The New Processing Season has started

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14-10-2018, 08:12 PM
7mm Rem Mag

7 Attachment(s)

The New Processing Season has started

Last night was the start of the new processing season of rabbits for the Pud and although the afternoon began moderately the night produced some great volumes of rabbits with some great yields.

I drove out to one of my favourite spots, parked up the truck and started my walk, it wasn't long before a few bunnies started popping up so I laid them out with some precision shooting with the Ruger 10/22. The rabbits were a bit flighty so quite hard to get in close, with only fair numbers night time came and it was time to switch on the LED Lensor spotlight which I had attached to the top of the riffle.

I headed to a spot I have had huge success in the past, however numbers were well down but with my shooting on form the quantity of meat in the pack was slowly but surely mounting, all of a sudden the weather turned and I was hit with a cold southerly change and some sleety showers.

I decided to press on and made my way up a steep hill plugging 2 or 3 more on the way to the summit, once at the top I saw a lane-way so I headed for that as I thought it would be the easiest way back to the truck. Once I got there I shone the spotlight up ahead and saw half a dozen sitting there looking at me so I popped my pillow filled with beans on top of the fence post and cut lose knocking 3 over before the others ran for cover.

I made my way along this track striking pockets of resistance both on the track and in the paddock to my right however after some rapid fire from the semi auto the perpetrators soon got the message and they had to surrender (unfortunately for them no prisoners were taken). Once at the end of the lane-way I lifted the spotlight up over the gate and into the next paddock and if I hadn't seen it I wouldn't have believed it, there staring back at me was a paddock full of eyes.

I put my pillow on top of the fence for a good rest and opened fire knock rabbits over left, right and centre before hearing the click click sound. I took one mag out and replaced it with the other, I started walking through the paddock firing and then stopping to reload both mags then off again. With the carnage mounting the spotlight started flashing indicating the battery was low, I decided to finish off the rounds in my pocket then went to gather up the corpses as I knew I was going to be there a while boning out the legs and back straps.

As I walked around gathering up the rabbits there were so many crouching just meters from me and others that ran away, I could have walked around that paddock shooting for ages but the spotlight was flashing on empty. With the pack now full and spotlight low I headed back for the truck, on the way there were countless rabbits sitting on the track and in the paddocks all around me. I just walked past them all and got back to the truck just after midnight, I was satisfied with my effort and headed home happy.

Attachment 96939
A full chilly bin

Attachment 96940
Full chilly bin from another angle

Attachment 96941
The Pud checking out his food

Attachment 96942
The Pud having a wee taste (YUMMY)

Attachment 96943
The Pud looking a bit feral

Attachment 96944
The rabbits were huge, look at the size of those legs

Attachment 96945
Old seasons rabbits compared to the new spring rabbits, I still shot the wee ones but only processed the big ones

All rabbits were 100% further processed for the Pud and are now in his very own freezer. Job well done :beer:
14-10-2018, 08:21 PM
Rushy

Good work.
14-10-2018, 08:27 PM
7mm Rem Mag

Cheers Rushy, it was the first time out since putting the Buris scope on my .22 that came as a package on my Tikka 7mm Rem mag. It was so clear looking through that compared to the crappy scope it came with.
14-10-2018, 09:20 PM
veitnamcam

Shoot the cat and eat the rabbits yourself!:thumbsup:
Nice work....too nice for a cat.
14-10-2018, 09:32 PM
tiroatedson

Top shooting. Good spot too..[emoji41][emoji106]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
15-10-2018, 09:03 AM
Moa Hunter

Salt, Pepper, ground Cumin and a little flour shake rabbit pieces in mix and bake in an oven bag 140 -150c 2 to 3 hours depending on oven and size / tenderness of legs. Cat will never see a clean shot rabbit again !!
15-10-2018, 09:14 AM
Marty Henry

From the sound of it there are enough rabbits for a myriad of uses. Just remember "if you eat nothing but rabbit you will die"
15-10-2018, 09:22 AM
7mm Rem Mag

Quote:

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Shoot the cat and eat the rabbits yourself!:thumbsup:
Nice work....too nice for a cat.

Ha ha no Pud is safe, he is good at de-stressing me so he deserves to have a good feed however he would probably win the Morgan score :innocent:
15-10-2018, 09:25 AM
7mm Rem Mag

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiroatedson

Top shooting. Good spot too..[emoji41][emoji106]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks, yeah I'm lucky to have this spot. It was only 5 years ago I was only getting enough to feed the cat for a week or 2 in a night but now it's like 4-5 months worth, the numbers have really taken off.
15-10-2018, 01:00 PM
oneshot

That's a lot of meat from bunnies good haul, ever tried doing some bunny sausage ?
15-10-2018, 01:10 PM
Marty Henry

One well loved cat
15-10-2018, 02:37 PM
Moa Hunter

Quote:

Originally Posted by oneshot

That's a lot of meat from bunnies good haul, ever tried doing some bunny sausage ?

Do you mean for Easter instead of chocky eggs ???
15-10-2018, 07:15 PM
6x47

The rabbit numbers are the biggest I've seen in a decade. Our Maine Coon is over the moon.. The bugger brought in three in four days, leaving some fur, gutz and paws behind on the lounge carpet. There's also over 2 cubic feet of prime bits in the small freezer, and I can top that up any time. The latest RCD version has done zilch it seems.
15-10-2018, 10:52 PM
7mm Rem Mag

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

Salt, Pepper, ground Cumin and a little flour shake rabbit pieces in mix and bake in an oven bag 140 -150c 2 to 3 hours depending on oven and size / tenderness of legs. Cat will never see a clean shot rabbit again !!

