Which Shot for Desert Cottontail?

[Bobson]

Wondering which size shot you guys recommend for taking desert cottontail. I'll be using a 12 gauge, and don't want to ruin too much meat. Figure I'll be using 2 and 3/4 inch shells.

I take most of my rabbits with my compound bow, but wanna go after em with a shotgun to change things up. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Gunnerboy]

I use #6s lead 20ga 2 3/4 so that should work for you in 12ga, but then again last rabbit i shot was 5yrs ago.

 

[ridgerunner1965]

bunnys are not hard to kill with about any shot size.a trick a buddy showed me is to aim, depending on the range, in front of the nose of the bunny.not at the bunny itself.this keeps the pattern of shot in the head, neck, front quarter area.keeps the shot out of the delectable loin and rear quarter area!

 

[Bobson]

Might be a dumb question, and if so, I apologize. But is it safe to use lead shot on game I'm going to be eating? And if so, is it also safe to feed it to my 9 month old daughter? My wife sometimes gives small amounts of our meal (depending on what it is) to our daughter to get her used to it. Soups and stews, typically, which is what this would be.

Should we just not do that with any game taken with lead shot? Or is it perfectly safe?

 

[wankerjake]

Any size shot will do the trick, I like #6 but #7 1/2 or #8 will do just fine. It's best to shoot them in the head with a 22 though so you don't get gut juice on the meat and don't have to worry about biting down on shot.

But is it safe to use lead shot on game I'm going to be eating? And if so, is it also safe to feed it to my 9 month old daughter? My wife sometimes gives small amounts of our meal (depending on what it is) to our daughter to get her used to it.

You and I could eat a whole wad of shot and not notice it. Adults absorb lead very poorly thru the gut, especially in the elemental form. Children on the other hand absorb it significantly better thru the gut, and it takes a lot less to poison them. So just make sure there is no shot in the meat you give her. You will be able to tell because she's only going to be able to handle tiny pieces at a time. You can tell where the shot has passed thru, avoid those areas and give her small pieces without shot and it's fine. You can mash it up with your fingers, you'll feel the shot if it's there. Make sure it's cooked all the way, disease would be a bigger deal.

You can dig most of the shot out before you cook it even, look for holes. The ones that don't exit are still in there. Just dig them out. I advise soaking the meat in saltwater for a few hours, it helps with the flavor I think if you gut shoot them with a shotgun.

 

[Bobson]

Hmm. I hadn't thought about gut shots. Yeah, that would make the meat taste pretty crappy. Maybe I'll just switch it up to going for headshots with a .22 instead of the shotgun, like you suggested. It's still a change from using my bow.

 

[lizziedog1]

Or is it perfectly safe?

Some folks have bullets left in them because it is medically safer than trying to remove them. A friend of mine has had a lead pellet in his hand for forty five years.

Don't worry!

 

[Mike1234567]

Do you have a .17 HMR?

 

[DM~]

When useing a shotgun, i prefer #4's or 5's, as less shot in the shell means less shot to pick out of the meat. I just won't use any shot size smaller than #6's...

DM

 

[sixgunner455]

I usually just use whatever is in the shotgun for doves and quail. Rabbits are more targets of opportunity when hunting birds, for me. I rarely get a shot off on them before they are gone in the scrub. My Brittany has a lot of fun chasing them. LOL.

Usually, I have 7 1/2 or 8 in the right barrel, and 6 in the left barrel.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

The last time I used a shotgun on rabbits, my wife told me to either use a 22 or don't bother bringing them home.

BTW, I used 6s.

 

[WardenWolf]

My honest advice is to use steel shot if you're planning to feed it to your kid. It's a lot safer.

 

[SWAT1911]

.50 cal AP incendiary. Lol jk

Good luck!

 

[nathan]

Theres reason why lead shots had been banned in fowlhunting. Remember the change of lead based paints in 1979 to non lead ? LEad is accumulative in effect and if ingested in higher doses can cause unknown medical problems. Many experts said it can cause behavioral changes in kids, hyper activity to downright depression. Learning disabilities and poor learning skills made up the bulk of studies learned. Our rise in cases of autism and the many child defects can also be traced to exposure and ingestion of lead in food and water sources.

Use a .22 lr for headshots on rabbits for more cleaner kills.

 

[788Ham]

Use a .22 rifle, cheaper and less messy.

Lizzie, is that why no one has tried to eat your friend?

 

[sixgunner455]

Nathan, lead shot was banned from waterfowl hunting because the blissninnies were worried that the ducks and geese were eating the leftover lead shot when they ingested gravel for their crops, giving THEM lead poisoning.

Whether or not the birds were getting too much lead, that is why they banned it.

 

[chas08]

Back 25+ years ago when my Fatherinlaw persued North Carolina cottontails being run by Beagles. The prefered shot size of the day was #6 lead.