Oregon - Want to hunt rabbit for the first time this weekend.

[N Monty]

Turns out the rabbit had bubonic plague. So if you can get some of those anti-cut gloves or at least be careful not to cut yourself with your knife or exposing an existing cut/wound to the rabbit insides.

I was going to bring some long disposable gloves with me. I'm not particularly worried about tularemia now that it's so cold, but I guess you can get it just from handling infected flesh. So yeah, better safe than sorry.

I guess a mule deer near the Dalles had plague some time ago, too. Although I guess the risk of it is pretty low, it's good to be safe.

 

[bbbass]

Although I guess the risk of it is pretty low, it's good to be safe.

I agree with both... risk is low, but to be safe...

 

[ilikegunspdx]

View attachment 520259

Wow that looks like bickshot (assuming it's not a photoshopped pic)! It does illustrate a good point though, bullet placement is important. It won't matter much if OP is shooting .223/5.56 on rabbits of course but it's probably a good idea to be aware of weak spots in the skull for whatever animal you are hunting. Hitting the forehead is a very sloped part of the skull for many animals and lower power rounds can often glance off or fail to penetrate. Think of tanks in WWII, those with sloped armor were much more effective defensively than those with flat vertical armor. A side head shot, in contrast to the forehead, can often penetrate easily, especially near the earhole or between the ear and eye. If you are ever after critters up in trees, shooting below the chin means it goes through the soft pallette right to the brain.

 

[N Monty]

Hey, does anyone have any suggestions re: which part of the Grasslands to hunt in?

The region is kind of large, and I'm wondering where we should park and head out from. I have a map on the way from USFS and I'm hoping it gets here by Friday, if not I'll use offline GPS on my phone. (Hate relying on that thing!)

 

[Member 34319]

Best part of hunting is it essentially is a great hike and time exploring outdoor areas too.

I'd say go with your gut and try a new place the next go if you come out empty.

 

[N Monty]

Best part of hunting is it essentially is a great hike and time exploring outdoor areas too.

I'd say go with your gut and try a new place the next go if you come out empty.

Yeah, I'll check the region out on satellite view to get an idea of the terrain/flora on each side of the park, and plan accordingly.

 

[N Monty]

Update:
Well, it was a beautiful day and we spent most of the day out on the east side of the park, hunting in the areas marked in orange on the map below.



We got off to a late start. The .22's were way off zero (should have checked earlier but never got around to it) so we had to get them zeroed, which took a bit. But we hunted from about noon until nightfall.

Unfortunately, we didn't see so much as a hint of a single rabbit. Not one!



At least it was a beautiful day. I'm sure there was a ton we were doing wrong. If I had to take my biggest guess, it would be that we weren't really close to any farmland or places with lots of soft green food for rabbits to munch. Just lots and lots of sagebrush.

I would guess the second mistake would be that we didn't really agitate the brush very much, it seemed like in other videos I saw hunters had to really shake the brush to get rabbits to run out.

Or who knows, maybe there just aren't any rabbits in the particular square miles we were looking?

Maybe next time.

 

[Member 34319]

Awesome report.

Ya, I literally walk into and onto the brush. Not around it.

Glad you enjoyed the day even without harvesting anything. That is all that matters!

 

[bbbass]

The .22's were way off zero (should have checked earlier but never got around to it) so we had to get them zeroed, which took a bit.

Let this be a good lesson. You try that with big game hunting and you are really going to annoy other hunters!

 

[N Monty]

Let this be a good lesson. You try that with big game hunting and you are really going to annoy other hunters!

True! However, I should point out we zeroed the rifles in a boring spot close to town, not out in the field, because I didn't want to annoy anyone else who may be hunting. For all the good it did- near dark I heard some people target shooting a little way away, which I'm sure is the real reason I didn't see any rabbits.

Second, the person I borrowed the rifle from swore it was zeroed and would be "close enough" with my ammo. I think the real lesson here is not to take someone else's word for it!

 

[bbbass]

Second, the person I borrowed the rifle from swore it was zeroed and would be "close enough" with my ammo. I think the real lesson here is not to take someone else's word for it!

Yes well... sometimes there can be a major diff in zero with diff ammo. Say for instance between a 900fps and a CCI mini-mag. For similar ammo tho, the diff is usually small.

I hate to borrow firearms for hunting. One time my former bozz offered to let me use his 300WinMag for elk season. I bought some ammo and went and resighted it. Then when he took it out the next year he had to sight it again for his own ammo. And if you break it, you bought it. Plus not being familiar/comfortable with a gun I haven't used much... I don't think it's worth it.

 

[N Monty]

Yes well... sometimes there can be a major diff in zero with diff ammo. Say for instance between a 900fps and a CCI mini-mag.

Oh. Yeah that's exactly what happened. Switched from American Eagle to CCI mini-mag.

I hate to borrow firearms for hunting. One time my former bozz offered to let me use his 300WinMag for elk season. I bought some ammo and went and resighted it. Then when he took it out the next year he had to sight it again for his own ammo. And if you break it, you bought it. Plus not being familiar/comfortable with a gun I haven't used much... I don't think it's worth it.

True. I'd avoid it if I had another appropriate weapon, but I did not.

It's also worth noting that if you're following SB941, which is now (unfortunately) law, it's a huge pain to borrow firearms for hunting. It has exemptions for hunting, but Kevin Starrett's book seemed to suggest they were fairly strict.

 

[bbbass]

It's also worth noting that if you're following SB941, which is now (unfortunately) law, it's a huge pain to borrow firearms for hunting. It has exemptions for hunting, but Kevin Starrett's book seemed to suggest they were fairly strict.

I forgot about that. I'm not familiar with the exemptions at all!! Seems like when it comes to .22 or shotgun, it would be better to take the time to achieve ownership.

 

[Blowgunner]

Jack Rabbit, is actually quite good when prepared properly. It's just a Hare. Hare is eaten all over the globe. The biggest thing is, you dont prepare Hare, like you do a rabbit. That's where most people mess up. Hares need to be braised. You cant fry a hare. Ends up tough as a tire. Slow cook it, or braise it down in a soup, and it's great.
Hank Shaw's Sardinian Hare Stew, is a great and easy recipe for Jacks.
Sardinian Hare Stew

 

[Blowgunner]

Also when it comes to field dressing rabbits and hares, I just pull the skin from their backs, down to their feet. Then cut around the legs, and remove, then remove the back straps. Dont even get into the guts. Toss meat into a bag, and move on. It's very clean, and you still end up with 90+% of the meat. Rabbits don't carry much meat in the ribs and neck...