Posted: 2/6/2012 4:32:07 PM EDT
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I'm going to be in West Des Moines this weekend visiting my dad and doing some rabbit hunting. My plan is to take my AR with the .22 kit, and my 12 gauge 870. This is my first time rabbit hunting, every rabbit I've bagged before has been while bird hunting.
So my question is, what is a good round for rabbit? |
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.22lr Key to hunting rabbits is let them run away. Then, set up a short distance from where they left as they will circle around and come back 'home' after a few minutes. Works every time. From some google searches I've done, I've seen that advice a lot. How far out from their "home" is far enough? Does wind matter, do they go based off scent or sight? |
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.22lr Key to hunting rabbits is let them run away. Then, set up a short distance from where they left as they will circle around and come back 'home' after a few minutes. Works every time. That's the secret knowledge of rabbit hunting and been my experience as well. They always make a big circle so they can retrace their tracks in an attempt to throw animals off their scent trail. The rabbit gets back on its hot trail and then makes a huge lateral jump. Fox will do the same thing, and deer too when chased by hounds. They just make a MUCH bigger circle. |
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All depends on topography and expected distance to target. I grew up in the panhandle of Texas, where the land is utterly flat and typical shooting distances were 30-50 yards. We used .22lr (to poor to use anything bigger, or we might have!).
When quail or pheasant hunting, rabbits would occasionally bolt under your feet. 12 gauge worked just fine, if you let them get a little distance before smoking them. Shoot too soon and too close, and you couldn't eat the results. If you blew up a couple of perfectly good cottontails (or missed some easy shots) you better not reach for seconds at supper that night. Somebody would put a fork in the back of your hand. 
For where I hunt, the ultimate rabbit weapon is a Springfield Armory M6 Scout. .22LR over/.410 gauge under break-open. I walk with the firing pin set to the shotgun for bolting rabbits. If I happen to see one laid up under a bush, switch to .22 and pop it. I have taken countless rabbits that way, cheap and effective. Hope you get some, good meat and very healthy for you. |
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With dogs? Ditch the .22lr and use the smallest shotgun you have. A 12-gauge is fine, but get a box of the cheap #6 or #7-1/2 'game loads'. Use the most open choke you can get. Even at 30-40 yards, if you put a couple of pellets in a rabbit they're toast. No dogs. Smallest I have is 12 gauge. Is it legal to carry a sidearm while rabbit hunting in Iowa? If so, are there any good .38 rounds for rabbit? If it's under 20 yards, I know I can get a headshot with my S&W 686. |
| Im surprised nobody here uses 17 HMR. I love this round for rabbits. Im capable of making close up head shots and able to take a sitting rabbit out to 225 fairly easy. Ive dropped many rabbits on the run at 150 or less shooting from a rest. I love shooting rimfires and put thousands of rounds through my 22s but I no longer hunt with them. Any riimfire hunting duties have been taken over by 17! |
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With dogs? Ditch the .22lr and use the smallest shotgun you have. A 12-gauge is fine, but get a box of the cheap #6 or #7-1/2 'game loads'. Use the most open choke you can get. Even at 30-40 yards, if you put a couple of pellets in a rabbit they're toast. No dogs. Smallest I have is 12 gauge. Is it legal to carry a sidearm while rabbit hunting in Iowa? If so, are there any good .38 rounds for rabbit? If it's under 20 yards, I know I can get a headshot with my S&W 686. I've killed rabbit and squirrel with a .357 (6" 686) with 158-grain LSWC before. A .38 would certainly tear up less meat. ANY .38 load would be fine. A box of the double-ended wadcutters (148 grains at ~750 FPS) would be PLENTY. |
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7/8 or 1 oz #6 birdshot for your shottie. Any .22 that is accurate enough to hit the vitals. Yep. I love rabbit hunting with my 20" cylinder bore Baikal 12ga S/S with low brass #6's. The barrels are so short I can carry it by the grip muzzle down with one hand with plenty of room between the muzzles and the ground. |
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With dogs? Ditch the .22lr and use the smallest shotgun you have. A 12-gauge is fine, but get a box of the cheap #6 or #7-1/2 'game loads'. Use the most open choke you can get. Even at 30-40 yards, if you put a couple of pellets in a rabbit they're toast. No dogs. Smallest I have is 12 gauge. Is it legal to carry a sidearm while rabbit hunting in Iowa? If so, are there any good .38 rounds for rabbit? If it's under 20 yards, I know I can get a headshot with my S&W 686. I've killed rabbit and squirrel with a .357 (6" 686) with 158-grain LSWC before. A .38 would certainly tear up less meat. ANY .38 load would be fine. A box of the double-ended wadcutters (148 grains at ~750 FPS) would be PLENTY. I've got a box of Remington 125 gr semi jacketed hollow points my sister got me for Christmas. Too much damage? ETA: Is it legal to carry a pistol while hunting in Iowa? |
