and the fingers are pressed one to the other.

Having eaten, the animal loves to run and at the same time confuse the tracks, running in circles to knock its enemies off the trail. Therefore, a very trained eye is required to understand the hare tracks.

Into the uzerka

Held in late autumn and early winter. The hunter walks in search of prey and when he sees a hare, he fires a shot. But this hunting is effective only when the skin of a hare differs from the space surrounding it.

It is best to hunt when the weather is warm without frost, soft soil drowns out footsteps.

Belyaki hide under low Christmas trees, and sometimes just lie in plain sight.

It is good to carry out hunting in the uzerka with two assistants. They will walk on the sides at a distance of 30 steps, and look out for hares. When game is found, team members will let the hunter know with a conditional whistle. Such a hunt is carried out depending on the weather, sometimes it can last up to ten days.

Conditions for a successful hunt

For the hunt to be successful, you need the absence of wind, freshly fallen snow and air temperature just below zero. But such conditions are quite rare.

It is hard to hunt when it snows, covering the tracks of hares. At very low temperatures and strong winds, it is impossible to be outside for a particularly long time, as there is a threat of frostbite of the limbs.

Hunt with nooses

Attention!

Often, experienced hunters use the method of hunting a hare with loops. Loops can also be combined with traps and other devices for catching animals. But before you go hunting for a hare with loops, you need to find out local laws, since not all regions can use such snares.

Peculiarities

There are certain features on how to catch a hare on a loop. It is necessary to tie the loops to a thin movable tree, then the animal will not break and run away, but will remain in the loop almost intact. If there is a lift on the loop, it is important that the hare is quickly strangled, then he will not break the loop.

The loop must be placed in such a way that the animal gets into it with its head. Therefore, it is good to do this over a fallen tree trunk.

Attention! Hunting with loops is prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation, this information is provided only for the purpose of familiarization, how not to hunt. Follow the hunting rules and laws of your country.

Hunting with traps

Hunting for a hare with traps is not in demand. After all, there are many entertaining ways to hunt a hare in winter. However, not everyone has hunting dogs, and hunting with nooses is prohibited, so in rural areas they sometimes use traps, because this is the easiest way to hunt.

Installation

When there is a lot of snow, the trails of hares stand out well near the places of their fattening. They can often be found around villages in overgrown fields or at the edge of a forest. This is where the traps are placed.

Track snares are placed under the trail of a hare at a turn in the path so that the probability of falling into a trap is greater. To do this, we cut out a layer of snow along with the snow and put a ready-made trap in the resulting hole, after which we put the snow in place. If the hare fell into the trap with two paws, then it will probably remain there, and if the trap is tied with one, then it may leave.

When installing a trap, you need to know that:

1. white hare behave more cautiously than hare hare;
2. hares rarely go out into the open.

Bait

To properly place the bait, you need to know what hares eat in winter. Belyaki prefer aspen, and not freshly cut. You can also use branches of mountain ash and birch, adding a little oats or hay to them.

When hunting for a hare, remember that they like grassy food more and therefore prefer hay and straw. They eat branches only at the end of winter, choosing apple, oak and willow.

Both species love vegetables - cabbage, turnips, carrots. They also go well with salt, so all baits can be poured with a weak solution of salt.

Video

We bring to your attention a video about the features of hare hunting.

Hunting for a hare at the beginning of winter after powder, one of better ways test your hunting skills: endurance, attentiveness, the ability to recognize and read the trail, reaction and accuracy. A hare caught as a result of trailing is a reward received solely thanks to your efforts and hunting skills.

Differences between hare and hare tracks

The hare remains active in winter. It feeds at night, in the pre-dawn hours, and hides during the day, remaining on the so-called "laying down". Porosha - snow freshly fallen during the night, sweeps everything, and fresh night hare adventures read like an interesting, freshly written story.

