Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Small Game Jack Rabbit guns

What do you fellas use for jack rabbits. I use a bolt action .22 with a 3x9 Bushnell scope loaded with Velocitors. Although I have tumbled a lot of jacks with a .30-30 carbine loaded with 110 grn hp's (flat points)

DN

Dick,

When I was growing up on the Prairies, just after I finished high school I treated myself to a Rem 788 in 22-250 following a particularly good month of construction overtime. I put a used Bushnell 3-9 on it and managed to keep gun, scope, dies, sling and case under $300 total, even though everthing was new except the scope and rings. With that little gun, I could make head shots on sitting Jacks so far out on the flats that they were just a speck to the naked eye. I came to prefer 53 gr HP Sierras, but I can't remember the load any more. I'd make jackrabbit stew in my crock pot and wash it down with cold beer. Life was good for a young guy.

Sold that rig about 10 years later during some hard times for $250. Still regret it!

from your name I would guess that you are a fan of the .350 Rem Mag. One of the jack rabbit guns that my partner used for jacks was a rem 600 in .350 mag loaded with pistol bullets. Also used a Rem 600 in .222 but the bore was shot out.

DN

Hunting bunnies as we like to call them, is a favorite winter activity. I've used every thing from an 30-06 to various 223s to the various 22 rimfires. For hunting in the snow or under conditions where the bunnies are likely to move out slowy at 250+ yards, I prefer either a walking (light weight) varmint rifle or a scoped ar-15. Did I mention that centerfires w/ explosive bullets in the snow is a colorful combination? Other than that, I prefer a ruger 1022 magnum w/ a 1.5X5 variXIII scope. The 22mag shoots fast enough that you don't have to lead a running bunny nearly as far as you do with the 22lr. In addition, it shoots flat enough to take bunnies out to 150 yds without too ridiculous of holdover. While an ar-15 or mini 14 can do this and alot more, hearing protection is absolutely essential with these centerfires. While some would argue that even a 22lr, requirese hearing protection, I'm comfortable shooting with the 22mag with out. Over the years, many of the jacks I've shot were heard before they were seen. Consequently, being able to hear some rustling in the sage is very important. As a result, I don't like wearing ear protection. While I do have ear muffs that can amplify sound while electronically blocking loud gun shots, they are not particularly comfortable and seem to impede quickly throwing up a rifle. I've thought about getting a pair of walker's game ears--if they are comfortable and effective, I might go back to a scoped flat top ar as an all around bunny rifle. Until that happens, for my $, a semi-auto 22 mag is nearly perfect. In the semi 22 mags, I've owned the ruger, HK and the marlin. I kept the ruger. The HK is too damned expensive, hard to find spare magazines for, and the safety is simply in a ridiculous position. The marlin was nice--shot well and pointed well--it just felt awkward to me. Hope this helps. Glad to hear there are others who enjoy this sport as much as I do!

I was stationed at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma 'way back in the 1959. Just about every Saturday during the many months I was stationed out there, I use to "walk up" the jackrabbits and shoot them on the run with a Marlin "Mountie" .22 rimfire carbine.

The "Mountie" was a straight-stocked, shorter barreled version of the Marlin Model 39A lever action .22 rimfire rifle.

I got to the point where I could hit about one out of every two running "jacks" at which I shot with the little carbine.

Later... when at Ft. Sill for the two week reservist summer camp, I used a heavy barreled Sako varmint rifle in .222 Remington to "pot" the "Jacks" I saw sitting in fairly open cover as much as 250 yards away. The constant wind on southern Oklahoma's rolling prairie made most shots over 200 yards a "learning experience".

If you wanna get sharp with a rifle, try a fast-loading .22 rimfire rifle on running "jacks"... they're harder to hit than you'd think. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

When I was in Kalifornia we hunted them with rifles but someone always carried a shotgun, point man for kicking them up as we moved.

I've probably killed more jacks with a Ruger Single Six .22mag than anything else. Near Hart Mnt, I'd find lots of them near water and good feed. Put a CCI hollow pt anywhere center of mass and DRT! Got into some rock chucks there too. You had to sneak into range and hit them just right the first time or they turned into bullet sponges! BT53

This post reminded me of something.

I was hunting in Texas with Rifle & Handloader's Brian Pearce and witnessed him shoot a running jack rabbit with a .338 RUM at about 30 yards.

The shot was impressive but not near as impressive as the exploding rabbit.

hi dick
still remember that 222. that was the NOISIEST d--n gun i ever owned. even my lab, old denver, wouldn't come near me. i think it deafened him cuz he never seemed to hear me much ... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I like to shoot them with a 223 with what ever bullet and 25-06 load with a 75 gr hp with a full case of power. The 25 can give a great effect.

sako

Lots of jackrabbits in the desert where I live. I've killed a bunch them with an old winchester 74 22lr with a 4 power cheapie bushnell banner scope. For longer shots (usually when my intentions are to call coyotes), I've used a savage 112 22-250 with a weaver 6-24x scope. 22-250 will certainly make a mess of them.
As someone mentioned earlier, a crockpot full of hot jackrabbit stew and a fridge full of cold beers is definately a good thing!

Ruger 10/22. Luepie vari-x II 3-9x40, does very well. BMT

Ron T

Why kind of sights on the Sako?

My favorites over the years:

Sako L-46 lightweight sporter with factory peep in .222 Remington.

Remington M-66

Colt wooodsman Match target pistol

What don't I use?!

Shooting jacks is one of my favorite pastimes. I have bought several guns with the sole purpose of busting jacks with them.
My list is as follows, Ruger MKII auto gets most use, S&W K-22, Marlin 39A, Winchester 1892 25-20, EMF 92 .357, Remington M25 25-20, CZ 527 22Hornet, Sako Vixen mannlicher carbine 222. Out of all these the most fun is the 357 mag lever gun. Shooting side-by-side with a 22-250 w/40gr Nos BT inside 50yds the 357 loaded with 125gr Rem SJHP over a max charge of W296 was the most explosive of all.

As for the rimfires go Jacks are tough and you need HP's, I like CCI mini- mags and Win Power-Points. The new 17 mag hype doesen't work to weel on jacks. It will kill them, but it wont drop them like a 22mag will.

Bagtic...

The Sako had a 3-9x Redfield on it at the time (30 years ago). Now it has a 6-24x scope on it. But a scope capable of 15x or 16x would do just fine. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

re jack rabbit guns...
well if i'm serious i have a 222 sako mannlicher with a 3x9 lupy on it.
if i'm walking and pondering i have a 36 flintlock.
all depends ...

I have a 17HMR kills them deader then hell fun to shoot to. I have a 243 and a 30-06 that i take sometimes to its the best after a new snow.

I usually use a Ruger MKI .22 rimfire pistol and shoot them from out of the pick-up window.

My favorite jack rabbit guns are an old Sako (L-46) .222 with the original peep and a Remington 66 .22 LR autoloader with a cheap little 4 x scope.