JACKRABBIT WEEKEND

by Terry Eannetta

Thursday night I pulled an all night-er hauling this junk home.

I got up at 4:30 to go Jack hunting in the desert. Good thing Dana was driving since I was dead to the world. But after downing a strong cup of coffee while riding shotgun, I was ready to go when we got to our desert hunting location.

This area just stinks of jacks really, but the many Joshua trees make it seem like you’re in a jungle instead of the desert. Leading a running jack is tough while they duck behind a tree or sage brush.

We split up after a few minutes and I hear Dana taking a shot with his Marauder. Then a moment later I just barely see a coyote running away from his direction. He had taken a shot at it and missed. Too bad, that would’ve made this report even better.

He then got the first jack of the day.

I had been spotting and getting a few shots off at some running targets with no luck. I even shot at two that had been hiding under the trees to escape the desert heat. Just as Dana described in his Jackrabbit hunting guide, their tall ears can really give them away.

Especially this one.

He had been lying in the shade and sprawled out like a dog on a carpet. They say the big ones don’t get that size without being smart. This one wasn’t, and I gave him a JSB, pronto.

I wanted to keep going but I had to get home to run errands. What a buzzkill I was.

I get a message from Dana Saturday afternoon saying he wants to go back out. “Yeah, I’m in!” This time he packs The Dog.

Marley is a three year old Lab/Dachshund mix. She is too cool. Typical hunting dog that knows when you’re ready to go out and can’t wait to get there.
So we get after it.

After Dana takes one at 50 yards, Marley does her doggy duty. Check the video:

We separated, since I was seeing Jacks running one way while Dana was shooting at them in a different direction. I walked up a dirt road while chasing one for maybe 200 yards. I turned around to head back. I like to walk a bit on the slow side while I’m checking the base of trees. Then I see movement to the right of me and a Jack stops 30 yards away. Big mistake for him.

I run into Dana and Marley, we see more Jacks running. Good Lord this place reeks of Jacks. Same thing, he chased them one way, I chased them another. I get a text from Dana asking my location. After I reply I look up and see a Jack maybe 25 yards staring at me. I almost drop the phone while he hops away. Then he stops at 50 yards, stands up and I get a shot off.

Meanwhile, Dana and Marley are still busy.

Real Busy.

By this time it was getting close to lunchtime. After hitting the ice chest we decide to jump in the truck and check a different location. After walking about 200 yards I think I counted 6 Jacks running away from Dana while he was taking a shot at one. I wanted to keep after them, but the desert heat was starting to bear down a little bit too much. We decided to bail and call it a day.

We have unfinished business out there….