Small game hunting az

[Buffinnut]

I am in AZ and made it a goal to do some small game hunting this fall/winter. Any of you AZ guys doing this? Squirrel, cottontail, jackrabbit, e.t.c

 

[canyonhunter47]

Quail will be more fun

 

[Buffinnut]

Quail will be more fun

Yes but rabbits I can use my bow

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Spot & stalk waterfowl on the water tanks and troughs on cattle ranches is a lot of fun. Get some flu flus and give it a try. Spooked four huge Canadian honkers out of a 8' long trough once...never expected that.

 

[Buffinnut]

Spot & stalk waterfowl on the water tanks and troughs on cattle ranches is a lot of fun. Get some flu flus and give it a try. Spooked four huge Canadian honkers out of a 8' long trough once...never expected that.

Sounds like a fun day!

 

[greaseywater]

Yes but rabbits I can use my bow

It's legal to shoot quail with a bow. And impressive if you flush and shoot on the wing. However, I would ground pound if using a bow.

I took a shot at a rabbit in August during archery deer. Had a blunt point for that purpose. I missed though.

 

[Buffinnut]

It's legal to shoot quail with a bow. And impressive if you flush and shoot on the wing. However, I would ground pound if using a bow.

I took a shot at a rabbit in August during archery deer. Had a blunt point for that purpose. I missed though.

I shot a bunch of rabbits with my bow when I was a kid in Nevada but it's been a lot of years. Always used judos

 

[wade1234]

I am in AZ and made it a goal to do some small game hunting this fall/winter. Any of you AZ guys doing this? Squirrel, cottontail, jackrabbit, e.t.c

i was just hunting up in flagstaff, lots of rabbit and small game in coconino

 

[djc5080]

Jackrabbits and cottontails got hit with rabbit hemorrhagic virus (RHV2) this year-substantially decreasing their numbers. That said-I have seen more cottontails this year so they must be reproducing quickly! Just returned from an area where I would usually see lots of jacks (+10 in the morning) and only saw about 2-3. Jack rabbit hunting with a bow is addictive! Go at first light. You can often get within 20-30 yds. You will break and lose arrows though. So use your old arrows. The squirrel population is down this year as well. I tried to shoot a couple of squirrels while elk hunting and promptly lost two arrows to the tree gods...decided not to ever shoot up into a tree again . Cotton tails like thick stuff. Jack rabbits like not so thick areas and love cactus. Good luck.

 

[Buffinnut]

So I sold my only shotgun a while back, (a break open single shot) in order to help fund a different project. I bought a 1953 serial number Winchester model 12 heavy duck last week.
Yesterday I spent a cold morning exploring new areas and looking for small game. Ended up bringing home a nice cottontail and being too slow on the draw on a few big jacks. I need to find some more open country Jacks so they can't disappear behind the junipers.


A few pellets did a number on a backstrap so It ended up ugly. I brined everything and then dropped the heart, backstrap slices and tenderloins In flower and threw them in some butter in a skillet. The quarters I gave a little color with some big chunks of onion, then slow cooked in chicken stock with a bit of seasoning and carrots and potatoes until the meat was falling off the bone. That potroast/ stew or whatever you want to call it was delicious. The pan fried stuff was great too but didn't quite hit the spot like the stew.
Now to convince my wife there's nothing weird about eating rabbit...

Sorry no pictures of the finished product, I was hungry lol

 

[djc5080]

Hard to beat a Model 12-I have two of them! If you have never heard of Hank Shaw, he has a wonderful book: “Pheasant Quail Cottontail” that has small game recipes. He also has some other books “Buck Buck Moose”, “Duck Duck Goose”. And a website with hundreds of recipes...Google him-Hank Shaw-honest food. Congrats on the bunny!

 

[NoWiser]

I love the squirrels in AZ!!

 

[Grady]

Nice looking pump, hard to beat old school wood stocks