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Do you want to hunt for jackrabbits? Jackrabbits are elusive and hunting them requires careful stalking and shot placement. Hunting jackrabbits also requires a good level of skill and patience. In this article, we discuss how to hunt jackrabbits to help you be more successful in hunting jackrabbits.
Table of Contents
How To Hunt Jackrabbits
1. Scouting
You can often find jackrabbits in open fields, prairies, or deserts. Look for a high area to set up to glass for jackrabbits. Use binoculars or spotting scopes to search for jackrabbits. Farm fields are one of the areas to glass for jackrabbits. Look at small patches of brush and focus on the bottom of brushes or scrubs. When learning how to hunt jackrabbits, always carefully watch the fields and prairies.
2. Whistling
Whistle to get jackrabbits’ attention. Jackrabbits are sensitive to sounds and will lift their ears to locate and identify shrill noises. The tips of their ears are black and you can easily spot it when you whistle. When you whistle, use binoculars to spot black spots that become visible in small brushes. We reviewed the best hunting binoculars on the market today can you can read it from this link.
3. Flush Them Out
Walk slowly close by brushy areas and whistle while you walk. Stop about every 30 paces and whistle. Jackrabbits will lift their ears to the whistling and it could flush them out of the brush. If you have a rifle or shotgun, be prepared to take a shot while the jackrabbit is running. Or just wait for the jackrabbit to stop, then take a good shot.
Don’t run after a jackrabbit. They will continue running if they are being pursued. It is easier to hit a jackrabbit when it has stopped running. You could also flush out jackrabbits by using dogs. The jackrabbits will be scared of the dogs and will cause them to leave the brush. Flushing out jackrabbits is a good strategy to implement with other hunters when you are learning how to hunt jackrabbits.
4. Work The Back Roads
Back roads are prime areas for finding jackrabbits. There isn’t much human activity near back roads and the landscape is usually sparse. Drive the back roads and glass the landscape. Find an area to park, set up, and do more glassing. Jackrabbits like to lie at the base of cactus and scrub brush while they listen for any danger that may be coming their way. When the sunlight passes through their ears, it gives an amber glow that can be spotted from a good distance.
If you spot this amber glow, look for a landmark to pinpoint the jackrabbit’s location and then stalk, moving slowly and quietly using the vegetation as cover. When you are close to the jackrabbit, take a good shot.
5. Weapon For Jackrabbits
Many different weapons can be used to hunt jackrabbits. Small caliber rifles, shotguns, and airguns are some of the weapons you can use to hunt jackrabbits. The 40-grain .22 long rifle, the 2,500 fps .17 HMR, the 3,000 fps .17 Winchester Super Magnum shotguns, and airguns in .177 and .222 as well as PCPs.
6. Farms
If you locate farms that are nearby the areas you go hunting for jackrabbits, chat, and get to know the farmers. Most likely, they are having problems with jackrabbits destroying their crops. Ask for permission to hunt the jackrabbits on their farms.
7. State Law
Always verify that it is legal to hunt any animal in your state. Also, get a hunting license before you hunt. You don’t want to do anything that is illegal. You can find your state hunting laws on this website.
Jackrabbit Hunting Tips
1. Look in open fields, prairies, deserts, and wooded forested areas for jackrabbits.
2. Drive on back roads and glass the area for jackrabbits.
3. Look for jackrabbits in small patches of brush and focus on the bottom of brushes or scrubs.
4. Jackrabbits are sensitive to sounds. Whistle to get their attention. They will raise their ears to listen to the sound to determine if it is dangerous.
5. Look for farms near the areas you hunt for jackrabbits. Ask the farmers for permission to hunt jackrabbits on their farms. Jackrabbits are a nuisance to farmers as they eat and destroy their crops.
6. Find high ground in open fields and wooded forested areas to glass for jackrabbits using binoculars, or spotting scopes.
7. When sunlight passes through jackrabbits’ ears it gives an amber glow. When you glass fields and spot this amber glow, find a good spot to take a shot.
8. You can use small caliber rifles, shotguns, and airguns to hunt jackrabbits depending on how you hunt for them.
9. Always get a hunting license before you hunt jackrabbits or any other animal.
10. Know your state laws before you hunt jackrabbits.
The Bottom Line
Hunting jackrabbits is fun and exciting. It requires a good level of skill and patience. They are regarded as a nuisance to many including farmers as they destroy the crops by eating them. In this article, we discuss how to hunt jackrabbits to help you with the information you need to be more successful in hunting jackrabbits.
