# Rabbit hunting?



## BeastlyDavis13

I'm farly new to hunting, especially hunting out west. I'm from Virginia, out here for school, and finally starting to get into hunting out this direction. 

I had my first mule deer hunt this fall, got skunked, but it's lit the fire under me to try and find some success. I've done well with my goal of at least 1 fish per month, now to do something with my hunting license!

I'm looking into doing some rabbit hunting, as that seems to be the easiest to get into at this point where I might have success. I've got a Ruger 10/22 and access to a bolt action .17HMR, and I've got some camo (does it even matter), the next thing is where and what terrain to look for rabbits? 

It seems to me like someplace like the Eureka area could be a good place to go get off-road, and hike around looking for critters. Any thoughts on what I should be looking for? Washes? Ridges? In the scrub brush? In the trees? I'm so far out of my element here and don't really have a mentor to guide me, so I'm reaching out online to see if anyone can offer some guidance on what terrain lends itself the best to rabbits. 

And heck, maybe rabbit isn't the best game to chase? I'm limited to anything I can take without a shotgun, but I have a gun to fill just about every other role. 

Any and all advice is GREATLY appreciated! Thanks y'all!


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## BPturkeys

Look at it this way, rabbits are found in the most likely spot they can hide. Look for the thickest cover in the area you are hunting in. They like the greenest cover in the area you are hunting in. As you drive down the lonely Utah highways, watch for road kills...that can be your first clue that there are rabbits in the area.
Out in our dry deserts you will see vary subtle changes in the coloration and thickness of vegetation in an area, a slightly darker green or maybe the brush is a little thicker or taller...these are the places most likely to hold rabbits...and all game for that matter. As you look for habitat, most times it is not just the kind of habitat that hold the game, its the nature and quality of that habitat. Park up on a high spot and look down over a valley, you'll begin to recognize that there is a difference in the habitat within the habitat. Good luck.


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## BeastlyDavis13

BP, thank you so much. This is exactly the kind of information I was hoping to find out. 
Would you say the rabbits are pretty generally spread all over? I'm thinking I might just go out with my lab puppy and go bust through some brush and see if I can spook anything out, and if not, my puppy gets lots of energy out.


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## BPturkeys

Sure, go for it. Have fun and be careful where you shoot. Might even consider getting the OnX app for your phone.
onxmaps.com


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## Critter

A lot of times to find good rabbit areas I will just drive through it before daylight and see what shows up in the headlights. A couple of my better area are going through the down cycle right and and while they still hold rabbits the numbers are way down. But then I just look for cottontails anymore and leave the jacks alone.


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## BeastlyDavis13

BPturkeys said:


> Might even consider getting the OnX app for your phone.


I already have OnX and it's been great for my mule deer hunt! So nice to be able to find public land!

And Critter, that's a great idea. Would you say typically morning is the best time to go hunt for them? I always thought the last couple hours of light were best, but again I'm new to hunting this side of the Mississippi! Also, why do you not hunt jacks? Is it just that you don't target them, or you specifically won't shoot them?


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## BPturkeys

You might try typing in "rabbit hunting" in the search window...there have been hundreds of posting on the subject. More lies, tall tales, and exaggerations than you could ever ask for.:smile:


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## AF CYN

Eating Jackrabbits is like eating carp--you can do it, but many people look down on it for some reason. I've had it and it wasn't bad at all!

Jack rabbits and cottontails overlap in their habitats. However, if I'm specifically targeting Jacks, I select areas that are full of sagebrush or a mix of sparse juniper/grass. Cottontails are often congregated around ravines, dry creek beds, etc... Eureka is a good starting point and will have a variety of terrain that may work. 

As for the dog, it'll probably help you find more rabbits but they're harder to hit with a rimfire while a dog chasing them. Still, sounds like fun! Good luck!


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## Critter

BeastlyDavis13 said:


> I already have OnX and it's been great for my mule deer hunt! So nice to be able to find public land!
> 
> And Critter, that's a great idea. Would you say typically morning is the best time to go hunt for them? I always thought the last couple hours of light were best, but again I'm new to hunting this side of the Mississippi! Also, why do you not hunt jacks? Is it just that you don't target them, or you specifically won't shoot them?


I usually don't actively peruse rabbits until December once there is some snow on the ground. They are a lot easier to find at that time and with cottontails you will find them sunning themselves out in the open. As for mornings being better than the rest of the day, I don't think that it matters. Like most animals they will be active during the night and they are just easier to spot as you drive along a road with your headlights on which will give you a good idea of their population.

As for jacks, I have ate them but don't care for them and I am to the point that if I shoot it I'll eat it with a few exceptions on the list.

I also agree that with a dog you work will be cut out for yourself by packing a rifle. That dog will have them running if he jumps any and unless you are a good shot at a animal on the run with a rifle a shotgun would be better, but then you have the dog to consider. I actually prefer to walk the area and spot them, and then one shot to the head and they are done for. In rocky hilly areas we have actually used 22-250's to pop them as they sun themselves on or among the rocks after we had spotted them from a ways away.


