Rabbit and varying hare season remains open for the 2003/2004 season through January 25, 2004. Jackrabbit season remains open year round.

Legal shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. The best time to hunt rabbits is early morning and at sunset, when they're most active. Most shotguns, archery and rifles (including air rifles firing pellets, excluding BB's, powered by compressed air or gas) are legal for rabbit hunting.

The bag limit for rabbits and hares is five per day and 10 in possession. There is no limit for black-tailed and white-tailed jackrabbits.

This year's late spring rainfall has provided a bumper crop of sagebrush and blackberry patches, traditional habitat for rabbits and hares, said Tom Blankinship, Department of Fish and Game's coordinator for the Upland Game Program.

"Rabbit populations are thriving in good habitats," Blankinship said. "There should be good concentrations of cottontails in the great basin habitat of sagebrush and rocky outcroppings, especially if there's an agricultural field nearby."

The popularity of rabbit hunting has fluctuated little over the years, according to studies conducted by the Department in its Game Take Hunter Survey. In 2001, the most recent year of statistics available, 13,046 sportsmen and women hunted cottontails. That number is up slightly from the previous year, but down from 1999. In 2001, 9,850 hunters pursued jackrabbits, down slightly from the two previous years.

In 2001, cottontail hunters faired better then previous years, collectively bagging more than 83,000 statewide — a 10 percent increase — and averaging more than six rabbits each for the year. For jackrabbit hunters, who bagged nearly 76,000, the year's totals were roughly the same as the two previous seasons.

Most of DFG's wildlife areas are open to rabbit hunting. Hunters should remain aware that there might be restrictions to the method of take. For complete game regulations, consult DFG's 2003-2004 Mammal Hunting and Trapping Regulations on the web at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fg_comm/2003/mammalregs03.html. For a listing of wildlife areas open to rabbit hunting, refer to the Guide to Hunting Quail in California, on the web at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hunting/index.html. In addition to quail, the publication notes every site where rabbit hunting is legal.