Good bunny calibers?

E

essohbe

Moderator
I don't really think you need anything to really out-perfrom the .22lr for this, but what else might you use/has anyone used as a small game round?
If I get this Saiga I want (it would be a 5.45x39 mainly for plinking) but I think also probably a good caliber for small game as well.
Cheaper than .223 also!
 
a 22 is about as good as it gets as cheap as it gets. a 17 hmr mag or 22 mag might reach out a little farther but costs more. a 762x39 is overkill but it would work 2 if you can find cheap milsurp ammo. hell you could use a 460 weatherby mag if you can afford the ammo.
 
I usually use .22 for jack rabbits but for the cotton tails, they usually won't move until your basically standing on them and they zig zag so fast I usually will just use my 12 ga with bird shot. On occasion i will use my AR but as you mentioned .223 ain't cheap.
 
.22 LR is probably the most cost effective way to go........but nailing a jack at 100 yards with a 100gr. HP doing 3,300 fps from my .270 and turning it into a red mist..........is much better.
 
when I was a young man I used to use what ever I brought with me to hunt rabbits and squirrels.if you make head shots even a 30/06 doesn't tear up meat.
one that stands out that I would use now would be my marlin 1894 357mag with 158 hardcast cowboy bullits.
 
.22lr HP's are hard to beat but I'd like to try a .32 H&R revolver out on rabbits and squirrels.

ETA - Shotguns are fun and effective too.
 
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22lr is fun and cheap.
Shotgunning running rabbits in sagebrush is a blast.
I've shot a lot of rabbits a 357mag pistol and 150gr LWC but you have to hit them 2 or 3 times cause it just pokes a little hole. I hollow pointed the bullets after that but have'nt tried them again.
Mostly we use 243, 223, 223 WSSM, 257 Roberto, 6 mm, 30-06, 270, 204, 280. Basically anything thats handy. I prefer the cals up to 257 Roberto (a custom built tack driver we call the Heat Seeker).
We try to snipe rabbits off as far as we can see them. We try head shots so we can BBQ them. At 200-300yds you dont all ways get that prefect shot, but when you do its a good feeling. If you miss the head.... oh well. Critters got to eat to. We get coyote bait. :D
 
I've killed a fair number with a pellet gun, but a .22 LR would be my preference. I don't hunt as much with a shotgun any more, but a 20 gauge works pretty well.

Daryl
 
20 gauge and 12 gauge both work equally well. A .410 is best in the hands of a very accomplished shooter. My first gun for years was a .410 and I got pretty good with it. Almost got bored shooting a 20 gauge the first few seasons.

The .22 is great. A pellet rifle is another I have used but range is limited due to the light weight of the pellets.
Brent
 
What I use:

Small/ medium size rabbits = Pellet gun and quality air rifle/ .22LR
Medium/ large size = .22LR/ .22mag/ .410 Ga #2 bird shot
large/ Very Large = 12 GA #2 Bird shot
 
Lots of folks use downloaded pistol rounds in lever actions and revolvers for bunnies. .38's and .44's. Your Siaga is not only overkill but has severe ricochet factor, good luck trying get it to cycle downloaded ammo. Your gun "should" be fine out west for busting jacks but in the woods around here you'd be an idiot to use it for cottontails.

LK
 
.22 LR is cheap, but it usually takes 2-3 shots for a stop. Sometimes, you'll have 8-10 rounds into one, before it appears to have suffered a crippling or fatal wound.

I much prefer the .22 WMR - or larger. (.223 Rem, 7.62x39mm, .220 Swift, .243 Win, .270 Win, or similar)

If that's hard for some of you to grasp... it's because we don't hunt them for food. We hunt diseased Jack Rabbits (very large, diseased Jack Rabbits). Rarely, do we even touch them. They are disgusting vermin; eliminated, and left for the coyotes, badgers, and skunks. Their over population was caused by over hunting of their predators, to begin with.

It's harsh, but effective. Once the diseased rabbits are gone; a new, disease-free population can move in (other than the plague - they all have it).


If you're going to eat them....
.22 LR/.22 WMR with headshots, or a bow with small game heads.
 
Marlin 917VSS

When young kids are not going to shoot I suggest a 17 HMR and Hornady 17Vmax ammo. Most accurate plinking and small game gun made. It never misses, I do .I paid $235.00 new. and a Box of quality ammo 50 rds.=$10.00+

The 22LR would be cheaper if kids are using it and high volumes of ammo are used at the range.

The only 22 I would consider is the CZ 452, $ 250-325 new. Forget the 10-22's as they are not accurate out of the box without major changes and cost. The semi-auto's in general for the 22LR are not worth the money. Also kids tend to shoot less ammo with bolt actions. Box of quality ammo 50 rds.=$3.00-5.00

Overall the 17HMR is by far and away twice as accurate @ 100 yards.

Inside of 200 yards it's very deadly.

I know I have hit a "Hornets nest" infering the Ruger 10-22 is not very accurate but it's my experience for a few bucks more you get twice the rifle.
 
very large, diseased Jack Rabbits
Click to expand...

As in covered with unidentifeid bumps and lumps, large enough to disfigure parts of thier body. Could it possibly be from the bubonic plague that still resides in some of the water source? Or, maybe the nerve agents stored (and tested) by the government in the area? Who knows, but they are still fun to hunt.
 
A good bunny calibre is whatever is at hand. I have shot them with everything between the .177 air rifle and the .375 H&H.

I often shoot them with my .35 cal big game rifles loaded with .357 pills for practice.

If you are planning on eating the bunny, it is hard to beat the .22 LR
 
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