# Rabbits are plentiful right now



## Speedbump (Mar 7, 2011)

I just went out over the weekend and saw more jack rabbits then I have ever seen in one day. I think the cycle is on the up swing. I will get some pics of the blasted ones posted.


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## broncbuster (Jul 22, 2009)

All animals are having babies at this time.
If you want more rabbits to shoot later on you won't kill the breeding stock in the spring. Da. :twisted:


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## cklspencer (Jun 25, 2009)

Most of the rabbits have already had litters although they may have other litters latter as well. Its summer now not spring. Its time to kill some rabbits.


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## broncbuster (Jul 22, 2009)

Rabbits will have litters all spring and summer long.
So if you want to kill them go ahead. Don't worry about all the little ones starving cause you shot mom.
Jackasses.


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## cklspencer (Jun 25, 2009)

> Most of the rabbits have already had litters although they may have other litters latter as well.


Seems you can't read, it's okay though, just step back from the keyboard. There's no reason for name calling.


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## Puddler (Apr 30, 2009)

broncbuster said:


> Rabbits will have litters all spring and summer long.
> So if you want to kill them go ahead. Don't worry about all the little ones starving cause you shot mom.
> *Jackasses.*


Let the name calling begin... o-||


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## yfzduner450 (Dec 28, 2009)

broncbuster said:


> Rabbits will have litters all spring and summer long.
> So if you want to kill them go ahead. Don't worry about all the little ones starving cause you shot mom.
> Jackasses.


That's why I aim for the little ones, they are better tasting anyway!!! :roll:


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## phorisc (Feb 2, 2011)

eat rabbits.... -)O(-


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## Speedbump (Mar 7, 2011)

Jack rabbits are over populated nuicance animals so killing the moms or the little ones means very little. Believe me the farmers near the lands being hunted for jack rabbits appreciate it.


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## Guest (Jun 25, 2011)

broncbuster said:


> Rabbits will have litters all spring and summer long.
> So if you want to kill them go ahead. Don't worry about all the little ones starving cause you shot mom.
> Jackasses.


get over yourself. you aint perfect. :roll:


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## Size Matters (Dec 22, 2007)

That is good news the population is up I have always wondered why they don't have a season on Jack rabbits I know people shoot them all year long rather they are having litters or not I think it would make sense to have a season for them. 8)


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## RBoomK (Feb 10, 2011)

The season right now is perfect. January 1 thru December 31. They take a lot of habitat and feed from the cottontail - which are a good eating game animal.


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## Guest (Jun 25, 2011)

Size Matters said:


> That is good news the population is up I have always wondered why they don't have a season on Jack rabbits I know people shoot them all year long rather they are having litters or not I think it would make sense to have a season for them. 8)


should we put seasons on coyotes too? what about the struggling carp populations in the lakes around utah? while we are at it, lets make a fishing season too! january 1 through june 15. :roll:

i dont know what it is about some people, but they sure like to limit themselves as much as possible :O•-:


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

broncbuster said:


> Rabbits will have litters all spring and summer long.
> So if you want to kill them go ahead. Don't worry about all the little ones starving cause you shot mom.
> Jackasses.


Please refrain from name calling.


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## Size Matters (Dec 22, 2007)

kill_'em_all said:


> [quote="Size Matters":1cw9mkfe]That is good news the population is up I have always wondered why they don't have a season on Jack rabbits I know people shoot them all year long rather they are having litters or not I think it would make sense to have a season for them. 8)


should we put seasons on coyotes too? what about the struggling carp populations in the lakes around utah? while we are at it, lets make a fishing season too! january 1 through june 15. :roll:

i dont know what it is about some people, but they sure like to limit themselves as much as possible :O•-:[/quote:1cw9mkfe]
Your name says it all I think it would be good to have a season on jack rabbits I like to go and shoot them as much as anybody else but why shoot them while they are having litters wouldn't it be better to wait until they are done having there young there would be a ton more rabbits.


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## Guest (Jun 26, 2011)

your name also says it all :shock: :roll: like i said, if you wanna put a season on jacks, put one on coyotes, carp, starlings, foxes, *****, skunks, etc....... and for that matter, i firmly believe we need to have a fishing season too! o-|| 

lets be told what to do and when to do it 100% of the time! :roll:


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## Size Matters (Dec 22, 2007)

You seem to have a problem with limits and regulations with out them there would be no deer or elk or anything for the matter I for one am thankful for regulations and am happy to follow them there are too many people out there with attitudes and problems following them that's all I have to say. 8)


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## Guest (Jun 26, 2011)

Size Matters said:


> You seem to have a problem with limits and regulations with out them there would be no deer or elk or anything for the matter I for one am thankful for regulations and am happy to follow them there are too many people out there with attitudes and problems following them that's all I have to say. 8)


no thats not what im saying. im all for limits and restrictions WHERE THEY ARE NEEDED AND NECESSARY. im saying there are animals (game animals) that need special regs and seasons to be hunted. there are also animals (non-game animals) that dont need special seasons and regs to be hunted.

theres too many people out there with the attitude "size is important" regarding not just hunting (inches, herd numbers, quantity), but every day things too.... thats all i have to say about that 8)


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## Pops2 (Jul 28, 2010)

kill_'em_all said:


> your name also says it all :shock: :roll: like i said, if you wanna put a season on jacks, put one on coyotes, carp, starlings, foxes, *****, skunks, etc....... and for that matter, i firmly believe we need to have a fishing season too! o-||
> 
> lets be told what to do and when to do it 100% of the time! :roll:


first, GOOD STEWARDSHIP means killing less or not at all when populations are depressed (even if it's localized) & killing humanely (starving leverets is not humane). since history has shown people can't be depended on to do the right thing, we have seasons & limits. ETA the "size is important" sports are the reason you even have game to shoot. they were the ones that got the law passed to end market hunting. market hunting is what extincted the passenger pigeon, eastern wood bison, eastern & plains elk. market hunting nearly extincted the whitetail, pronghorn, plains bison, swans, cranes, alligator & prairie chicken. keep that in mind when your pissing on the sports.
second, carp, ****, starling & RED FOX are not native and every one that exists is one less native bird, fish or critter that could. eradicating them IS GOOD STEWARDSHIP.
third, there ARE SEASONS on fishing, & native grey fox. you don't strike me as a member of MENSA (no one i've run into using that handle is), so i suggest you learn the difference before you get busted for poaching.


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## Fishrmn (Sep 14, 2007)

Leverets do not starve if their mothers are killed.

From Wikipedia:



> Hares do not bear their young below ground in a burrow as do other leporids, but rather in a shallow depression or flattened nest of grass called a form. Hares are adapted to the lack of physical protection, relative to that afforded by a burrow, by being born fully furred and with eyes open. *They are hence able to fend for themselves soon after birth*;


Extinted?? Extinct is an adjective, and cannot be used as a verb.

Fishrmn


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## Pops2 (Jul 28, 2010)

Fishrmn
they're still mammals & still have to nurse for about 9 weeks (3Xlonger than cottontails). what is meant by the phrase you put in bold, is that they are mobile & their body temperature is self regulating. it does not mean they are fully independant at birth like a snake or a shark. OTH cottontails are born naked w/closed eyes but develop quickly & become independant faster. FTR cottontails generally don't use burrows either & when they do they almost never dig their own. if they warrened like european rabbits their numbers would be higher and they would recover from crashes faster.

although extincted is not officially a word, it is actually very commonly used "shorthand" for phrases like "caused to go extinct" or "caused their extinction."


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## cklspencer (Jun 25, 2009)

> they're still mammals & still have to nurse for about 9 weeks (3Xlonger than cottontails).


HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

You need to check your facts. Jackrabbits are fully weaned before they are 1 month old. That's less then 30 days.


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## cklspencer (Jun 25, 2009)

Hunting has very little to do with the boom and bust cycle of jackrabbits. Low number and crashes in the cvcle are due more to disease than anything else.


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## Pops2 (Jul 28, 2010)

cklspencer said:


> > they're still mammals & still have to nurse for about 9 weeks (3Xlonger than cottontails).
> 
> 
> HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
> ...


got the time frame from a wildlife rehabber, they have to nurse them 9 weeks w/the same formula they use for only 3 weeks for cottontails. could be issues w/ the formula but they still nurse longer.


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## Pops2 (Jul 28, 2010)

cklspencer said:


> Hunting has very little to do with the boom and bust cycle of jackrabbits. Low number and crashes in the cvcle are due more to disease than anything else.


the point in discussion is the ethics of killing jacks when they are raising litters, since killing a female while nursing also kills the litter (regardless of what kind of mammal it is).
however there are several factors involved in the cycles, range quality, inbreeding depression/genetic diversity & predation are all very important factors. 
excessive predation during the low end of the cycle prolongs the low end. keep in mind people aren't the only ones killing jacks (but they are the only ones killing w/o eating them), snakes, coyotes, foxes, bobs, lions & raptors out the wazoo are all hammerin them.
both ethics & common sense dictate that killing (except for survival) during the time of raising litters is counter productive & inhumane. in this age of vocal minorities subverting the majority it wouldn't take a lot of effort from animal rights whackos to get things policed to their liking (which would be equally counter productive & inhumane).


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## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

The question that every hunter should ask should be... do you feel bad about killing a nursing jack rabbit? 

Do I feel bad when I smash a mosquito on my arm? 

Do I feel sorry for all of the mosquito larva dying during the abatement? 

Those poor little mosquito babies haven't even developed wings. If I killed them all there would be nothing left to suck my blood or spread malaria or dengi fever. 

If the Jack rabbits are in fact in a boom cycle this year then hunting them while they have litters only prolongs the boom which equals more rabbits for everyone.... Coyotes, foxes, eagles, bobs, lions and so forth. 

I once had a girlfriend that was anti-hunting until a jackrabbit "jacked up" her car.... She has since bought me a box of 12 gauge rounds. Adult cottontails are just as high on the "cuteness scale" as a baby jackrabbit. I hate to be insensitive here, but I don't understand why we would be policing other forum members on hunting non game species. This is turning into the "don't hunt 2point buck" discussion on the big game forum. A 12 gauge, 22 rimfire, bumper to a Honda civic, 300 RUM, are more humane than them dying of hunger in a bust cycle. 

If the Boom cycle is prolonged by hunters then, maybe there are a lot more jackrabbit spirits going in and out of this world more rapidly compared to a regular boom and bust cycle, but we will never eliminate them all.


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## Speedbump (Mar 7, 2011)

well said Nambaster


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## Speedbump (Mar 7, 2011)

well said Nambaster


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## Pops2 (Jul 28, 2010)

Nambaster said:


> If the Jack rabbits are in fact in a boom cycle this year then hunting them while they have litters only prolongs the boom which equals more rabbits for everyone.... Coyotes, foxes, eagles, bobs, lions and so forth.


 no, allowing them to raise the litters & then hammering them would prolong the boom end of the cycle.



Nambaster said:


> but we will never eliminate them all.


 thats exactly what shooters in the 1800s thought when they would shoot thousands of passenger pigeons from flocks a mile wide by 8 miles long. when was the last time you went shooting passenger pigeons?

FTR
i felt pretty crappy when my dane killed a yote pup last week. but come september when they can run & hunt for themselves, i look forward to putting the dogs on the momma.


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## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

Pops2 said:


> Nambaster wrote:
> If the Jack rabbits are in fact in a boom cycle this year then hunting them while they have litters only prolongs the boom which equals more rabbits for everyone.... Coyotes, foxes, eagles, bobs, lions and so forth.
> no, allowing them to raise the litters & then hammering them would prolong the boom end of the cycle.


I am not sure how we can verify what will prolong the boom, but there are always plenty of jackrabbits to go around even in a bust year. 


Pops2 said:


> Nambaster wrote:
> but we will never eliminate them all.
> thats exactly what shooters in the 1800s thought when they would shoot thousands of passenger pigeons from flocks a mile wide by 8 miles long. when was the last time you went shooting passenger pigeons?


Jackrabbits will multiply rapidly even under the circumstance that only 2 of them are left in the entire state. If they were threatened to any extent we would protect them as a non game species like the whitetailed prarrie dog.



Pops2 said:


> i felt pretty crappy when my dane killed a yote pup last week. but come september when they can run & hunt for themselves, i look forward to putting the dogs on the momma.


nuisance species are they same whether they are juveniles or not.


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## Pops2 (Jul 28, 2010)

Nambaster said:


> Pops2 said:
> 
> 
> > Nambaster wrote:
> ...


a nuisance has to be numerous enough to BE a nuisance. nuisance species is an artificial term as a whole NATIVE species cannot be a nuisance only some individuals or groups in it. further one man's nuisance is another man's trophy.


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## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

Hey pops, 

Let's get together sometime and talk it over on a Jackrabbit hunt. Even if we have to wait til the fall to get out there when the rabbits are done with their litters. I can definitely see where your ethics come into play and I am sure that the rabbits can appreciate your sympathy for their litters. 

I for one just appreciate speedbumps post and the updates on the rabbits really has me excited to get out and bust some bunny's. I feel that it is still his decision when he wants to pursue them and the consequences are not too detrimental to the overall population. As for hunting bunnies myself it is way too hot to get out there and smack them dead so I will stay in my air conditioned environment until the whether makes it more optimal. 

As for the species that you have listed from the past... I am sure that they are a lot more sensitive than the common Jackrabbit... Just like the coyote that survived poisoning and trapping of all kinds in the past and still prospered.


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## Pops2 (Jul 28, 2010)

i'd rather go chasing ***** & red fox w/ the dogs. but it sounds good.


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## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

touche.....


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## utahnate (Jul 11, 2011)

Shoot, your seeing something im not. Everywhere i go the rabbit population is really down.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

well here's to hoping that I can find and blast some bunnies this fall, been a while since my spots have produced anything of note....


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## Guest (Jul 29, 2011)

utahnate said:


> Shoot, your seeing something im not. Everywhere i go the rabbit population is really down.


actually it looks like the rabbit population is up (atleast where i run around) ive seen ALOT this year and i havent even really been lookin for them. i bet i have seen more in the last 5 days then i have in the last 4 years, combined.


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

It is about time the population went up. The last boom we had peaked in the summer/fall of 2006. I remember there being so many that driving south on I-15 thanksgiving weekend I hit 4. Not to mention the amounts of them already dead on the side of the road. It seams to me that the cycle swing about every 5 to 7 years. The wet spring has also helped alot. I say it's time to go blast the hell out of them. Make room for the cottontails.


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