An important shot most rabbit hunters don't take

[Purebred Redneck]

After a half day of work yesterday, I went straight hunting. While I killed 3, most hunters would have killed 1.

When a rabbit jumps up and disappears into thick cover, most hunters don't shoot when they can't see the rabbit.

This is still the time to shoot, and two rabbits yesterday were killed in this fashion.

When a rabbit runs into spots where you can't see him, shoot out front where you think he's running. And then get over to that spot as fast as you can to see if you hit him. At a distance you gun can shoot a pretty wide pattern and it doesn't take a lot to disable a rabbit.

I was fortunate enough to make a shot into the weeds and I ran over and here is a rabbit with a broken legbone trying to get away.
Another instance is where a rabbit was first seen about 30 yards away and ready to jump into in some thick brush. Two quick shots fired from the hip into the brush he was heading into allowed 1 pellet to break his ankle.


The trick is to shoot one or two quick shots and then get over as fast as you can.
It's actually not as low of a percentage shot as you would think and rabbits are typically not torn up too bad (in fact they are ussualy a little froggy).

[dagriz]

Not to be too much of a arsehole; but I sure as hell wouldn't want to hunt with you!!

"When a rabbit runs into spots where you can't see him, shoot out front where you think he's running" WTF??? Are you crazy??


That's a damn good way to shoot something other than the rabbit. Mighty dangerous!! I've never , ever advocated shooting "in front where you think hes running" on anything.

I know a whole bunch of people that would shy really far away from you in the woods.
If you can't see the critter you have no business shooting.!!

Kind of like "sound" shots. A hunter comes upon another in a tree stand and asks See anything? The guy in the stand answer,: Nope, but I have a couple of sound shots. What the hell is that askes the guy on the ground? You know, when you here something in the brush and you shoot at the sound!

[jimiowa]

;D Well I thunk it, just did nt say it.

[klsm54]

I had a buddy who had a couple good beagles. He had a co-worker who sort of invited himself to go rabbit hunting with my friend and his dogs. Guy told him he'd hunted with hounds lots of times....suuurrre... I believe it was the second chase of the day when his "sound shot" pelted the dog.... Good thing the brush was heavy, only had to get 4 or 5 pellets plucked from the dog.

[Purebred Redneck]

It's not dangerous at all when you use common sense. He jumps into the weeds and a split second later you shoot 5 foot ahead of where you last saw him.
I'm certainly not talking about 5 seconds later you walk up and start shooting into the weeds. That's just stupid.

I was actually going to write in the initial post that there is a misconception that this is dangerous. I didn't write it though.

If you're hunting with other people, you should know where eachother are. If there's a guy to your right and a rabbit runs to your left --- everything is fair game. No safety question at all.

As Jimh can tell vouch for me --- if I don't where you're at, I'll ask. That way if a rabbit does jump up I know where I can shoot.

Hunting with dogs is a total different subject. A lot of times you know where the dogs are, sometimes you don't. If you don't know where the dog is, you don't shoot.


Let's say there's a patch of weeds ahead. You jump a rabbit and he runs towards those weeds. You kill him just before he gets there. Well there's still shot going into the weeds.
No difference if the rabbit actually makes it 1 foot into to the weeds and disapears and you shoot just as that happens. Shot's still going into the weeds. One's just as dangerous (or as safe) as the other.

You have to know where everyone's at.


As far as "sound shots" on rabbits
If I'm walking in prarie grass and all of a sudden something small eplodes under my feet and you can see the line he's taking because there's knee high grass shaking backand forth in a straight line headnig away from you, by god I'm not letting that rabbit get away. I'm shooting about 5 foot ahead of those moving weeds. I don't need to see a rabbit to know that's what it is. You know when something's a rabbit.
Obvouisly different if there's dogs involved.

[klsm54]

I understand what you are talking about Red. And if you are going to hunt rabbits without dogs, it's a tactic that you either learn to use, or you won't get many rabbits. Especially if you hunt in the eastern states where rabbits hang out in the thickest brambles they can find and open shots are few and far between, even with dogs.

Like you said, you need to be aware of anybody else in your party, and their whereabouts. If not, you could pull a Dick Cheney... ;D ;D I feel that sending a load of shot into thick cover, right on the heels of a fleeing rabbit is not unsafe, as long as you follow common sense safety rules. And you are shooting AFTER you have identified your target, not before.

Sound shots, where someone fires into cover without seeing their quarry first are a whole different ballgame. I think if you know where your hunting companions, and dogs if present, are at, and you mow down a few briars or some swamp grass in a perfectly safe direction at a fleeing cottontail, safety shouldn't be compromised.

[jimh]

guys let me state right off that Red is not the gun blazing fool the post sort of reads like. i went bunny hunting with Red a couple of times now and if it was anythiing half like what most you are reading into this i would not go with him.
Red was in visual site with me at all times and constantly calling out checking. also the are we hunted was large open fields, each area about 20 acres in size and larger. grass is about knee high, not chest high or sight prohibited. just to clarify things up. never once did i witness him do anything to put either of us or others in harms way. just so we're clear on that.

[Purebred Redneck]

admin said:

Another instance is where a rabbit was first seen about 30 yards away and ready to jump into in some thick brush. Two quick shots fired from the hip into the brush he was heading into allowed 1 pellet to break his ankle.

I do want to clarify an error I made that partially contributes to the responces.

When I wrote "from the hip", that was in error. It should have been written "from the arm" (butt was in the elbow joint, gun was up halfway, and I got a couple shots off).
So this was not some type of hip shot you see in the movies.