# Bunny Blasting Champions, or Story Tellers?



## milenine (Nov 25, 2007)

When spring hits and most of the regular hunts are through I try to get some jack rabbit hunting in. I know some good areas that seem to hold a lot of rabbits/hares. I normally try to gather some friends, all armed with various weapons, and head to these spots. My question lies in the stories I hear from others about shooting hundreds of rabbits. Nearly everyone that I talk to about rabbit hunting all have the exact same story about the time they went out and shot over 100 rabbits. It always sounds like 100+ is a frequent occurrence. 

My reality is this: On a good day we will see, on average, in very infested spots, maybe 1 rabbit per 5 minutes of walking...sure sometimes 5-10 pop out of one spot, but we are talking averages here. This one rabbit per 5 minutes usually stands an extremely good chance at getting away. A combination of speed, distance, cover, and uneven terrain are all in the rabbits favor. If the rabbit does not stop, I am guessing an average window of shooting opportunity is somewhere around 1 second, and you might get 2 windows of opportunity per animal. My normal weapon of choice is an open sight semi-auto 22lr. I am an accurate, fast shooter and am still lucky if I shoot a dozen critters in a day. The times I have used a shot gun increased the percentage. I am perfectly happy with these numbers, especially if my friends did the same. 

So what gives? Are the rabbits in these tales of hunting wonderment so thick that hunters have to shew them out of the way to get their car doors open? Are they physically exhausted from being chased by coyotes all night? Are the hunters sporting infra-red goggles and firing mortar rounds? I just don't get it. Maybe what I think is a a lot of rabbits really is not. Please enlighten me. I do not doubt that an occasional hunter has had a day for the record books, but my suspicion is that most people are confusing rabbits that they "shot at" with rabbits that they "shot". 

My normal go to spots are near snowville and in the deserts far west of Utah Lake.


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## InvaderZim (Sep 7, 2007)

They are just pullin yer leg!


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

So exactly which story are you referring to? Here's one that you're sure to disbelieve.
http://varmintfinders.com/modules/conte ... .php?id=18


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## bigbuck81 (Oct 10, 2007)

I've never heard of anyone getting 100 rabbits in a day. I think it would be possible but pretty rare! I also have a very hot spot for jacks and the best I personally have ever done is exactly 30 bunnies in one day and I didnt hunt the whole day. My weapons were a 7mm :twisted: great practice, 12 gauge and a 22 with a 1970's scope. My hunting partner shot 15 that day so 45 is are standing record for one day! After shootin so many bunnies I have resorted to coyote hunting O|* . But the bunnies will always be fun!


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## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

Loke said:


> So exactly which story are you referring to? Here's one that you're sure to disbelieve.
> http://varmintfinders.com/modules/conte ... .php?id=18


That was nice to let the 450 rabbits just sit there and let them shoot them. 90% hit rate yeah right. I went out tonight and got 2 of the 15 I saw.


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

It's kind of hard to miss when they're less than 20 yards away. My eyes still glaze over when I think about that hunt....


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## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

That was you? So when you shot the first rabbit the other 449 rabbits didn't run off? :shock: Loke I want some pictures.  They had digital cameras back then didn't they? :lol:


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

That hunt took place in 1987 or 88. No, they didn't have digital anything back then. Back then, if you really wanted to slaughter the rabbits, you went to southern Idaho and got in on one of the rabbit round-ups. You would get a hundred or so people and encircle a large area. Everyone would walk toward each other, tightening the circle. When the circle was small enough, you would dispatch the rabbits with clubs, baseball bats, or some would even use golf clubs. Firearms were not allowed. The dead rabbits would usually number in the tens of thousands for each drive.
On The Hunt, we were in about 2 feet of fresh snow, and the rabbits were not spooky. They would hold until you stepped on them. I don't think that these rabbits had been hunted, and they had a great food supply close (a haystack). That may have been why the were reluctant to move.


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## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

I heard about those round ups in Idaho that sounds like a blast. check these pics out they are from tonight. I used my .223 ar.

I call this one blood on the highway.










I tried taking my gordon setter for some help. He would point and hold. it was awsome.


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

Looks like a great time. It reminds me that I need to go rabbit hunting.


