first rabbit of the year

[jwhite]

93643Took my 25-20 out for a walk today and found a nice rabbit hiding in a patch of firs, 25-20 with a 257420 loaded with 11 grains of Data 68 worked well. Rabbits populations seem to be low right now, seems to correspond to a large amount of hawks and owls around. That little 25-20 is definitely a favorite for bumming around the woods.

[35 shooter]

Nice looking rifle...good job! Makes me wish i still had a pack of beagles.

[white eagle]

sounds like a blast

[starmac]

Been dreaming of a 2520 for a while now, and for that exact reason. lol I have come across some affordable pumps, but haven't seen a lever in my price range yet.

[JWFilips]

I was just going to ask how does one come by a rifle of that caliber ( guess I'm not familiar with it)?

[timspawn]

My..what big feet he has. Nice one!

[fortysomething]

Just looked at a Marlin 94 in 25-20 today. It temped me, but I passed it by as I am looking for a lever action in 44 mag for deer hunting.

[DLCTEX]

Around here people would swear that was a domestic rabbit that escaped. Are the good for the pot or tough like our jacks?

[jwhite]

Around here people would swear that was a domestic rabbit that escaped. Are the good for the pot or tough like our jacks?

They can be a little tough, i usually simmer them on the wood stove for a while and then pull all the meat off the bones, they make a damn good pot pie. In a good year i might get 30 or so just wandering around the edges of fields and fir thickets. You get a winter with out much snow and they really stand out, makes the hunting easier. I bought the Marlin Classic in 1992 or 1993, it sat on the shelf of a local gunshop for quite a while, even then the price of ammo scared most people away, if i remember right it was about $50 for a box of 50. I was already reloading at that point but knew nothing about the 25-20, luckily my future father inlaw convinced me to buy it, and since then it has spent more time in my hands than any other rifle i own. I would love to find one of the Marlins in 32/20 as that would be another great woods bumming gun.

[Teddy (punchie)]

Hey !! when we going hunting ,LOL That a is a Shoe Hare . ???

Not a huge fan eating bunnies but love the sound of a good pack of dogs.

Thanks!!

For pic!!

[shredder]

That of course, is a snowshoe hare. Hunted them for many many years. They do make really nice curry. Also great with gravy and dumplings.

[CastingFool]

Last time we ate rabbit, I tried parboiling one and one hour later it was still tough. Put it in the slow cooker and the meat fell off the bones. the next time, I just used the slow cooker. When it was done, I picked out the bones, and used the meat to make sandwich spread. I haven't been rabbit hunting in years. We don't see many rabbits at my place. We see deer far more often than rabbits.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

After you boil/slowcook it tender, you can batter it and fry it like young chicken, tastes mighty good! I cook a lot of tough little critters this way...

[w5pv]

I have a couple around here but when they get plentiful the coyotes move in.They get the rabbits,cats and other small animals.I think the armidillo's have just about gone from an abundency to near extiction around here on account of the coyotes something has them thinned out.

[double bogey]

I saw a 25-20 in the rack at the gun store yesterday. Didn't check the bore, but the outside was pretty rough. Didn't look at the price either.

[Dale53]

The Marlin lever action 25/20 is my favorite edible small game rifle. It makes the best squirrel rifle you can imagine. I, too, use the 457420 gc cast bullet ahead of 4.0 grs of Unique for modest but accurate velocities. My rifle, with a low powered scope will stay on the ten ring of a small bore target at 50 yards (the ten ring is .87" if I remember correctly).

You can also load it with a case full of RL-7 (14.5 grs is a compressed load that mimics the old high speed load giving just under 2200 fps) for tougher animals like ground hogs and coyotes.

FWIW
Dale53