Shooting Rabbits

[Grunt]

I've got a bit of a rabbit problem on my property. I'm planting trees and the little frickers are eating them. They're also burrowing under my new water tank. :(

I had a bit of a Google to see what the licensing requirements are. Assuming that the police think I'm an acceptable person. (Bit concerned about that. :D)
I've got 11 acres. Are they likely to give me a hunting license with a property that size?

I'm thinking either an air rifle or maybe a .22.

I don't want to use poisons on the property.

Chris

[Barry_White]

Grunt

I live on 5 acres and I have a recreational licence which give me permission to shoot vermin etc.

Just go to the police station and get an application. I think you may have to do a course on the save handling of weapons.

My brother-in-law was just telling me about some pellets you can buy from a rural supply company that will get rid of rabbits.

The other thing you could wrap the trunks in newspaper.

[Grunt]

Thanks Barry, I've downloaded the application form and it just asked how big the property is.

I'm going to be planting 1000 trees or more in the next 12 months. Mostly be direct seeding so the rabbits will wait until they just right and then eat'em.

I don't want to use any poisons as they will be lots of other animals around that I don't want to kill. Plus, I really want to be organic.

Chris the Greenie.

[masoth]

Are you a primary producer? You can get a pest erradication licence and YES, you are required to pass a simple test. In theory you should show this when buying ammunition. I don't remember what the cost is. At least a .22, but better still .223, with a very good telescopic sight.

soth

[Santalum]

You could always buy a couple of ferrets:D organic, environmentally friendly and you could also partake in the local ferret in the trousers day:)( Jon.
Thanks Barry, I've downloaded the application form and it just asked how big the property is.

I'm going to be planting 1000 trees or more in the next 12 months. Mostly be direct seeding so the rabbits will wait until they just right and then eat'em.

I don't want to use any poisons as they will be lots of other animals around that I don't want to kill. Plus, I really want to be organic.

Chris the Greenie.

[Tex79]

Hi Chris,

As you are only on 11 acres I would go with a good air rifle or a shotgun, especially if there are other houses close to the boundry of your property. .22's are great all round rifles but the projectilescan travel a long distance if you happen to miss your shot and it ricochets. If your able to sneak up in them to with in 20 -30 metres an air rifle would be perfect. Just my two cents worth.

Cheers,

Evan

[Santalum]

Rabbits! .223! 11 acres! :)(
Are you a primary producer? You can get a pest erradication licence and YES, you are required to pass a simple test. In theory you should show this when buying ammunition. I don't remember what the cost is. At least a .22, but better still .223, with a very good telescopic sight.

soth

[journeyman Mick]

.................The other thing you could wrap the trunks in newspaper.

But won't they just keep eating once they've finished reading? :?
Or do they find, like me, that the offerings of the mass media are totally unpalatable?

Mick:U

[Cliff Rogers]

Good on ya for giving it a go, we don't use any chemicals on our 10 acres either. :2tsup:
We have problems with the bush turkeys digging our trees up.
I have made some tree guards that seem to work with the turkeys but I doubt they would work on a rabbit.

Here are a couple of other solutions; I don't know how good they are.


http://bunnyblasters.com.au/

http://www.fertool.com.au/


http://www.outdoordesign.com.au/images/com_logos/001137.gif


Fertool Distributors Pty Ltd
Tree Guards : Tree Protection
Supplier of plastic tree guards and rabbit proof guards

Email: [email protected] (http://javascript<b></b>:sendEmail('+&#37;3C%3E','Outdoor+Design+Source+Listing'))

Region: AUSTRALIA-WIDE
Address: 97 Abbott Road, Hallam 3803
Phone: 03 9796 4433
Fax: 03 9796 4311

[dazzler]

When I was a kid we used to shoot rabbits with an air rifle..

It was way funny watching one fall over and the others look at each other as if to say;

"Whats up with billy" :D

[Big Shed]

I am on 25 acres and have so far planted about 2500 trees from tube stock and have done about 5 km of direct seeding lines.

We also have lots of rabbits, so we used the wire and plastic sleeve type tree guards. They work great against rabbits and more importantly the hares (I find they are a bigger (excuse the pun) problem than the rabbits. We started out using milk cartons, totally useless, the hares just keep coming along and eat everything that dares poke its' head above the milk carton.

Before we started the direct seeding, we did a Pindone Oats poisoning program, not really an issue as the surrounding farms also do this. I have yet to find an animal or bird killed by the Pindone Oats, other than the rabbits.

Since we did the direct seeding, 2 years ago last September, we have not done any poisoning, and we are finding that we lose very little to rabbits or hares in the direct seeded area. Roos are a bigger problem, particularly this year because of the drought they come in to drink from our 2 dams.

