Jerry Martin and I have been good friends for many years. Jerry owns property in Illinois and regularly invites me to his place for some of the best rabbit hunting in the Midwest.

Jerry built a lodge right out of an old hunter’s logbook. Its customized design is amazing, and the interior is decorated with every animal and fish mount you can imagine. It is a great place for a group to meet for a hunt.

Allow me to introduce my rabbit hunting entourage for my most recent trip there. Ralph Pinkston is one of Jerry Martin’s oldest friends. They have travelled the world together, hunting and fishing. Then there is Chris Long and his 11-year-old son, Easton. David Gibson rounds out our posse; David is the hounds man of the group.

David’s dogs range in experience from proven field champions to a 6-month-old beagle pup. These dogs were the entertainment on this and every trip. I have said a thousand times that, besides a gobbling tom, no sound is more satisfying in the outdoors than beagles on a fresh track. It soothes my soul.

One of the coolest parts about hunting with Jerry is that you do not have to travel far from the lodge to start hunting. David turned the beagles out and they hit a track before I could even get my gun loaded.

Let me take a minute to tell you about my rabbit gun. My grandpa Guy Roux had an Ithaca Model 37 Featherlight 20-gauge pump. He installed a poly choke on it, and I killed my first rabbit with it when I was 10 years old.

Since then, between Grandpa Guy and me, my truck could not haul all the rabbits this old gun has brought to the skillet. Grandpa gave me this gun when his failing health and advanced age ended his rabbit hunting career. My boys, too, have all killed cottontails with the old Ithaca.

Sadie and Clyde led this first race as the other young dogs followed along. The sound was music to my ears. The rabbit took them on a long, wide loop, which I greatly appreciated. The more beagle music, the better. That first rabbit succumbed near David, who made a good shot. Get the grease hot and get the biscuits in the oven. Gravy is a-comin!

I imagine that not everyone reading this article has hunted rabbits with beagles. If that is you, you do not know what you are missing. This method of hunting is both exciting and gratifying. Here’s how it works.

The dogs are trained to find and follow the scent left behind by the rabbit as it moves through the brush. It is a beagle’s natural tendency to bark, howl and bay as they chase the rabbit’s scent. That’s right, they are chasing scent; 99 times out of 100, the dogs never see the cottontail until a hunter is holding it.

The rabbit will be “jumped” by either the dogs or the hunter. The dogs are able to get a scent on a track hours after the rabbit has been there. They then track that scent until they get close enough to that rabbit to jump or push it. Then the real chase is on.

You might think, at this point, that the rabbit is scared and would run directly to its hole. Not true. For some unknown reason, it is almost like the rabbit is enjoying the chase as well. Most chases are very similar. The rabbit generally makes a wide circle in the brush. When you hear the dogs turn back in your direction, that is when you need to start looking for the bunny to be coming back your way.

They most often return to near where they were jumped. If the hunter misses his shot, or does not see the rabbit, the chase continues.

And the good thing, from the hunter’s standpoint, is that they are usually coming through at slower speeds than you might imagine, giving the hunter a pretty good chance at getting that little critter into skillet with some milk gravy. That meal is the gratifying part I mentioned earlier.

We had several great chases that day, followed by several good shots. I hunt bunnies once or twice a year, but these guys do it every weekend. Their generosity overwhelmed me when they insisted that I take all the meat home with me. Between the beagles working and the half-dozen rabbits for the freezer, I could not have been happier. Thank you, Jerry Martin.

Thinking of trying a new type of hunting this year? You’ll find plenty of suggestions in every issue of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.