I've seen some Antelope jacks on the SRER south of town. I have also seen a few off of the Willow Springs road North of town. I think Redington pass area gets a lot of pressure. I hope this helps.
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Thanks for the information guys!
Make that +1 more cottontail, I got a nice one tonight out in Redington, could have had another diamondback, but it was a little small, maybe 2.5 ft, so I didn't bother it.
Maybe I'll check out some of those other recommended spots for some Jacks.
Make that +1 more cottontail, I got a nice one tonight out in Redington, could have had another diamondback, but it was a little small, maybe 2.5 ft, so I didn't bother it.
Maybe I'll check out some of those other recommended spots for some Jacks.
I've been bagging Doves and Cottontails like a madman though, so at least I'm not starving.
Thanks for the tips, I'll have to check those places out. I have a place I found that has TONS of Antelope and black tails, and haven't been able to shoot one... Until today.
I was dove hunting with my 12 gauge, was blasting rounds left and right for about 15 minutes, looked to my left, and there was a little Jack sitting on the ground like 50 ft away just looking at me. Needless to say, I got him.
And.. Pan fried Jack backstraps with steak seasoning are excellent.
Would you look at this beast... A friend and I were out shooting at targets, and decided to go look for some Jacks... This guy hopped out in front of me about 25 meters, and fell victim to the .223 while running. Still made it a good 75 yards before it fell! The Jacks around here take a round like a Whitetail. I've hit several of them now with my .22LR and they just run away. Was thinking about getting a .17 HMR or a Savage Model 25 in .17 Hornet, but seeing as how the .223 didn't really do TOO much damage and I was still able to use all of the good stuff as table fare, maybe I'll just stick to shooting them with the .223. This is the exit wound side of the Jack.
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I decided to head down south a little ways yesterday, found a spot that looked promising. Right away I saw a nice Jack, but it took off before I had a chance to shoulder my Savage Mark II. I didn't see anything else for about 45 minutes, and then Cottontails started popping up on the hillsides next to me, but running and hiding, running and hiding, not letting me get a shot. This happened about three times, one of them literally ran a circle around me. Out of anger, I went back to my car and grabbed my shotgun. Tooled around with that for about 15 minutes, and saw a Cottontail sitting on a hillside about 75 yards away. Set down my shotgun, pulled the .22 off my back, aimed about at the top of the shoulder (zeroed @ 50) and gave the Accutrigger a little tug. The CCI Mini-Mag dropped about 2 inches and poked it right in the sweet spot. I was actually pretty surprised with the Mini-Mag's exit wound, it blew the front leg in half and left a pretty large, maybe half dollar sized hole. Observing the exit wound beneath the skin, even at 75 yards or so, it kinda made me wonder how so many Jackrabbits just run away after I make what I think are clean shots on them..
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Tonight I went out to the same spot in an attempt to seek vengeance against all the Cottontails that eluded me so annoyingly last night. I saw one to begin with, in a brushy kind of wooded area, so I switched to my 12 gauge and tried to stalk it. I saw it again, only for a brief second and then never saw it again. I proceeded to head up a hill, and I saw another one take off full speed about 20 yards in front of me. Popped off a 7 1/2 steel shell a little ways in front of it, dropped it in its tracks.
I've heard a lot of people say they don't like cylinder bore for hunting, but, from my experiences of shooting probably 50 Cottontails with mine, it's pretty much perfect. Good shots are probably limited to about 25, maybe 30 yards I'd say, but Cottontails are usually well within that range when you jump them anyway. Sometimes you gotta let them run a little ways so they aren't "too close." I hate wasting good meat!
I've hunted Cottontails with .22LRs, .177 air rifles, and shotguns, and I'm honestly not sure what I prefer. They all have their place.
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I've heard a lot of people say they don't like cylinder bore for hunting, but, from my experiences of shooting probably 50 Cottontails with mine, it's pretty much perfect. Good shots are probably limited to about 25, maybe 30 yards I'd say, but Cottontails are usually well within that range when you jump them anyway. Sometimes you gotta let them run a little ways so they aren't "too close." I hate wasting good meat!
I've hunted Cottontails with .22LRs, .177 air rifles, and shotguns, and I'm honestly not sure what I prefer. They all have their place.
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