# 1st Rabbit & gun size



## ohhunter

I wnet rabbit hunting with a friend and his dogs today. It was the first time I hunted with beagles so it was fun listening to them chase the bunnies. I was surprised at how the rabbits kept running in big circles. I was also surprised how hard it was to see them. I primarily hunt birds and some deer and I guess I am not used to looking for rabbits or anything that small running. I did shoot my first rabbit ever today after the dogs chased it right by me one time before and I never realized it until the dogs came within 20 yards of me. I have only shot at 2 or 3 while bird hunting since I began hunting in 1987.

Anyhow, on to my question... When I shot the rabbit, it was running about 20 yards from me. I totally disintegrated it which was pretty disappointing. I was using a 12 ga, with 7 1/2 shot, low brass shells. What should i be using to not destroy rabbits, as this I may hunt rabbits more often now? All I own is 12 ga shotguns. The gun I used had fixed chokes. WOuld I be better off using a gun that I can change chokes, and if so, which choke do I want to use?


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## Gohon

You didn't say what choke your gun actually had but I use a IC choke and #5 shot. You can hunt them with a tighter choke but you have to let them get some distance before pulling the trigger. You can also get by with #6 shot but again let then get just a tad bit further away. It doesn't take much to put a rabbit down and at 20 yards with the 7.5 shot and what sounds like maybe a full choke you were using, you will as you discovered tear them up pretty bad.


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## deadeye_youth

you guys and your shotguns for rabbits. lol bust out the 22's and have some fun. Try hittin one when they come busting by ya with a 22 its a blast.


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## cya_coyote

when i was rabbit hunting i always used my first weapon... savage model 24f, i think it was... .22lr over a full choke .410... they don't make this combo any more, and unfortunately i had to sell mine to pay rent in college... but if you want a shotgun for rabbit, i would go with a .410... but it will be more expensive to shoot since it uses rifle powder and shells are not as reasonably priced as the 20 ga and 12 ga ammo...

as for .22lr... love to hunt rabbit with it.. and talk about challenging!!!

:sniper:


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## ohhunter

Gohon said:


> You didn't say what choke your gun actually had but I use a IC choke and #5 shot. You can hunt them with a tighter choke but you have to let them get some distance before pulling the trigger. You can also get by with #6 shot but again let then get just a tad bit further away. It doesn't take much to put a rabbit down and at 20 yards with the 7.5 shot and what sounds like maybe a full choke you were using, you will as you discovered tear them up pretty bad.


I really don't know what choke size. I was using and over & under, with fixed chokes. What is the easiest eay to determine my choke size? Would I be better off going to a larger shot size if I use this gu again? I use this gun for pheasant hunting and have shot a few grouse with it.


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## Gohon

deadeye_youth said:


> you guys and your shotguns for rabbits. lol bust out the 22's and have some fun. Try hittin one when they come busting by ya with a 22 its a blast.


Yeah sure..... you're the very type that I avoid going into the field with. I hunt rabbits with a shot gun and a 22 but I sure don't go blasting away at running rabbits with a 22 when there are other hunters in the field. Good way to kill someone.


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## aylor70

With my dog, i really dont have to shoot at all, if i really wanted he could catch and kill all the rabbits i see. But, since that can get rather boring, i bust out our .17HMR, .22 lr or our .22 pistol. But for a 12 guage, remington makes small game load, and i have used this. It works pretty good, you might want to look into it.


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## Remington 7400

You guys probably won't believe this!

The first rabbit I killed was shot with a .30-06, I was deer hunting, KY rabbit season runs in line with rifle season, hadn't seen a deer all day, come back to the truck, rabbit sitting in middle of bottom about 80 yards out, leveled crosshairs on rabbit, and the rest is history! 

It actually didn't tear him up that bad, I guess a 150 grain bullet isn't designed to expand on rabbit sized game! Blew a 30 cal. hole clean through him, he still tasted good! :beer:


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## Camo

> The first rabbit I killed was shot with a .30-06,


 Same here but with a 270. :beer:


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## Burnout

I used to use an old 12 ga, where the barrel was cut down to 21" im guessing it was around maybe IC, not certain, nice wide pattern and with the xtra shot i gained with the 12g, i was able to get more through the brush, didnt seem to tear em up too bad. I prefer to use a #6 shot seems like i dont have to pick as much lead out of my teeth at dinner time.

I now use a 20ga youth model semi-auto, really nice..still use #6 (or whatever i have at the time i guess). and like the IC choke. for longer shots i have a revolver with a scope on it i carry with me at times. Though i dont like the .22 while hunting with buddies just in case of ricochets(sp).

