Snowshoe Hares

[Birdbuff]

It’s that time of year when I prefer to be in the woods, walking and kicking up brush looking for those tasty white bunnies. It is some kind of feeling when you spot one motionless under a spruce bough. But lately (2-3 years now) I’ve seen fewer and fewer of these beautiful creatures. I know they’re cyclical, but I have no clue where we are on the cycle.
I figure everywhere is different anyways.

I’m use to walking river/creek edges and swamp edges with good cover for them, but I’m not seeing the usual sign. Just recently I was walking a young spruce stand (no higher than my knees) and there was all kinds of tracks and scat. No actual hares though. It’s got me confused because I didn’t see the usual browse selection (dogwood, hazel, alder, etc).

I’m curious, what’s everyone else’s observations? Where do you find success?

For reference I do travel a ways to try different areas. From wmu 42 down to 60 and across to 82a.

[Fox]

The cycle is 7 years I do believe, around our camp in Eastern Ontario they are not at the bottom of a cycle that is for sure, but I have not been able to get out to actually hunt them, just saw them during the deer hunt and shot one with the swede from the stand one night.

[finsfurfeathers]

Don't travel that far north but this past fall would say have seen a few more (let me stress few) this year than in the past. Maybe on a slight up tick but not alot in my opinion.

[tom gobble]

Where I hunt it seems like the numbers have never bounced back and its been 10 years hunting this public bush. The only difference is we never saw yote tracks and for the last 4 years now we do. Also habitat has changed, tress got taller. Ive notice they like the young cedar bushes that are now over grown.

[js4fn]

I’ve seen enough on my property lots of tracks after fresh snow. But I’m over run by feral cats think cats are picking off a few
Not sure if you can shoot cats ?

[Articcat]

Was up in Muskoka the last couple week ends and they plentiful.
we got 4 one morning and five couple days later

[Gilroy]

The cycle is 7 years I do believe, around our camp in Eastern Ontario they are not at the bottom of a cycle that is for sure, but I have not been able to get out to actually hunt them, just saw them during the deer hunt and shot one with the swede from the stand one night.

I watched a David Sazuki show a few nights ago on lynx and snowshoes hair and they said it was 10 year cycle, but I always heard 7 before.

But all the time I hunted them, 20 years with beagles I have never noticed a big uptick in their numbers for any year.

In relation to the OP up my way in 60 I always see a few tracks but the coyote numbers keep them down.

[Articcat]

The coyote numbers are high where we hunt and that's probably why the hare numbers are also high lots for the coyote's to feed on

[oaknut]

I’ve seen enough on my property lots of tracks after fresh snow. But I’m over run by feral cats think cats are picking off a few
Not sure if you can shoot cats ?

Feral cats are not a "kept" animal. They can be legally rid from the world.

Used to spend lots of time chasing snowshoes but as many have mentioned the population plummeted years back and has not made any real comeback. We stopped hunting them in hopes of saving a few to further the population. All that said, my parcel is loaded with the critters and I find myself in a bit of a conundrum, do I capitalize and enjoy hunting them or leave them to breed and hopefully spread.

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[Articcat]

Oaknut it doesn't matter if they breed or not there cycle will determine how plentiful they are.
As I mentioned earlier there seems to be a lot in our area also this year and we hunted them hard for the last 15 years up in Muskoka