Hunting Rabbits with 22lr

Most of the rabbits (snowshoe hare) I get are very short range. Think feet not meters. They tend to hold tight and rely on their camouflage and use of thick cover rather than running. If you move slow you can often get within 15 feet easily. The first few snows can make for great hunting / tracking. I have used everything form a .220 Swift (I was coyote hunting and came across a couple between stands) to a 22 lr. and shotguns. its what ever you want to use.
 
The best tip I can offer for using a 22lr for rabbits is to take off that scope and sling and practice using iron sights. Lose the bipod too. đź‘Ť

A 3-9 is much too powerful for close range rabbit shooting as the field of view will be too small for moving targets. If any optic, a 1-4x or red dot would be far more suitable.

As for the sling, well, IMO slings are the #1 cause of missed shot opportunities. Two hand carry is the only way for small game.


Unless you plan on sitting in one spot and waiting for the rabbits to come to you. Then the bipod and 3-9x are suitable.
 
canadian hunter312 said:
The best tip I can offer for using a 22lr for rabbits is to take off that scope and sling and practice using iron sights. Lose the bipod too. đź‘Ť

A 3-9 is much too powerful for close range rabbit shooting as the field of view will be too small for moving targets. If any optic, a 1-4x or red dot would be far more suitable.

As for the sling, well, IMO slings are the #1 cause of missed shot opportunities. Two hand carry is the only way for small game.


Unless you plan on sitting in one spot and waiting for the rabbits to come to you. Then the bipod and 3-9x are suitable.
Click to expand...
Or just an excuse to buy another gun.
 
In my youth, when I was hunting bunnies a lot, money was tight so I used whatever I had ammunition for, and used whatever ammunition I had. My preference, when I had a choice, was a .22 lr loaded with hollow points. I found that rn solid bullets didn't kill very quickly if I had to take a body shot for some reason. I also found that a 12 ga. was overkill at 15 ft. I used a variety of .22's, a cheap Spanish .410 sxs, ( it was possibly the best for the job, but shells were as expensive as 12 ga.), a Mossberg bolt action 20 ga with an adjustable choke that I didn't understand how to use, and a brutal Winchester 37 single shot 12 ga. None of them really belonged to me, that's just what was kicking around the house.
 
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