I went to a lot of trouble and hard work to put in a garden this year. I just spotted a small cottontail enjoying my corn before I can.

Is this a case of "no choice", the rabbit must die?
Let this interloper eat my entire garden, then kill it and eat IT?
If this garden rapist must die, how should it be dispatched?
I'm always proud of the ideas a question like this produces from all you here.
Unfortunately, I think co-existence is not an option.

Put up a chicken-wire fence?

.22LR behind the ear.

Claymores with tripwires attached to the vegies.  If that doesn't work, try a motion/thermal imaging gatling gun.

Seriously though, I'd get a 22 and put one well placed shot into the rabbit's rump.  Then cut off its head and put it on a pike in the middle of the garden.  That's what we did with the blackbirds when they were shitting in our pool (for fun) last year.  They haven't been back since.  I'm not kidding.

Go Wabbit hunting...

If you live in a neighborhood, use a pellet rifle.  If you don't a 12 gauge with 00 buck at close range and you won't even have to worry about carcass disposal.

IMO,,i say LIVE-TRAP em and set em free in sum woods sumwhere..it isnt necessary to kill the rabbit.unless the rabbit had a gun, otherwise, its a dumbshit thing to do..



(i am by no means a tree hugger, but i also dont go hunting, i dont need to live off the land , i can goto supermarket to get all the meat i need.)

Good point - if the rabbit has a gun, you should probably just give him some veggies.

He had one slung across his back but maybe he was just testing me.

DUH!?  Use your spear and magic helmet!!!


aguila .22 super sniper...  60 grains of subsonic wabbit lovin.

But he wasn't on his own or public property and he was tresspasing and destroying agricultural property aint that worth at least drawing on him (in Texas?)?

I was out in the open and he had some foilage behind him, didn't know how many "friends" he had. So I played it safe. I slowly backed up, got some more open ground between us then ducked in the house to figure out a plan.

Take the carrots and unscrew the tops. Pour in nitroglycerin and screw the caps back on. Put the carrots back in the ground and wait for the rabbit.  (I saw it in a Bugs Bunny Cartoon, so it must work).

Nooooo.....

You got it all wrong.

My folks have a beach home in Hilton Head, SC and the way the homeowners there solved their overpopulation of deer was not to kill them.  Oh no.  We can't have that.

They paid a contractor $50,000 to dart & tranquilize all the does they could find.  Then a vet was called in to implant birth control devices so the little hussies wouldn't reproduce!

Now that is what I call good use of taxpayers/homeowners $$$$.

My parents had a shit fit when they heard that.  My dad told the homeowners association that my brother & I would work for free to "harvest" all of the does they thought needed to be eliminated.  All we wanted was the meat.

Needless to say, all the tree huggers on the board went into epileptic fits and the idea didn't go too far.

Oh well.

I say kill all the little furry tailed bastards before they eat up all your hard work.

Has anyone noticed that if you shoot a rabbit in the ass with a pellet rifle that its back legs shoot straight out and refuse to work?

Just me then huh?

Shoot the damn thing

[sissy]Rabbits are people too[/sissy]

.22 and a stewpot...put that rabbit and the vegetables it was eating to good use in a meal.

Live Trap. I try not to kill stuff unless I'm gonna eat it.

Did you know you can starve to death on a diet of rabbit meat? It is completely lacking in nutritional value.

You can often sell rabbits to pet stores.

I have a garden.  I love my gardens.  Below is a list of pest I will kill on site if I ever see them in my garden:

Butterflys
snails
rabbits
deer
squirrels
dogs
cats
rats
groundhogs
aphids
catapillers
moths

However, I will go out of my way to protect bees, birds, some beatles, and worms.  They are my friends.

Everything else must die

SGtar15

Rainman- a .22 pistol with a longer barrel or a .22 bolt gun with an aguila colibri or super colibri. From a rifle all you hear is the hammer fall, from a pistol with  say a 6-8inch barrel you'll hear a bit more but still less than a pellet gun. It's a 20gr bullet I use them on chipmunks and the occasional tree rat, hell I put one in an oppossums skull as well and it was a quick clean kill. Let the little bugger get a little fatter(if it ain't that big yet) so you get a decent meal out of it. Or you could set up some M80's with electronic model raocket fuses, a nine volt battery and pressure plates. Rabbit hits plate M80 blows rabbit either has a heart attack or runs and never returns

Another vote for the SPEAR & MAGIC HELMET


If that doesn't work, take your pick:
[sniper2]   [sniper]   [shotgun]     [rocket]    [heavy]   [grenade]   [dracula]   [50]   [-=(_)=-]

Or just use the 22.

[bs]

Pet stores don't want wild rabbits either.


Shoot it.  Eat it.
fwiw
Scott

Get an outdoor cat.

Got Tannerite?

Hey Pic, maybe an SER. What do ya think?

Use Wolf brand 45 hardball. It apparently works on chipmunks...

You might want to can that BS flag...

The AUGman knows of what he speaks.....


