The season on small game hunting in the south is around 4 months, give or take a few days. If you plan to hunt behind a pack a beagles, and have in the past, then you probably already know the frustrations that come with getting your dogs in shape while season is in progress. There is an alternative. We have a pack of registered beagles that we try and run about 10 months out of the year. I prefer for our beagles to be in good shape before the season begins. This is no easy task due to the efforts it takes to get them where they need to be.
  We like to run early mornings, and if your pack allows, late at night when the temperature cools down. Now I’m sure you are hanging on the “if your pack allows” part. If you have beagles you will follow what is coming. If you are just getting into rabbit hunting, listen carefully. After dark is a great time to train dogs, as far as beagles are concerned. There is little “training” done outside of putting them with a clean pack and turning them loose in a rabbit infested thicket.
  There is, however, a downfall. If you are training young puppies, you may want to reconsider the night training in the beginning. Beagles will slow down a bit in the dark which makes it difficult to tell if they are running trash or are actually pushing a rabbit across the cutovers. It all sounds great when you don’t know what is the culprit to the race. I have heard some great rabbit races by a pack of mature beagles after dark, but have also heard some great races by a pack of young dogs that are full bore into running a deer. Same sound. Same pace.
  We like to stick to the early mornings so that we can tell what is actually going on. This will leave no doubt to whether a young dog is running trash, or simply running around barking at the other dogs. This can be valuble information to a handler, especially if the handler knows this when it happens. When this happens on a consistant basis, you can split your pack up and put the younger pups with a slower lead dog so that the pups will have time to understand what is happening. If its an older dog, you still have time to find a replacement.
  At any rate, your pack will be stronger the more they run. I have found that most all beagles, if they are legitimate hounds, can run a rabbit with moisture on the ground and if there is thick cover that they are running through. Where you see the benefits of running year round is the downtime your pack has when they cross a dry track or you have a rabbit that insists on crossing dirt roads and such where the scent is light to say the least. Believe it or not, your lead dogs will pick up on the tendencies that the rabbits have in the area you hunt. If this isn’t enough reason, its just plain fun and beats the heck out of working!