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Luke Hunts Rabbit Like Never Before

Terry Tate (left) Deryl Markgraf (center)  Matthew Yates (right) show off a few rabbits taken on a recent hunt.
Luke Clayton
Terry Tate (left) Deryl Markgraf (center) Matthew Yates (right) show off a few rabbits taken on a recent hunt.

When you have been kicking around the outdoors for about 55 years, it's tough to find "something new". Luke discovered a new way of hunting rabbits this past week that he thoroughly enjoyed. Luke joined his friend Deryl Markgraf on his hunting least in north Texas along with Terry Tate and Matthew Yates. The group set up what they kiddiingly referred to as  their "mid winter rabbit camp". A fajita dinner featuring axis deer steak served as the evening meat, complete with some of Deryl's speciality Chorizo cheese dip. 
Rather than "Jump shoot" rabbits as many of the group has done for years, They used Deryl's thermal monocular to locate the rabbits and a .22 caliber semi auto air rifle to dispatch them. Thermal imaging picks up the heat signature from the rabbit and the rabbit is then spotted with a red light and dispatched with the rifle. The hunt produced 9 rabbits in a couple hour hunt. There was little doubt that twice that many could have been harvested but the lure of the fajita dinner drew the hunters out of the brush and back to camp. As always, make sure and check the game laws before hunting at night and it's always a good idea to let the local game warden know your intentions. 

As KETR Operations Manager, Kevin Jefferies is responsible for making sure you hear what you’re supposed to be hearing on FM 88.9 and ketr.org.
Outdoors writer/radio host/book author Luke Clayton has been addicted to everything outdoors related since his childhood when he grew up hunting and fishing in rural northeast Texas. Luke pens a weekly newspaper column that appears in 34 Texas newspapers and is Editor at Large for Extreme Hog Hunter Magazine, Bowhunting Adventures and East Texas Outdoors Magazine and field editor for Dallas Safari Club "Camp Talk" publication. Luke is on the pro staff of Mathews Bows, Smokin' Tex Electric Smokers, and GhostBlind. Follow his columns and listen to his weekly radio show throughout the year and you'll surely get exposed to many facets of the outdoor life.
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