How to Hunt Rabbit With a Pellet Gun
Some people kill rabbits for their delicious meat and soft pelts, while others kill them to stop ruining their gardens. The weapon of choice is often the pellet gun, as opposed to cartridge-based weapons. Pellet guns are both quieter and cheaper, and pellets are far less expensive than bullets. As long as your pellet gun shoots .177-caliber hunting pellets at least 750 feet per second (fps), you should have no trouble bagging the floppy-eared vermin.
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Instructions
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Check your pellet gun to ensure that it shoots projectiles at least 750 fps (feet per second). Ideally, your gun should shoot 0.177-caliber pellets, but 0.22 will also work. Weaker guns and smaller pellets decrease your chances of making a humane kill.
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Dress in camouflage clothing that matches the terrain near the rabbit burrow. You will be sitting on the ground, so bear that in mind when matching your camouflage with surrounding foliage.
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Hunt rabbits at dawn or dusk, which is when rabbits are most active. You can typically find burrows under porches, near water sources or food plots. Rabbits enjoy eating clover, wild peas, wildflowers, carrots and cabbage. If you've spotted your targets near your garden, you can bet that the burrow is close by, as rabbits do not typically stray far from home.
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Sit on the ground in front of a large bush or hedge 15 or 20 yards from the burrow entrance. The foliage behind you will help break up your silhouette and block sounds coming from the other side of the plant, helping to focus your attention on sounds in front of you. Sit as still as possible.
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Wait until a rabbit emerges and is at least 3 or 4 yards from the burrow. If you hear the rabbit start to thump the ground with its hind legs, it feels threatened. Wait for the rabbit to calm down before attempting to raise your pellet gun for a shot.
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Shoot the rabbit in the skull just below the ears. Shooting the rabbit in the heart and lungs will certainly kill it, but misplaced gut shots are inhumane and lead to rabbits dying slow and painful deaths within their burrows. If you plan to eat the rabbit, the skull is a better target.
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Tips & Warnings
For more permanent hunting camouflage, build a makeshift hunting blind. Use stout logs as posts, with branches and leaves woven between them. Make sure you leave a sizable hole through which to fire your pellet gun.
Never shoot your pellet gun at another person. Doing so can result in severe injury, including blindness.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit a wild rabbit image by Tom Oliveira from Fotolia.com