In our places, two species are mainly found - the white hare and the hare. Belyak migrates to forests in winter, prefers copses, dense shrubs, overgrown areas. It feeds in winter by eating twigs and bark of trees. Rusak prefers open spaces, in winter he keeps to edges, beams, small shrubs, loves terrain with good overview. Despite the snow, it continues to feed on withered grass and winter seeds, leftovers from vegetable gardens, digging it all out of the snow.

In many regions they live side by side. On good foraging grounds, their feeding areas often overlap and their tracks overlap and become confused. How to distinguish the traces of a hare and a hare from each other, since their habits, which means the places of lying and the manner of confusing the track, are different.

The main difference between the prints of one and the other hare is that the hare has wider paws, and the fingers are spread apart more, the hare already has a paw, fingers pressed closer. Therefore, the paw print of a white hare in the snow will be almost round, while that of a hare will be elongated, oval. There are additional differences as well. The hare's trail is more confusing, and when lying down it goes into the forest and dense thickets, including through deep snow. The hare has a discount, the trailer and racing tracks are longer. Because of the narrow paws, it will not pass through deep snow, like a hare, therefore it prefers to move in more open places, including along already trodden paths and roads.

Where to look for a hare in winter.

As already mentioned, the hare goes out to feed at night and finishes it in the morning, at dawn, after which it hides for the whole day. That's why best to hunt it in the morning when he had already settled down and calmed down. The day should be chosen fine, mild with little wind. On such days, the hare easily rises from the bed, and does not sit there until the last, as in bad weather or severe frost. In addition, the noise of the wind will hide your steps.

They are looking for a hare trail, especially a hare, along rural lands, fields, vegetable gardens, mowing and meadows, under stacks and stacks of straw, closer to the middle of winter in gardens. Belyak can be found in floodplains of rivers overgrown with young willows, in young aspen and birch forests, in gardens and summer cottages, where he regales himself on the bark of fruit trees.

The process of trailing a hare

The nightly adventures of a hare are quite monotonous. With the beginning of the night, he leaves the haul, first carefully looking around, and then, with fairly fast jumps, goes to the feeding places. In feeding places, it moves slowly in short jumps, very chaotically (confused). Between feeding areas, its run accelerates, and the length of jumps increases. Sometimes, on bright, quiet nights, hares begin to frolic and drive through the snow, then their jumps become especially long.

Having had a bite, at the end of the night, the hare goes to the daytime bed. In the process of this he begins to confuse the trail to confuse would-be hunters. His run speeds up, then slows down, he can return to his tracks, and then run further. It can return a little back to make a strong jump to the side and run further. It makes loops, runs out onto well-found paths and other people's paths, etc. During such a journey, the hare, depending on experience, performs each of these maneuvers from one to three times and only after all this hides in its shelter.

place of fattening

The process of unraveling all the nocturnal hare adventures, usually from the place of fattening (feeding) to its very bed, is trailing. Trailing begins with the fact that, walking along the edge of a field, or meadow, along forest paths or just along a country road, they look out for a hare trail. Usually, hare paths lead towards fields and the like in the direction of fattening, and from there to thickets and shrubs - to lying.

The direction of movement of the hare is indicated to us by its hind legs, their prints are larger, more elongated and located in front of the prints of the front paws. If we were lucky to immediately find a trail leading from the places of feeding to the hay, go unravel it, otherwise head to the place of fattening and start trailing from there.

Types of hare paths (maliks)

All hare tracks can be divided into four types, fattening, racing, trailer and hare tricks like twos, threes and discounts.

Fat trace

The hare leaves it, moving slowly, in short jumps, usually while feeding or looking around. The distance between the front and hind legs is small, and the track itself in the places of fattening is very tangled, winding, can intersect with the tracks of other hares, often accompanied by hare droppings. Fattening monograms are usually not unraveled, but after going around the place of fattening in a circle, they look for a waste trail when the hare went to the bed, and they are already trailing it.

racing trail

The hare leaves a racing trail when it jumps at full speed. He can either run away from someone or just frolic, rushing back and forth. The distances between jumps are large, sometimes up to two meters, the front legs are parallel to each other, the distance between the front and hind legs is greater than when running. The racing track at the end is replaced by a small fat or slower running track.