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## Kwalk3

AF CYN said:


> Eating Jackrabbits is like eating carp--you can do it, but many people look down on it for some reason. I've had it and it wasn't bad at all!
> 
> Jack rabbits and cottontails overlap in their habitats. However, if I'm specifically targeting Jacks, I select areas that are full of sagebrush or a mix of sparse juniper/grass. Cottontails are often congregated around ravines, dry creek beds, etc... Eureka is a good starting point and will have a variety of terrain that may work.
> 
> As for the dog, it'll probably help you find more rabbits but they're harder to hit with a rimfire while a dog chasing them. Still, sounds like fun! Good luck!


Jackrabbits are legitimately good. Most people who look down on them haven't tried them, at least in my experience.

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## backcountry

Jacks seem to be love or hate. I love them. They are a hare and have dark meat. They are a tender, exceptional tasting animal if you like meals that are braised, etc. They are one of my wife's favorite table fare.

They both reek while prepping. Jacks are shockingly big and provide a lot of meat after some practice.

Got my first cottontail a few weeks ago and it's liver was questionable so I never had a chance to try em yet (wild that is).


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## Jedidiah

Obligatory tularemia warning. Know how to spot it, wear latex gloves when cleaning rabbits especially jacks. Don't let deer flies bite you in rabbit heavy areas. Google tularemia rabbit liver. If you get good, you can skin and gut a rabbit without getting blood on you but I don't risk it. I pack these little rabbit kits...four nitrile or latex gloves in a gallon ziploc, sometimes three kits if I plan on getting a few bunnies. All that said, tularemia isn't common but who wants to have the flu for two weeks plus? 

Dogs are useless for rabbits when hunting with a rifle. It's a good opportunity to train the pup the heel and hold through. Keep him away while you clean, all rabbits have fleas but they do have less in the winter.

Walk slowly through rabbit country, keeping rabbit ears in your head...look around everywhere and try to put rabbit ears on everything. When you stop they will freeze and look up, then bolt when they lose their nerve after a few seconds. You pop them before that.


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## Pumpgunner

backcountry said:


> Jacks seem to be love or hate. I love them. They are a hare and have dark meat. They are a tender, exceptional tasting animal if you like meals that are braised, etc. They are one of my wife's favorite table fare.
> 
> They both reek while prepping. Jacks are shockingly big and provide a lot of meat after some practice.
> 
> Got my first cottontail a few weeks ago and it's liver was questionable so I never had a chance to try em yet (wild that is).


If you like Jacks, you're in for a real treat when you eat a cottontail, they are some of the tastiest critters out there! I really like to braise them and shred the meat and make rabbit pot pie with carrots, onions, and potatoes, there's no better meal on a cold winter night!


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## pollo70

We pinked a few Jack Rabbits during the Buck hunt,we seasoned them with salt & pepper cooked them right over the camp fire on a stick "Meat Eater" style they were pretty tasty  and like Pumpgunner mentioned Cottontails are way tastier!


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## BeastlyDavis13

Thanks to everyone for all the great insight and tips, tricks, and suggestions! This is exactly the information I was hoping to get! I'm currently planning on going out tomorrow and seeing if I can do anything, maybe take a few shots, and definitely let my puppy get some energy out and work on training. 

Y'all are the best, thanks


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## Kwalk3

backcountry said:


> Jacks seem to be love or hate. I love them. They are a hare and have dark meat. They are a tender, exceptional tasting animal if you like meals that are braised, etc. They are one of my wife's favorite table fare.
> 
> They both reek while prepping. Jacks are shockingly big and provide a lot of meat after some practice.
> 
> Got my first cottontail a few weeks ago and it's liver was questionable so I never had a chance to try em yet (wild that is).












Jackrabbit barbacoa for deer camp this weekend. Smoked, then braised and shredded. I can guarantee if I didn't tell them what it was, everyone would just assume it was beef.

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## DallanC

Jedidiah said:


> Obligatory tularemia warning. Know how to spot it, wear latex gloves when cleaning rabbits especially jacks. Don't let deer flies bite you in rabbit heavy areas. Google tularemia rabbit liver. If you get good, you can skin and gut a rabbit without getting blood on you but I don't risk it. I pack these little rabbit kits...four nitrile or latex gloves in a gallon ziploc, sometimes three kits if I plan on getting a few bunnies. *All that said, tularemia isn't common but who wants to have the flu for two weeks plus?*


Or much much worse:

Good friend of my dad's wife caught that while cooking jackrabbit at home. She got severely ill and it very nearly killed her. She spent months in the ICU. I think it was a full year before she was completely over it.

-DallanC


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## Jedidiah

Yeah, it can be bad for sure. I wonder if people see the 5% fatality rate and think "Meh...I'm a tough guy." A lot of people don't realize that you can get it from deer flies due to the way they feed. They cut into you with mandibles after chewing on an infected animal, which has an increased likelihood due to the animals being lethargic.


