Three subspecies of rabbits — cottontail, marsh and Appalachian — inhabit North Carolina. Cottonails thrive in early-successional habitat (cutovers) that afford cover and safety from avian and ground predators.
Voice of America
“The 2800 acres at the new Voice of America tract in Beaufort County is a good one,” biologist David Turner said. “It’s a permit-only area between Little Washington and Greenville, and this is its second season. It’s grasslands and easy walking.”
Six or seven Saturday-only permit hunts for parties of five are open. Hunters must park at closed gates and walk into this game land.
Suggs mill pond
Biologist Chesley Ward said the N.C. WIldlife Resources Commission “does a lot of forestry work at Suggs Mill Pond in Bladen and Columbus counties, including reforestation. It makes good cover for rabbits.”
Caswell, Falls
Bailey-Caswell and Butner-Falls of Neuse Game Lands have managed forests and food plots that provide food and cover for rabbits.
“Butner-Falls has seven managed fields totaling 265 acres,” biologist Chris Baranski said. “Rabbits use the fields, but they’re heavily hunted. The Brickhouse Road area (88 acres) is popular.”
Bailey-Caswell has eight planted fields covering 177 acres.
Sandhills GL
Sandhills is a permit-only, three-days-per-week area with 144 acres in 20 managed fields. The field-trail area opens to rabbit hunting Nov. 11-25.
Voice of America Game Lands broadcasts great quail hunting
A new game land that covers 2,818 acres in Beaufort County just east of the Pitt County line, the Voice of America Game Lands is in its second year of existence in the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Game Lands program.
“It has grasslands, and we control-burn 500 acres each year,” biologist David Turner said. “We have six draw (permit) quail hunts with three hunters per party allowed.”
Turner said the Commission is managing the property with limited hunts. No other game land has sufficient numbers of quail to hunt.
