Tips on Shooting Running Small Game with Rifle

Brutus said:
On the Saskatchewan prairie, jackrabbits are the biggest bunnies around.
Buckshot allows you to take ethical shots out to 70-80 yards, without them getting away wounded.
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Cool, you learn something new every day! I never would have guessed that was the reason. Out here when I see them it is almost always a really close shot and I use shotguns exclusively. I almost always use my little 28 guage side by side.

Amazing how different it can be from one area of the country to the next. There are currently very few jacks out here, I have only seen 1 in my life! Mostly cottontails and hares.

I am envious of you guys that have the luxury of seeing rabbits at ranges where you would need a rifle and then having the problem of working out how best to get them! The rabbit population around here is really low right now :(
 
If you're after rabbits, bring a whistle. Keep it in your mouth as you stalk - when you flush one, wait until its where you want it and then blow - it'll stop dead and try to assess the source of the noise. Fire on stationary target.
 
oneskilledshooter said:
Cool, you learn something new every day! I never would have guessed that was the reason. Out here when I see them it is almost always a really close shot and I use shotguns exclusively. I almost always use my little 28 guage side by side.

Amazing how different it can be from one area of the country to the next. There are currently very few jacks out here, I have only seen 1 in my life! Mostly cottontails and hares.

I am envious of you guys that have the luxury of seeing rabbits at ranges where you would need a rifle and then having the problem of working out how best to get them! The rabbit population around here is really low right now :(
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I agree, myself when I was Petawawa, and my first airforce posting was to be Moose Jaw, a couple of local shooters highly encouraged me to purchase some kind of 22 centrefire.
Low and behold the local gunshop had a 222 Remington in LNIB condition.
A quick hunt for a 6x42 scope & I was fully ready for real varmint hunting.
Plus a very good friend gifted me with many many buckshot shells for my 12 gauge shotgun. They were put to good use Oneskilledshooter.
But times/places changed for me as well, now my 20 gauge O/U gets used on local snowshoehares in the boreal forest.
So now our rabbit hunting is pretty much identical friend.


Cheers!
 
Does this whistle stuff actually work? Have you yourself done it?

Google - "how to hunt jack rabbits" and they ramble on about whistles, yet I've never met an experienced rabbit hunter that has heard of it...
 
Mount Sweetness said:
Looking specifically for insightful tips from experienced hunters of small game on the run with rifles only, please.l[/url]
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Lead on running game is a fickle thing. Just ask stubble jumper,... he knows all about it.:D
First, you need more than one round... the first one often just warms up the barrel. So to "fire it up" on the coyotes running butt, you need a full mag, and with any luck you might get it on youre first or last shot.;)

Depending on speed of vermin and distance, Ive never held over their backs or led more than two lengths of the animal targeted.... but then I have rarely shot at many critters past 300 yds but also have done in some at 400 plus.

Its all in the angle and speed and distance. There are no secrets here, youve just got to get out there and shoot.

I know a guide out in Alberta who could kill anything on the run with a 308 at any range. Practice makes perfect when youre exposed to it every day.:cool:
 
No real tips from me. When I have a coyote running I follow him through and when my crosshairs pass his nose I squeeze off on the trigger. I miss more running shots than I make but when I do connect I feel great.

I think hunters biggest problems with running shots is lack of practice. We can all sit and plink away at paper or steel but fast moving targets only come with hunting. Until now,

I came across this in my latest issue of Fur-Fish-Game. It is a coyote target affixed to a remote control monster truck. After seeing this I have decided to build one, I have access to a perfect gravel pit to test this rig out in. I am sure the truck will be shot up as well but an afternoon blasting at this thing with buddies would be awesome. I had even considered building one and using it as a decoy while calling coyotes.
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Jackrabbits that have not been hunted heavily have alot of "bunny" habits. I say this because, I used to hunt the flatlands for them. Once disturbed they invariably run to thier own edge of personal territory and stop, standing up a bit on thier hind legs, they look back to take stock of the situation.
I found a good hunter has about 3-8 seconds to pull off one offhand shot, on this sitting still target.
Often myself and the 222 rifle were up to the task for one head shot.

my experience only.....

Edit: This was wonderful rifle practice for deer season!
 
When I was a kid we practiced with a tire on a slope. Mount a target in it, and have a buddy roll it for you, it worked pretty well. When you get good at it, a few low obstacles to make the tire bounce adds to the fun. The other thing I do is shoot off hand a LOT. If it's not practiced and drilled into you before the hunt, it's not going to magically appear when you hit the field. As a "kid" I shot lots of bunnies, a few deer and more than a few coyotes on the run, and figure this helped me out quite a bit. I've never given too much thought to lead, it's always been an instinctive thing. The bunnies have taken a pounding with all the yotes, and I hardly see them anymore, but now I have a healthy population of squirrels that run a fence line that is 50 yards off the back deck. The wife and I take turns shooting them with a .22 while they run the fence, she hits 2 for every 1 I get. We stop shooting them for a while when the population hits around 4 or so, and they always make new ones to start back up on again.
 
Brutus said:
Jackrabbits that have not been hunted heavily have alot of "bunny" habits. I say this because, I used to hunt the flatlands for them. Once disturbed they invariably run to thier own edge of personal territory and stop, standing up a bit on thier hind legs, they look back to take stock of the situation.
I found a good hunter has about 3-8 seconds to pull off one offhand shot, on this sitting still target.
Often myself and the 222 rifle were up to the task for one head shot.

my experience only.....

Edit: This was wonderful rifle practice for deer season!
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Exact same experience here, have'nt seen a jack yet that doesn't stop, look, then continue. Sometimes a variation of this is a quick hunker down, and they'll hold in the grass for a second or two, and run again with a change of direction. This is from years ago now, at our farm, lots of jacks. If I'm shotgunning (the usual, with BBs or up to #4 buck), I'll shoot on the run, with a scoped rifle I find no reason to. I just get ready for their "take stock" pause as you mention.

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I know that they will circle their boundary and will often sit and dig into the snow, but I enjoy the challenge of hitting them on the run. Pecking them off sitting is fine after 6 misses and chasing them for 4km's........
 
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