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

I've heard stories too of tons of rabbits. I wonder if they're not either going out of state or close to state lines. Lots of guys talking about up north.... and I guess if you get way out in the middle of nowhere, its possible. For me, a good day is seeing 20-30 rabbits, having a shot at half of those and connecting with a kill shot on half of the fifteen I pop off at. My best in one day is 8. There was one spot where a friend and I took 11 cottons in 45 minutes, but I haven't been back since that day. Usually I walk and walk until my feet hurt and call it a day. Shooting that many rabbits in one day would suck with a shotgun.... that ammo gets heavy after a while and to shoot 100 rabbits, I'd have to carry a four box case of shells (at least) with me... no thanks. 8)


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## James (Oct 7, 2007)

To tell the truth, here is part of the problem:



> My normal weapon of choice is an open sight semi-auto 22lr.


Get a .223 with a scope. You will be amazed what you can do with one of these. 
For that matter any varmint rifle that shoots 3000+ FPS will do. The thing is, that the bullet gets there so fast that you don't even need to lead a rabbit up 75 yards. If those cross hairs are on it when it goes off, Dead Bunny! Then they shoot so flat you don't have to adjust for elevation like you do with a 22LR. A shot gun is ok for close shots, but you invariably end up cussing cause most of the targets are over 40 yards and you are just wasting shot.

The other part of the problem is the abundance of rabbits. Years back, as others have already said, the rabbits were lousy out around Snowville and Southern Idaho. We had to be careful to stay out of Idaho as we never did get an Idaho license. You had to have a license to hunt rabbits in Idaho.

I had a buddy, alas he is now gone, who I used to hunt with, and we both used fast shooting varmint guns. his was a 218 Bee, and I had a 222 Rem, with scopes . It was not unusual to get well over 100 rabbits (each) in a day's hunt and shoot near 90% hits. I assure you that it is possible and that many hunters have developed the skill to do this. Of course you have to be fortunate enough to find a spot where you have lots of targets. I don't know where that is now-a-days.

I must confess my great rabbit hunting days were before most of you folks were born. Back in the 1960s. Now that makes me older than dirt? We used to get the kind of hunting you describe right here in Cache Valley, 5 to 20 a day, but I haven't even seen a rabbit track in the snow here for close to twenty years now. When those Bald Eagles started to winter here, and snowmobiles became common, and the coyote population boomed when they made them quit poisoning, the jack rabbits disappeared.

Great Hunting!


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## James (Oct 7, 2007)

A couple of pics from the old days. (maybe 1962)

These 18 rabbits were killed with a 222 Rem without taking a step.
18 shots, 18 dead rabbits, I promise, and about 3 minutes to do it. 
I just sat there in one spot, and shot all I could see. 
No BS and not to brag, just the facts. 
The rabbits were lousy that day. This was one of those "over 100" days. 
We had walked about 2 miles before we found the bunch. 
The location is west of Snowville and near the Idaho border.

I ran out of 222 ammo that day so killed 32 rabbits with my Ruger single six 22 LR.
A day to remember. 
Geeeeez, I wanna go rabbit hunting. 
I wish all you youngsters could have the great hunting we had in the 60s. 
Have a good hunt!


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## bigbuck81 (Oct 10, 2007)

That volume of rabbits can still be found in Northern Utah. I have found an area that it could be possible to pull off 100 in a WHOLE day. The bunnies are abundant and so are the yotes. It boggles my mind how many rabbits and coyotes there are in such a small area. I dont know how but time after time we sweep through this area for the last 2 years now and its like we were never there each time we return, bunnies everywhere!


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

Tell me where that spot is, and I'l tell you if it is as good as it was back in the good old days. :wink: :wink:


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## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

Loke said:


> Tell me where that spot is, and I'l tell you if it is as good as it was back in the good old days. :wink: :wink:


I'm with Loke on this one.


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## James (Oct 7, 2007)

Ditto!


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## bigbuck81 (Oct 10, 2007)

Its out there guys! Scout hard! Dont get discouraged, _O\ just go farther!


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

That could be my problem... I hunt west and south instead of northwest.