If you are interested I can post a few photos of the direct seeding, both from last year and now.

I am active in our local Landcare Group and we have our own direct seeding machine, we did about 300kms of direct seeding this year.

Having done both, I would not plant those 2500 seedlings again, I would do it all with direct seeding. Better success rate and a s**t load less work:D

I would be reluctant to use a .22 on our property, even with 25 acres our neighbours are closer than I would like, friends are on 10 acres and I wouldn't use a rifle on their place. I have used a shotgun, also has the advantage that they are easier to hit!

[Big Shed]

But won't they just keep eating once they've finished reading? :?
Or do they find, like me, that the offerings of the mass media are totally unpalatable?

Mick:U

You're supposed to put the cartoons on the outside, they like the pictures and won't eat them:D

[Clinton1]

410 shotgun might be the go, and you can rest easier wrt any stray ricochete's (spelling?). Either that or a .22 short round.
I know you are not asking about rifles/calibres, but the calibre of the weapon will be taken into account along with the land size, at some point.

[rrich]

Chris,
You mention burrows. When I had a gopher problem I used a garden hose in the exhaust pipe of the car to solve the problem. Just stuff rags around the hose to insure that the exhaust gas goes through the hose. Put the other end of the hose into the burrow and close off the burrow to seal in the gas. Let the vehicle idle for 30-45 minutes and nothing will come out of the burrow. With my gophers, I wiped out the whole colony which included the gophers in my 5 immediate neighbor's yards.

[Santalum]

Sounds like an interesting idea, low cost low tech and worth a try:2tsup: Jon.
Chris,
You mention burrows. When I had a gopher problem I used a garden hose in the exhaust pipe of the car to solve the problem. Just stuff rags around the hose to insure that the exhaust gas goes through the hose. Put the other end of the hose into the burrow and close off the burrow to seal in the gas. Let the vehicle idle for 30-45 minutes and nothing will come out of the burrow. With my gophers, I wiped out the whole colony which included the gophers in my 5 immediate neighbor's yards.

[masoth]

"Rabbits! .223! 11 acres! :)("
I suggested .223 because over short distances the flater trajectory removes some of the inherent danger of using fire arms. I am talking head shots and NO ONE should go into 'bullet' pest control if they don't have an experienced person to learn from. The safety test is not "how to shoot' training, and Chris does not indicate any experience.

soth

[Grunt]

All my neighbours are on 100+ acre properties so the nearest house is 700 metres away but they still are plenty of livestock around which I'd rather not shoot. Also, there is a dirt road on one boundary so I'm thinking the .22 or .223 mightn't be such a good idea.

Shotgun might be the go.

I am interested in direct seeding. I planted 200+ seedlings on my last property and damn that was hard work.

Big Shed love to see the before and after photos. I've got to join Landcare. I've got a dirt road and a dirt track as two boundaries. On the verge of these I'm going to plant lots of natives, particularly Wattle and bottle brushes. These are for wind breaks as well as trying to improve the soil.

On the block itself I'm going to be planting a lot of Tree Lucerne as well as Wattle's and a few other fodder trees like Poplar. These will work as wind breaks, fodder for the horses and cows, firewood and fence posts. The Tree Lucerne and the Wattle are excellent nitrogen fixers.

I'm not a primary producer, at least not yet.

[Grunt]

I have done a bit of shooting over the years. I at least was a reasonable shot back then.

Rich, I think I'll try the car exhaust idea. Unfortunately, a lot of the rabbits that come on to my property live next door.

[glock40sw]

Stick an add in the local rag asking for someone to shoot rabbits.
When somebody rings, ask for licence number etc etc etc. See if the are a member of the S.S.A.A.

This saves you from the red tape of getting a licence.

My mate and I do just this up here. We started with one property and now shoot on 6 all due to word of mouth from one property owner to the next.

We use 12ga and .22 with 22/250 and 25/06 for long range stuff.

[Santalum]

Well worth a try Grunt, talk to the neighbors, maybe they will cooperate.
I have done a bit of shooting over the years. I at least was a reasonable shot back then.

Rich, I think I'll try the car exhaust idea. Unfortunately, a lot of the rabbits that come on to my property live next door.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Set out a few random hay bales and the like, and have an open weekend for your new archery range. :wink:

[ozwinner]

Grunt, whats wrong with those two strapping big bulldogs that you own?

Now theres an idea, start a rabbit coursing group, get all the local bogons to bring their dogs.

Al :2tsup:

[Daddles]

Grunt, whats wrong with those two strapping big bulldogs that you own?