If you wanna have some fun, try a BP revoler.

Good luck and be safe

Dave


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## ohio

ohhunter......when your hunting rabbits i go with what most are saying with the improved cylinder......but this is a wide spread so watch for the dogs beause in the thick stuff sometimes the dogs can get close to the rabbits.....anbd your hunting buddies


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## Cleankill47

cya_coyote, you might be glad to hear this, but Savage does still make that combo gun. They run about $500, though, so that's probably why you don't hear about them much anymore...

Gohon, You should know that a rabbit stops about where it started when it circles. I'm sure that deadeye_youth waitsfor them to stop before he takes the shot. Also, he didn't even say if he was with anybody when he did that. Just thought I'd put that out there...

Since I have put in my :2cents:, Ill address the question at hand:

If you've got a fixed choke over-under, it's probably best to use a bigger shot size, like #5 or even #4. If you combine that with trying to take shots out a little further (25-35 yards) to allow some spread, you should start getting a lot more meat from your bunnies. :strapped:

You should also patter your shotgun, because a lot of double-barrels have different choke configurations. (It's usually full or modified on top, and improved on the bottom.)


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## Young'in

I like number 2 to 4 lead in 12 gauge for rabbits infront of a dog.


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## Brower

cya_coyote said:


> when i was rabbit hunting i always used my first weapon... savage model 24f, i think it was... .22lr over a full choke .410... they don't make this combo any more, and unfortunately i had to sell mine to pay rent in college... but if you want a shotgun for rabbit, i would go with a .410... but it will be more expensive to shoot since it uses rifle powder and shells are not as reasonably priced as the 20 ga and 12 ga ammo...
> 
> as for .22lr... love to hunt rabbit with it.. and talk about challenging!!!
> 
> :sniper:


actually cya coyote they do make these guns now.....if you have a Dicks sporting goods around you go there....the brand name is Rosse....i too had one a couple years ago


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## Gohon

Brower, they are not the same thing. The Rossi is two separate barrels that can be switched around on the same stock and action. The old Savage was a stack barrel with the 22 on top and the shotgun on the bottom with a selector to instantly choose which one you wanted. The Savages they make today are geared towards turkey hunting and varmints more than anything else and the weigh something like over 8 pounds. Who wants to carry one of those all day long. Besides I'm not sure Savage even makes them with a 410 barrel even on the setups they have today.


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## Young'in

what kind of rabbit was it, jackrabbit, snowshoe hare, cotton tail. We shoot hare up here with number 2 3/4 #4 lead with full to improved, sometime i'll shoot 3 inch #4 but i have never torn a rabbit apart.


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## jlynch34

ohhunter said:


> I really don't know what choke size. I was using and over & under, with fixed chokes.


Use a dime and try to fit it into your chokes. If it doesn' t go in it's a full choke. Mod you can just feel the sides of the choke and with IC it will fit real loose. Most O/U's are IC/Mod or Mod/Full, unless it was made for something special like Skeet shooting.


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## dfisher

Hi,
What kind of cover are you hunting. Now that you know what you're looking for, is it possible that the next one might be 40 yards from you?
If it's NE Ohio grouse cover that isn't likely, but I have seen them that far when being run by beagles before.

I've hunted them with everything from .22's to a Model 97 Winchester with a cylinder bore. These two extremes probably aren't the best choice, though they are fun to shoot at with the .22 and when running infrong of hounds, they may present some good head shot oppurtunities. The open choked '97 was a great brush gun. Point it in the directions they were running and turn her loose. Seldom missed with that.

I think when we...my pop and I...had our beagle, he carried a double barreled 20 ga. with full and modified tubes, and I generally either carried a Win. Model 12 with a full choke or a Win. Model 42 .410 with a full choke. They worked fine and we ate a lot of rabbit.

The fodder of choice was either low or high brass shells in 4, 5, or 6 shot.

Hope this helps a bit
Good luck and happy holidays,
Dan


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## coyote_buster

If you feel like somewhat ruining your gun you can cut about 6 inches off the barrels, now its an open choke


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## 308

In my 16ga. I use mod. choke and #6 shot. Don't know really wat it will do to a rabbit cause i just got my first rabbit and hit it in the butt and leg. It was running and it took me three shots before i hit it at all. They aren't hard to kill. The one i shot just fell over and layed their until my dog got on it. :beer:


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## Stonegoblet

well, I say use the ol' 22. Or, if ya want, try snipin' em with a pellet gun!
That's all I got to say.


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