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## Fowl habits (Dec 4, 2007)

if you don't believe that a hundred in day is possible pm me and ill send a picture from last year me and some friends shot over 160, it was in state but a lond drive (6hrs total)


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Fowl habits said:


> if you don't believe that a hundred in day is possible pm me and ill send a picture from last year me and some friends shot over 160, *it was in state but a lond drive (6hrs total)*




Well, I can think of four corners it might have been in.... :lol: Thanks but I'll stick to my 1-2 hour drive for five or six rabbits per day. Shooting 160 would be fun, but not for a six hour drive to pound a bunch of carrion that I won't be taking home...... 8) Now, if we're talking 160 over a whole weekend of camping out, that might be cool. It would kinda stink to hunt out your spot that first day and then have to turn around and go home for six hours because there just aren't any left. :shock:


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## silvertip (Sep 27, 2007)

I live in Tooele county and in my younger days my friends and I would go all the time thats all we ever seemed to do.
We had some pretty heavy spots and we would average about 8-10 each a day.
My all time high was 16.
Now I only really hunt them with different weapons that make it funner. I have shot a couple with the old .54 caliber.
The other day we were out and I shot one at 57 yards with my old model 94 open sight 30-30
The cool thing was that he was on a dead run going broadside and when I walked up it was a clean bean shot I mean perfect, took the whole top off. now that was cool!
Ive made some cool shots before but that takes the cake for me.
Nowadays we are kinda lazy about it and mostly drive at dusk and dawn then pile out and shoot em.
Ive been hunting rabbits for 25 years and have seen alot but to shoot 100 in a day consistantly?


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## Longfeather (Nov 27, 2007)

When I was a kid we hunted in Nevada and the whole town would split up into two teams and the team who got the most rabbits won.  Several years in a row we filled up two dump trucks with rabbits.

Rabbits everywhere, that was a lot of fun!!!


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## CC (Sep 8, 2007)

Back in the late 70s - early 80s, we used to travel out to Park Valley and shoot rabbits. It was common to shoot at least a brick to a brick and a half of .22 shells in a day. I don't know what percentage I could claim to shoot, but I've got to believe that between four or five guys shooting that many shells, we killed a lot of rabbits! I remember getting to hillsides on a push and having twenty to thirty rabbits at a time going up the hills. It really is hard to imagine unless you have been there at time like that. I'll bet we would run over 10-15 rabbits on accident just driving out there. This is the same time period of the famous Mud Lake rabbit roundups that made such big news for animal cruelty. I'm sure there were some well fed coyotes in those days.


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## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

I remember going out by Park Valley too in the 80's and shooting 500 rounds a day through my .45 LC pistol. I carried my pistol because anything else seemed too easy. 100 rabbit days would've been easy back then.


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## milenine (Nov 25, 2007)

500 rds. wow! how much did lc ammo cost per round back then? Today that would be a lot of cash to shoot jacks.


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## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

milenine said:


> 500 rds. wow! how much did lc ammo cost per round back then? Today that would be a lot of cash to shoot jacks.


I reloaded my own .45 colt shells......5.3 grains of red dot powder pushing 200 grain cast bullets I used to buy in bulk. I used to spend all week reloading for 1 day of shooting. I don't remember what everything cost, but Dennis at the old Traders Den store in Logan used to greet me with a smile every payday back then. :wink:


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## TAK (Sep 9, 2007)

fatbass said:


> Thirty or so years ago we used to stand in the bed of my friend's truck, turn on the KC Daylighters and shoot jacks over the cab. This was west of Benjamin. Our best night we killed 87 jacks in about 3 hours between 4 of us. Ran out of shells or we could have easily hit the 100 mark.


Back when I was in High School we would do about the same thing. Never counted up the numbers but had two spot lights going and a few .22, and shot guns to work them over. The lights attracted them!!!! One night we was on a roll when the DWR gave us some other lights!!!!! It cut our night short, so we came up with a plan to use golf clubs and bats! It never slowed us down!!!!!! We even made some mid evil stuff.. We put nails in the bats!


