shotgun or .22 for late late season snowshoes

[tmiller7]

I've seen many a shotgun vs. .22 lr debates happen on various forums over the years, and they rarely get too far, but I'm facing the dilemma as I pack for camping.

I'm heading up north this month for a week of back country camping and since rabbits and snowshoe hare are in season until June 15th in this particular area, I thought I'd bring something along to put a little something extra in the stew pot at the end of the night.

I've never hunted anything except turkey this late, and certainly not rabbits. What should I pack and do you guys have any late late season tips?

 

[bosley]

I think that you would be more than happy with the .22lr. You can pack in a whole lot of rounds and just have fun plinking when there are no rabbits to play with.

 

[tmiller7]

bosley, you're totally right. A single 12 ga. shotshell takes up the same amount of space as a box of 50 cartridges.

 

[Mr. Friendly]

out of curiousity, I saw that there are birdshot .22LR's that use #12 shot. are there any other options like that?

 

[bosley]

out of curiousity, I saw that there are birdshot .22LR's that use #12 shot. are there any other options like that?

They are really not good for anything except for going bang

 

[nlevandier]

go for the .22

 

[Amphibious]

I keep trying shotguns for bunnies, but always end up back with a .22

.22LR shot rounds are useless

 

[Grizzlypeg]

I hate picking shot out of meat. A 40 grain 22 bullet stops rabbits easily and doesn't do much damage to the meat, just don't hit the hind end where most all the meat is. You'll appreciate the added range of the 22 if you are shooting at jackrabbits. They tend to be further away than bush bunnies you can pretty much walk up to and they freeze.

 

[tmiller7]

Amphibious, they're not completely useless, I've seen .22lr shot rounds used effectively was on barn rats inside of 10 feet.

I think the .22 is the clear choice. Thanks for the input guys!

 

[bosley]

tmiller7

Have fun, take some pic's and let us know how it went.

 

[swailmeister]

I had a very similar delemma a while back. So, I went out a purchased a Savage 24 combination gun, 22lr over 20 gauge. You get the best of both worlds.

 

[Pudelpointer]

I found that in the thick bush it can often be hard to get a clean shot. The shotgun usually reaches them regardless of the amount of brush, but it will make a mess of them. I would use the .22 if given the choice.

BTW, if you use the shotgun, or hit one a little bit back, gut it and wash it ASAP, and by that I mean immediately. They go bad faster then anything else. The first one I took with the shotgun I waited until I got home to clean it, about an hour and a bit. Just about puked! Worse than a gut shot deer!

Lesson learned.

Ian

 

[28 gauge]

If there were a lot of rabbits I would take the .22.If there were few rabbits I would take the 28 gauge.

 

[fratri]

take the 22 and enjoy the experience........it will be alot more fun than a shotgun........enjoy......

 

[Woodsman]

It depends on the land you hunt. If it's super thick brush, .22's are pretty useless as it will bounce off branches before getting to the hare. If it isn't that thick, .22's are more fun.

Down on my buddies farm, shotguns bring home the bunnies a lot quicker than .22's. Lots of brush and many running shots out of the thickest hiding spaces.