black rifle meets bugs bunny

the_fly

the_fly

New member
while out praire dog hunting, i saw a rabbit down the hill a bit. Grabbed my range finder (Bushnell yardage pro 800), and zapped him at 165 yards. Took several deep breaths, lined him up in my Bushmaster (load was 52gr black hills match JHP, this stuff is deadly accurate) and BAM.



small%20bushmaster%20vs%20rabbit.jpg
 
That looks like a snowshoe hare, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Good eat'n if you cook'm right. The hare up here are just starting to turn color now, some silver on top and still feather white on the rest.
I've gott'n fairly good at finding them in the woods without a dog. Got 2 with a shotgun earlier in the season and made a nice stew. Now I'm handgun hunting them with a revolver. I've missed every time, but I'm learning.
There camealians in the woods and even in your pic he blends with the background. Try scanning the edge of the fields with that scope. Up here, they find cover and sleep all day, then feed all night. I've only seen one moving about in the daylight. You'll almost never see a rabbit in the woods but there right in front of you. What your looking for is an eyeball. Just one eyeball, because if your in the woods, they know it and there looking at you from the side of there head. I did catch one sleeping and spotted the slit of his eye but that was because he was sleeping to close to the road and did'nt hear me in the car. Once I spot what looks like an eyeball I try to change my angle a little and try to find a body line. The curve of its back or head. I look for a swampy area and work around it, they pretty much stay within 50 yards of it. I look for a place thats really thick with brush, thats where they'll be. They like a comfort zone around them of about 25 feet before they take off. I approch the thick, stop and get down so my face is on the ground and look under very closely for that eyeball. They won't move, they won't even blink. If you do jump one he'll only run about 10 yards (most of the time) and stop. I stay right were I am and look for the eye.
As you can see, I love rabbit hunting. It's a challenge for sure. In the winter when theres no snow on the ground is the best time to learn. They stick out like a light bulb. The only thing they can be confused with is a white plastic bag, an old plastic gallon jugg or a piece of fallen birch tree. I was using a 22 beretta but the 22's won't penatrate the thick stuff so I've switched to the model 60 s&w. The 38's will burn right thru but I'm having problems with the lead bullets I'm using. Today I'll try my jacketed reloads and see how they go. I got 12 days left to the season here and I want a wabbit. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif Happy hunting
 
Was on private land doing varmint removal, so wasn't too worried about out of season. Local rancher has too many of the suckers, and they are making a mess of things. Rabbits and P Dogs are fair game on his property /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
LOL Fly. I do hear ya about the private property and fair game. You ever see the spotting scopes and binoculars our delightful CDOW boys carry around in their trucks? Trust me when I tell ya that they don't just pack those around to take up empty space in the cab. If we ever cross paths I'll tell ya a little story about how they use those 2 items to their full potential. lol. Trust me also that the CDOW guys can and do enforce the game regs. on private property just as much as they do on public property. All I'm trying to say is just be careful buddy, vewwwy, vewwwy careful.
 
Woodcock,
We got them things here /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif. I always wondered what they was /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif.
 
Game laws don't apply on private property? Dang! I'm moving to Colorado, boys! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I'm sure you went through, and were following all the proper ADC and removal of nuisance wildlife policies and procedures for The State of Colorado though, right? If not... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif
 
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Prior to my varmint hunting, i'd asked some locals who seemed knowledgeable about the matter, and their opinion was that on private land, certain critters can be shot on site regardless of the time of year if they are damaging the land, etc. Cottontail rabbits and prairie dogs being in this category. After the comments here, i did a little research and found this nugget of information.

http://wildlife.state.co.us/NR/rdonlyres/A348F16A-1B28-440E-9245-EB4E4630ACCE/0/ch03.pdf

In paticular, Article II, section #305 seems to grant me license to eliminate rabbits and prairie dogs on private land if the owner gives me permission to do so.
 
It does indeed look like you were well within the bounds of the law, as noted below:

"A. Exemption for wildlife in conflict with people
In addition to the authority granted in subsection 33-6-107(9) C.R.S. to take wildlife causing
damage; any person, members of their family, or their agents may, without securing licenses to do
so, take:
1. Tree squirrels and cottontail rabbits on property owned or administered by them whenever
such wildlife is causing damage on such property.
2. Marmots and porcupines which are causing damage to such person's personal property.
Methods of take used must be in accordance with federal, state, and local law."

Some states require there to be some documentation or reported history of problem incidents. I wasn't sure if CO was one of those. It seems like they lean to the left in regards to most of their game laws, I'm frankly suprised that they are so unrestrictive in this matter. But regardless, they are and you got to do a little shooting. Sounds good to me! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif Thanks for the clarification.
 


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