Jackrabbit Game?

[lizziedog1]

I want your opinions of an idea I came up with.

One creature that is plentiful around here is the jackrabbit. I count at least a half dozen road-kill bunnies every morning going to work. These are on country roads that may not see a dozen cars a day.

I own a couple of dozen firearms. I only shoot a few of them on a regular basis. I have some guns that I have not shot in years even though I have all the reloading equipment and supplies to shoot them. I decided to combine our hare population and my unshot guns into a game.

This spring, when the weather warms up a bit, I want to shoot at least one rabbit with each of my guns. I'll start with one firearm and keep going until I hit one. Then I'll chose the next and so on.

One gun that has been ignored for too long is my British Enfield in .303. I started to develop a load for it when I first got it, and it showed promise. I am going to start with this gun. I am going to first develop a load and try to sight it in. This caliber should be able to humanely dispatch a jackrabbit a pretty long range, if I could hit the thing. The only drawback will be the size and weight of the gun. I really don't want to go trampling all over the desert with this thing on my shoulder, but I will.

At the other end of the scale, I have a Colt Pocket Positive Chambered in .32 S&W Long. Now, this is a gun that I shoot somewhat frequently. It is fairly accurate, at short range. The challenge with gun will be trying to get close enough to a rabbit in order to hit it.

I have two rimfire rifles that should be snap to hit a jackrabbit with. Now, my 50 caliber muzzleloader might be a challenge.

So, what do you all think of this little game I have come up with? Does it sound fun? At least I'll get to start shooting those safe queens that have been gathering dust for years.

 

[Roughneck08]

Hey man, whatever you want to do, to sharpen your shooting skills go ahead. I thoroughly enjoy fried jackrabbit. I'd say if you shoot it, eat it. Jackrabbits get mites and a bug under their skin called "wolves" they are essentially parasites. Don't eat the meat in the summer time if you can help it. I wait until the first frost to kill those parasites. We use a pickup truck in a pasture with my 870 loaded with #4 shot to dispatch the critters. Fun fun practice and good eating. Cook it like chicken fried steak.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

here in central Texas we used to have lots of jackrabbits, hardly ever see them anymore along with horned toads. be careful what you wish for, you may not have anymore of them in time either if you kill all you see. hogs, I dont think you can kill enough of.

 

[lizziedog1]

be careful what you wish for, you may not have anymore of them in time either if you kill all you see.

You don't know my shooting ability, or lack of it.

 

[wankerjake]

Sounds like fun to me, and good practice for big game hunting (if you're in to that).

 

[flipajig]

Back in the early 80's we used to shoot Jack Rabbits by the truck load with a
Ruger 10-22 or any other 22 we even used a 270 and a 06 for long shots.
as for eating a Jack rabbit not me let the magpies and yots and other critters dine on them.

 

[lizziedog1]

as for eating a Jack rabbit not me let the magpies and yots and other critters dine on them.

I'll see a dead one on the road in the morning going to work, on the way home its gone. Believe me, these roads out here don't have clean up crews.

 

[jonc]

I often make my mosin nagant when we go out blastin for rabbits here in utah. I think it makes it more fun using a bolt action rifle, but they're pretty tough to hit... I admit it's rare for me anyway haha