7.62x39 versus bunnies

[jwhite]

A picture of my friends boys with 3 rabbits that fell to 95gr cast SWC loaded with .7cc(6.5gr) of unique. Makes for a quiet and effective bunny load.

[Bullshop]

Ah yes bunny hunting near and dear to my own heart. My 4 boys and I do lots of bunny hunting here (snowshoe hare). Our best day this winter was 41 bunnies. Most times its about 20. In early season we may fry some up but once snow comes they go in sausage. We mix 25 lb of rabbit with 25 lbs moose or cariboe with 10 lbs beef suet with spice makes a real good sausage. Once the snow comes and they are eating bark they are no longer good for frying or roasting but great for sausage. Gives the sausage a little zing. Good hunting boys!
BIC/BS

[jwhite]

While it is a bit a pain I like to bone them out and make jerky with them, small pieces but it still tastes great.

[Glen]

Good shootin'!

[KCSO]

Good doin's and I like mine diced and fondued, founddood, hell skewer them and deep fat fry 'em.

[ozbornm]

Very nice kills

[jonk]

Grr.....not only have I only seen 2 rabbits this year, I missed one and didn't even get a shot off at the second- and that required kicking brush to scare them out- not something that would be easily shot with a rifle and here you see 'em by the score??????? Grr...... ;-)

Apparently I need to move to Alaska.

[JeffinNZ]

OR New Zealand.

My record is 161 bunnies in 4 hours, on foot. 50 from one place with the .223, the balance with my semi custom .22RF rolling block.

[EMC45]

I have seen no bunnies or squirrels this year so far.

[trickyasafox]

wow how many rounds do you carry for bunny hunting Jeff?

[Four Fingers of Death]

It sounds like Bullshop and his boy carried a box of 22s. The front end of the rabbit here isn't worth worrying about, so I just use the hindquarters, wrap bacon strips around them and roast them along wth lots of veges in the camp oven, 1/2 can of beer and then mix in a spot of Gravox shortly before serving. Probably only started using beer because I usually have one in my hand that time of night while I'm cooking on a hunting trip. When I was a younger prison officer, and worked at the prison hospital, I used to take my Diana 52 air rifle to work and after doing an afternoon or before a 10pm start night shift, I'd take it out, get out of the way of the strong lights and whack a good feed of rabbits. Hardly a week went by without my late wife cooking up a big rabbit and vege roast for me and the boys, yummo. Boy. they'd have a stroke nowadays if you did that. They probably pay and exterminator hundreds of dollars to do what I did for free. Dawuuum! I shoulda got more money! :)

[Tom-n8ies]

mix in a spot of Gravox shortly before serving.

Gravox? Is that some new type of rabbit lube?

tom

[Larry Gibson]

With cotton tails or snow shoes I like to quarter two of them and cook in a crock pot all day with a couple cans of mushroom soup. Yummy!

BTW; The wife is deadly on 'bits with 311316 (GC'd 32-20 bullet) over 9 gr of Unique for 1670 fps out of the Mini MKX Mauser 7.62x39. Must take head shots if eating is in mind. Thumps jack rabbits right good.

Larry Gibson

[JeffinNZ]

wow how many rounds do you carry for bunny hunting Jeff?

On that property I would carry 150-200 rimfire for an afternoon. The joy of the rolling block is that I tend to make the single shot count better than when I have a follow up shot available in a bolt or semi. No spray and pray.

You have to remember that rabbits (and all other furry game) in NZ are a pest so there are no bag limits or seasons. The farms LOVE you to come and shoot the grass eating varmints.

[trooperdan]

Jeff, I recently read that rabbits were imported into Australia by an Englishman that wanted a 'bit of sport'; were they native to NZ or were they brought in?

[JeffinNZ]

They were introduce here also. So were the deer, pigs etc. Only birds are native to NZ.

The rabbits adapted and denuded the landscape. So the colonists thought they would introduce ferrets and stoats to control them. Thing is native birds are easier prey for a weasel than a rabbit so that worked a treat. NOT! It was like releasing a rapist to catch a murderer.

You will probably be astounded to hear that for a period of about 50 years the NZ Govt. employed deer cullers to shoot as many deer as they could to get the numbers down. Cullers used to clock up 1000's for kills per "season".

It's a different world down here.

[twotrees]

Our lease has been clearcut about 5 years ago and again 3 years ago and we have more rabbits and squirrls than you can shake a stick at.

We have one mad bomber squirrel that drops 3 hickory nuts , 2 for range the third one hit ya suare on the head. Since deer season is ove wife has promised him a 22 up the poop pipe for hitting her this year.

Really we do have more quail and rabbits after the clear cut, but still wish we had all our hard woods back.

Good Hunting,

TwoTrees and RedFoxy

Camp is 3 miles outside Lumpkin Ga on 39C.

Red got an 11 point buck this year to tie me for points, now I gotta do her one better next season.

[JeffinNZ]

On the subject of which would someone PLEASE Fedex me a breeding pair of squirrels..........................[smilie=1::-D

[Four Fingers of Death]

mix in a spot of Gravox shortly before serving.

Gravox? Is that some new type of rabbit lube?

tom

Gravy powder. Basically flavoured flour. Stir it into the pan juices and keep stirring until it boils, makes a thick gravy of the pan juices. We also use itt when cooking steaks, etc, mix a bit with cold water until it is dissolved, mix with pan juices (making sure you work all of the caramelisation off the pan, stirring it until it boils and it thickens up into a nice gravy. No doubt you guys have a similar product. Oxo is another brand here.

[Ricochet]

Sounds like something for tumble lubing bunnies.

[Denver]

Don't know what happened to the rabbit population here in N.Michigan, but there just aren't any snowshoes left. Use to be I could take a pistol for a walk and come home with a couple and would miss at least that many more. Now,and for the past several years, you have to hunt just to locate a track. There is an occasional cotton tail around, but even they have dwindled in number. We have a sizable coyote population, but I don't think that is the only problem. I've seen down cycles in other small game species, but I don't ever remember one that has lasted as long, if that's what it is. :confused:

[Bigjohn]

Sounds like something for tumble lubing bunnies.

It is, mate; it is! Lubes them while their in the pan cookin', helps the pieces go down ya throat when ya' eatin', followed by a beer. Now, that's livin'.

John.