Sarah, here in Michigan we have lots of predators that are after the same bunny we want to hunt.
I imagine it`s the same where you are too. They are food for many hunters.
Therefore, they must have a place where they are never too far from good escape cover. In short they like it thick. Often the best cottontail hunting is very near old barns, fallen down sheds, old cars, overgrown fence rows, and usually very close to habitated buildings.
You don`t usually have to walk very far from where you park to find bunnies. What you must do, is learn to slow down and train yourself to spot the rabbits as they are hiding. The rabbits that live the longest are the ones with the most nerve
that remain motionless when something walks near them. If you find a spot that has lots of rabbit sign(droppings, padded trails through the grass resembling tunnels of sorts, chew marks on brush near the ground) and you don`t see rabbits, it`s probably because you moved through it too fast.
When they do run, often they won`t go far before they stop. You will find, that a rabbit taken with a bow, is a well deserved trophy. Although the target is small, the rewards are big.
A cold, clear, still morning is the best time to find rabbits. This is when you will find them warming their bones on the edges of thick cover. Move very slowly, and use your eyes as you may have never done before. When you go after rabbits, alone, without a dog... you are truely HUNTING.
Hunting etiquette is the same as daily life for the most part. Be nice, and you`ll have it made.
Big game is different than small game, and if you are looking to hunt a certain location, and happen across someone else, or a treestand, or other sign of another hunter, usually the best thing to do is relocate. You don`t usually have to go far, and I have found that once I locate where another hunter is, I know where the game WON`T be when the other hunter is in the woods.
I have been bowhunting for thirty years, my first time out was at the age of twelve. In all that time I have met only two traditional hunters while in the field.
I assure you that you will meet other bowhunters while you are out. I can also assure you, that you will make them think. You will walk away, with your simple beautiful bow, and they will look down at the contraption they hold in their hands... and they will wonder. And even though you are new to hunting, you will have taught an experienced hunter... something.