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## Rabbit_slayer16 (Oct 18, 2007)

Well this is no lie.. You guys prob wont believe it but its true. Me and my uncle went to nevada on 12/26. He was teaching me how to coyote hunt. We shot one on the first set up. We did two more sets and nothing. at 12 we decided to go bunny hunting. We got out where their were tracks all over and started walking.. They were EVERYWHERE! At dark my uncle had 91 and i had 77.. It was insane. When i first read this post i thought the same thing as you guys but dont think it anymore. I shot prob 200 rounds in my little pump 22. They would run and then stop and just sit their giving you an easy shot. Ill prob never have the chance of doing this again but ill tell ya what thats not the last 3 and a half hour drive to go there for rabbits. so in about 4 .5 hours spent hunting them we got 168 rabbits total.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Rabbit_slayer16 said:


> Well this is no lie.. You guys prob wont believe it but its true. Me and my uncle went to nevada on 12/26. He was teaching me how to coyote hunt. We shot one on the first set up. We did two more sets and nothing. at 12 we decided to go bunny hunting. We got out where their were tracks all over and started walking.. They were EVERYWHERE! At dark my uncle had 91 and i had 77.. It was insane. When i first read this post i thought the same thing as you guys but dont think it anymore. I shot prob 200 rounds in my little pump 22. They would run and then stop and just sit their giving you an easy shot. Ill prob never have the chance of doing this again but ill tell ya what thats not the last 3 and a half hour drive to go there for rabbits. so in about 4 .5 hours spent hunting them we got 168 rabbits total.


Good story Rabbit_slayer16 !!!!! 

I suppose this is how you got you're forum name? 
I think the most I've ever got is 4 in a day.... *\-\* ........I always give them a chance to survive...By the time I count to three...they're too far outa range...
Maybe if I 'held' high at 90 yards, I could do better.... :wink:


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Well, I was going to get up this morning and head out for a bunny shoot with the wife, shooting her fathers single shot 20 guage. Yeah, she's still in bed and wasted a day I could have spent out hunting ducks or even rabbit hunting alone... you figure at least an hour to get out to where I want to hunt, maybe more, then walking an area, maybe two to wind up with 5-10 rabbits on the day.... I'm still sitting hoping she'll get her butt out of bed.... somehow, I think its wishful thinking. Oh well, at least now I'll have something to tell her when she asks why I don't ask her to go anymore.... ridiculous. :roll: I feel like the brothers in "A River Runs Through It" when the jackass shows up with the red Hills Bros can of worms.... maybe I just expect too much out of people or something....


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Sorry, momentary frustration. I guess not everyone comes shooting out of bed, hitting the floor dressed and running. I actually did wind up going today... with her in tow. It was supposed to be about her shooting a rabbit with the 20 gauge. Well, she shot the 20 once, didn't have it tight in her shoulder or something and it bit her pretty hard... hard enough she cried... yeah, I felt like a total jerk because she dropped the shotgun and I got annoyed about that. I didn't know it hit her so hard..... after a few minutes of "I'm sorry" and a little comforting and giving her a hug and a kiss to make it better, she said she'd just walk while I carried my 12 gauge. So... we walked around and I wound up shooting one jack. We saw three.... we went to another area and I wound up taking out her 20 for a quick walk through a gravel area.... Dang thing misfired twice and then killed the one rabbit I actually fired at. I don't know if the firing pin is messed up or what... need to get it checked out though. Anyway, good day out and I promised her a day of laying around watching movies and having some "us" time before we go back to work... worked out ok but I feel like an a$$ for getting so annoyed about this morning... :?


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## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

TAK said:


> fatbass said:
> 
> 
> > Thirty or so years ago we used to stand in the bed of my friend's truck, turn on the KC Daylighters and shoot jacks over the cab. This was west of Benjamin. Our best night we killed 87 jacks in about 3 hours between 4 of us. Ran out of shells or we could have easily hit the 100 mark.
> ...


Been there done that. We would get bored killing them with firearms, so we would turn to the "carp bats" or even steel toed boots. I dare say back in the mid-80's on an average night we would take well over 100 jacks in south Sanpete.

FYI, a "carp bat" was a wood bat with nails driven in it, we used them during the floods along the sevier river on carp. We would take out 50+ carp in an hour each, and then call the local Asian migrant workers who would come gather them up and be all grateful for the 'free meals'.


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## James (Oct 7, 2007)

Hey milenine! 

Great post! You really started something here. 

Thanks to everyone for chiming in. I am loving these stories.


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## ChiefAutoParts (Sep 20, 2007)

I think that the most I've shot has been somewhere around 50-60 in about 3 hours with 2 other shooters helping me get to that number. We go to the same place every summer and always see some. Other years are better than others, though. The last time was the first time I actually kept a decent count, although there has been times that we killed more, but we just didn't keep a solid count.

Somethimes there's nothing better than just going out bunny blasting. It definately scratches the itch I get sometimes.


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