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With dogs? Ditch the .22lr and use the smallest shotgun you have. A 12-gauge is fine, but get a box of the cheap #6 or #7-1/2 'game loads'. Use the most open choke you can get. Even at 30-40 yards, if you put a couple of pellets in a rabbit they're toast. No dogs. Smallest I have is 12 gauge. Is it legal to carry a sidearm while rabbit hunting in Iowa? If so, are there any good .38 rounds for rabbit? If it's under 20 yards, I know I can get a headshot with my S&W 686. I've killed rabbit and squirrel with a .357 (6" 686) with 158-grain LSWC before. A .38 would certainly tear up less meat. ANY .38 load would be fine. A box of the double-ended wadcutters (148 grains at ~750 FPS) would be PLENTY. I've got a box of Remington 125 gr semi jacketed hollow points my sister got me for Christmas. Too much damage? Hard to say. At that velocity, if you hit a rabbit at the right angle you're going to make a mess. I'd stick with the shotgun for the first day if I were you. Bring the 'toy' guns later. When I used to hunt with some guys who had good rabbit dogs, we'd bring out every dilapidated old gun we could find to go after rabbits. One guy used a cap-n-ball revolver. |
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With dogs? Ditch the .22lr and use the smallest shotgun you have. A 12-gauge is fine, but get a box of the cheap #6 or #7-1/2 'game loads'. Use the most open choke you can get. Even at 30-40 yards, if you put a couple of pellets in a rabbit they're toast. No dogs. Smallest I have is 12 gauge. Is it legal to carry a sidearm while rabbit hunting in Iowa? If so, are there any good .38 rounds for rabbit? If it's under 20 yards, I know I can get a headshot with my S&W 686. I've killed rabbit and squirrel with a .357 (6" 686) with 158-grain LSWC before. A .38 would certainly tear up less meat. ANY .38 load would be fine. A box of the double-ended wadcutters (148 grains at ~750 FPS) would be PLENTY. I've got a box of Remington 125 gr semi jacketed hollow points my sister got me for Christmas. Too much damage? Hard to say. At that velocity, if you hit a rabbit at the right angle you're going to make a mess. I'd stick with the shotgun for the first day if I were you. Bring the 'toy' guns later. When I used to hunt with some guys who had good rabbit dogs, we'd bring out every dilapidated old gun we could find to go after rabbits. One guy used a cap-n-ball revolver. I've already got a few rabbits under the 870, but they were byproducts of pheasant or quail hunts. I'm leaning towards a .22 this go round since I've never done it. |
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.22lr Key to hunting rabbits is let them run away. Then, set up a short distance from where they left as they will circle around and come back 'home' after a few minutes. Works every time. From some google searches I've done, I've seen that advice a lot. How far out from their "home" is far enough? Does wind matter, do they go based off scent or sight? I've sat down and leaned against a tree not more than 25 yards from where they've bolted from and gotten the kill. Sit real still and wait at the ready. I think they are startled by movement and not scent, but I could be wrong. Like others have said, rabbit is excellent meat. When you dress them out, look at the liver and heart to see if it has any spots. If it does, don't eat it. |
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Quoted: Cowboy action shooting loads in .38 spl are great for rabbits.Quoted: Quoted: With dogs? Ditch the .22lr and use the smallest shotgun you have. A 12-gauge is fine, but get a box of the cheap #6 or #7-1/2 'game loads'. Use the most open choke you can get. Even at 30-40 yards, if you put a couple of pellets in a rabbit they're toast. No dogs. Smallest I have is 12 gauge. Is it legal to carry a sidearm while rabbit hunting in Iowa? If so, are there any good .38 rounds for rabbit? If it's under 20 yards, I know I can get a headshot with my S&W 686. I've killed rabbit and squirrel with a .357 (6" 686) with 158-grain LSWC before. A .38 would certainly tear up less meat. ANY .38 load would be fine. A box of the double-ended wadcutters (148 grains at ~750 FPS) would be PLENTY. |
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.22lr Key to hunting rabbits is let them run away. Then, set up a short distance from where they left as they will circle around and come back 'home' after a few minutes. Works every time. That's true; they have a fairly small home range and an even smaller "core area", but around here you'll have to wait there a long time unless you have a beagle trailing him. Even then it may be almost an hour or more before he comes loping back around maybe fifty or a hundred yards in front of the hounds. (Slow beagles often work better than fast ones which will cause the bunny to panic and hole up underground.) If he's not being pushed by hounds he'll often run a couple hundred yards and crawl under a windfall and stay there for hours or until after dark. Edited for sentence structure failure correction. |