Running (end) track

When the hare goes from the fattening place home to the laying place, its trail from the fattening place passes to a more purposeful, but still unhurried running (terminal) one. The distances between jumps increase, and the prints of the front paws go one after the other. It is this trail that is the most important, because it leads to the place where he is hiding. Actually, it is only on him that hare “arts”, loops, discounts, deuces and triples begin, with which he tries to confuse, to prevent you from reaching his bed. The running track, especially for a hare, can pass along well-trodden paths and roads, intertwine with the tracks of other hares and other animals, in this case you need to go along and look for a place to leave the hare to the side.

Twos, threes and loops

Walking along the running trail, you will meet hare loops, deuces and triples. This suggests that you are getting closer to his bed.

A loop appears when the hare, having made a circle, returns to its track, crossing it or walking a little back along it. Loops usually appear closer to the bed, so when you see it you need to be more careful.

deuce- this is when a hare, having run forward, returns a little back in its wake, and then abruptly changes direction, making a discount or simply changing the direction of the run.

Troika occurs when the hare, having gone back along its track, nevertheless decides to move further in the original direction and again goes along its path. After the triple, there is usually no discount and the oblique after it rarely goes to the prone.

Discounts (estimates)

They call it a discount big jump, which makes the hare away from its track. A discount is usually made after a deuce, and the direction of movement after it usually changes sharply to perpendicular to the previous one. On the way to the shelter, the animal rarely makes more than three discounts or deuces with a discount. Usually, after the second time, it's time to start turning your head in all directions, looking for a hare.

Unraveling Maliki

So, what does the whole process of trailing a hare look like. Having found its trace (malik), first of all we determine its direction so as not to come to the previously abandoned prone. You can recognize it by fingerprints or by the position of the front and hind legs and the distance between the tracks, remember that in a hare the prints of the hind legs are in front of the front ones. We are heading along the found malik, a little away from it, so as not to trample. If he led you to the place of fattening, we go around this place in a circle in search of a waste trace, you should not waste time unraveling the fattening loops.

Having found the waste, we begin to trail it already, it will either lead to a new place for fattening, or two loops and discounts will begin, which indicates the proximity of the hare bed. The loops must be passed completely, otherwise there is a chance to go astray and get on the trail of another hare crossing the one you are looking for. If the malik went onto a path, road or other trail and went, or even merged with them, go along this path of three hundred to four hundred steps, in one direction and the other, until you find a place of descent. To determine a fresh print against the background of old ones, you can slightly crush it with your finger, the snow on the fresh one will crumble, while on the old one it does not.

Remember places where you can lose your track, trail crossings, etc. you may have to go back there. Usually, after the first loops, triples, deuces and discounts begin. You should be wary after the first deuce at a discount, and after the second you need to look around in all directions and be ready to shoot. Experienced hunters say that in no case should you stop tracking a hare. Even if you need to look around carefully, step in place, your stop can provoke a scythe to rush out of the shelter. If you cannot specifically determine the location of the bed, start carefully, in a circle, bypass the proposed area of ​​​​its placement, looking in the direction of the track.

Place of bed

How to find a bed? You need to pay attention to those places where the hare likes to hide. Rusak prefers to hide in places with good visibility, in bushes scattered across the field, in the roots or near tree trunks on hills, at the base of snowdrifts and sediments, along ruts, hollows, near shelters like sheds, old huts or fences. White hare in early snow can hide in bushes near fields and on the edges, in heavy snow in the forest, deeper, in spruce forests, dense thickets, at eversion, near windbreaks, sometimes along the edge of forest glades.

hare lying

The place of lying can be determined by a hill of snow, often different in color, with lumps of earth that the animal sketched when digging a hole for itself. But it should be borne in mind that, in search of a good bed, he can sketch several such slides in different places.

