Had A guy come in the shop last week, who had been over to Eastern Oregon, jack rabbit hunting.

He said there were LOTS of rabbits out.

Anyone hear of a Jack Rabbit population explosion? similar to the late 60's ?


Thanks! Virgil B.

Not jackrabbits but here in eastern Montana we've had an explosion of Cotton tails

Vbshootingrange: The Jack Rabbit population is much higher than the last several years here in SW Montana but the Cottontail Rabbits are just everywhere.
Cottontails are as densely populated as I have ever seen.
My partner and I were doing some early morning Deer/Elk scouting a few days ago and in less than 200 yards of travel on a dirt track we counted 15 Cottontails scurrying from and across it.
We literally slowed to a crawl to keep from running them over.
I counted 6 of them at once in my yard about 1 month ago.
I think I am down to 2 now though as the Owls have been roosting/hooting in my trees at night of recent.
Its also been a "good" (bad!) year for Pack Rats and Mice in these parts.
Mild winters?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Thanks for the information!

Might have to make a trip over East to check 'em out!

Virgil B.

I noticed the same thing with cottontails in north central Wyoming this year. Rabbits under every piece of sage. Way more than the exact same area last year. Only saw 2 Jacks so can't speak to them.

From the area just above north central Wyoming...






Saw zero jackrabbits...

Ingwe

Buncha good eatin ya got there.

Did you walk those up, or with dogs?

Out west I am guessing no dogs, BUT then . . .

You could really stack them up around here if you drove around and stopped at every auto gate to shoot them. Hmmmm rabbit pot pie

No dogs, you walk them up....after a fashion....


They usually spend their days underground here,in the evenings they pop up and head out for the night. Those in the pic, and a dozen others, I took in a two hour period one evening by walking the edge of oil service roads in the sage....in this country...




a few of their compadres from the same evening...

Made a couple big wabbit pot pies the other night!


Yummmmmmmm!

I should have thought to bring a 22 to pop a few after the antelope tags were filled. I've never seen them that thick anywhere.

I was gonna head down to Wyoming to shoot a few but they wanted $20 a day for Non-res. small game, then they had a limit of 10 on bunnies.
I was literally within 5 miles of Wyoming,with no season and no bag limit on bunnies....

We have had a few of them here in Utah this year:




And in years passed.

Got a few more this weekend:

Heard any more about Eastern Oregon jacks?

Was this Harney or Malheur County?

I recently made a trip to the Oregon desert rabbit hunting. The population was down from 20 years ago, but up from recent years. Not plentiful, but not scarce. Hunt around the haystacks for concentrations of jacks early in the morning.

Thanks guys!

The information I got was for Silver Lake/Christmas Vally.

Got to get over and check 'em out soon.


Virgil B.

Last time I stayed at the motel in Christmas Valley it was full of hunters. Coyotes learn quick!

Looks like a super year there Mackay!! Enjoy!!

I have seen more here in North central Wyoming then I have in previous years.... Half the few that I shot had something seriously wrong with them, skinny and did not even run off after jumping them. Around Wright Wyoming in around the mines this last summer(SEPTEMBER) there was what could be described as a holocaust on the roads. Literally piles of jacks every where....

Jacks are plenty, but cottontails are at an all time high...

...and I have not seen a rabbit in Maine or NH in 10 years...there are still some snowshoe hares around but they are even way down.

Our population crashed in about 1993 and never recovered...just too many coyote, owls, eagles, feral cats to ever let the population come back again...

Great hunting guys...enjoy it...

Bob

Jack Chili is great! Just have to cook it a long time to get it tender and pull it from the bones.

Humm... sure gets a guy to thinking. I have family in Northern UT (Ogden), Southeastern ID (Burley & Mud Lake), and North Central WY (Gillette).

I might have to plan a road trip. I surely remember the days in the late 70's and all the critters we harvested in the Mud Lake area. Seems to me like 4 of us took over 500 bunnies in one day.

Great times as a kid. All the mink ranchers were there collecting the bunnies to feed to the mink.