I’ll talk a little bit about my techniques for hunting cottontail and jackrabbits in the West Texas scrub. A simple quarry can make for a fun and challenging hunt, depending on your approach!
I have been asked if hunting jackrabbits is the same as hunting cottontails, and my response is that while there are some similarities, there are just as many, differences. Out in the scrub and desert areas where I do much of my rabbit and hare hunting, these two species overlap in terrain but react quite differently to a threat.
When approaching a cottontail, they will often hold until almost underfoot, then jet away to the next clump of brush and hide. If approached again, they will repeat this, running from one clump of brush and thickets to the next, always staying just ahead of the hunter. They tend to move in a large loop, not veering too far from their territory.
When after cottontails, I’ll slowly stalk an area, looking 15-30 feet ahead for a rabbit grazing or moving about through the brush. I’ll then move at a very slow pace towards my quarry, and if a shot is offered, take it. But often this will push the rabbit and it will run 10-20 yards before diving into the undergrowth. Then it’s a matter of sorting out where the rabbit is holding up, finding a shooting lane, and dropping a pellet on its head. These shots are mostly taken offhand, because it is often impossible to get a line if you sit or kneel, and the shots are usually inside of 40 yards.
Jackrabbits on the other hand, will usually hold until pushed, then take off on a dead run away from the threat, though they will often stop for a quick look back. Then they bolt, continuing to put as much distance between themselves and the hunter as possible. These rabbits can cover a couple hundred yards in no time, leaving you to stand and watch them disappear into the distance without another look back.
When I grew up hunting jackrabbits with a .22 long rifle, we would kick them up and take a shot as they ran away, frequently in a straight line. But when I started hunting with airguns, my tactics changed, and I made the effort to glass an area, find a bedded or feeding jackrabbit, and set up a stalk. I like to find a rise or sit on the edge of an arroyo, and glass the bases of mesquites or cactus looking for a bedded jack. In the early mornings and around dusk they are still active, and you might spot them running about, but in the balance of the day it’s all about finding them lying in their scrapes.
Another tact that we’ll sometimes use on our hunts in Texas, is to cruise the ranch roads that cross these huge properties in one of the ranch trucks with elevated seats/shooting platforms glassing for jacks, then set up our stalks from there. These desert hares have population fluctuations and sometimes are so thick you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting one while at other times you need to cover a lot of ground, and driving on the roads lets you do that.
Another factor to consider is the time of year. The arid scrubland can become thick with vegetation when the rains come in spring (if they come), and jackrabbits will hold tight until you are right on top of them. It can be very difficult to spot them when glassing because you can barely see a dozen yards in front of you, unless you have elevation, and even then, it can be challenging.
Once located, I’ll look for a landmark such as a tree with unique profile or a rock formation to use as a reference, because as I stalk in, I might only be able to see above the brush line. At this point one of three things generally occurs: I find an elevated spot or a clearing that permits me to line up a long-range shot. This is a high percentage shot that is usually made with me in a sitting position and the rifle up on sticks. The next is when I can get in closer and either peek over, around, or through the scrub brush and find the hare still bedded in its scrape, or sometimes on semi alert and standing with its ears rotating around scanning for sound. These shots are often made kneeling or standing, though sometimes I’ll sit or go prone to shoot under the low tree branches. If I can get into position this is also a high percentage shot, though I do tend to spook a lot of jacks as I’m setting up. If they start to move, I am not in a good position to shoot even if they stop to look back at me, before taking that long sprint to the far and away!
The last scenario is the lowest percentage and has the highest rate of failure in even getting a chance at a shot, and that is when I walk in and spook the hare. The root cause of this is that I lose visual contact with the landmark and orientation with the jackrabbit’s position, and all I see is the backend and a blacktail as he heads for safer ground.
One of the reasons jackrabbits are a favorite quarry is that these hunts are more like stalking a deer than most small game hunts. Glassing the animal at a distance, setting up a stalk, moving into position, taking the shot are techniques I employ during the deer season. But in addition, jackrabbits can act downright deer-like, and when the sense danger rather than bolting away, they will sometimes sneak around behind you like a wary old buck that has survived a few seasons and knows the ropes.
The guns I like for this type of hunting are PCPs in the larger calibers, .25 and .30 (no surprise there) and generating 40-90 fpe. Every trip down to jackrabbit country, regardless of my primary quarry, I’ll pack my Brocock Commander .25, Kalibregun Cricket II Tactical (both in .30), or Brocock Compatto .22 to do a side hunt for jackrabbits. What these rifles all have in common is excellent accuracy, power, fast cycling actions, reliability, and I can shoot them well from most positions. I will say though that if the intention is to focus on long-range shooting I’ll gravitate towards the BRK Ghost or Commander, if the action is close and fast, I like one of the compact bullpups or sub-carbines.
I like a compact scope with 3-12 x magnification, and lately I’ve been using a lot of first focal plane models from MTC. The Hawke Airmax is another scope that has been doing well for me.
The two primary pellets used are either JSB Exacts or JSB Hades, and I find that the Exacts are a bit more accurate at long range, whilst the Hades are quite acceptable and have a devastating terminal performance. Of late, I’ve been doing more with airgun slugs, using either the NSA or FX Hybrid slugs in both .25 and .30. My collection of mid bore rifles is pickier about which slugs they prefer, but when they find the slug they like, the long-range accuracy and knockdown power can be impressive!
The two other pieces of kit I find very useful on these desert hare hunts are a good 10x binocular and a range finder, I use Leupold for both. I do have to say that my preferred glass is the Hawke Frontier, but I recently lost another set (the third I’ve dropped along the way) and haven’t gotten a replacement yet.
I guess the reason I like hunting jackrabbits so much is that it mixes attributes of big game hunting with small game. Glassing an area, finding the quarry bedded down, setting up an approach, and closing in for the shot is a close approximation to deer hunting. While the fact it is not one shot and done is more like small game hunting where you can keep on hunting for as long as you’d like. And I really love the ecosystems where these hunts take place, from the Texas scrub to the Western Sonoran and Mojave deserts, give me an air rifle and I’m ready to go!
