rabbit count ?

huntercameron · May 9, 2022

i was wondering how many rabbits have you killed ?Me personally killed one cottontail and one jack rabbit both with a .22 . my rabbit count is 2 . whats your rabbit count ?

Warbo · May 9, 2022

So many that I’d have to take my boots off to count that high. I can’t even remember how many deer I’ve shot.

heartshot · May 9, 2022

That wonderful day in June 1990 was 47 rabbits. It only took about 1200 rounds of 22 shells (about $19 dollars worth).

Yep, it was a wonderful day. Usually I only shoot 7-10 rabbits per 500 rounds

huntercameron · May 9, 2022

heartshot said:
That wonderful day in June 1990 was 47 rabbits. It only took about 1200 rounds of 22 shells (about $19 dollars worth).

Yep, it was a wonderful day. Usually I only shoot 7-10 rabbits per 500 rounds

what kind of 22 did you use ?

EVILNR · May 9, 2022

Used to go some with a couple guys that had Beagles,,,man that was fun times.
On a side, note I been wanting to get some of them Western Jackrabbits that look to be the size of Kangaroos.
Big game tags always get in the way.

johnnycake · May 9, 2022

A handful of years back we had some incredible bunny bashes in Utah. 4-6 guns in 2-4 hrs and we'd all get limits of cottontails plus stupid numbers of jacks. One day was 103 jacks and 40 cottontails. Just a riot.

eelgrass · May 9, 2022

Just a guess but I would say around 20-30, all "brush rabbits". They can be quite challenging. They are very skittish and only come out early morning or late evening, or rainy days sometimes. Good practice for big game hunting.

huntercameron · May 9, 2022

eelgrass said:
Just a guess but I would say around 20-30, all "brush rabbits". They can be quite challenging. They are very skittish and only come out early morning or late evening, or rainy days sometimes. Good practice for big game hunting.

hey eelgrass is a brush rabbit like a cottontail ?

MulePacker · May 9, 2022

Does it count the ones from Mud Lake in the 80’s. I’m easily in the 4 digits probably pushing 5 digits.

HikeHunt61 · May 9, 2022

As a kid in the 70/80s, we would go out to the Wyoming willow bottoms in January. The rule was only to shoot Jacks on the run using our big game hunting rifles. It is where I learned to shoot offhand at a running target.

Muleman1 · May 9, 2022

20-30 I’d guess

coloradoman · May 9, 2022

Way way to many to count

bugleb · May 9, 2022

Yes, Mud Lake in the 80's. Me and two friends shot over 1000 rabbits in one day and a night on my brother-in-laws farm. When we finally froze out and went home at about 5:00 in the morning, it was 17 below. I took 4000 rounds of 22's with me and only brought back a hand full. The other two guys only brought a couple of 500 round bricks and ended up using a lot of mine.

elkassassin · May 9, 2022

From about 79 thru Early 80's!

You Might Say We Shot a Few!

eelgrass · May 9, 2022

huntercameron said:
hey eelgrass is a brush rabbit like a cottontail ?

The brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani), or western brush rabbit, or Californian brush rabbit, is a species of cottontail rabbit found in western coastal regions of North America, from the Columbia River in Oregon to the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula.

The brush rabbit inhabits dense, brushy cover, most commonly in chaparral vegetation. It also occurs in oak and conifer habitats and it will live in brush or grassland, and form networks of runways through the vegetation.

I have some on my property but as soon as they see me they dart into the brush and disappear. They only venture out a couple feet from cover.

Iddogguy · May 9, 2022

bugleb said:
Yes, Mud Lake in the 80's. Me and two friends shot over 1000 rabbits in one day and a night on my brother-in-laws farm. When we finally froze out and went home at about 5:00 in the morning, it was 17 below. I took 4000 rounds of 22's with me and only brought back a hand full. The other two guys only brought a couple of 500 round bricks and ended up using a lot of mine.

It's crazy hard to explain it to someone. Me & another guy would go archery hunting antelope & we'd each take a brick of 22 shells. We had two Ruger pistols & two Ruger 10 22's. We'd sit on the edge of the fields that butted up against sage brush at dusk. It was a solid stream of rabbits coming out of the brush! One guy would load the guns twice while the other shot. You could shoot nonstop without even moving locations. The rabbits keep the alfalfa ate to the ground about a hundred yards in for about a two mile length. ???????????????

BeanMan · May 9, 2022

Gun or vehicle?

