Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Small Game WooHoo! Rabbit season is geeting closer every day.

IIRC, I really need to go dig out the booklet, rabbit season starts here in Colorado in about a month. I am beggining to chomp at the bit! Without a doubt, rabbit hunting is my all-time favorite hunting activity. I know I should wait for the first hard freeze, but I doubt if I will do so.

Guess it's time to get out the old 12 ga. 870 to do some familiarity training. I've always wanted a couple of beagles to hunt with, but the region I hunt has cactus and I doubt the two would mix well.
DAL357

What species of rabbits do you have to hunt in your area? I am assuming that you have Cotton Tails to hunt, but what else do you have other than Jack rabbits?

man you're not kidding. my son and i ran 2 of our beagles last night. it started out a little rough being so dry. but as the sun set, the running heated up quick as the temps dropped. we ran for about 6 hours for at least 7 rabbits. what a blast. i've got till nov 4th to get my 4 beagles conditioned then i'm off to southeast kansas for a week of rabbit hunting. we'll try to run 3-5 nights a week between now and then. R.D.

I hunt cottontails, but the area I hunt contains a few jacks. I've never hunted jackrabbits, although I did get a snap shot off at one last small-game season. Those things can sure pour on the speed when they want to, especially after just being missed by a cloud of #6 shot.

Man!, I wish I could use a dog or two where I hunt without fear of perforated poochie pads and hefty vet bills. Such is life.
DAL357

I like to hunt all species of rabbits and hares. For some reason I seem to like hunting Snow Shoe rabbits the most. Bigger animal and more meat.

The only dogs I know of that can be effective, hunting jack rabbits, would be the whippet, the doberman and the greyhound. Most other dogs aren't fast enough to make a jack rabbit crank his ears back, when the jack rabbit starts getting up to speed.

I have a scoped, Sako Vixen rifle, chambered in .223 that I use for jump shooting jacak rabbits. I have a way of shooting jack rabbits, with a scoped rifle, that makes it easy.

The .223 with a varmint bulled loaded and jack rabbits were made for each other. I have seen pieces of jack rabbit go twenty feet in the air.

The rifle must fit you properly, and the scope must be mounted and adjusted properly. Don't take your eyes off of the rabbit as you shoulder your rifle. If the rifle fits you, and the scope is mounted and adjusted properly, the image of the jack rabbit will appear in the scopes field of view...! It's easy.

I have taught people, that couldn't shoot and hit within twenty feet of a running jack rabbit, this method, and they show success the first day...! Then it's just practice.

Are the jack rabbits in your area afflicted with Tuleremia?

Bill

I honestly don't know. I never take chances anyway and always handle the rabbits I shoot with rubber gloves. Years ago, when I first started hunting cottontails, I always dressed them with bare hands; I had never even heard of Tuleremia back then. Thanks goodness I never came in contact with it.
DAL357

Man, you guys are doing it to me here! It`s getting about that time. My place in Wy. is at 8000 ft. I have cotton tails from the house down to the river, and hares from here on up the hill. I hunt mostly with a .22 on foot for the cotton tails, but when they start a hare, they head for the mountains. I like to follow on horse back, because everything out this way, eats beagles. That being said, I`ve got mule deer, on the brain right now. Season opens the 14th.

Dal,Your local Colorado Game & Fish folks can advise what if any hazards the cottontails may pose in the area you'll hunt.

Tularemia is a bacterial infection and can be gotten by contact with blood or fluid from any infected animal thru a break in the skin..so wear gloves when skinning-cleaning rabbits.
The bacteria can also be spread just via air..

Watch for ticks and deer flies as they can carry the infection to whatever they bite, including you.
A look at the rabbit to note general health( including the liver) will help you rule out obviously infected rabbits..but they may still have ticks which could end up on you.
Cook your rabbits well.

IF you are not hunting with dogs, I'd take a .22 LR semi-auto repeater with hollow points, binocs.. and leave the 12 gauge home..:)
We used to hunt with hounds all over the Sonoran AZesert years ago.Properly trained and 'desert-schooled' dogs rarely had any severe problems with cactus..cholla being about the worst.

We carrie pliers with us to remove spines when the dogs would get into them on occasion..Jim

That's a good idea. I'll check with them before the season starts.

BTW, even though I've hunted with a .22 auto rifle a lot in the past, and it was a heck of a lot of fun, in the terrain I hunt a 12 ga. seems to work better for me. The area is a combination of pinion pines, scrub oak, and cactus and I rarely see a rabbit for more than a few seconds after I've kicked them up. Granted, that's enough to give the .22 a try, but I still like the ol' 870 stuffed with #6 shot and an IC choke.

That's good info. about the dogs; I guess they would wise up after an episode with a cactus.
DAL357

I had tuleremia when I was a kid.

There's nothing like two shots a day in the butt to make your day!

Got it from cleaning infected rabbits my dad had shot. Ironically I was sick that morning so I couldn't go hunting with him. Was feeling better when he got back so I cleaned the rabbits.

The original diagnosis was childhood leukemia.

The onset of Tularemia symptoms is pretty rapid when one is infected..These days, Streptomyacin is the preferred antibiotic for treatment.There is no immunization shot or pill available presently to the public.
According to the CDC and history, various militaries have experimented with this bacteria as a bioweapon..Bad stuff tho however one gets it.
Worth doing some research so you can recognize the symptoms in yourself or another as well as avoid infection as much as possible.

Concerning the use of shotgun VS .22..that's why slow hunting using binocs works.You can spot the rabbits beneath trees, in shrubbery where they are resting and then either head shoot them or stalk in and head shoot them..:)
Kicking cottontails out without dogs works, but you'll see far more than you will be able to get on and shoot..even with a shotgun full choke..:) Jim

I always use a .22 Ruger 10/22 with Stingers. My Scottie laddie has flushed rabbits for me for the past 13 years, but with his recent passing, it looks like I will be without canine assistance this year.

i like using my .22 for rabbits myself

Gettin my beagles ready for the PA season. Good luck to ya!