rabbit meat and shooting, torch mounts

A farmer has asked me to do some rabbit control. I migbt be going solo on this farm, need a way to mount a torch on my scope. My torch is a convoy s8 that I bought from Sarvo, it's got a 24.3mm body. My scope has a 1" tube. Any tips or recommendations here?

Question no.2. I want to take some back legs home to put into some pies for my lunches. Any tips on what to put meat into while I spend a few hours driving round on my quad? Just a plastic bag?

Any other tips welcome too of course. Including butchery etc. I'm a newbie with rabbits

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Gut the bunnies and throw them in a bin or bag on the quad, take the legs off later when in a little cleaner environment.

Shooting sticks might be helpful for you, too.

Leave their skins on? Wouldn't it be easier to rip off the skins there and then while they're warm and flexy and put whole gutted carcasses in a clean bin or bag? I know it would be more time consuming however...

Take the back legs off while they are warm, slit the skin and pull off with your hands to expose the meat and the slit the back and take out the two back straps( nice wrapped in bacon on the BBQ)

Whatever you do with the carcases, don't stack them warm on top of each other. They end up self cooking.

Personally id throw them in the bushes and go shoot a red one weekend for lunches instead. If you do feel the need to eat them squeeze and push the guts out over your knee and tie them onto the bike while you drive around

rabbits are easy peasy to prepare - warm take a pair of secateurs sharp ones cut the legs off at their hock - or a chopping block and cut legs off and head off - lay rabbit on its stomach- make a cut across its back - thats the skin not meat -- ease your hands under the skin and grab both ends - left hand top half of skin right hand bottom half and pull hard - left hand pull towards the head and right hand pull towards its butt - pull hard - in one motion your rabbit is skinned - a little knife work to release the arse and wind pipe - make a cut across bottom of gut- hold rabbit by its hind quarters in right hand and fore quarters left hand and shake down hard by letting go of forequarters but still holding back legs - sort of giving it a good flick to release its guts - gutted - done right and with a little practice - one rabbit one minute - cut into pieces - soak in salted water overnight in fridge - BBQ or casserole damn good eating

Back legs and backsteaks

Cook the same way as chicken

Attachment 266630

Just look at the yellow sight for torch mounts, there is all sorts. If the mount rings are too wide for your torch, wrap tape around it until the torch is wide enough.
You will want decent a head lamp as well though. I usually just shoot with a headlamp, sometimes two headlamps (one in normal position for walking around and one in the right place for shooting)

My 2c on harvesting the meat, I would just clip a plastic tub / fish bin to the front racks of the quad, any head shot rabbits, go in there, up to a maximum of three. Prep them when you get home, the difference between skinning/gutting a warm rabbit and one that has been dead a few hours is nothing.

I use one of these, attached to scope, then use 25mm ring for torch with enough hight so as torch isn't hitting scope.
Attachment 266634

I saw this listing you may be interested in: High Quality Alloy scope mount for torch/spotlight https://www.trademe.co.nz/5107883236

I use these

Assumption - night time shooting

Assumption - .22

If so, walk your shooting alleyways in daylight and take note of where your backstops, etc are

At night I found some bunnies will wait until you are nearly standing on them and then explode into movement

I used a small headtorch for navigation from shooting area to shooting area then lit up the main spotlight mounted to the firearm
At night I found I could get really close to them on a bike, closer than on foot

Assuming they aren't gut shot, "squeeze" gut them as you go. Grab the body behind the front legs and work your hand back squeezing as you go. When about halfway down the belly place it across your knee and push down hard with your other hand, everything exits out the arse. Leaves a clean carcass that's easier to handle later.

This is really impressive

I use the excellent convoy C8 lights from @Night_Into_Day and these magnetic torch mounts via delta mike https://www.deltamike.co.nz/product/...torch-mount-1/ The same lights move from 22 to shotgun to centrefire during an average shoot. Personally I hate scope mounted lights, they put the balance out, these magnetic ones mount under the barrel and keep the balance correct, and are easily moved from one rifle to another when shooting or recharging.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brad S

A farmer has asked me to do some rabbit control. I migbt be going solo on this farm, need a way to mount a torch on my scope. My torch is a convoy s8 that I bought from Sarvo, it's got a 24.3mm body. My scope has a 1" tube. Any tips or recommendations here?

Question no.2. I want to take some back legs home to put into some pies for my lunches. Any tips on what to put meat into while I spend a few hours driving round on my quad? Just a plastic bag?

Any other tips welcome too of course. Including butchery etc. I'm a newbie with rabbits

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Guncity Christchurch sell a universal torch mount on trade me Night Saber that works well for mounting a torch on your scope

I didn't like having the torch mounted on the scope, it may of been the way I had it but I got glare off the barrel in my field of vision. For the limited number of times I used it I mounted it under the suppressor.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

rabbits are easy peasy to prepare - warm take a pair of secateurs sharp ones cut the legs off at their hock - or a chopping block and cut legs off and head off - lay rabbit on its stomach- make a cut across its back - thats the skin not meat -- ease your hands under the skin and grab both ends - left hand top half of skin right hand bottom half and pull hard - left hand pull towards the head and right hand pull towards its butt - pull hard - in one motion your rabbit is skinned - a little knife work to release the arse and wind pipe - make a cut across bottom of gut- hold rabbit by its hind quarters in right hand and fore quarters left hand and shake down hard by letting go of forequarters but still holding back legs - sort of giving it a good flick to release its guts - gutted - done right and with a little practice - one rabbit one minute - cut into pieces - soak in salted water overnight in fridge - BBQ or casserole damn good eating

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Thanks Barry for the description.

So is the process you’ll head shot them, take them back home with skin etc on and then do all the steps you described, or do you do the skinning and gutting in the field and put them in a bag to take home?

I’m just trying to work out the logistics of hunting multiple rabbits, when to stop to skin/gut, how many to shoot before doing that etc.

Shoot.hold bum up,cut across belly close to bum end. Reverse bunny so your now holding by its head.give it a big flick...most of the guts will exit stage left. Remove what's left. Now if things are dirty or dusty leave it like this till get home...if you have ability to keep it clean....place cut across back of bunny and grab skin on both sides of cut and pull outwards both ways at once.skin should peel off easily,cut cut around legs as Barry has said. Head will twist off easily enough.hare is better table fare but bunny is pretty good,bland enough and not too tough.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jesse1122

So is the process you’ll head shot them, take them back home with skin etc on and then do all the steps you described, or do you do the skinning and gutting in the field and put them in a bag to take home?

I’m just trying to work out the logistics of hunting multiple rabbits, when to stop to skin/gut, how many to shoot before doing that etc.

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It depends on how many I shoot. If you are going to finish processing at home, get the guts out ASAP, otherwise the smell will put you off eating them, even more so with hares.