SlinginLead · May 9, 2022

In my late teens into my early 20's, I would head out to the Mohave Desert with my trusty 870 .12 gauge pump and my .22 Remington pump and would shoot jack rabbits by the hundreds. Driving through the Tejon Ranch, I can't count that high in how many ground squirrels I shot, out of a window! I thought we were dead meat when we came around a corner with two .22's sticking out the windows, and there is a Fish & Game Warden. He was sitting in the back of his jeep with a .22 rifle, enjoying the squirrel shooting. He just waved to us! Never had so much fun shooting Jack Rabbits and ground squirrels. The good old days!

Shadow · May 9, 2022

HikeHunt61 said:
As a kid in the 70/80s, we would go out to the Wyoming willow bottoms in January. The rule was only to shoot Jacks on the run using our big game hunting rifles. It is where I learned to shoot offhand at a running target.

My dad use to tell stories of doing that as a kid. Right up until he died, he was a crack shot. Always standing, off hand with open sights.

Captain_coues · May 9, 2022

Too many to count. 80s and 90s there were so many, we gave up shooting them on many days out of guilt. Mostly Jackrabbits, but a few Cottontails too. Now they are so rare, I quit shooting them altogether.

huntercameron · May 9, 2022

Shadow said:
My dad use to tell stories of doing that as a kid. Right up until he died, he was a crack shot. Always standing, off hand with open sights.

sick !

Bluehair · May 10, 2022

BeanMan said:
Gun or vehicle?

Got one on a motorcycle once. Fortunately no road rash, but that’s pretty scary.

The rabbits have basically all died out around here and they are a rare sight these days

BeanMan · May 10, 2022

In my misspent high school days we used to drive from Fort Collins to Steamboat to ski. At Muddy Pass just before Rabbit Ears Pass we used to run into ‘herds’ of snowshoe hares on US 40. The roadside snow walls were vertical from rotary snowplows so the hares could not get off the road easily. Sometimes we would turn around and drive through the ‘herd’ several times. A Volkswagen beetle doesn’t have a lot of clearence and you could feel them rolling under the unibody undercarriage.

Bigfoot 1 · May 10, 2022

We used to buy .22 bullets by the brick. In the 80’s a buddy and I would hunt jacks and cottontails after school and on weekends. We had another buddy who grew up dirt poor and we would take him along at times, we would pick up the rabbits and he would take them home where his family ate the cottontails and fed the jacks to their dogs. We literally killed thousands of them back then, something I’m not proud of now. Same with birds and BB guns when I was a youngster.

Bluehair · May 10, 2022

Bigfoot 1 said:
We used to buy .22 bullets by the brick. In the 80’s a buddy and I would hunt jacks and cottontails after school and on weekends. We had another buddy who grew up dirt poor and we would take him along at times, we would pick up the rabbits and he would take them home where his family ate the cottontails and fed the jacks to their dogs. We literally killed thousands of them back then, something I’m not proud of now. Same with birds and BB guns when I was a youngster.

There used to be lots of rabbits before 22’s had scopes

Bigfoot 1 · May 10, 2022

Bluehair said:
There used to be lots of rabbits before 22’s had scopes

And rangefinders! ?

Captain_coues · May 10, 2022

I believe like a few on here already said that Rabbit hunting is the best rifle training you can get. My dad was big on that idea. When the rabbits were plenty, a few months of off and on hunting them with the big game rifle, you begin to have the feel for the rifle and accuracy that’s hard to explain. It’s almost like a part of you.

Bigfoot 1 · May 10, 2022

Captain_coues said:
I believe like a few on here already said that Rabbit hunting is the best rifle training you can get. My dad was big on that idea. When the rabbits were plenty, a few months of off and on hunting them with the big game rifle, you begin to have the feel for the rifle and accuracy that’s hard to explain. It’s almost like a part of you.

We shot prairie dogs with our hunting rifles. 100 times more dogs here nowadays than rabbits, used to be the opposite.

Buckhunter1955 · May 10, 2022

We farm a little over 600 acres of vineyard in Mendocino county, I've killed more jack rabbits than I can count. Mostly with my Marlin model 39A, I also use my Ruger 77/22 in .22 mag. or my Ruger No.1 in .22-250. My son has probably shot just as many, great fun.

Captain_coues · May 10, 2022

Bigfoot 1 said:
We shot prairie dogs with our hunting rifles. 100 times more dogs here nowadays than rabbits, used to be the opposite.

