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Such a rifle would have only theoretical value in these parts. The supply of cotton-tail rabbits has been so sharply reduced in recent years by the corresponding growth in the coyote population that seeing one as road kill is worthy of note. The rare ones I sometimes see are in the immediate area of the house, where presumably the coyotes are less of a threat. I miss them, as well as their aquatic cousins, the swamp rabbits, which used to be fairly common in this area also. The quail population has waned as well, possibly as a result of the burgeoning turkey population.

I have noticed recently that the deer seem to be using the turkeys as scouts. Several times this last deer season I watched a flock of turkeys enter an open area, and then, only after the turkeys had spread out all over the field, did the deer emerge. Unfortunately for the deer, the turkeys' acute sense of vision and hearing did not extend to my vantage point, over 200 yards away, but in the opposite direction, the effective range of my .25-'06 did.

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Xausa: Ditto here.

Funny thing you mention the symbiotic relationship between deer and turkeys. We see the same thing here on my hayfield. Just the deer I could see from the house counted to 161 last eve, in the bare melted off spots. There is a blowing blizzard right now and I can't see anything.

And...again....our grouse population seems to have taken the hit from the exploding turkey population. I have read a study regarding the grouse and turks, and turk predation on grouse eggs was suggested but not yet conclusively proven. I think they hammer them.

As for bunnies, we used to raise them for meat and very tasty they are. Never killed the babies but one of my home-grown bolo knives sufficed for head lopping of the big ones.

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