# Hunting > Varminting and Small Game Hunting >  what shot size for bunnies

## scottrods

Hi, 

I'm was used to my old SbyS in UK, used size 6 because it was full and 3/4 choked.
What shot size in a 12G pump with Mod or Imp Cyl choke - for use on running bunnies?

Jonathan

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## R93

3,4,5 or 6's will do. If your eatin them I would use 3's

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## cambo

I use 3's Scottrods and the only choke I have for the Mavvy is what came with it which is a modified.

Works on the wallys as well  :Wink:

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## veitnamcam

My mossberg is I think mod or improved cyl whatever it is its very open.
When iI was a teenager I used a over under in 3/4 and full and bunnys out to 50y were dead,now Iv got this thing I cant kill shit even at 30y :Grin:  one bunny froze and I got 3 shots on it and watched it pattern around it in the grass 3 times then it hopped off!
Clearly Im doing something wrong.

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## Dundee

4s in lead but the bunnys and hares i'm busting now with the shotty are getting no 2s steel from gamebird season steel supply.

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## doinit

Back on the Bunny Board days it was mainly 3's  although 4's were also supplied.

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## scottrods

Still ok to buy lead then? Prefer it to steel.

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## veitnamcam

As long as not shooting over/near waterways is my understanding

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## Munsey

> As long as not shooting over/near waterways is my understanding


It's confusing I recon , you can shoot upland game with lead even by water , you can shoot geese with leed as well ,but not on some doc land . So I'd say rabbits you could use leed ,unless you where hunting on a doc small game permit and it was stated on there permit conditions. Confused ? .

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## veitnamcam

Hmmmmmmmmm Get a 20g and shoot lead anywhere you want?

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## Dundee

if you arn't shooting game birds you can spray rabbits with lead from your shotty no worries.

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## scottrods

that 20g rule is a complete crock.

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## veitnamcam

> that 20g rule is a complete crock.


Or is the 12g rule a complete crock?

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## Munsey

A point that probably was missed is steels got the habit of ricochet off ground or river stones something wicked. So as a rule I'd not recommend it . Leed can too , but not like steel . Found it out first hand last year bunny shooting on rocky hard hills , only had steel ,soundered  like a old western movie . Pretty much every shoot twangggggggggggggggggggggg.

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## crzyman

I used 3's normally but found the best was buckshot, 70 .22 size shot in a case smokes them.




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## Snala

We've used trap rounds for the last 4 years on the bunny hunt. Cheap as, $90 a slab, lower recoil for when you go through 250 in a day and smokes them the same as 4's do out to 30+ yards easy. Usually run mod chokes on semis. If you aren't doing it intensively then 4's will give you a bit more range but cost a bit more.
You can buy any brand too cause you won't have any cycling issues with a pump but with semis the American brands are usually more reliable dram weights for trap rounds i.e Federal, USArms etc.

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## Chris

36gram #3 steel out of a 3" shell is very effective for head shooting bunnies at 10' or so.

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## gadgetman

Trap loads with a tight choke work very well. Guy I hunt with uses an extra full/turkey choke and it's almost like a rifle shot. They just fall over quivering. Mind you he does know a bit about shooting.  :Grin: 

2.75" 4's with a mod choke smoke 'em out to 50m or more.

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## Rock river arms hunter

I've been pondering the same question, i used some #5 2 3/4 lead on possums the weekend before last and it sort of tore them in half on the IM choke at 15yards or so... used some of my duck ammo which is 3" #3 36gram Gamebore on a possum at 20yards away at the base of a tree and the steel worked better aside from the obvious size difference but for fur shooting it works a treat! anyone tried mini mag 42gram bb's on possums before? I'm keen to give it a go but I'm wondering if its almost too big for em?

Mr UK  Welcome lil ol New Zealand! you can be as un PC as you want!!!!

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## Beavis

2's. Falcon 40grm

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## 260rem

The best I found when night shooting on a mates farm was size 3 shot

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## MassiveAttack

Yer, lead restrictions only apply to gamebirds although I wouldn't personally shoot anything over water with lead just cos.

DOC permits all say no lead shot so you have to use steel regardless of gauge.  The 20g exemption only applies when you are shooting on private or F&G land.

Lead 4s for rabbits.

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## scottrods

Well I used falcon 36g 4's last night and they did the bis. Got 3 from 3 in one bit of scrub, total with the new shottie was 6 last night and we got 30 overall using 22 and shotguns.

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## RCGSP

> Hmmmmmmmmm Get a 20g and shoot lead anywhere you want?


That's what I did

I shoot hares with #6s in 20. Works well

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## Gunzrrr

As mentioned earlier, always use lead on bunnies due to ricochet risk. I use 3's (and I usually carry my 10/22 for the longer shots).

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## Happy

. 17 HMR is there anything else.  S orry guys just jokin.  Maybe !!

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## Matt2308

Go and pattern your gun with a few different cartridges and choose a load that gives you the best pattern. 
4's, 5's and 6's are probably the most common and best suited for rabbit sized game, but if your gun leaves big holes in the pattern with the cartridges your using, then its difficult to get reliable and clean kills. 
As long as the gun patterns the cartridges your using well, you shouldn't have a problem using anything from about 3's to about a 7's for rabbits out to about 40m.
If your eating them then the fewer pellets you have to pick out, the better! :-)

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## Maca49

3 - 4s

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