Prairie dogs were our thing too. We did so much we would even take our cleaning equipment with us and go through well over a hundred rounds per person. Come home and reload and go back out in a few days and do it all over again. Prairie dog shooting was the best, too bad they’re gone for the most part. I could go on for hours about it. It definitely helped us with our on the fly range estimates, shooter/spotter communications, and accuracy. We were usually stationary with our truck, sandbags and gear so it only helped in those three areas. Rabbit hunting was on foot and the rifle was carried. That hunting helped with things like scent, wind, reaction and speed. Varying ranges and up+down hill shots too. I am sure it helped me all of those years starting with a single shot Chipmunk with open sights on up to the centerfires I use today.

Bigfoot 1 · May 10, 2022

Captain_coues said:
Prairie dogs were our thing too. We did so much we would even take our cleaning equipment with us and go through well over a hundred rounds per person. Come home and reload and go back out in a few days and do it all over again. Prairie dog shooting was the best, too bad they’re gone for the most part. I could go on for hours about it. It definitely helped us with our on the fly range estimates, shooter/spotter communications, and accuracy. We were usually stationary with our truck, sandbags and gear so it only helped in those three areas. Rabbit hunting was on foot and the rifle was carried. That hunting helped with things like scent, wind, reaction and speed. Varying ranges and up+down hill shots too. I am sure it helped me all of those years starting with a single shot Chipmunk with open sights on up to the centerfires I use today.

Our rabbits are just about gone along with our pheasants and quail. We’ve still got prairie dog towns out on the farms and even some vacant lots in town have many dogs. We inadvertently run over these critters like we used to run over rabbits when I was growing up.

bowhunt · May 10, 2022

We got tired of shooting so many with our 22s that we decided to start catching them in our fishing nets.
We would spot light them, and then grab them with the fishing nets, We would put them in the back of the covered bed of our truck....them drop them off in town, or in peoples mail boxes...hahah. We could easily catch 50 in a night, or shoot 1000s per night. Farmers would give you a box of bullets to come shoot them. We also did drives and clubbed them. WOW, what an infestation! Idaho 1970s and 80s.

Buckhunter1955 · May 10, 2022

I worked on a cattle ranch in Dietrich Idaho in 1973. I've never seen so many rabbits in my life. I used to park along the main water canals and you could shoot for hours. They were everywhere in the rocks and dirt that they dredged out to build these canals.

eelgrass · May 10, 2022

huntercameron said:
hey eelgrass is a brush rabbit like a cottontail ?

I did the Kirt Darner sneak this morning and caught this guy out feeding. Brush Rabbit.

BrowningRage · May 10, 2022

The last rabbit I shot was in 2016, with a handgun... My children are now old enough to rabbit hunt so I'll start going again, but I doubt I'll ever shoot a rabbit myself again. Not as much fun as it was when I was a youth. Plus, I'm not too keen on eating rabbits these days... The description of precautions on the DWR website have me thinking they're more dangerous than I once thought??

It'll be a great way for my kids to learn though... Wish a 500 brick was still like $8 like when I was younger...

Captain_coues · May 10, 2022

Another thing we had was a few empty bucket of bullets as part of our equipment. My dad had a 91 F150 and the cup holders wouldn’t fit the large 44 ounce Thirstbusters from circle k. They would fit nice and snug with these. They acted like an adapter to the cup holder and we would alway stop on our way out and get drinks. I wish I still had at least one to keep on display as a reminder.

Neverdrawn · May 10, 2022

We killed so many we'd also get feeling guilty so we started ear marking them. Some of those jacks had ears that looked like Swiss cheese after a couple of weekends.

DBLung · May 10, 2022

My family all use bolt action .223's on jack rabbits. No AR's cause ammo isn't as cheap to reload as it used to be. Some trips we will create a musty smell from all the rabbits exploding. Most I've killed in a single trip is 47. Haven't had a trip like that for 10 year's. Tularemia will wipe them out every 5-7 years. Last year they contracted some sort of fever that made them almost impossible to find in southern utah.

nvthrt · May 10, 2022

Few years ago they were tipping hay stacks over. We'd go through 4 flats of shotgun shells a night.

Best one was a foot of fresh snow that covered the cattle guard going into a hay yard that was chicken wired all the way around, we parked on the cattle guard and they started charging. Shot every round for every gun in the truck then went to the shovel. No telling how many we killed the farmer was laughing the next time I saw him.

