A question about jackrabbits

All rabitts and rodents can have tularmaria including squirrel.That is not a reason to be scared of eating them. I've killed hundreds of rabbits and always check the heart and liver, never seen one with a problem. Always handle game with rubber gloves and wash up after. Then cook it well. If it does have spots on heart or liver burry it right away.

Although, two weeks ago a jack rabbit got infront of the truck at night and was acting really weird. It came at me then ran away and then came back again. It just walked around for about 5 minutes before it finally went into the bushes. I think it was sick.

The tapeworm cysts I find in hot weather, now that is a reason not to eat them! Freaking gross!
 
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Originally Posted By: Grandpa Fudgeno deuce they have been the same for as long as i can remember. thats along time! most people think they are not game animals but they do have a season..

Is that in Arkansas or CA?
 
that would be in cali. just moved to ark. and love it!! 35 $ for life time hunt and fish lic. plus some other stuff! deer tags in the hunt regs ,just cut them and put on deer! got a small pond and huge fish!!
 
My son had a blast taking Jacks this past winter. Actually his uncle and I did also. We spent alot of quality time searching the washes for them. Used a Rhino with him sitting on a cooler in the back for quick exit...
 
Dont see too many jacks where I live but when I go to Black Rock Desert we blast the crap out of em. Full of fleas and tics.........they are not on my menu......
 
Jacks here in Vegas can be hunted year long, I don't eat them because of the worms. But they are fun to shoot at. Right now we see them only at night.
 
Used to sit on my deck in the winter and shoot them out in the alfalfa field(under 2' of snow) to protect my new fruit trees. They came in to the kitchen and were quite tastie. Ate alot snowshoes hares also. This was in NW MN.
 
Back in the fifty's in Washington they had killed all the wolves and most all the coyotes. The jacks exploded. They could level a hay field in a night. On a weekend four of us killed 500 of them and it would have been more except we ran out of 22LR ammo. Didn't have bricks of 22's back then. Needless to say the land owners were glad to see us. Night hunts were fun. A 49 ford convertible with twin spot lights a couple of shot guns no need for fancy night lights back then. It kept a lot of us kids out of trouble and helped the farmers. Miss those days a lot. Today the black tailed jack is on the endangered list in Washington. Most all the high desert was turned into farm land once water was pumped out of the dam to irrigate the land and they lost most all their habitat. The coyotes finally recovered and between them and us kids the population was brought back in balance. I sure tried to do mypart
 
Originally Posted By: Orneryolfart357Here in Kommieforniastan even though Jackrabbits are open all year with no limits on take or posession, they are still classified as a game animal. If a Warden sees you shooting jacks, and leave them laying in the field you can be cited for a law called "Wanton Waste". Yep... only Ca. can come up with laws like that. I'm pretty sure most states have a regulation similar to that, here in Arkansas if you kill a game animal you are required to take everything that you can get/salvage from game animals.
 
Originally Posted By: Grandpa Fudgethat would be in cali. just moved to ark. and love it!! 35 $ for life time hunt and fish lic. plus some other stuff! deer tags in the hunt regs ,just cut them and put on deer! got a small pond and huge fish!!
where in Arkansas you from?
 
I got a smaller one out of the farm fields last month. I feed it to my dog but tried a few bites. It tasted much better than the ones from the sage brush.

I also stopped gutting them. I just skin them and then use a fillet knife to take the back straps and cut off the back legs with game sheers. I dunno why the heck I have been opening rabbits and jacks all my life. That was stinky, messy, and stupid.
 
I just cooked a jack a week ago and it wasn't bad. it taste more like beef or venison, where cottontail taste more like chicken. I braise both types, but I go 1 1/2 hours in the oven for cottontail and 2 1/2 hours on the jacks. The legs are the best part in my opinion. here is one video of a similar way I cook my jacks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Rzbyh9PCc&list=UUAaa0mleeU128Ad5iM1RFIg&feature=c4-overview

and I always check the liver when I butcher them. Why not give it a try!!
 
My favorite wild game meat, and I've ate more than a few species. Always on the lookout for them. Have to be crock potted though to make 'em tender.
 
I like to brown all the pieces in a little olive oil, pull them out and brown some carrots, celery, onions, and garlic. add a cup of white wine and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, put the rabbit back in, cover with chicken broth, and cook in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. I usually throw in some big carrot pieces and baby potatoes too.
 


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