"RABBIT STARVATION REALLY EXIST:


Well known in the Far North, an exclusive diet of ANY lean meat ex. the rabbit will cause digestive upset & diarrhoea. Eating more & more rabbits will only worsen the condition.


The diarrhoea and general discomfort will ONLY BE RELIEVED WHEN FAT IS ADDED TO THE DIET. Death will follow otherwise within a few days.


THE TREMENDOUS IMPORTANCE OF FAT:


Why is FAT so important? One reason: eating lean flesh WITHOUT a sufficient amount of FAT will KILL us.


This seems astonishing for in civilization, we obtain numerous fats from a very great number of often unrecognized sources: butter, lard, milk, oleomargarine, cheese, bacon, salad, candy, mayonnaise, nuts, bread. Etc.


In emergency when you have to subsist entirely on meat, the fat of course will have to come from the meat itself.


Your best day by day guide is your own appetite, once eaten enough fat you will know when to stop, for no more will taste good.

"


[url]http://www.logicsouth.com/~lcoble/bible/foodnu4.html[/url]

The conventional wisdom around here is that rabbit shouldn't be eaten until after the first hard frost.  This supposedly kills off the rabbits weakend by tularemia.  If you have cuts or scrapes on your hands one should wear rubber gloves while cleaning wild rabbits.  A  sign of tularemia are white spots on the liver.

That being said:



BUNNY BRUSCHETTA

1 spanish onion, peeled and sliced
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 small carrots, chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
12 black peppercorns
1 rabbit
2 cloves of garlic, quartered
16 small fresh sage leaves
2 and 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1 crusty Italian ring loaf of bread (preferably day-old)
Lemon wedges (optional), to serve


Bring 6 liters of salted water to the boil in a large saucepan. Add onion, celery, carrot, herbs and peppercorns and return to the boil. Skim surface. Add rabbit and return to the boil. Reduce heat to lowest setting, cover and simmer very gently for 1 hour, or until rabbit is tender. Remove from heat and cool rabbit in cooking liquid. Remove rabbit from liquid, strip meat from bones and place it in a single layer on a plate or tray. Season meat generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Return bones to cooking liquid and boil again to make stock to freeze for another purpose, if desired. Transfer rabbit to a bowl. Add garlic, sage and oil just to cover. Using your hands, mix ingredients to combine, then cover and refrigerate for 48 hours. Cut bread into 1/2 inch-thick slices and brush both sides with remaining oil combined with 1 teaspoon sea salt. Place in a single layer on a
rack on an oven tray and bake at 150 C for 30 minutes, or until pale golden. Using a slotted spoon, remove rabbit from oil, and serve at room temperature with warm bruschetta, mesclun and lemon wedges, if desired.





RABBIT STEW WITH DUMPLINGS

Serving Size : 4

1 medium rabbit, cut up fryer
2 medium onions, cut up
2 bay leaves
3/4 teaspoon course black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed dried tarragon
1 teaspoon crushed dried thyme
4 large carrots, peeled, halved
4 medium potatoes, peeled, chunked
1 cup flour
1/2 cup ground suet (very cold)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 upc chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons baking powder
Cold water

Wipe meat pieces and place in large casserole or Dutch oven. Add onions, bay leaves, pepper, salt, thyme, tarragon; cover with water; cover and cook over medium heat 1 and 1/2 hours. Adjust spices to taste. Tip cover as heat increases. Do not boil strongly. Add carrot pieces and potatoes. Increase heat slightly. Replace tilted lid while you make dumplings. Combine flour, suet, salt and pepper, parsley and baking powder in small bowl and mix. Add enough cold water just to pull together into a soft dough with your hands. Do not kneed or squeeze the dough. Divide into 6-8 small portions and drop onto top of gently boiling cooking liquid. Replace lid tightly; cook 20 minutes more at a medium boil. Do not raise lid. Use slotted spoon to remove dumplings and meat pieces; keep warm while you slightly thicken remaining liquid if desired - either by adding a little flour and water or by boiling uncovered for a few minutes (if boiling, remove carrots and potatoes with meat).



BRANDIED RABBIT IN MUSTARD SAUCE

1 medium rabbit, cut up, frying
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 medium onion, cut in four
Whole cloves
Bouquet garni
Salt to taste
Brandy
4 tablespoons whipping cream
1 and 1/2 tablespoons coarse Dijon mustard


Wipe meat pieces and trim off any fat. Heat olive oil and butter or margarine in large skillet until bubbly. Add meat pieces and saute on all sides until browned. While browning, press whole cloves into onion chunks (generously). Add chunks to skillet in between meat pieces; add Bouquet garni. Sprinkle with salt. Generously slosh brandy over top (at least 1/2 cup). Cover. Cook over medium to low heat about 30 minutes or until meat is cooked through. Remove meat pieces from pan and keep warm. Discard onion chunks, cloves and Bouquet garni. Increase heat to medium high. Add cream and mustard; cook, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Return meat to pan and coat on all sides with sauce. Serve at once



[url=http://www.samcooks.com/flavor/Rabbit.htm#More%20Tips]More required reading[/url]

This is kinda true--what it doesn't mention is that if you have to subsist entirely on rabbit it is possible IF you make sure to save and eat the generous amount of FAT THAT SURROUNDS THE RABBIT'S KIDNEYS.