I should give it a go, the gamy smell puts me off a bit. Thanks for the recipe
15-10-2018, 10:54 PM
7mm Rem Mag

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

From the sound of it there are enough rabbits for a myriad of uses. Just remember "if you eat nothing but rabbit you will die"

Yep plenty alright, do you know someone who ate nothing but rabbit?
15-10-2018, 10:56 PM
7mm Rem Mag

Quote:

Originally Posted by oneshot

That's a lot of meat from bunnies good haul, ever tried doing some bunny sausage ?

No I haven't but from what everyone is saying I should be trying a bit of rabbit in many different ways. trouble is if I get to like it the Pud will go hungry
15-10-2018, 11:01 PM
7mm Rem Mag

Quote:

Originally Posted by berg243

waste of good meat on a moggie.man that sounds a like you have a big rabbit population. plenty of casseroles in that chillybin good work.

I used to go to Central Otago to shoot big numbers but I have no need to go there now and I have to say in my 50 year existence I have never seen so many rabbits on the east coast
15-10-2018, 11:03 PM
7mm Rem Mag

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6x47

The rabbit numbers are the biggest I've seen in a decade. Our Maine Coon is over the moon.. The bugger brought in three in four days, leaving some fur, gutz and paws behind on the lounge carpet. There's also over 2 cubic feet of prime bits in the small freezer, and I can top that up any time. The latest RCD version has done zilch it seems.

Funny thing is I was just thinking if that's the best the virus can do then the rabbits have no worries, bad for the farmer but good for us hunters :thumbs:
16-10-2018, 07:01 AM
Marty Henry

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7mm Rem Mag

Yep plenty alright, do you know someone who ate nothing but rabbit?

That fountain od odd facts QI featured it one night. Trappers in canada for the hudson bay co were becoming ill despite having plenty to eat.
Seems rabbit lacks some vitamins we need so when your diet is just rabbit and nothing else your body uses up its vitamin stores and you get sicker and sicker. Adding veggies or red meat fixes the deficency. Its just something that has stuck in my mine ever since I saw it.
Dont think the Pud is in danger though.
16-10-2018, 07:08 AM
Marty Henry

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6x47

The rabbit numbers are the biggest I've seen in a decade. Our Maine Coon is over the moon.. The bugger brought in three in four days, leaving some fur, gutz and paws behind on the lounge carpet. There's also over 2 cubic feet of prime bits in the small freezer, and I can top that up any time. The latest RCD version has done zilch it seems.

Its always amazed me how a cat seems able to sck the back legs of a rabbit out of the skin. Our last little feral used to regularly leave a gut bag, front paws and "rabbit pants" both back paws and tail all joined by skin.
16-10-2018, 07:11 AM
Marty Henry

If the gamy smell puts you off, salt it for half an hour then soak it in milk for the same time.
16-10-2018, 07:42 AM
Maca49

Back straps, wrapped in bacon on the BBQ:P
16-10-2018, 08:53 AM
7mm Rem Mag

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

That fountain od odd facts QI featured it one night. Trappers in canada for the hudson bay co were becoming ill despite having plenty to eat.
Seems rabbit lacks some vitamins we need so when your diet is just rabbit and nothing else your body uses up its vitamin stores and you get sicker and sicker. Adding veggies or red meat fixes the deficency. Its just something that has stuck in my mine ever since I saw it.
Dont think the Pud is in danger though.

Yes you are right, the vet told us something similar so we supplement the rabbit with a good quality dry food so all his vitamins and minerals are met.
16-10-2018, 08:55 AM
7mm Rem Mag

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

Its always amazed me how a cat seems able to sck the back legs of a rabbit out of the skin. Our last little feral used to regularly leave a gut bag, front paws and "rabbit pants" both back paws and tail all joined by skin.

The feral cats are awesome at doing just as you say, I have seen many rabbit carcasses stripped in this fashion.
16-10-2018, 08:58 AM
7mm Rem Mag

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

If the gamy smell puts you off, salt it for half an hour then soak it in milk for the same time.

OK I'm going to have to give this a try since everyone is encouraging me to eat it :drool:
16-10-2018, 10:56 AM
Sideshow

Can you do a live measure see how the pud comes up on the Morgan:thumbsup:

Pm me your address so I can send ya some band aids for after:XD:
16-10-2018, 11:02 AM
gadgetman

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7mm Rem Mag

Thanks, yeah I'm lucky to have this spot. It was only 5 years ago I was only getting enough to feed the cat for a week or 2 in a night but now it's like 4-5 months worth, the numbers have really taken off.

One of our sites has gone the other way. A few years ago we could bowl 1000+ in a night, now a good night is 20 and we have to cover far more ground to get them.

Try smoking a rabbit too, really good.
16-10-2018, 05:41 PM
csmiffy

Quote:

Originally Posted by gadgetman

Try smoking a rabbit too, really good.

Be a bugger lighting it. The drawback would be pretty hard too yeah?
17-10-2018, 08:14 AM
The bomb

I need to move south i think,seeing bugger all around the Waikato these days,more hares around.
17-10-2018, 08:28 AM
7mm Rem Mag

Quote:

Originally Posted by The bomb

I need to move south i think,seeing bugger all around the Waikato these days,more hares around.

I have noticed you guys don't seem to have the same number up North, you should definitely try a trip down south sometime just for a good experience :thumbs:
17-10-2018, 10:37 AM
Moa Hunter

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

If the gamy smell puts you off, salt it for half an hour then soak it in milk for the same time.

I am both naturally lazy and tight, so I just throw the rabbit legs and saddles into a food grade bucket of light salt brine overnight. This bleaches out any blood marks and removes that urine smell that older rabbits can have.