Thread: what shot size for bunnies

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.

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

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.

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

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!!!!

2's. Falcon 40grm

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

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.

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.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

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

That's what I did

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

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).

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

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! :-)

3 - 4s