Quail Quail and rabbits vie for top billing in

Quail

Quail and rabbits vie for top billing in the small game catagory, but since quail prospects are best we will treat them first. There was a heavy carry-over of quail from last season, many coveys going into the breeding season at almost early season size. Many birds hunters feel are less inclined to pair off for that this is an unhealthy condition as quail in large coveys the mating season. Be that as It may, there was a good hatch and many young birds were in evidence all summer and fall. Prospects are good and the sea. son long. It remains open through February 15 in Louisa, Orange, Fluvanna, Albemarle and other counties east of the Blue Ridge. The daily bag limit is 8 and the season limit 125.

Rabbits

For the second season in a row the cottontail picture is spotty and the least encouraging of all upland game. In some areas game supplies are satisfactory, but in many others rabbits seem to be almost nonexistent. Explanations vary from fox and roaming dogs to over hunting. All take their toll, but our feeling is that the species is simply at a low ebb in a cycle that will revolve them to abundance again in a year or so. Under proper conditions rabbits can bounce back more quickly than most game species. In the meantime the rabbit hunter and his little beagles will have to make the best of it and look forward to better years. The limits are 6 a day and 75 a season. The season is open through January 31 and ironically, for the first time in many years, it is legal to hunt rabbits in the snow.

Squirrels

Squirrel hunting should be good wherever there are hardwoods containing a few den trees and a mast crop of hickory nuts and beech nuts. For the best sport we recommend still hunting with a 22 rifle, a wonderful form of hunting, often overlooked. The season runs through January 31 with a limit of 75 and a daily limit of 6.