First time Rabbit huntin in the morn.

D

DiscoRacing

New member
Ive never been rabbit hunting before... couple a guys that live next to me asked if I wanted to go with them in the morn... I deer and squirrel hunt so Im used to that aspect of hunting...I have never been hunting with a rabbit dog before...and never shot a rabbit either...Im rather excited/curious about how the rabbits run or how fast///when scared out...and Im not sure whether I should take the moss 500 pump or the beretta al-2 auto...HOpefully I will get one or two..(be nice if it were more than that) and can post some pics in the aft tomorrow....dont know what size shot I should be using...but have one box of 7 and one of 7.5:)
 
well have fun and dont shoot the dog as if they r good they well ture the rabbits back to u and u shoot them close and they can be very fast so watch them as far as the gun wicth ever has the shortest barrel on it and shoot #6 or #5 would be best with a mod choke

back when i hunted rabbits i was the dog and man it was some hard work but i dont remember a time that we didnt come home with at least 6 or 7 makes some real good stew for dinner
 
Tkx for reply... I had figured bout not hittin the dogs tho:D
I have the mossberg 500 with a shorter barrel... not sure bout the choke...it has the screw in type on the end...but it only says
lead shot only 665
on it... so I have no idea which choke it is...

will the 7 and 7.5 shoot still work alright??
 
Disco

The 7 or 7.5's you have will work fine. It means you might have a few more pellets to pick out but I've killed a lot of rabbits with 7.5 shot.

Wish we had some rabbits left around here but they have become scarce since the the hawk, owl, and coyote population jumped.
 
Dont know bout the mossberg... it says that choke tube is a super full for turkey..... then I have a savage pump with a modified,,,,remington 1100 auto with full,,,,and a beretta al-2 with full...

..the sites I looked at for chokes says that the 7 and 7.5 shot will work for up to 30yd shots...but says best with Improved or Modified choke...

.. so thinking that my two autos with full choke may be too tight??!!

Decisions,,,Decisions....
 
Having hunted rabbits in NE Ohio & SE Michigan...

and for over dogs, it be best if you can get / borrow a SKEET or Improved Cylinder choke for the 500.
Either is good for 25yds especially with the cold weather, for either the rabbits will sit TIGHT or be moving arround.

If in thick brush, may want get some #6 load shells.

Just be careful and enjoy the day, and watch the dog!!:eek:

I have many times pulled up on my Springer, only catch her bell or floppy ear flying.
 
yes the 7s will work fine like cowboy said just more pellets to pick out and out of the guns u listed i would go with the savage with the mod choke or like jroth said borrow a improved witch is about the same as a skeet and the .665 is a super full do not use that or u well only have ears left

oh and reamember ur safty orange to better safe than sorry
 
Tks for the help guys... do any of you know where would be the best place to get the other chokes for the mossberg?? Like to get the whole set??
 
nahhh... i meant to order sometime...i will take the savage tomorrow... worst thing that can happen is I will demolish one..and let the other guys shoot and ill carry...then I will be ready the next time.
 
I like rabbit hunting a lot. Some years are better than others around here. I haven't hunted with a dog for 30 years or so. That was the last time I used a shotgun too. I used what I had. Seems like #4 or #5 shot worked really well in my 20 gauge.

Nowdays I usually hunt by myself and I usually use a .22 revolver. Once in awhile I take my only semi auto firearm I own, a .22 S&W auto. But if I truly want to make sure I actually get some rabbits to put in the pot I take a .22 rifle. Perfect for making head shots out to 50 yds.

I don't know what kinda rabbits they have where you live. Around here we have 2 kinds. Cottontails are the kind to eat. They don't run very far. Usually they kinda run around in big circles, pausing once in awhile to let you take a shot. Jack rabbits aren't worth eating at all. Too tough. Once you jump one of them, they will take off in a straight line running for all they are worth and will still be running when you see them disappear over the horizon.

This will sound kinda goofy, but some of the funnest rabbit hunting I ever did was with my .45-70. Non-shooters assume the big rifle would simply destroy a rabbit. But really, the big bullets don't even have a chance to expand so they don't ruin as much meat as a .22 does if you miss the head and hit the body. The nice thing is that taking your deer or elk rifle gives you some great practical experience in shouldering your rifle, finding the sight picture at various distances, and taking a shot quickly before the rabbit runs again. It will definitely make you a better elk shooter because this is real life stuff rather than just shooting at targets. I have even done it with my 7 mm mag with a scope. Same deal there. I can take shots at 300 yards if I want to. It gives you a lot of practice shouldering your rifle and finding the bunny in the scope at random distances. You get to practice maybe 30-40 times a day instead of one shot per year at an elk if you're lucky.

Anyway, take whatever you have. If you're hunting with other people or dogs, it limits your options of course. But you can still have a lot of fun and get some good eating for the next day.
 
Made mad dash for WAllytown this morn... .got two boxes of #6...am gonna try the savage with modified.... will see how it all goes....will post pics(if i get anything) when I return.:cool:
 
the rabbits here r cottentails too but there fast and dont stop much till they get to there hole then they stop wait and down the hole

wonder why that is to much hunting them or what
 
Slow day... dogs got worked up about three or four times...didn see a thing...worked round the edge of a hayfield and there were round bales sittin in a row... dogs got near the end of the row and outta nowhere the biggest cottontail I have ever seen come out a there in a flash..not only was it the biggest I have seen... it was also...the fastest.. I unloaded my Beretta on it...and it still headed outta town.... didn miss a step.:mad:

Guess I gotta work on my leading the target.... when they are movin that fast.
 
Is there a trap & skeet club aound you?

If so, swing by and see if they sell tubes there or direct you to a store that carries them. Also try a round of skeet for your next hunt, it will get you o SWING thru the target.

any gunshop or gunshows this week-end, try them, too.

So good luck next time
 
Rabbits are fast and hard to hit at times. In my earlier hunting years dad and I had about 20 beagles and rabbit hunting was the thing back then. We knew other hunters that had good beagles and our Saturdays and Holidays was for hunting rabbits. I could tell you all kinds of hunting stories about the hunts we went on. Usually we let the dogs jump the rabbit and run a while before we shot at the rabbit and we very seldom shot a rabbit just as it was being jumped by the dogs. We always like to hear a good race and sometimes the dogs would take one out of hearing distance. Of course the rabbits would find a hole and go in it from time to time. It did seem alot of times that a rabbit would come back to the original location it was at when it was jumped. I think some rabbits enjoyed playing games with the dogs and tried to back track on them some. Those rabbit hunts were some great exercise and was some of the best hunts of my life. We finally got rid of our beagles in the 1980's and we hunted with others that had beagles.

Enjoy your rabbit hunting.......:)
 
Those guys said yesterday time and time again that if you wait long enough the rabbit will circle around and come back... well... that one that I missed(four shots no less) didnt look like it was gonna even stay in that county...let alone come back to that bale a hay.:(
 
/\ That's funny. I suppose you could follow the poop trail from the rabbit though, as I'm sure he emptied his bowels on the way out. :p

I'd like to try rabbit sometime. I know that my home state has Snowshoe Hare open year-round with no daily limit, but I imagine they're hard to shoot. Also, I have a Mossberg 500A with a 30" Full Choke... would it be an ok rabbit gun? I'd imagine I'd use about a 5 or 6 with it? I've got some Game Shok 4 right now, but am thinking it'd be a little too much punch.
 
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