Al, we weren't going to be rude about his boxers because the rest of us knew he'd already worked out how useless they are :D

223 on rabbits and head shots? Mate, you don't even have to HIT a rabbit to kill it with a 223.

Get in touch with the local rabbit shooter/trapper/whatever. There should be one around, even these days. Let him do the hard work, have the licenses, worry about shooting that annoying cow from next door, etc. You won't eradicate the things on your own so unless you want the fun of chasing them yourselves, let someone else do the mucking about.

Richard

[ozwinner]

Get some rabbit proof fence and run it around the block, at least the rabbits will be yours, then you can gas them.

Its way too much trouble to get the gun licence, this is what the gunverment wanted. :~

Al :U

[Terry B]

I live on 125 acres of mostly bushland surrounded by pasture and with the assistance of the pasture protection board laid 1080 carrot bait last spring. This killed 99% of the large number of bunnies. The only collateral damage was a big drop in the number of brush tail possums running over my roof. The roos and all native birds are resistant to the 1080. Some foxes died also from eating the bunnies. The only risk was I had to keep my cat inside for a few days afterwards.
Unfortunately the hares seem pretty immune to it and are still present.
Another option is calicivirus baits that has absolutely no collateral damage but it isn't quite as effective. Give your local pasture protection board an ring. They are very helpful.

[Barry_White]

The thing with rabbits is they become very gun shy and after a while you will find it difficult to get them all by shooting them and as you will not be able to sit up all night getting them because that is the time they like to feed and they will travel a fair way to get a feed and they will be coming from all your neighbors places and then go back home.

How do I know all this? Well I lived next to my brother in law for 28 years and when he had a rabbit problem we could go out spotlighting at night and get 400 rabbits and still be gutting them as the sun was coming up the next morning and then go out a week later and get another 400.

The other thing you might think about is fencing the property with rabbit proof netting and unless you do the problem will not go away because rabbits will do what rabbits do they breed like rabbits any thing up to 10 to a litter at least twice a year.

I know your going to say fence all that area. Well my brother in laws only solution was to net his boundry and it was 1400 acres once he did that he could keep the neighbours rabbits out and it then took him over 10 years (because it took him that long to get in front of their breeding cycles) to eradicate his own rabbits by trapping them, shooting them, blowing up the burrows and ripping the burrows with a D2 bulldozer.

And the problem is they are still on the property. Just leave one male and one female and you are doomed to failure but you have to keep them from coming in from outside first.

[Cliff Rogers]

... we could go out spotlighting at night and get 400 rabbits and ....then go out a week later and get another 400......
Geeze Baz... you & the BIL must have been going to eat 200 rabbits each a week. :p

[Barry_White]

Geeze Baz... you & the BIL must have been going to eat 200 rabbits each a week. :p

Nah that was in days when there was a rabbit freezer in every town and village, all we had to do is gut them and pair them up and you would get 80 cents a pair. The rabbit carcases went into the delicatessens and all the skins went to Akubra to make hats from the fur and when the freezers disappeared we just skinned them and got 10 cents a skin.

[johnc]

Grunt,

On 11 acres and with the nearest neighbour 70 metres away I'd probably stick to the 12 guage, a .22 will carry around 1.6k I'm told and a .223 can probably kill over that distance and go a good deal further. I used to go out every couple of weeks and get rabbits for dog feed (a long time ago), one shot one rabbit but if the little bugger was a bit far away you usually had to wring its neck. The 410 is great, very short range for the pellets and little chance of injuring anything but the bunnies. Safety is every thing, and accidently knocking off the neighbours stock does not go down well.

I stopped shooting because the rabbits gave the dog shocking wind which smelt worse than burnt rubber, and went back to bought tucker. These days I might of considered using him for paint stripping, correctly aimed I'm sure he could have delaminated ply:C .

John.

[felixe]

Al, we weren't going to be rude about his boxers because the rest of us knew he'd already worked out how useless they are :DRichard

Unfair Richard!:oo: :D :oo: :D :oo:

I've got two boxers on our property, we used to have a brushtail possum problem with the buggers getting on the deck and making a mess as well as trying to get into the roof. :((

Then one day one "fell":rolleyes: off the deck into the back yard - before it could get to the nearest tree/fence both boxers had it pinned, then they took turns running around with it in their mouth and throwing it around the backyard!:oo:

The poor bugger only escaped within an inch of its life when I managed to corner the boxer with the possum and whacked the dog with a broom.

