.223 on rabbit?am i dumb?
- Thread starter greengoblin
- Start date
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
.22 long rifle for headshots and "sport" hunting where you "pick" your shot between the twigs and brush. .22's bounce off the brush before they even get there.
Shotguns are the "you see them, you get them" tool.
Any shotgun (12,16,20,28,410) with no.6's are just the ticket.
Of course, always go for the head shot if you want to eat your bunny.
Shotguns are the "you see them, you get them" tool.
Any shotgun (12,16,20,28,410) with no.6's are just the ticket.
Of course, always go for the head shot if you want to eat your bunny.
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I myself the other evening debated about using a bolt action 222 rifle for a long stretch of ground where it was difficult to approach a trail crossing unobserved by the rabbits that congregate in the late afternoon. (snowshoehares)
I decided against this and just made more time to quietly approach the chosen spot, earlier in the day.
You certainly could if the provicial game hunting laws allow it, use a 223 for head shots only. But lying in wait and shooting a single shot from your rifle at distance, (IF it's accurate enough) one could probably slay 3-4 times more rabbits with a good shotgun in the trees, once you know thier habits. Myself I use an O/U 20 gauge, and IMHO is about perfect for this task in the nearby boreal forest.
Yeah you could use a centrefire rifle in the forest for bunnies, but efficiency and economy of force do not come to my mind right off.
Use a "cruel shotgun" instead.
What part of hunting rabbits with a .22 is boring. I think I have had some of my best times hunting walking fence lines jump shooting cottontails and jack's as well as open ceders for white rabbits slowly walking through and looking for that little black eye against the snow, all while carrying a .22.
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
This success rate clearly depends on the terrain you are hunting. When I lived for 11 years in Saskatchewan, I had a fine time hunting jackrabbits in the open fields with a 222 calibre rifle.
I now live nearby and hunt in northern boreal forest, now a shotgun is first choice for snowshoehares up here. A 22 rimfire rifle would be second choice & I would expect a smaller harvest.
yeah, a .223 is perfect for shooting bunnies. Bunnies live in the bush generally, you don't get that many 100 yard shots.
In some provinces it would be illegal to hunt small game with a centrefire rifle.
Shotguns are cruel, but shooting an animal for the pink mist effect is OK.
there's some twisted logic. Guys, don't feed the troll.
yeah, a .223 is perfect for shooting bunnies. Bunnies live in the bush generally, you don't get that many 100 yard shots.
In some provinces it would be illegal to hunt small game with a centrefire rifle.
Shotguns are cruel, but shooting an animal for the pink mist effect is OK.
Guys, don't feed the troll.
A well said quote Jethunter
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Trolling aside, I'm going to graphically explain what happened to a rabbit I shot in Northen Ontario. The tool used was a Remington M788 in 222 calibre. Said rabbit (a big cottontail or a snowshoehare?) was a whole 35 yards from myself, providing a perfectly stationary target, sitting down & side on to me. It was a body shot!
Offhand shot was a piece of cake. I pulled the trigger, and it was if a giant had karate chopped the rabbit and momentarily he was shaped into a "V" shape from the device that struck him.
Something unrecognizable popped out and flew back 10-12 feet, and the rabbit now appeared to me, to be like a balloon with the air leaked totally out. Upon picking up the rabbit, I'm sure there was not an unbroken bone in his body. The strange part thrown out, turned out to be his heart, it almost looked as if it was surgically removed. (I mean the heart alone) There was some hyrdraulic compression going on here, as the exit hole the size, that one would think it should be bigger. (too small for this, my errored guess)
This was a very wasteful act in retrospect, which I never repeated. I never body shot a rabbit again with this small calibre centrefire.
There was no "pink mist" from the 50 grain factory Kassnar soft nose spire points, but a 22-250 or a Swift might do this level of destrction.
Offhand shot was a piece of cake. I pulled the trigger, and it was if a giant had karate chopped the rabbit and momentarily he was shaped into a "V" shape from the device that struck him.
Something unrecognizable popped out and flew back 10-12 feet, and the rabbit now appeared to me, to be like a balloon with the air leaked totally out. Upon picking up the rabbit, I'm sure there was not an unbroken bone in his body. The strange part thrown out, turned out to be his heart, it almost looked as if it was surgically removed. (I mean the heart alone) There was some hyrdraulic compression going on here, as the exit hole the size, that one would think it should be bigger. (too small for this, my errored guess)
This was a very wasteful act in retrospect, which I never repeated. I never body shot a rabbit again with this small calibre centrefire.
There was no "pink mist" from the 50 grain factory Kassnar soft nose spire points, but a 22-250 or a Swift might do this level of destrction.
Last edited:
Throttle_monkey1
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
The xcr is plenty accurate for rabbits. I used to take gophers with mine out to 150 no problem.
If you headshot rabbits the meat should be ok. That said, I would use a 22. Just hope for a late snowfall. Then you can plod around the bush and when eveything is brown and they're white, they're easy to spot.
If you headshot rabbits the meat should be ok. That said, I would use a 22. Just hope for a late snowfall. Then you can plod around the bush and when eveything is brown and they're white, they're easy to spot.
BC Bigbore
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- BC's Peace Country
You want to use a .223, why not? Around here we have snowshoe hares (rabbits) and a .22 rimfire is perfect. At first light, the bunnies are feeding along the ditches of the remote bush roads. I enjoy putting along slowly with my quad and as I get within 50 yards or so, the rabbits generally stop feeding and freeze, providing an "easy" head shot with 36gr Long Rifle HP's. After the sun comes up, the rabbits become fewer but the chickens (grouse) are flocking to the trails. Head/neck shots are tougher on the birds but a few are added to the pot
My latest hunting .22 is a little Stevens Favorite falling block single shot. You want a challenge? Try open sight head shots at 32 yards in early morning half light on a chicken that won't keep still ...lol.
My latest hunting .22 is a little Stevens Favorite falling block single shot. You want a challenge? Try open sight head shots at 32 yards in early morning half light on a chicken that won't keep still ...lol.
I'd really like to see that done with an XCR. Is this off hand or bipod... in a shooting vice perhaps? Gopher head shots at 150 are challenging even with heavy barrelled, target rifles.
i notice through the last 4 pages the OP has not commented.
There are always going to be times where something goes wrong and you have to finish the job by hand its the nature of hunting. rabbits are worse than deer, they can get to their holes and dissapeer and die in agony underground from anything from a .22lr, .223 or shotgun. make your shots count, target practice, and realize that there are times when sh*t happens.
There are always going to be times where something goes wrong and you have to finish the job by hand its the nature of hunting. rabbits are worse than deer, they can get to their holes and dissapeer and die in agony underground from anything from a .22lr, .223 or shotgun. make your shots count, target practice, and realize that there are times when sh*t happens.
How does that mean destroying or allowing meat to spoil? "Pink Mist" means a head shot (ie brain matter). I headshot a deer and it's currently hanging up in the barn... nothing going to waste there.
