Trapping Rabbits For Food – A Step By Step Guide

Have you ever eaten rabbit? Having meat in a survival situation can be the difference between survival and death. Rabbits can be an excellent source of food when you need it. So how can you trap a rabbit for food and what traps should you use?

When trapping rabbits for food, placing snares along rabbit trails and in front of the burrows allows for the best possibility for a catch. Snares allow you to have more traps set, because they are easy to carry. After a rabbit is caught, the next steps are to field dress, skin, and cook the rabbit.

What trap should I use for trapping rabbits?

Rabbit trapping may have laws or regulations that prohibit the use of certain traps. Check you local state regulations before setting traps.

Snares

Snares can be made out of picture frame wire and with a small roll of wire you should be able to make a lot of traps. Take the wire and make a small loop at one end about the size of a pea.

Cut the other end of the wire at about 12 to 16 inches from that loop. Thread the cut end of the loop through the pea sized loop and now you have a snare.

Place the snare in the center of a trail so that the loop is about the size of a softball and about 3-4 inches off the ground. Tie the loose end of the cut end of the trap around a tree or branch and then wrapping it around itself.

Use sticks and brush to block alternative paths along the trail. Also use these sticks to help support the snare.

Foothold Traps

Traps can be set with bait on or near a buried trap. The pan tension on a trap should be very low because rabbits are so small. Place near rabbit trails, burrows, or where you have seen rabbits.

Live Traps

Again place a live trap near rabbit trails, burrows, or where you have seen rabbits. Place bait in or under the trap to make the rabbit step on the plate to close the trap.

Conibears or Body-grip Traps

Conibear traps can be very dangerous and are not forgiving. They will kill anything that gets in them including dogs, cats, and other animals you are not trying to catch. I would suggest only experienced trappers use these where they will only catch the animal they are after. In this case rabbits.

These are kill traps that are not much different than rat traps except they have two bars instead of one which allows them to be placed over dens or on small game trails.

These traps are highly regulated and often larger sizes if not all are prohibited outside the water.

Where should I put my traps to be more likely to catch a rabbit?

Many rabbits are creatures of rabbit and will stay usually in a small area near a burrow or den. Jack rabbits are a little bigger than most rabbits in the west and they will move a farther distance along trails.

These trails can be easy to find in the snow. They can be covered in rabbit tracks urine. They are about 6 inches wide. Other rabbit trails can be found going through small tunnels places through the brush or grass.

When there is not show rabbit scat can be a helpful tool when locating rabbits. They have small pea sized poop that is usually near burrow and trails that they are regularly using.

Set your traps near or on these trails, burrows, tracks, or where you regularly see rabbits and you will find success trapping them.

What is good bait to use for catching rabbits?

The best baits for trapping rabbits are vegetables and fruits. Fruits are good because the have a stronger smell and have a more sugary flavor. Rabbits love fresh vegetables. That is why people don’t want them in their gardens.

Some traps don’t need bait. These are called blind sets and they are placed where you think the rabbit is going to pass. Snares are one of those traps that are placed along a trail like previously explained.

How often should I check my traps?

After setting out a trap and coming back and seeing what you have caught is the most exciting part of trapping. It means you have succeeded as a trapper and you will probably succeed again.

In the United States, the states manage the trapping laws. In many states checking your traps every 24 hours is a requirement by law. Some states may vary in how often you must check your traps. Check you local regulations to be sure.

How do you dispatch a rabbit in a trap?

Once you have caught a rabbit in a trap that does not dispatch or kill the rabbit, you need to be aware, to eat the rabbit you are going to have to dispatch or kill it.

The easiest way to dispatch a rabbit is with a small pellet gun or .22 rifle. This method is the quickest and most humane way to kill a rabbit in a trap. Shoot the rabbit right at the bottom of the ear for quickest and most humane results.

How do you skin and field dress a rabbit?

This can be a little bit of a new experience if you have never skinned and field dressed a rabbit. The easiest way to skin a rabbit is to hold it upside down with one of the hind feet in you hand, then grab the fur slightly below the ankle bone and pull the fur towards the head.

The skin on a rabbit I s super thin and comes off with very little effort. If the fur rips off grab another chunk and pull down. Grab the other back leg and repeat until you have skinned to the front legs. You should be able to start pulling the fur down over the front legs and head.

When you have got the fur down to the ankles on the front legs and neck it will probably be inside out. You can cut the front feet off at the ankles and above the skin. The skin should now only be hanging over the head and it should be skinned down to the neck.

The rabbit should be ready to field dress or removing the guts. Take a knife and cut the rabbit from tail to the bottom of the neck along the belly.

Now step on the head and pull up on the hind legs. The head should come off. Now you have to remove all the guts. Pulling and a little cutting you should be able remove the internals of the rabbit. Don’t forget to remove the poop shoot towards the tail and the esophagus on the inside of the neck.

The last step is to remove the hind feet at the ankles so that all the fur is now off the rabbit. It should look very similar to a skinny chicken now.

How to cook a rabbit?

Our favorite recipe is to cut the rabbit into five pieces, legs and back pieces. Bread with mayo and breadcrumbs and then fry in oil until lightly golden brown. Pork rinds are also a good replacement for bread.

This makes the rabbit taste like fried chicken. You can add other spices as necessary to make them taste awesome! One of my favorites is Slap Ya Mama.

Like my dad always says about wild game “It tastes like chicken!” And it really does!