Hey guys, I recently made it out to one of my favorite locations for a last minute overnight followed by a day of Jackrabbit hunting. Thursday afternoon I packed up the Jeep where Marley and I would be traveling several hours North to a familiar location. The area we were hunting is very close to resembling East Africa, it’s home to animals such as Pronghorn Antelope, Tule elk, Fox, Coyote, Mountain Lions, Wild Pigs and a wide variety of birds. The area is vast and consist of approx 38,900 acres of huntable area, one of the more remote locations I frequent. We made it to the long dirt road just in time to witness a beautiful sunset and to do a short bit of filming for the enclosed video.
Marley and I arrived to the area we had planned to camp by about 8:00pm where I set up a quick camp and made us something to eat. The temperature was dropping and becoming quite chilly into the night. After dinner I tried to settle us both down in the tent but the sound of thousands of Kangaroo mice scurrying through the grass made it difficult to sleep. Finally I decided to let Marley out of the tent to deter some of them away from the tent, this was pretty entertaining for about an hour or so. We ended up getting to sleep by 11:00pm.
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The following morning we awoke at 6:45 and proceeded outside to try and warm up a bit, was a bit cold at around 46 degrees.
After getting some coffee in me I pulled down the tent and secured my camping gear into the Jeep as we would be gone for most of the day.
After securing all the camping gear in the Jeep I made sure that I had everything we would need for the day of hunting. I always like to say how important it is to make sure that keys are somewhere they won't get lost, I always put them in a small zipped up pouch in my backpack as well as having a "hide a key". Too, very important for me to bring a ton of water for not only myself but Marley. Luckily the weather has been very cool but in Summer months this area gets well up over 100+ degrees! The rifle I brought on this trip was my trusted .30 AAA EVOL that puts out 90 FPE with NSA 47gr and is topped with a Hawke Frontier 2.5-15x50SF with DonnyFL Ronin moderator. After getting everything together Marley and I headed in a Northern direction into some beautiful rolling green hills.
The plan was to hike several miles into some steeper terrain where I have had luck in the past pursuing some of the monster sized Jackrabbits that call this place home. Marley was eager to set out as it had been several weeks between her last hunting trip. The sun was starting to come up and make all the yellow flowers really stand out, place was gorgeous and had not seen it this green in years. As Marley and I came up over the first hill I was able to spot a few Jackrabbits moving about at around 400 yards away down below us. We sat and watched them for a few minutes before attempting to move slowly down the hillside into a more suitable range.
I typically like to hunt from high ground as it's a lot easier to spot them than it is in a more flat and open area. The sagebrush provides me a little cover as I make way down the hillsides. As we slowly made our way down the steep hillside I spotted one of the Jackrabbits sitting at 130 yards presenting me with a pretty clear shot. (NOTE) I was filming this hunt that requires some camera setup that can take some time, gets frustrating.
I made the shot that went a bit high just over the Jackrabbits head, and in a flash he's gone and away. Amazing how quick they can move up and over the steep hillsides, Marley wasn't happy with me. haha
After making the failed shot Marley and I headed back up the hillside and continued another few miles before taking a water break. This area had waist high Sagebrush that from my experience is usually loaded with Jackrabbits.
By this time it was getting pretty warm and into the high 70's by 10:00am, perfect weather for hiking and exploring this amazing area. The views from the top of these mountains are spectacular and one of the most beautiful places I hunt in the Spring months. Moving on we headed up through a ravine that had much more thick sagebrush that made navigation a bit difficult for the both of us. Some of the brush was up over 5' tall so I pretty much had to bushwhack my way through with Marley right behind me, frequently stopping to look on the hillsides for moving Jackrabbits.After plowing through some thick stuff I finally spotted one moving up the hillside at 140 yards, stopping in a ravine covered with sagebrush. We slowly continued trying to get a bit higher where eventually I was presented with a good 75 yard headshot and the Jackrabbit moved up out of the ravine. Marley quickly made her way across the ravine and up the embankment where she dragged Mr. kangaroo down the hill a ways into some shade.
Watching that little dog work is worth it all and one of the most enjoyable parts of hunting I get to have. By this time it was about 12:00, a bit late for getting our first Jackrabbit of the day but nonetheless I was pleased for some success.
For me I just enjoy getting out regardless of my success, it's nice to explore new areas and to expand on my hunting skills with an Airgun. Marley and I bagged up the Jack and headed back to the Jeep, pretty exhausted to say the least. Enclosed is a short video of this trip that I hope some may enjoy (NOTE) Ignore the awful "Graphic Warning" intro, was just something I did that went horribly wrong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRymP3S_Bgc&t=188s
Marley and I arrived to the area we had planned to camp by about 8:00pm where I set up a quick camp and made us something to eat. The temperature was dropping and becoming quite chilly into the night. After dinner I tried to settle us both down in the tent but the sound of thousands of Kangaroo mice scurrying through the grass made it difficult to sleep. Finally I decided to let Marley out of the tent to deter some of them away from the tent, this was pretty entertaining for about an hour or so. We ended up getting to sleep by 11:00pm.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following morning we awoke at 6:45 and proceeded outside to try and warm up a bit, was a bit cold at around 46 degrees.
After getting some coffee in me I pulled down the tent and secured my camping gear into the Jeep as we would be gone for most of the day.
After securing all the camping gear in the Jeep I made sure that I had everything we would need for the day of hunting. I always like to say how important it is to make sure that keys are somewhere they won't get lost, I always put them in a small zipped up pouch in my backpack as well as having a "hide a key". Too, very important for me to bring a ton of water for not only myself but Marley. Luckily the weather has been very cool but in Summer months this area gets well up over 100+ degrees! The rifle I brought on this trip was my trusted .30 AAA EVOL that puts out 90 FPE with NSA 47gr and is topped with a Hawke Frontier 2.5-15x50SF with DonnyFL Ronin moderator. After getting everything together Marley and I headed in a Northern direction into some beautiful rolling green hills.
The plan was to hike several miles into some steeper terrain where I have had luck in the past pursuing some of the monster sized Jackrabbits that call this place home. Marley was eager to set out as it had been several weeks between her last hunting trip. The sun was starting to come up and make all the yellow flowers really stand out, place was gorgeous and had not seen it this green in years. As Marley and I came up over the first hill I was able to spot a few Jackrabbits moving about at around 400 yards away down below us. We sat and watched them for a few minutes before attempting to move slowly down the hillside into a more suitable range.
I typically like to hunt from high ground as it's a lot easier to spot them than it is in a more flat and open area. The sagebrush provides me a little cover as I make way down the hillsides. As we slowly made our way down the steep hillside I spotted one of the Jackrabbits sitting at 130 yards presenting me with a pretty clear shot. (NOTE) I was filming this hunt that requires some camera setup that can take some time, gets frustrating.
I made the shot that went a bit high just over the Jackrabbits head, and in a flash he's gone and away. Amazing how quick they can move up and over the steep hillsides, Marley wasn't happy with me. haha
After making the failed shot Marley and I headed back up the hillside and continued another few miles before taking a water break. This area had waist high Sagebrush that from my experience is usually loaded with Jackrabbits.
By this time it was getting pretty warm and into the high 70's by 10:00am, perfect weather for hiking and exploring this amazing area. The views from the top of these mountains are spectacular and one of the most beautiful places I hunt in the Spring months. Moving on we headed up through a ravine that had much more thick sagebrush that made navigation a bit difficult for the both of us. Some of the brush was up over 5' tall so I pretty much had to bushwhack my way through with Marley right behind me, frequently stopping to look on the hillsides for moving Jackrabbits.After plowing through some thick stuff I finally spotted one moving up the hillside at 140 yards, stopping in a ravine covered with sagebrush. We slowly continued trying to get a bit higher where eventually I was presented with a good 75 yard headshot and the Jackrabbit moved up out of the ravine. Marley quickly made her way across the ravine and up the embankment where she dragged Mr. kangaroo down the hill a ways into some shade.
Watching that little dog work is worth it all and one of the most enjoyable parts of hunting I get to have. By this time it was about 12:00, a bit late for getting our first Jackrabbit of the day but nonetheless I was pleased for some success.
For me I just enjoy getting out regardless of my success, it's nice to explore new areas and to expand on my hunting skills with an Airgun. Marley and I bagged up the Jack and headed back to the Jeep, pretty exhausted to say the least. Enclosed is a short video of this trip that I hope some may enjoy (NOTE) Ignore the awful "Graphic Warning" intro, was just something I did that went horribly wrong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRymP3S_Bgc&t=188s