Horsecorn · May 10, 2022

I used to run off the road down in the bar ditch to run over a rabbit. Now days I run off the road down in the bar ditch to miss a rabbit. Old age softens the heart.

DeerHunter53 · May 11, 2022

Yes I miss the cottontail hunting with my uncles and dad. Wait for a good snow and then a clear day and cold and they would be sitting by their holes and you shot em in the head with a .22 so as to not waste the meat.
Love fried cottontail just can't find them anymore. Where I used to go in Nevada they are all gone. Not sure where to look anymore

huntercameron · May 11, 2022

DeerHunter53 said:
Yes I miss the cottontail hunting with my uncles and dad. Wait for a good snow and then a clear day and cold and they would be sitting by their holes and you shot em in the head with a .22 so as to not waste the meat.
Love fried cottontail just can't find them anymore. Where I used to go in Nevada they are all gone. Not sure where to look anymore

how is fried rabbit ? does it taste like chicken ?

joevegas · May 11, 2022

Do pickups and golf carts count? Guns- I lost track a long azz time ago. Trying not to run over all of the recently hatched quail on the golf course. Earliest hatch I have ever seen.

johnnycake · May 11, 2022

huntercameron said:
how is fried rabbit ? does it taste like chicken ?

Very similar, especially fall rabbits. Winter bunnies can be tougher and the flavors will be stronger which not everybody likes.

Making buffalo bunnies by breading and frying the legs and backs then tossing them in Frank's redhot and butter is just divine

DeerHunter53 · May 12, 2022

huntercameron said:
how is fried rabbit ? does it taste like chicken ?

The best young rabbit is the best those brush bunnies Eel talked about are very good table fare. I bone it out and cook it like finger steaks my family loves it. Just wish I could find some for this fall

Focoelkman · May 12, 2022

BeanMan said:
In my misspent high school days we used to drive from Fort Collins to Steamboat to ski. At Muddy Pass just before Rabbit Ears Pass we used to run into ‘herds’ of snowshoe hares on US 40. The roadside snow walls were vertical from rotary snowplows so the hares could not get off the road easily. Sometimes we would turn around and drive through the ‘herd’ several times. A Volkswagen beetle doesn’t have a lot of clearence and you could feel them rolling under the unibody undercarriage.

You must of got em all? I’ve never seen a herd of hares there?

BeanMan · May 12, 2022

This was in the mid 70’s, there were a lot more hares back then.

Chesterwyo · May 13, 2022

Neverdrawn said:
We killed so many we'd also get feeling guilty so we started ear marking them. Some of those jacks had ears that looked like Swiss cheese after a couple of weekends.

You should have your ass kicked for that. Prick.

utswell · May 13, 2022

bugleb said:
Yes, Mud Lake in the 80's. Me and two friends shot over 1000 rabbits in one day and a night on my brother-in-laws farm. When we finally froze out and went home at about 5:00 in the morning, it was 17 below. I took 4000 rounds of 22's with me and only brought back a hand full. The other two guys only brought a couple of 500 round bricks and ended up using a lot of mine.

I think the winter of 82 was the big year when the Mud Lake media attention went national and international. A friend worked at the INEL, and one night on the way to work for night shift, he sat up front by the bus driver and counted the rabbits the bus hit. Well over 300 in about 55 miles.

Jerry · May 27, 2022

utswell said:
I think the winter of 82 was the big year when the Mud Lake media attention went national and international. A friend worked at the INEL, and one night on the way to work for night shift, he sat up front by the bus driver and counted the rabbits the bus hit. Well over 300 in about 55 miles.

DeerHunter53 said:
The best young rabbit is the best those brush bunnies Eel talked about are very good table fare. I bone it out and cook it like finger steaks my family loves it. Just wish I could find some for this fall

huntercameron said:
i was wondering how many rabbits have you killed ?Me personally killed one cottontail and one jack rabbit both with a .22 . my rabbit count is 2 . whats your rabbit count ?

I hunted Jackrabbits at night with Spotlights in Central Texas with friends from the bed of pickups- using shotguns or .22 auto rifles- we hunted old fields abandoned from farming on ranches /farms. We shot some times over 50 a night- they were everywhere! It was a blast ? of fun for HS Kids. That was in the early ‘60’s.
Haven’t done

that since the ‘60’s when I left that country for good. Life got in the way !
Jerry Gold- Windsor, Colorado ?