The brushtail ran away and we have not seen or heard of another one for 5 months.:2tsup:

Oh yeah - and I say get a shotgun for the rabbits. Nowdays they have invented pellets that have "seasoning", nothing better than roast rabbit for winter!!:2tsup:

[Justin]

I have to agree with others re. using a shotty in regards to keeping the neighbours safe. I had a 410 when I was a kid, and a 12 guage after that - 410 is a good choice IMHO. I'm not a country boy but I honestly reckon you're not going to make much of a dent on the population just by shooting them yourself.

On of the more interesting ( ie sounds a bit urban myth) solutions I heard is to head to a warren with an oxy-acetylene rig, plug all the holes you can find except for one and then squirt a big dose of oxy-acetylene down the hole. Give yourself as much distance as possible and toss something fiery at the hole. KABOOM :o toasted rabbits and collapsed warren.

Cheers,


Justin.

[Grunt]

I can assure you my two boxers are useless. I quite like them tho.

The shotgun is having a bit of appeal. There are also foxes about and when I move on to the block later this year, we'll have chickens. Foxes and chickens don't mix. At least the chickens don't think so.

The nearest neighbour is 700 metres away not 70 metres.

[Cliff Rogers]

I am on 25 acres and have so far planted about 2500 trees from tube stock and have done about 5 km of direct seeding lines......
If you are interested I can post a few photos of the direct seeding, both from last year and now.

I am active in our local Landcare Group and we have our own direct seeding machine, we did about 300kms of direct seeding this year.

Having done both, I would not plant those 2500 seedlings again, I would do it all with direct seeding. Better success rate and a s**t load less work:D.....

I'm keen to know more about the direct seeding, can you maybe start a thread with some pics & the story in FORESTRY MANAGMENT (http://www.woodworkforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=110) ?

Ta. :2tsup:

We have planted about 300 seedlings & while I was planting the last lot I tried sticking in some seeds that were falling off the local trees... I got about 1 in 12 to strike.

I have had better luck digging up the ones that self seed & moving them, that way I only lost about 1 in 12.

[Big Shed]

Cliff

Will do, but won't be till either tomorrow or Monday as I am busy (with a Landcare project!) at present.

[Buzza]

I've been a contract shooter a couple of times, and we used two rifles each night, auto .22, firing shorts. A caravan sliding window fitted for a windscreen in a 4x4, and we'd putter around at night driving up to rabbit warrens, and at about fifteen to twenty feet (tune in that scope), blaze away out of the front window until the fifteen shot magazine was emptied into HEADS ONLY. After three or four warrens, change rifles, to make sure the used one cooled down to prevent jamming. Late afternoon was also a good time to "reccy" the warrens and take out a few more. We called these "sitters', as they were sort of on duty, and always sitting up ready to thump the ground to warn the others of any danger.

After thirty bunnies were shot, or two magazines emptied, we stopped for a gutting session and to "smoke if you have 'em". This was when foxes would sometimes come to within four or five feet to snatch the guts. The bunnies were then legged and the shooting contined. At the end of these shoots, the bunnies were then loaded ino chillers, and we did our best to de-flea our bodies in some areas. Four or five days of this life was plenty for most of us each week. My record was just over 280 pair shot for one night.

The virus is begining to fail, and this brings to mind the days when we made a soak area. This was left for a week or so, and then fenced with chook wire with one-way gates all around. Three thousand rabbits taken in one night by a team of men and youths. The team inside the fence actually sat on boxes grabbing the rabbits up and stretching their necks, passing them to the blokes outside who gutted and legged them.

Exhaust fumes work, but make it a two stroke motor with all entrances closed. It also leaves the burrows useless for habitation for a long while.

Unfortunately, there is currently, no real answer to your problem, as the rabbits are coming back. Hopefully, the wet weather on its way will see mozzies spreading the disease again.

Should we be discussing this before Easter? :no:

[Grunt]

Should we be discussing this before Easter? :no:

Kill the Wabbit, Kill the Wabbit.
http://www.odessapage.com/images/ElmerFud.jpg

[Gra]

:minigun::bunny3::bunny3:

[Shedhand]

Say your prayerz rabbit!

[Cliff Rogers]

The Rootinist, Tootinist, Shootinist...... I HATE THAT RABBIT! :D

[Iain]

I found 410's a bit gutless but a 12g with SG's is the answer, kills-skins-guts and cooks the bunny in one action:2tsup:

[bsrlee]

As a one-time keen shooter, I would tend to go for something like a 222 Remington, 223 Rem , 5.56x50 RWS or even bigger - 22/250? The main reason is there is virtually no chance of ricochet - as soon as the bullet hits something it breaks up - so does the bunny if its in the way. Not much good eating for people but the cats & dogs like them. And the noise may convince the neighbours to do their bit to reduce the numbers over the fence.

