Brought a rifle to a shotgun fight

WaterDawg

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Nov 20, 2016
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Had a fairly small window so I went to the closest rabbit spot I know of in the local CNF after work yesterday. I really prefer shooting them with my .22 and I had sighted in my scope with copper ammo. However, I only saw three bunnies in total, and the grass and brush was so thick and tall I had no chance. I might have gotten a couple with a shotgun. Really surprised there weren’t more cottontails? All I had to show for the trip was a bunch of sticky sap like substance and little black seeds all over my legs after walking through brush?

There was one highlight. I was sitting with my back to a big rock and after ten minutes of being still a doe came through from behind me, within 20 feet. It never saw me, but after it turned and became downwind it’s ears shot up and it bounded off. Also saw some quail coveys and one with a bunch of chicks.
 
Kevin,

I'm hoping that it's the high grasses as well....Least amount of rabbits I've SEEN on a an opener.
 
Kevin,

I'm hoping that it's the high grasses as well....Least amount of rabbits I've SEEN on a an opener.
Yeah I was surprised by the lack of visible rabbits. If I try that area again I’ll probably bring a partner and use shotguns. Try busting them out. Otherwise it’s a three hour drive for me to the open sniping grounds of the IV.
 
I've had that same thing happen. Was sitting with the ghillie mesh suit... overlooking the areas the rabbits normally present themselves at Sunset. I slowly turn my head to look over my shooting shoulder and... Oh... Hello There! Doe maybe 25-30yds entering the area. Watched her feed for several minutes... till she got behind me and the smell of the dead Rabbit on my feet spooked her back into the thick.

Yeah man... these little cockleburrs are pokey and sorta stubborn to brush off. Ton of em all over my boots and lower pant legs.

Was gonna hose the boots and clothes off tonite to get that junk off them. Had them sitting out on the patio til I get to it.

Yeah I was surprised by the lack of visible rabbits. If I try that area again I’ll probably bring a partner and use shotguns. Try busting them out. Otherwise it’s a three hour drive for me to the open sniping grounds of the IV.

RE: "open sniping ground of the IV" - That sounds fantastic! Please PM me regarding that!
 
I've had that same thing happen. Was sitting with the ghillie mesh suit... overlooking the areas the rabbits normally present themselves at Sunset. I slowly turn my head to look over my shooting shoulder and... Oh... Hello There! Doe maybe 25-30yds entering the area. Watched her feed for several minutes... till she got behind me and the smell of the dead Rabbit on my feet spooked her back into the thick.

Yeah man... these little cockleburrs are pokey and sorta stubborn to brush off. Ton of em all over my boots and lower pant legs.

Was gonna hose the boots and clothes off tonite to get that junk off them. Had them sitting out on the patio til I get to it.



RE: "open sniping ground of the IV" - That sounds fantastic! Please PM me regarding that!
G, I’m just referring to the flat farmland of the Imperial Valley. Alfalfa fields attract rabbits and you can snipe them at dusk and dawn.
 
G, I’m just referring to the flat farmland of the Imperial Valley. Alfalfa fields attract rabbits and you can snipe them at dusk and dawn.

Ok... pulling up a map here... let's see... so does that mean like picking some spot... for example... in this North Algodones Dunes Wilderness? Or.... North of that Centinela State Prison?
 
Ok... pulling up a map here... let's see... so does that mean like picking some spot... for example... in this North Algodones Dunes Wilderness? Or.... North of that Centinela State Prison?
My bad for assuming everyone is familiar with the IV and it’s hunting opportunities.

25D64704-709F-4C7B-87A7-45BA00926F2D.png

Irrigated, miniature version of the San Juoquin Valley. Stay out of city limits and out of posted areas, and don’t trample row crops. Otherwise you can pretty much hunt anywhere, following the usual rules about shooting over roads, within 150 yds of occupied buildings, etc. find an alfalfa field next to desert brush and start looking for rabbit sign. When you find piles of pellets, and tunnels into the brush, it’s probably a good spot to stake out at dawn or dusk.
 
My bad for assuming everyone is familiar with the IV and it’s hunting opportunities.

View attachment 39998

Irrigated, miniature version of the San Juoquin Valley. Stay out of city limits and out of posted areas, and don’t trample row crops. Otherwise you can pretty much hunt anywhere, following the usual rules about shooting over roads, within 150 yds of occupied buildings, etc. find an alfalfa field next to desert brush and start looking for rabbit sign. When you find piles of pellets, and tunnels into the brush, it’s probably a good spot to stake out at dawn or dusk.

Thank you!!!
 
Wait... Ok... so are you saying that within all that patch-work of green squares you can hunt within there? As long as not shooting over a road and greater than 150yds from a structure?
 
Right...ok... what I got from the other post was that you go within that patchwork... and find a non-cultivated chunk of land that's not marked as private party no trespass and doesn't have a structure within 150yds... that borders other cultivated chunks which grow plant/food-types they like... and then you sit on those non-cultivated chunks and wait at sunrise or sunset for bunnies to attempt to criss-cross... does that sound about right? (I'm sure I'm over-simplifying it.)
 
Imperial Valley :) , what's not to like.
It use to be, unwritten rule between hunters and farmers.
Not posted, and it's not a row crop.
Ok to hunt on. But times are changing. A few dick heads has pissed off the farmers and ruined it for all of us.
Farmers are posting no trespassing on their land.
 
Right...ok... what I got from the other post was that you go within that patchwork... and find a non-cultivated chunk of land that's not marked as private party no trespass and doesn't have a structure within 150yds... that borders other cultivated chunks which grow plant/food-types they like... and then you sit on those non-cultivated chunks and wait at sunrise or sunset for bunnies to attempt to criss-cross... does that sound about right? (I'm sure I'm over-simplifying it.)
More or less.. the best bunny shoots I've had down there have been where a brushy ditch or canal is adjacent to alfalfa and/or wildland. Also check the river bottoms. Hot tip.. looking for bunnies in these areas can also lead you into some good quail habitat..
 
OH I know!!! Right? In my D15 Flatlands spot... while waiting for the Sunset bunnies, I'll often see Quail crossing gaps on foot. Last time out there one was just standing still in a gap... for a long ol' time. Not being season, I had to hold still for fear that her actions might spook any nerby Rabbits.

But seriously man... that Fiesta Island? Wow... a Rabbit Hunters Paradise! And they were all BIG too!
 
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