Get a dog.
Theyre great for fertilizing your garden, as well as dealing with any unwanted four, or even two legged guests.

Also, Might I suggest ruger 10/22 with bull barrel and a scope in the 3x-9x'ish range to protect your efforts? [b]llanero[/b] seems to know what he's talking about. Use the 10/22 on the rabbits, then follow his instructions to the letter [;)]
If your low on Fertilizer though, I would suggest using an M44 Nagant on the pests, It tends to spread em around, all over the place actually. You get nice coverage that way.

The comment was rabbit "is completely lacking in nutritional value."  That ain't true.

Secondly, who around here ain't gettin enough fat?  I doubt there are many people around who would eat nothing but rabbit....

Scott

RPG

I say make a project out of it. Trap it or make a dead fall trap and pick him up later.

If you know what he gets in to it shouldnt be too hard to bait the trap with what he likes.

http://wmuma.com/tracker/skills/traps/figure4deadfall.html

lack    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (lk)
n.
Deficiency or absence: Lack of funding brought the project to a halt.
A particular deficiency or absence: Owing to a lack of supporters, the reforms did not succeed.

The usage of lacking in this case being "definciency" as oppossed to "absence" in which case I would have said "completely devoid of" rather "complately lacking."

This makes the statement true and correct despite your proclomations to the contrary.

Secondly, the fact that someone may have a high fat content in their diet has nothing to do with the fact that rabbits are "virtually devoid of any real nutritional value."

You have now been corrected twice. [;)]

[size=6]The Holy Handgrenade of Antioch[/size=6]

My dad has expericance in this matter except with a golpher. He says 45 ball will do the trick.

Damn.  Don't wanna drive the fairway around there.  Did he keep the golphers clubs as a souvenir?

[>:/][?]

although you may think my idea is stupid
we use an electric fence, not the weak garden fence mind you, this is the 10 mile coverage fence, but it is only covering a few hundred feet, when the rabbits or anything else hit it, they scream and run
ever heard a rabbit scream?
it actually keeps deer out too, it clicks when the charge pulses and all animals, without exception (even my dog) will sniff the wire to investigate the clicking, and get zapped.

Ahh, instant fertilizer.

I should have read page two before posting.
[s]As far as eating it goes, I have always been told not to eat wild rabbitts killed in any month that doesn't have an R in it. Something to do with spotted liver(?), or some such disease.[/s]

ComputerGuy has a shitload of bamboo...I suggest you borrow some for a punjii stake pit.
Seriously, though, a slingshot would work if you are in city limits.  A scarecrow of some sort might help also...something that makes noise in the breeze.

#1 pet stores wont buy a wild rabbit

#2 Rabbit meat has as much nutrition as any other meat.  What it's lacking in is fat. Humans must have a cerain amount of fat in their diet to survive. so yes, you will starve to death with a belly full of rabbit if thats the only thing you have to eat period.


edited to add, I missed the other posts on your rabbit theory.. show me where yuo find your facts as I stand behind mine.. I eat rabbit 3 times a wwek

my thoughts exactly
2 cases left
[):)]
Le BOOM BOOM brew

I had the same problem and was shooting them. My wife decided we ( I ) would put up chicken wire. It does work, but I still shoot them when I see them..lol The Savage Tactical needs a workout once in a while.

Pellet gun or Bow. I have a loaded and ready to go pellet gun sitting by the back door for whenever I see that fata$$ed rabbit in my garden again. I even sighted it in for for the distance from the back door to the center of the garden. No hold-over/under for me.
Bow would work good too but the GF can't pull my hunting bow so it has to be the pellet gun.
Oh yeah, I live in a subdivision so anything that goes bang is out and even with .22cb caps which are silent I still don't want to be seen peeking out the back of the house with a gun in hand. Too many questions would have to be answered.

1. Never argued that a pet store WOULD buy a wild rabbit. Just suggested it as a possibility.

2. Rabbit meat does NOT have as much nutritional value as other lean meats. Don't take my word for it, look it up.

If you want to go non-lethal you can get something like this:

[img]http://www.medpest.com/pics/rabbit.jpg[/img]

It is a motion activated sprinkler scarecrow.  It hooks to your garden hose, and when Buggs comes strolling in for his corn dinner he gets a blast of harmless water.  Do a search for scarecrow sprayer to find them on the web.  They run about $100.

Or, if you want total perimeter defense, you could go with a fence from Premier like this one.  [url]www.premier1supplies.com[/url]

[img]http://www.premier1supplies.com/img/fencing_1/34.jpg[/img]


They make the best electric fencing systems around.  Depending on the size of your garden, you are looking at $100-$250 for the setup. Unless you are looking at multiple varmints (lots of rabbits, etc.) invading your garden, the most economical solution is a 22lr.  Otherwise, an electric fence or motion-sprayer might pay for itself.

[rolleyes]