When you notice a hare lying down, do not look directly at him, this will provoke him to jerk, follow out of the corner of your eye, and approach not directly, but passing a little to the side. Having approached the place of prone, try to shoot him on the spot. If you raised a hare, you need to shoot after him. After the shot, carefully watch the hare. If he continues to run but behaved strangely, follow his trail, he may well be injured and without even leaving drops of blood he will collapse after running 300 - 400 meters. If, nevertheless, you missed, you don’t need to immediately track down the runaway hare, you still won’t keep up with him, and he will lead you until the evening. It’s better to lie low and wait, he may well, having cut a few circles, return to the prone position or simply calm down and lie down in another place, then drag him out again.

Equipment and weapons

Two things are important when hunting by trailing in winter, camouflage and the ability to walk for a long time, including in deep snow. This determines the selection of equipment and equipment for such a hunt.

In equipment, external camouflage is also important, in clothing, and noiselessness, and the absence of pungent odors, so try to adhere to the following rules:

• A camouflage coat should correspond not only to the season, but also to the external environment. So on the first snow, when not everything is covered with it, the camouflage coat should be with dark spots, but after heavy snowfalls it should be pure white.
• Clothes and ammunition should not rustle loudly, squeak or jingle, avoid squeaky leather or loudly rustling synthetics.
• Shoes should be wearable, comfortable, but at the same time not creak in the snow, rubber shoes, for example, sin with this. Boots or boots are well suited for such hunting..
• It is quite difficult to scare a hare with a smell, but avoid strong odors, clothes should be clean, preferably specially designed for hunting.
• If good shoes are enough for the first snow, then in winter it is better to ski in deep snow. Skis use wide ones, they also should not rustle loudly, and the bindings creak.
• For hunting a hare, usually smooth-bore guns are used, preferably machine guns, so that you can quickly fire several shots in a row. Accuracy is of great importance, so the barrel is taken by choke or pay. Shoot cartridge from #3 to #0 with a sharp shot.
• It is better not to take a dog for tracking, it will rather scare away the hare, raise it ahead of time, when you will not be ready for the shot yet.

Not all of us have the opportunity to hunt hares with a hound dog, and you can’t always and everywhere hunt with it, especially in the steppe regions of our Motherland. However, there are several completely reliable ways to get a scythe without dogs.

Stalking hunting

Hunting from the approach is carried out, as a rule, either, or after there was no powder for a very long time, as a result of which there is an endless interweaving of old and fresh maliks (many traces), which prevents the animal from being tracked.

Conditions for hunting a hare from the approach

This hunt requires three conditions:

• high number of hare;
• knowledge of the habits and habitats of hares;
• good physical training hunter;
• ability to shoot.

Where there are few hares, hunting from the approach turns into hopeless walking through the fields, and when time passes, the meadows are left behind for kilometers, and the hare is still not there, and the hope of raising it gradually fades away. In places with limited visibility (in the forest, bushes, weeds), even if there are a lot of hares, the situation is not the best way: you can simply not notice the animals carefully getting up from the bed and stealthily running away and you can go all day without a shot, in which case it helps a group of friends (3-4 hunters) who bypass places with limited visibility from the sides.

Hares for daytime rest are arranged in places where they themselves will be securely sheltered, and the approach of danger is easy to notice. such places are the edges of ditches overgrown with weeds among the fields, the “flaws” remaining after plowing, that is, areas not touched by the plow near large stones, near telegraph poles or high-voltage line supports, individual bushes, and on clearings heaps of brushwood and tops from cut down trees, thickets willows, old buildings, ravines overgrown with bushes.

Not always and not in every such shelter lies a hare. Dozens of them are empty, and only a few of them contain those whom we so passionately dream of finding. That is why stalking requires physical endurance from us. You always have to walk through rough terrain (arable land, tussocks, cluttered clearings), and even with an abundance of hares, you usually walk more than one or two kilometers before you pick up a scythe. Slowly, all the time watching the surroundings, you need to go from one promising place to another, we go constantly ready for a shot, since a hare can appear at any moment, either far away or right from under our feet. He either turns out to be all in sight, then immediately scurries behind some bush and has to shoot at a glance and in a limited space, which is why the hunter must strive and have good shooting skills.

