Help me kill the rabbits!

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SnakeEater

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I need some help here. We have a garden, mainly cucumber, jalapenos, onions, tomatoes and......strawberries. We've got at least 4 different rabbits ravaging the garden. Our Lab is too slow to catch'em and the kids bb gun isn't up to the job. We are in a residential neighborhood, maybe 50 yards seperate the houses. I'd like to spend a day hunting these things just for fun. The best option I can come up with is a .22 loaded with those calibri, no powder rounds. Any ideas? I need to dispatch these critters with extreme prejudice.:evil:
 
Head shots with a pellet rifle work.

I've been able to shoot squirrels in a residential neighborhood with a long-barrelled .22 rifle and CB caps and not disturb the neighbors. When folks are inside with the A/C and the TV going, they won't notice outside noises.

Art
 
well if houses are that close you may run into problems with legality with a 22 even with calabris. i think the regulation by me is 500fps, within 500 feet of house /dwelling/road. that being a said a good pellet gun is technically out of the mix too :rolleyes:

if local regs allow it, i might try a slightly more powerful pellet gun, or maybe trap the lil guys. IDK i've never been around a rabbit i couldnt just legally shoot:)
 
A good ol' shotgun with some light birdshot will do the job nicely. Or, you could call Homeland Security and tell them there is a bunny terror cell in your backyard. :evil:

elmer-fudd.jpg
 
well...shoot the rabbits!!!! go over the ground, checking for rocks and anything else that might bounce a bullet first though if you got neighbors that close
 
Daisy Pellet Rifle

I've got a .177 cal. daisy single pump Pellet rifle that I kill squirrels with in my back yard in almost downtown Dallas. Nobody heard anything yet:evil:
 
Preparation is everything

Remove the screen window and have whatever weapon prepared with which you plan to dispatch the wabbits. +1 for pellet rifle--there are some very impressive pellet rifles on the market. Last year my daughter's Red Ryder did just fine, and that's not very powerful, just a Plain-Jane BB rifle.

There is much to be said for "conditioned response". Even woodchucks get sick of being sniped at, and feeling the sting of BBs.

As a last thought, and depending how good you are with bow and arrow.

Doc2005
 
LOL, I knew I'd get a wide range of options. That Beeman looks great but for that money I could have a new rifle, a real one. I like the slingshot idea but I'm skeptical of my ability with one, worth a shot though. I'm picking up a crossbow with scope from a buddy tomorrow, maybe I'll try that first.
 
Cross bow could do it. Be careful of bolt bounce. I just came in from harrassing Starlings with my Gamo C02 Pistol. Good for sending unwanted critters on their way. Good to 50 feet or so.:)
 
I would go the pellet gun route. Kids can shoot it later as they get past the BB gun stage. Firing regular gun inside city limits can be a problem for honest guys.

Rabbits die pretty easily. You would be amazed how quickly you get good with a slingshot with consistant ammo if you try. I "shoot" at squirrels in the back yard all the time and like to scare away cats from my bird feeder with them as well. I can hit if I want to, but I usually just aim off to the side a bit and the cats know exactly what is going on as they hear the ball coming at them.
 
Wal-Mart has a Daisy 1000-fps break-barrel air rifle with scope for about $100. It's got a terrible trigger, but it does the job.

If you have a long-barrel .22 rifle, use a .22 CB from inside your house. It will sound from the outside like you dropped a book.

We just bought a house that will have a nice-sized garden. I'll be using traps and my Daisy because of proximate neighbors (and the propane tank in the backyard directly behind us :eek: ). We've also talked about making our cat an outside cat.

-Jeff
 
An electric fence would work well too. One wire strung about 6" off the ground. If they start jumping it add another at 10-12". You can get small fence chargers at your local Tractor Supply.
 
A sheridan with five pumps will shoot right through a rabbit but makes more noise than a rifle loaded with cci short mini mags. The colibris should be even quieter and might be good if accurate enough
 
Try to repell them too.
We have gone out at night and peed along the edges of the garden, seems to really work at keeping them out.

a couple of havaharts placed out near the edges, be suprised how well they work.

shining. get a bright flashlight. wait till about 10 pm when rabbits seem to be more active, go out and shine the light on them. While whoever has the light stays still and immobilizes the rabit in the light beam, walk closer from the side and pop them.
 
+1 on shining
I've taken garden pests like this with a .22 revolver and CB's. Works like a charm.
Tried it on rats. They scatter when the light hits them. I ended up "baiting" them underneath a light with a can of cat food with holes poked in it. I'm sure "shining" is illegal.
A .22 rifle with cb's is quieter than a 1000fps air rifle. Don't get the Daisy at walmart, POS. I've used a Benjamin pump with good effect on small game many times.
Live traps work well on rabbits, too, BTW. They can be dispatched later with a sharp blow to the back of the head. YUM! Eat de wabbit.
 
If shooting is out because of local laws or neighbors, it is very easy to set up cheep snare traps. Rabbits, like most game, tend to use the same routes to get in and out of an area. Look around for where the rabbits come in and out of your garden. use a fence or some low hanging bushes that they run under to hang your snare on. The top of the loop should be above the rabbits head and hidden by the fence/bush, the bottom should be just slightly above the ground. this way the rabbit's head goes through the loop, but not its legs and the loop closes on the neck.

You can even rig up a bell or pop can "alarm" to let you know when you have caught something. Since this is your garden, the rabbits probably wont be spooked by your scent near the trap.
 
This is why I don't live in the city! Let the young'ns practice with BB gun until you get a good pellet rifle. The GAMO 850 with 4x scope is a really good buy. Mail order one. Meen time, let the kid practice hunting skills by moving in ever so slowly, close enough for a BB shot through the eye ball. At the right angle, it's a shot to the brain. Bunny for dinner. Taste's better than chicken!

Or... Most every dog pound will sign out rodent traps. Get one big enough for the bunnies you've got.

-Steve
 
They key to shooting out a window is to stay back 6-8 feet so most of the sound stays in the house. If your yard in fenced you could find some type of prone position so that you are not noticeable to the neighbors. I have killed many a rabbit with my old Crossman air gun. I would pump it up 8 times and shoot them in the head.


When I was a kid we had problems with rabbits in our garden. My Dad spent about $75 for a electric fence kit that came with everything we needed to keep all the varmints out. He mounted a wire at about 5 inches and one at 10 inches. It worked like charm and the only pests we had in the gardern were the winged variety which he paid me a nickle a piece to kill. Lucky for him I was honest and only shot the birds that were in the garden.:D
 
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