Unbelievable jackrabbit numbers!

DAA

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Me and my buddy got out for some bunny blasting yesterday. We went to a spot where we had seen a ton of jackrabbits while coyote hunting earlier in the year.

First half of the day, we got into the jacks plenty thick. We were having a ball, walking around in the sage brush with our .22 rimfires. The rabbits were quite plentiful and we were getting all the shooting we wanted.

But after a lunch break, just for grins, we decided to see how far up the road we could get in the Jeep (snow and mud, even with both axles locked, got the Jeep stuck twice in 1 mile, winch to the rescue, too much fun!). A couple miles further up this two track, we were seeing quite a few jacks, so we stopped and went for a walk with the rifles.

Well, shortly after leaving the Jeep, by buddy Tim points to a couple of cottonwood trees about a mile away that we could see five Golden eagles roosted in. There were other similar stands of cottonwood in the valley, but no eagles in the others. Tim commented that there must be a lot of bunnies up by those trees, if that's where the eagles were hanging out. So we hiked up there. Holy CRAP!!!! When we got up to the area right around those cottonwoods, we started seeing jackrabbits in numbers that I have rarely seen in my life. I mean there were so many, it was just unbelievable!! At any given time, we could see dozens of them within less than a hundred yards. There were so many, shooting them seemed too easy, and we started taking only running shots. At one particular point, where we had kind of pushed them out of a finger of sage brush into some open bare snow covered ground around a spring, we could see HUNDREDS of jackrabbits all in one little spot. The ground was just seething with them. There were so many, that both of us didn't even bother to shoot. We just stood there babbling to each other about how unreal it was to see something like that.

Needless to say, we had a really good day of jackrabbit hunting! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Seriously though, I have seen some heavy, heavy concentrations of jackrabbits in my day. Going all the way back to Mud Lake, Idaho back in the late '70s. But this was right up there with the thickest I have ever seen them in my life. Absolutely unreal.

- DAA
 
And this was a "just for fun" trip so no video coverage, right? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif

I've seen some of your "jackrabbit madness" footage and that was unbelievable. I can't imagine even more rabbits on the ground.
 
Tom, it was just for fun. All our hunts are, these days. We'll probably start filming again at some point, but for a few months now, we've been "just hunting" and not even taking a camera with us. It's kind of nice! You know that we were thinking (and talking) about how cool that footage would have been too though...

Salem, we were in good old Utah.

- DAA
 
Hey Tom, got the Hornet sighted in and ready?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Heh-heh-heh, it stays sighted in and ready. And as soon as I can find some better rings, I'll have the .204 ready to rock 'n roll too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
good jack #'s = good coyote #'s

lucky dog you are. Around here there is a big decline in cottontails this year. Not sure why but I definatly don't see the #'s I usually do. No more bunny hunting for me for the season /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
good jack #'s = good coyote #'s

lucky dog you are. Around here there is a big decline in cottontails this year. Not sure why but I definatly don't see the #'s I usually do. No more bunny hunting for me for the season /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
DAA,

I may be making a trip back home sometime in November of this year. Whatta ya say we go and smack a few of them Jacks and maybe even call in a dog or three? You and I used to hunt the same territory about 6 or 7 years ago, but I have since moved back to Pennsylvania and live here now. Whatta ya say.....homey? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
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I may be making a trip back home sometime in November of this year. Whatta ya say we go and smack a few of them Jacks and maybe even call in a dog or three?



I can't promise anything that far in advance, but gimme a holler when your trip is getting close and we'll see what we can do.

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You are sooooooooooo lucky!



I agree!

- DAA
 
I'll be in touch! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowingsmilie.gif

After all you are the one that got me hooked on these darned old savages. On your varmint safari dvd you mentioned about the changeable barrels on the savages and I have been a wreck ever since. Four of em built and several unemployed barrels just waiting for a shot....more in the plans...yeah I got it pretty bad. My favorite so far is my 243...here's a PA rock chuck for ya....and one of them dadblamed savages.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

Take er easy.....!!!

2ndtrip1.jpg


/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
I'll bet those eagles love you guys. Free lunch with no work. Hmmm, sounds a little familiar huh? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Too bad you didn't get a few photos, would like to see something like that.
 
Speaking of crazy amounts of Jacks, today I saw 17 of them 8 in one group and 9 in the other, the funny thing is that they were IN TOWN! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Its not unusual to see them in town but wow not in herds like that and boy were they chunks gonna have to get the traps and the recipe book out /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I dont shoot too many (just enough /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif ), I tend to let them go since my hunting partners dont want them close to the dogs, but man when their coats turn white they are a very nice looking animal, and are just fun to watch run.

Have fun and good hunting, sounds like you found the mother load!

Dave
 
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Its not unusual to see them in town but wow not in herds like that and boy were they chunks gonna have to get the traps and the recipe book out /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif





/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif You bring up a question in my mind. "Herd", is that what one calls many rabbits or hares in a bunch? Or, is it "pack", "flock", "school" or what /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif? Never thought about it before, just wondering. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I beleive it is called a Drove, not sure.
Too lazy to look it up /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif

Dave

Ok It was buggin me so I looked it up, as well as drove there is a warren, hush and Down, the males are bucks, females does and the young ones are called leverets.

Thank you interweb for making me smarter LOL
 
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a term probably only known to Utahn's for the most part is....a grundle. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif
 
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I'll bet those eagles love you guys. Free lunch with no work. Hmmm, sounds a little familiar huh? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Too bad you didn't get a few photos, would like to see something like that.



Man... those eagles were living the good life long before we got there! Never seen so many dead jack rabbits laying around with just their eye balls picked out. Looked to me like those eagles had it so good, they were only eating their favorite couple of bites out of each rabbit that they killed. Did see quite a few that had been eaten more completely, but those looked more like coyote kills. But yeah, no matter how you slice it, the predators and scavengers were all living large.

I told a group of guys where this was at and they were out there again this weekend. Sounds like the jacks are still thick in that little spot. Also sounds like the mud is gawd awful, even worse than when I got stuck a couple weeks ago, so I'm just as glad that I went somewhere else (Moab) for the weekend. I hate mud!

Totally off topic, gratuitous Moab picture from a couple days ago, for no reason other than the weather was awesome and I'm already wishing I could go back!

IMG_1952b.jpg


I know a lot of you have seen it too many times already, but what the heck... Just to get back on topic, a video clip from a few years ago showing a warren, herd, shitt load, drove, errr whateveryacallit of rabbits. They were maybe even a bit thicker out there a couple weeks ago.

- DAA
 
DAA,

WOW I have NEVER seen anything like that ever,

I would just call that many.. a good enough excuse to buy a new gun /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Dave
 
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