For hunting from the approach, days with calm, dry or frosty weather are most favorable, that is, with weather in which hares willingly leave their shelters, and do not lie in them until the last opportunity, when the hunter almost steps on them. The latter is usually observed in warm, damp, and windy weather. In places where hares are hunted a lot, they become so cautious that they can only get close to them in bad weather.

Most often, the object of hunting from the approach is the hare - a permanent inhabitant of more or less open spaces, but in large fresh clearings, where the young shoots have not yet thickened, you can also hunt for white hare in the same way. When hunting from an approach, it is very rarely possible to see a hare on the hare, but there are periods when this becomes quite possible. The vagaries of the weather from time to time play a cruel joke with hares, especially with a hare. It consists in the following.

The autumn was short and already in the middle or the end of October the snow began to flutter. Powdery fields and forest clearings. It seems that winter has already come. Hares intensively change their summer coats for winter ones. And suddenly it starts to warm up, it's raining, the snow is melting, and the whites remain white. On the blackened earth, among the fallen grasses and bare bushes, they can be seen from afar. True, some cunning hares lay down near birch stumps, fallen birches and other white objects, but this does not save them much - it is still easy to notice them. The same thing happens with a simply protracted snowless autumn: the whites have shed, but there is no snow. This is where another exciting hare hunt becomes possible, hunting in a knot.

Hunting in a knot

The hunter moving through the forest or clearing, carefully looking at the surroundings. Everything that turns white on the ground can turn out to be a hare, but it can also be a piece of paper, a piece of birch bark, and you never know what else. It is difficult to see the animal, especially in the bushes. It is undesirable to approach and check: the hare can instantly dart into the thicket. Hare or no hare, this question always haunts the hunter in this hunt.

What a joy it is to see how, over an unknown and doubtful whitish spot, ears will suddenly rise and fall again, and painful doubts will be dispelled. And, on the contrary, what a disappointment when you realize that instead of a hare, a piece of newspaper is swaying in the wind, which you just wanted to shoot. But all this is not enough. Even if there is no doubt and the hunter is 100% sure that he sees exactly the hare, the matter is not over yet. Most often, under the conditions described, it is possible to notice a lying hare at a fairly large distance. Fears that the hare might get up and leave without a shot prevent him from trying to get closer to him. Hence the long-range shots and frequent annoying misses. A hare on a bed usually lies in a hole, a groove, between bumps. It is often obscured by branches and earth, which together largely protect it from the impact of the shot. In general, "missing" a hare when hunting a uzerka is a common thing.

You can hunt in almost any weather, as the hares, apparently feeling their white fur coat, lie tightly even on frosty days. But the hours are especially good for the hunter, when, after a heavy rain, drops of water (drops) fall heavily and loudly from the branches that have become heavy from moisture. Hares do not like drops very much and therefore leave their favorite thickets, getting out to the edges, glades and fields adjacent to the forest. Here, in an open place, hares lie down, which greatly facilitates both their search and shooting at them. Even in the absence of snow, it is more difficult to look out for a hare that has molted into a winter outfit, because it does not turn white, but only slightly brightens.

Hunting in the laker does not last long. Most often, it is possible only for two or three days, but this short duration only adds to its sportiness and excitement. The fallen snow puts an end to it and at the same time opens it for new opportunity hunt a hare - do trailing.

Hunting for hares by trailing

This method of hunting boils down to finding a fresh trail (malik), following the hare along it to the laying point, picking it up and trying to take it with a well-aimed shot. As with stalking, you need more or less open areas, good physical fitness and the ability to shoot. However, two more conditions are also necessary - the ability of the hunter to understand all the intricacies hare footprints and the ability to be attentive. As for the number of hares, it may not be very high. Each hare runs a lot during the night, and finding his trail is much easier than finding the owner of the tracks himself.