A .22 or .22 Magnum rimfire can ricochet a fair way with bad luck - even a shotgun may break a window or two.

And I've brought in rabbits by the hundred with .22's, 222's, 32/20( shot the ears off!) - only ever got 'close' with a shotgun.

[Howdya do that]

There is a product called RAB-BAIT. I know you dont want to use poisons. But if, like I'm thinking your a "blocky" and have heaps of neighbours thats not the best place to be firing a rifle.

You wouldn't want to shhot a hole in the water tank either:doh:

[jmk89]

Damn - and I thought this thread was going to be about planing long rabbets on a shooting board.:D

Grunt - my 2c - I was the treasurer of a golf club with a rabbit problem - they really stuff up tees, greens, fairways and bunkers, so there was a real maintenance cost. Some of the members had licences and thought that they would like to be rabbit shooters. They did it in turns every night for 6 months - they were getting 250-500 bunnies a night. But they gave up - they really weren't making a dent in the population. Then we got pro shooters in - same result, only it cost money. I stepped in as Treas and said - enuf, it's costing too much. I went to the AGU and they said use 1080. So we put in a big 1080 campaign over a year and problem solved for 3 years - then new bunnies came in and 1080 had to start again and now it is just an annual baiting. No wildlife or domestic animals killed. It may not be organic (but so what - being blown apart by a lead projectile ain't very organic either).

[Shedhand]

I remember when my late brother was a cop and they were allowed to buy a weapon of choice. He bought this beautiful nickel plated .357 Colt Magnum from the USA. The rabbits had nowhere to hide. If they hid behind a tree Leon just put a round in the tree and when it fell on the rabbit we had somethin' to eat....true....:D

[Grunt]

Damn - and I thought this thread was going to be about planing long rabbets on a shooting board.:D

I tried that but the fur kept getting stuck in the plane. Also, I could only find short rabbits.

[Matt88s]

.22's do seem to ricochet a lot. However they do have a lot going for them though, mainly that they are cheap as dirt to buy and shoot. The Marlin 60 is a fun little gun and very quite accurate as well. What you might do is get a light high speed hollow point that would breakup upon impact with anything.

Another caliber you might consider is the .17 Its rather new but I've heard a lot of good things about it as a varmint caliber.

.410 is a good choice.

A 12ga is a lot of gun for dispatching bunnies, hard on the ears and shoulder as well. A bit on the overkill side IMO.

There are a lot of airguns on the market that would more than dispatch a rabbit, but the trouble with them is they are usually single shot spring guns that need to be loaded and recocked every time which, if you have a lot of bunnies, might get tiring. But if you are just shooting one or two at a time this would work. There are quite a few on the market though that will push a .177 hollow point pellet at 1000fps+.


Here's my latest little toy I picked up over the weekend at the Wanenmacher's gun show. 30/30 so it would be a bit much for bunny hunting though.
42981

[rrich]

.
Here's my latest little toy I picked up over the weekend at the Wanenmacher's gun show. 30/30 so it would be a bit much for bunny hunting though.


I had one of them once, but mine had an octogon barrel.

[Brown Dog]

I've got 11 acres. Are they likely to give me a hunting license with a property that size?


Grunt...as far as I remember in NSW if you use pest control as a"genuine reason" to own a firearm you needed a property of more than 20 acres. I could be wrong.
Theoretically your laws should be the same in VIC...however from experience they usually are'nt. So much for Little Johns "uniform gun laws":roll:



.The Marlin 60 is a fun little gun and very quite accurate as well. What you might do is get a light high speed hollow point that would breakup upon impact with anything.



Unfortunately we Aussies are no longer allowed to own such dangerous guns as the leathal 22 semi auto:roll:


cheers
BD:2tsup:

[ozwinner]

An OCTOgon barrel. Is that so you can kill 8 people at once. :C:no:

Ok people, lets not go down this road again, please.

Keep it on topic.

Al :2tsup:

[DanP]

Grunt,

A .22 will cover the 700 metres in about a second or two. Get a Shotgun, use a reasonably small shot and always shoot on a downward trajectory and you wont bother the neighbours with anything but noise. Best practice is to not shoot in the direction of any house/person that you can see, regardless of distance. You don't want to be that bloke in the paper (or coroners inquest) saying 'I didn't think an SG would go that far'.

Dan

[Article99]

.30cal target rifle. :2tsup: (Single shot bolt-action, unfortunately.)

Only ever took a couple of pot shots at 300 yards with peep sights, but made one hell of a mess out of the bunnies. :cool: