Hares ?

[Old Savage]

How big do they get? Not OT because Nath shoots them and he is or was a levergunner. And if he has no more leverguns - but ah yes he has the 22 Mag. - he would truly be a levergunner emeritus across the Pond.

[claybob86]

I assume a jackrabbit qualifies here. I was plowing a field in North Texas many years ago and saw one standing up on his hind legs and looking over the top of a barb wire fence at me. Almost fell off the tractor!

[Old Savage]

Jack rabbits are hares.

[AkRay]

When I was in jr. high my friend Stan and I hunted snowshoe hares with air rifles, mostly because his parents wouldn't trust us to hunt alone together with .22 rifles or shotguns. I used a Crosman .177. With a pellet the velocity must've been somewhere in the upper 400 fps. It killed some of the hares I shot through the head with it. Stan used a Benjamin .22 caliber pellet rifle because his older brother had owned one for his first hunting rifle. The difference between the .177 and .22 cal. pellets was remarkable. The first time my Crosman failed on a head shot, he was there to back me up with his Benjamin. The hare took a couple jumps while shaking its head, and his Benjamin rolled it with one shot. I managed to convince my dad that I needed a Benjamin just like his soon after that. That velocity was supposed to be around 750 fps, but our Benjamins killed every hare or grouse we ever shot with them. As an aside, I learned to aim well with my first shot, but still missed plenty of times. A miss meant reloading and repumping the rifle 8 or 10 times while keeping the animal in sight, and not scaring it away with the movement and noise. Those were good days in the hunting woods.

[salvo]

Those jacks grow pretty big in S. Utah!

[perry owens]

The European Brown Hare is the fastest land animal in Britain. Hares don't burrow like rabbits, they rest in "forms" at ground level. Body length can be up to 28in and weight 11lb. Hares can live for up to 13years, but not in Nath's neck of the woods.
Perry Owens

[the telegraphist]

Those jacks grow pretty big in S. Utah!

Gday
Nice wood on that Marlin sir. Anybody eat these things, if so would be interested in recipe and how to process them, hares are supposed to be hung for a period of time before ready for eating. They are in plague proportions in my part of the country. The pommie fellah from Surrey may have a recipe for jugged hare, info would be appreciated.

Rgds
The Telegraphist

[perry owens]

Telegraphist,
"That pommie fellah" does have a recipe as it happens:-
JUGGED HARE
1 Hare or Large Rabbit
Blood from the Hare or Rabbit
4 rashers Bacon
2 Onions
1 Lemon
15g (½ oz) Butter
1 tbsp Plain Flour
1 Bouquet Garni
6 Cloves
1 tsp Ground Allspice
Seasoned Flour
Port
Salt and Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 170°C: 325°F: Gas 3.
Chop the bacon and onion, zest the lemon.
Lightly coat the joints of the hare with flour and place in a flame-proof casserole dish.
Add the herbs, bacon, onion, spices, lemon zest and seasoning.
Cover with water, bring slowly to the boil.
Cover and transfer to the oven for 2 - 2½ hours or until the hare is tender.
Remove the hare, onions and bacon with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
Discard the bouquet garni and the cloves.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour.
Gradually add the cooking liquid and stirring continuously until thickened.
Stir in the blood and add port to taste, mix well and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Pour the sauce over the hare and serve with redcurrant jelly.

Works well with real Port from Portugal but I can't vouch for Penfolds or Hardys!

Perry Owens

[Borregos]

Perry,
That is mouthwatering, will try that sometime.
Pete

[Tycer]

Hares rock!
Red meat. Definitely NOT cottontail.
Yum!

[WCF3030]

This is one we had raised and had escaped for a good 6 months before a .309 cal cast bullet powered by some Unique finally caught up to her. She weighed close to 15lbs and was no worse for wear being on the run for 6 months.
Saw several young orange/yellow rabbits running around after that.

[kimwcook]

We used to have jackrabbits running all over the place. Can't find a single one anymore, just cottontails. To many hawks.

I used all manner of bb and pellet guns growing up. Pumps, levers, CO2...We used to use a Benjamin Bluestreak for taking grouse in the mountains. Sometimes we could get four or five before the rest of them would take off due to one of the shot birds flapping to hard (head shots). They're quiet and deadly on most all small animals.

[salvo]

Back in the mid 80's I lived in S. Utah and had a good Indian friend named Beaver, we use to rabbit hunt a couple of times a month. I used my Single Six and he used a shotgun, most time I would beat him in the hare count, old Beaver just hated it when I did. He would jump them and then try to shoot them as they were bouncing away, I just waited for them to stop and tip them over up to 50 yds away. Those were fun times.
I was raised to not eat Jack rabbits, so I kept the cottontails and Beaver got many more jacks, but Beaver loved them and would take them home to his mother to prepare, sure wished I had asked for the recipe back then.
For the cottontails I would clean them and soak in brine over night then fry them up in a beer or egg batter and bacon grease.

WCF3030 that rabbit is a monster!