It is advisable to trail only a fresh morning, in extreme cases, a night trail left by a hare when, having left the lair, it goes to night fattening. To distinguish such a track from the older ones and trace it to the place of lying among the mass of other hare tracks, a lot of experience is needed, but sometimes this is not enough. Therefore, trailing must be carried out either after powder, or after a strong snow drift has brought old traces. If the snowfall or drifting snow ended in the evening, then the tracks found the next day will be very long and the entire path traveled by the hare from evening to morning will look equally fresh. Once at its beginning, you can walk more than one kilometer to the place where the hare settled down on the bed. If it snowed at night, then the later it stopped, the shorter the traces of the hares will be, since only those traces that remain after the end of the snowfall will be visible. There are "dead powders", in which the snow flying until the morning completely covers all traces. If at the same time you managed to stumble upon a trail, then the hare is nearby and you need to be ready to meet him.

So, fresh powder fell out. A hunter in lands where traces of a hare are most likely to be found (edges of winter fields, former vegetable gardens, plantings of fruit trees). When the trail is found, the most interesting process of tracking begins for the hunter. The hare constantly, and especially when heading to the crib, embarks on all sorts of tricks - just to confuse the trail. Then, having reached some place, he turns back in his wake, so that later with a huge jump he throws himself to the side, and even so that the jump falls behind a bush, into hummocks, dense thickets, in a word, to where the landing site will be hidden. That repeatedly goes out onto a traveled road, walks along it and then takes off, hides traces where the snow is blown away by the wind or covered with crust.

Understanding all these tricks is not so easy, especially if, following the trail of a hare, we trampled on its tracks. Therefore, you should always go a little away from the trail and at the same time not forgetting to look around: the one who does not take his eyes off the prints of the hare's paws almost always misses the rise of the hare. The hare very often, having made a loop, returns to where it went before, and settles down on a bed near its track. The hunter sees the line of the trail going forward and thinks that it is still far from the hare, and the hare is already nearby, watches his pursuer and, having missed him, runs away unnoticed. So any place near the track that is suitable for hare hiding should be the object of vigilant attention. Having reached the place of the hare fattening, where the traces are intertwined into an illegible ball, there is not the slightest sense in disassembling and nursing all these bindings. It is much better to just go around the fattening in a circle, find the exit track and continue trailing along it. This will significantly reduce the hunting time.

But here the confusion of fat is left behind. The track went more or less straight, and now, finally, the first attempt of the animal to confuse the track is visible on it, "two", "three" or just a discount away from the original direction of travel. Sometimes, after the first discount, the hare lies down here, but more often he repeats his tricks many times. As soon as the hare begins to cheat, you should stop and see where the trail goes, if there is something nearby that could attract a hare seeking shelter. Only after doing this and making sure that there are no such shelters, you can continue tracking. The hare can rise at any moment and more often not where his tracks seem to lead. A hare, and even more so a hare, is very rarely seen on the hay, usually you notice them after they run away from the hunter. There is one very important pattern, in warm mild weather, and even with the wind, hares let them close, in frost they stand far away. Where hares are of little concern to hunters, a hare that has left without a shot and even an unsuccessfully shot hare soon lies down again. After letting him lie down (better than 2-3 hours), you can once again walk him and come up for a shot. In the same place, where there are many hunters, the raised animal does not lie down soon (especially the hare) and rarely allows it to be approached again.

Among other things, trail hunting is useful in that it is with it that we learn a lot about the hare. The snow cover clearly captures and gives us many features of his behavior, habits and habits. Therefore, those hunters who have been doing a lot of tracking, then even without snow, it is much easier to find hidden hares or choose the most reliable hole and the direction of the hare when hunting from under hounds.

Cartridges for a hare

What cartridges are best for a hare? What shot number is suitable for this hunt? There is no single answer. But there are recommendations. For example, for a hare in the forest, you can use a smaller shot from No. 3 to No. 1, but for a hare in a field, with an approach or trailing, it is better to take a larger shot No. 1 - No. 0.