MEMORABLE JACKRABBIT HUNT

Went out early Saturday morning to jackrabbit hunt with my childhood friend Steve R. We arrived to the area about 5:30 and proceeded to hike to a pre-scouted area to wait for the sun to come up.

Steve had never been Jackrabbit hunting before so I was excited for him to see what its like and to hopefully get the opportunity to harvest one.

The morning was not as cold as I had expected but still had some chill to it as we sat quietly amongst the Joshua trees. The sun started coming up so we walked slowly away from it hoping to see some Jacks moving in the distance. We walked approx. 1/2 mile when I spotted one moving off several hundred yards away,Steve got to see how fast they move and was excited I think at this point.We walked a bit more keeping about 45 yards between us both. I soon spotted another moving slowly through some ticketed area where I proceeded to stalk it.

Steve had not noticed I had one in my sights and ended up spooking it as he moved closer towards my position…I mind you was trying best I could to get his attention, everything but throwing rocks at him.

These Hares have giant ears for a reason and spook from just the slightest sound or movement so needless to say he was gone in a flash. We did a loop back to the vehicles to grab a snack and take a break from walking and toting our hunting rifles. At this point it was about 8:15 am and the sun was beginning to warm things up enough for not needing a jacket or face mask. We set out again and went in different directions where I soon spotted a medium size Jack at 120+yards out in a large open field up against a Joshua tree. I was confident in my shot as there was no wind and I had lots of recent practice under my belt to make such a shot. Held the gun 2mil-dots over and held my breath as I squeezed the trigger,THWAAAP with a perfect head-shot that dropped it like a rock. WOOOOOWEEE I yelled as Steve came running over to see what all the commotion was all about, I felt like I was on top of the world at this moment. Steve and I stood over my kill both in awe over the distance I shot it over.

Steve took some great photos and I thank him for his company this day. We continued after I took my kill back to the truck as I was now focused on trying to help him stalk his own kill. I was able to spot a few and get him within about 50 yards but they ended up getting spooked and were gone from range in a flash. The day ended with us seeing quite a few Hares and even got a small Golden Mantel squirrel at 25 yards.