[OJ]

Back in about 1934 I got big hares - I thought they were rabbits - with the .22 single shot bolt action rifle I got for my 6th birthday in 1932. I had lots of rabbits to shoot because there was a big effort to kill all coyotes and reduction in their population gave me more rabbits and prairie dogs to shoot. We lived WAY OUT in the country and I was allowed to hunt alone (with my dog) after dad felt I knew gun safety - I convinced him in a hurry.



I used .22 shorts - requiring head shots to kill - but it made me shoot better. shorts went for 2 bits for 50 while long rifle ammo cost four bits and it was in the depression.

[deerwhacker444]

Someone on this board used to cook up Jackrabbit. Was it Aces n Eights.? I think he said to use any beef type recipes since it is a red meat.

[Meeteetse]

Never had much of a taste for Jacks. They were always tougher and my mother didn't like cooking them, so we only ate cottontails. Lucky for us there was a mink farm near town that paid 50 cents each for Jacks and we didn't even have to clean them. That was back in the day when .22 LR sold for 75 cents for a box of 50 and about $6.00 for a brick. We could go out and collect 50 to 100 Jacks on a weekend and put some pretty good money in our pocket.

If I remember correctly, most of my rabbit hunting was done with a single shot Winchester until my Dad gave me his Mossberg semi-auto when I turned 12. That would have been about 1956. That may have been the best times I've ever enjoyed, or at least it seems like it now.

[Nath]

Now just hang on there a cotton picking minute!
First off I am still a levergunner and heres the proof, taken during Christmas!



Second it's not a 22mag, just 22.
Thirdly, I don't shoot hares well not at the moment. Most the land owners land that I shoot over ask that the hares are spared so I spare them.
I did occassionally take one for a gent who really liked them but that was years ago now and the last one was taken with a 30/30. This same gent liked the mountain hare from Scotland occasionally.

Your jack rabbit looks just like our brown hare but looks like it has bigger ears slightly.

I remember the picture of the little girl and that big rabbit

Nath

[scr83jp]

Jack rabbits are hares.

Lepus californica blacktailed jackrabbits in AZ there are Lepus alleni antelope jackrabbits.Neighbors of mine in Tucson used to go out weekends and kill 135 or more .They used the meat to make chili , burritos & tacos. The snowshoe rabbit is actually a Hare( Lepus americanus )native to North America turns white in winter an adaptation for protection from predators.

[Old Savage]

Nath, thanks for the clarification. I would really like one of those Win 9422s in 22 mag.

[JReed]

Your jack rabbit looks just like our brown hare but looks like it has bigger ears slightly.:

Jackrabbits are a western desert critter for the most part. The reason they have big ears is they live in places where it is darn hot in the summer and the ears alow them to shed body heat.

[Ben_Rumson]

I used to cook California jacks..Back in the 70s I got a dozen free recipes by mailing in a coupon from Pel Freeze, a Co. that used to advertise in the back of Sports Afield and other mags of that sort.. LOL Googled them just now..They're still in business and still offering free recipes!!!!.. http://foods.pel-freez.com/
The Braised Rabbit in French Brandy Sauce was my favorite.. Wasn't cheap to make but my huntin' pard & I would fight over every bit of it..LOL

[WCF3030]

Nice take of Tree Rats Nath.

[the telegraphist]

Gday Perry,
Many thanks for the hare recipe, we do have some pretty good ports here.

Rgds
The Telegraphist

[OJ]

Never had much of a taste for Jacks. They were always tougher and my mother didn't like cooking them, so we only ate cottontails.

We didn't eat the Jacks either but my best friend ate them and was grateful for them - depression days she was glad to get any meat -



That's her on the right -

[JustaJeepGuy]

And how did she like her jacks cooked?

[OJ]

And how did she like her jacks cooked?

VERY RARE

[Charles]

Adult Texas Jackhares are not worth the effort to cook. It is like eating rope. Young ones, make fair chili.

[Nath]

Nath, thanks for the clarification. I would really like one of those Win 9422s in 22 mag.

Me too Squire.

Nath.

[Nath]

Your jack rabbit looks just like our brown hare but looks like it has bigger ears slightly.:

Jackrabbits are a western desert critter for the most part. The reason they have big ears is they live in places where it is darn hot in the summer and the ears alow them to shed body heat.

I see, you mean they use'm for sun shades

Only kidding

Nath

[piller]

Young Jackrabbits are ok if stewed or made into chili, but the old ones are tougher than boot leather.

[Ben_Rumson]

Lucky for me the jacks that we were eating were from along the Central Coast of CA...never new a hot day..Speaking of their ears..Older jacks ears do not feel as soft as the younger full grown jacks and that was our guide to the ones that were better eating.. We always soaked our cut up jacks in brine overnight & rinsed well before cooking. Aside from the previous recipe I mentioned there was another that was a close second..Pieces rolled in seasoned flour & browned a few min then into a deep crock baking dish (dutch oven might work too) with layers of onions & meat with buttermilk covering it...Pop in the oven & bake ...After it's cooked down there is a sort of stroganoff type gravy left...Tender Tender & Tasty
After early rains one November we had Thanksgiving with Pheasants, Jacks, wild picked mustard greens and wild picked mushrooms! all harvested off the place we hunted!