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## Lone_Hunter

The "Rabbit's disease" is the biggest reason I don't hunt them. I've lived in western states all my life, rabbit hunting was always an option, but it was one I typically don't do, because of, as my father called it, "The rabbits disease". Spotted liver is the sign to look for is my understanding. Haven't gutted a rabbit since I was a kid, so take that with a grain of salt.


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## Critter

You just need to be aware of what the signs are. The biggest problem is hunting them when it is warm and the fleas, ticks, and other bugs are active. That is where I prefer to wait until there is snow on the ground and it is cold. 

Just do a search on "tularemia" and you will be able to read about the precautions. I have been hunting and eating rabbits now for 60 years and with zero problems.


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## Jedidiah

It's only been 6 years for me but I am still yet to see even one spotted liver. That's only a few dozen rabbits because I'm the only one eating them but still zero infected animals so far.


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## 7mm Reloaded

I would leave the dog home and use your 10/22. Try CCI Stinger ammo. Back in the day we would go out every weekend and hunt them and do "other ' things but anyways.... we would hunt jacks with our deer rifles too that's when I learned how to shoot well. We never ate them. pretty much passed up every cottontail they were too easy but that's just me. My bro 270 win was there he knows lol


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## KineKilla

Thought about starting a new thread but...

How did you do on your search for bunnies? Last year we didn’t get out at all, year before that we found that we were at the lowest part of their population cycle.

Plan to get out this weekend and hope the cycle is on the upswing.


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## kodoz

I walked 10s of miles last year looking for cottontails and snowshoe hares, and wound up with one pretty scrawny rabbit. Did see some whitetail jacks, which a couple local guys said were their favorite game. Too far to reach out to them with the shotgun tho. This year I meant to go looking for rabbits in WY during whitetail season, but didn't see any even where I was seeing them at night from the road. But did find an area full of fat squirrels...first time doing that, and was total fun (except skinning them). Braised them as hasenpfeffer...the brine is pretty strong, and I coulda been eating possum and probably wouldn't have known. 

Planning on getting out in January for rabbits again...question: if you don't have a dog and you're working heavy cover with lots of rabbit tracks in snow, are you better off stalking slow and quiet looking for them to spook when you stop, or is it better to try and scare them up by covering ground?


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## ns450f

There are lots of rabbits, Jack and Cottontails down here in southern utah. You should make a trip south.


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## KineKilla

We went to our usual place up north and didn’t see even one rabbit. Not really worth the 3 hours it takes to get there anymore. Used to be more rabbits than a group of guys could shoot in a day.


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## wyogoob

KineKilla said:


> We went to our usual place up north and didn't see even one rabbit. Not really worth the 3 hours it takes to get there anymore. Used to be more rabbits than a group of guys could shoot in a day.


Yeah, bad year here too in the Southwest Wyoming part of Utah.


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## Lone_Hunter

Despite what I posted earlier, I think I'm going to give snowshoe hair a go this winter. I was reading up at the CDC's website, and the incidences of Tularemia is really low right now during the winter months. Over Christmas dinner I was told it's just in the dry areas you really have to worry about it, and is probably not an issue in the mountains.

Regardless, unfortunately for me, my wife has more medical knowledge when it comes to animals then what is typical, and she told me flat out she will not eat rabbit, nor feed any to our daughter, and gave me that stink eye that only ones wife can give when I said i'd try them out myself. So I'm undecided if I'm going to eat one as a stew while I'm out, or use it as coyote bait - assuming I get one at all.

How does a 12ga shotgun compare to a 10/22 on this hunt? I'm thinking about using my shotgun, load it with 7 1/2 for hare, then swap that out for number 4 buck for coyotes. 

Are snowshoe hairs up high? or just anywhere where there's pine? I'm assuming they're in or near pines.


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## DallanC

Long ago we'd hunt them not far from Morgan Ut in the sage. I used to use a double barrel .410 with #6 shot.




-DallanC


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## Jedidiah

I've run about 30 rabbits through my system, you'll probably be fine. Maybe look up tularemia livers just in case...going to eat the next jackrabbit I see too, as long as his liver is good. I've seen snowshoe hare everywhere from 5k feet to 10k, every time on a south facing slope in the winter.

I am not sure if it's legal to use a snowshoe or cottontail as bait, since they are classified as a game animal. 10/22 all day. Get so you can pop them on the run, it's great fun and good practice.


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## Lone_Hunter

Jedidiah said:


> I am not sure if it's legal to use a snowshoe or cottontail as bait, since they are classified as a game animal.


Good point, I hadn't thought of that. Maybe just the entrails then, since those would normally be discarded anyway. I'll make a stew out of the rest of it and not tell the wife. :mrgreen:


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## pockypie

I think people are too paranoid about Tularemia. If it looks sick don't eat it; that goes for any animal.
Cooked my first jackrabbit up 2 days ago and it tasted way better than I thought it would.


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## Critter

When it comes down to it you should be afraid of everything that you eat. The food recalls that come out for what you purchased at the store usually come out way too late for most since they have already eaten the food in the recall. As for wild animals, they get sick and do carry parasites but once you learn what to look for they are just as safe as those pork chops that you ate last night. 

Or are they -O,- I'm talking about the pork chops


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