The way it was pouring down rain, I didn’t know whether or not we’d be making one more hunting trip before the season ended. I had just finished talking to Dave Akehurst on the telephone and we had made plans to take the beagles out the following day, weather permitting. It’s well known that the weather in the Pacific Northwest has the tendency to be really damp.

Surprisingly the rain stopped and I woke the next morning to blue skies. Dave was on the other end of the line asking if I still wanted to go rabbit hunting. I excitedly agreed to go on this last day of the cottontail season.

When Dave pulled into the driveway and stopped, Barney, his beagle, thought he had reached the hunting destination and climbed out of the dog box. We captured Barney and loaded up my beagles, Babe, Bandit, Tilley, Princess, and Annie. I also brought along a new beagle. Ginger was a two-year-old spayed female that had been a house dog. I wanted to see if she would make a rabbit dog.

Our drive to the Skookumchuck Wildlife Area was uneventful until we started across the railroad tracks south of the town of Tenino.The double tracks are signaled by flashing lights and a mechanical barricade. Now as long as I’ve known Big Dave, I should have remembered that he can’t walk and chew gum at the same time, let alone drive a vehicle and carry on a conversation.



Tight Spot



Just as we drove onto the railroad tracks the lights and whistles started to go off. Besides being really cautious, Dave gets confused easily. Well, those red flashing lights told Dave to stop and he did; right on the railroad tracks while the barricades were coming down and trapping us between them. Finally Dave recognized the error of his ways and drove around the warning arms and got us safely off the tracks.

Earlier on our drive to go hunting, I had been telling Dave about subscribing to a new hunting magazine, and about sending in a story that I had written about him before, and that I was hoping that he would do something crazy for me to write about again. Dave just laughed and threatened to expose me in a hunting story of his own.

This was our first trip to the wildlife area for a rabbit hunt. We both had hunted bear, bobcats and coon in the area with our big hounds. The low area below the dam had been developed into upland bird habitat, and elk winter feeding range. A potential puppy customer had told me about all of the rabbits he had seen in the area.

We checked out a small spot with apple trees and brush piles, but the only game we could flush was a hen pheasant. We headed off to try another area. Within minutes the newest member of the pack, Ginger, started barking, signaling she had found a track. I very skeptical until Annie and Bandit backed her up and started working the track.

Soon all the dogs joined in and we had ourselves a race. I hurried back to the truck to get the big guy and my shotgun. Dave’s young pup, Peaches, decided to join me and every time the dogs would start bringing the rabbit around toward me she would run into the barking hounds and turn the rabbit.



Home Safe



On the rabbit’s third pass I took a quick shot as he headed for another clump of brush and trees. I felt confident that he was mine on the next circle, but the dogs were pressing him and he found a hole in a rock pile.

Within minutes the dogs had another race started. The rabbit wanted to run elsewhere so after several minutes we moved to another trail. On the next pass I swung the gun around for a shot, but I had forgotten to reload after the last chase. On the next circle the dogs pushed the rabbit directly to me, but I was unable to shoot because the dogs were too close. The rabbit turned and crossed the trail, out of shotgun range. He wasn’t so lucky on the next pass, and I rolled him over.

Dave walked through the woods and came out to my location. We started yet another track, so we tried to maneuver into place for a shot. The dogs ran back and forth through a brushy area that had been used by several bull elk to rub their antlers. Finally the rabbit came out along the edge of the brush and Big Dave quickly fired twice as the rabbit ran for cover.

I couldn’t tease the big guy for long because the rabbit made another turn and started by me. I connected again and we had one more bunny for the pot. I had been bragging about how well Ginger was doing, and I guess the big guy was watching because he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. The big guy has a new dog and I’ve got a new .22 rifle.

Well, we had enjoyed a memorable hunt on the last day of the season. The big guy only made one wrong turn on the trip home.