M14 Forum

Sweets

Similar problems here with hares and also cottontails- but that's why we cook them. In the context of this forum, I'm looking at them as survival food, not that I don't enjoy some good rabbit now and then. And in good years at least, around Thanksgiving we try to put together one meal that revolves around local game.

TheTurtle

Same, the Jacks around here are full of disease, parasites, and tumors. Plus they are pretty much the carp of land mammals. They overpopulate real quick around here, so when hunting jacks I like to have a little fun and take the M1A out to go git em. Cant harvest the meat so might as well have fun with it.

Cottontails are a different story though.

Sweets

OK, I can handle a little mild disease but tumours are not on my diet list right now. Do your local critters have that weirdly spelled thing called myxomyosis or something similar?

mercman

Yeah, just kidding about the hasenpfeffer made from jacks. I'm originally from Illinois where we hunted hares and squirrels. The problem in the PNW on the wetside is that the weather doesn't get cold enough to kill the parasites in the food supply of the local bunnies. The squirrels are also much smaller than the same critters in the midwest.

My favorite hunting long gun back there was the .22LR.

When I first relocated out here in the 70's I took several rabbits had diseased livers and were rife with parasites. That coupled with the fact that they aren't leag game animals finished my foray inot harvesting them.................

When I was stationed at the Marine base in Yuma, AZ I shot more than my fair share of jack rabbits. Fun!