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What's your Rabbit Gun?

8K views 56 replies 39 participants last post by  Bloodhound 
#1 ·
Squirrel season is just about over and just until the end of Feb for rabbits. I grew up using a 410 for rabbits but really enjoy 22's especially when there is snow on the ground. We have two 22's set up for quick shots with red dots on them. Front one is a Marlin model 75 and back one is a Magtech. They both shoot great with CCI SV ammo.

What's your favorite for rabbits?
 

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#3 ·
A modified 10/22 is the go to for woods/ short range rabbit termination. A sporter barreled A17 in 17 HMR is the go to field/open area rabbit eradicator. This Savage is the favorite because of the versatility of shot, but it is noticeably longer and heavier than the 10/22. The air rifle is used at the camp grounds.
 
#4 ·
No rabbits in SE KS, too many coyotes, bobcats and hawks. The only rabbits I see are pictures of those that Fenring posts here. My favorite rabbit gun when there were rabbits and I had a beagle was an old Stevens 22/410.
 
#5 ·
Same kind of situation here in NC where I am. No edge to speak of and an overabundance of hawks and owls make a rabbit a scarce sight. With very little snow here tracking and stalking is non-existent. I cut my hunting teeth on rabbits in 1958 behind a pack of beagles with a Winchestr 37 .410. The last rabbit I shot was with that same gun probably 10 years ago. I sure do miss fried rabbit.
 
#6 ·
I'm just not seeing the number of small game that I use to. Yesterday I went in a small patch of timber squirrel hunting and nothing was moving. At one point there was 3 hawks moving around from tree to tree. I packed up and came home. Seems like there are tons of hawks, owls and we also have quite a few eagles around here. Bobcat are getting pretty common in southern Iowa and more and more heading north.
 
#7 ·
I useta choot em with everything within reach in the truck or what I was carrying including a 12 or 410 shotgun. The varying/snowshoe hares disappeared in my hunting grounds so its pesky shrubbery destroying cottontails on the receiving end now. The CZ 452-UL with Quiets took 5 last summer at the fish shack in a clandestine fashion. The battle axe next door feeds them and gives em names. :rolleyes: The bodies were too big for adult eagles to carry off which surprised me. At home it'll be the CZ Varmint AT-ONE if one wanders in.
 
#8 ·
I like my AR-7 Explorer. It's usually under the seat of my truck whenever I head out to the plains or woods. If rabbits or grouse seem to be in the area I'm in, I grab it out and load it up. Plenty accurate for a head shot on a rabbit out to at least 25 yards with the peep site.
 
#12 ·
Deer leases and habitat loss has eliminated much access to rabbit hunting in Southern Illinois, forcing public hunting areas to get lots of pressure. My buddy has six very good beagles, so a couple of guys with .410 shotguns can get 4-5 rabbits in eight hours of hunting. We sometimes drive a couple of hours in order to hunt rabbits.
 
#14 ·
rabbits

When I was a kid, I hunted rabbits with limited success with a Stevens model 87-- the "gill gun." This model had a very long barrel (24 inch?) and an aftermarket peep sight on the receiver (had to be drilled and tapped--my dad had that done in the 1950s).

But I never took a shot at a running rabbit.

As an adult, I've tried hunting them with a Mossberg 500 shotgun, a 20-gauge youth model (Bantam), and #6 birdshot / upland game loads. But, I never got a shot at one. They would always run before I could get a clear shot on one. I "would have" tried to shoot one running, if it were the right range from me-- within 25 yards. They'd always spook from longer distances.

TODAY, among rimfire guns, I think what I'd use would be a Ruger 10/22 with a 22" Green Mountain aftermarket barrel, threaded, and I'd shoot segmented or hollowpoint SUBSONIC ammo through my suppressor. I'd avoid shooting any running rabbits, out of fear that I'd just wound them and have them escape with a non-fatal wound or one that would slowly kill them in hour later, or from infection a few days later.

I'd have a fixed 4X scope on my rifle, and I should be good for head shots out to 25 yards or body shots at 75 yards.
 
#17 ·
I used to use an Apache Black Nylon 66 to hunt rabbits. I have not hunted them in quite a while. Unfortunately, coyotes have moved onto my hunting property and have just about wiped out the bunnies and the turkeys. If I were to hunt rabbits today, it would be with my recently acquired late model Remington 552. I only take the 66 out for show and tell these days.
 
#20 ·
Usually whatever gun l have with me when hunting, from rimfires, airguns to shotguns. If l were to be specifically hunting for rabbits it would definitely be a shotgun. I have only two; a Stevens 94 16 gauge and a Grulla 209E 12 gauge SxS double. 1 to 1-1/8 ounce of #5 or #6 shot. I have killed a few with rifles, which are my a Kimber Hunter 22 and an Evanix PCP air rifle. This year all of the rabbits I've seen have been via car headlights at night, not found any while out hunting.
 
#21 ·
Used to see rabbits while quail hunting with a 20 ga. Browning B80, it was good for either. When squirrel hunting, I like to shoot squirrels with a .22, but rabbits take off quickly so my gun of choice under those circumstances is one of my mod. 24 Savages .22/410 combo.
 
#22 ·
I use a Savage Fox B double barrel 12 gauge with 26" mod-IC barrels. I have had it since the mid 70's. I went rabbit hunting yesterday with my Pastor, his dad and a cousin. Went to my son's farm and had a blast. We had the beagles run 6 rabbits in the 3 hours we hunted. We only shot at two and they are in the freezer. Had a great time.
 
#23 ·
Same here in NE Kansas...no rabbits. Used to love shooting running rabbits with my dad's old Iver Johnson 410. Later got my own single shot 22, but nothing was as much fun as that old 410. Since coyotes are eating all the bunnies, my favorite target is now coyotes.
 
#24 ·
We used shotguns when we did our own mini drives minus dogs when their numbers were unbelievably high. After deer season was over I decided to get rid of my nine old 300 Savage shells on snowshoe hares. Walking a logging road for a couple hrs I took 9/9 with that 4X scoped post WWII Savage cf, all headshots except one where I got the front n back of one of em mixed up. :eek::D Even messier than the head pops!
 
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