looking for a new rabbit gun

[seansean1444]

hey guys I just got into rabbit hunting with dogs. I hunt with my friend he has a beagle pup and go once a week. im currently shooting my H&R single shot 20 guage with a fixed modified choke. I like the gun but I like how my friends side by side 20 guage swings. so on that note I have an excuse to buy another gun im open to any suggestions but am somewhat stuck between a side by side 20 guage, 28 guage, or 410... but like I said im open to suggestions thanks price range is up to 500 but would like to keep it under 400

 

[SteelChickenShooter]

Consider the new Savage combo gun. Not the best looking gun, but I bet it works well for rabbits. The combo of a .22 rimfire and a .410 shotgun is pretty good. Maybe a .410 shot if running, or a .22 shot when they circle around and stop then sit sideways.

 

[Noreaster]

I grew up hunting cottontails with dogs, what an experience! I mostly used a Rem 1100 or Browning sweet 16 with full or modified choke in open areas waiting for the rabbit to come back around. My grandfather used a 410. A 20 gauge is a great shell for bunnies. It really depends what type of area you're hunting. Doubles work great in tight areas and offer two chokes.

 

[SteelChickenShooter]

I did not care for two things:
1) biting into a piece of small shot- so I favored .22 and never a side by side shotgun.
2) no matter how cold, when skinning, those fleas bailed out of the rabbit covering me.
The claim that fleas died after the first frost did not seem to be true where I hunted.
But "Berry".
That Cocker would run and show me where the bun-buns were deep inside the brush piles. She could find a golf ball inside an iron ore mine.
Loved her so much.
And rabbit hunting.
Memories.

 

[Pahoo]

Savage Model-24

Consider the new Savage combo gun.

Bingo and that is my favorite Midwest-winters, rabbit gun. Understand that I'm being fairly exclusive to rabbits. Mine is the Savage 24, .22LR, over 20Ga.
One Saturday a year, a group of us get together for a "fresh-snow" rabbit hunt. Most of us, use our 24's. One of the guys, has three trained Beagles and what a fantastic day we have. I sure sleep good that night. ...

2) no matter how cold, when skinning, those fleas bailed out of the rabbit covering me.

Don't know what neck of the woods you live in but you have some pretty tough fleas. We wait for two hard freezes before we take rabbits. That gets us past the rabbit fever and have never seen any fleas this late. As you already know, when you do see fleas, they are clustered in the groin areas. Just open up the groin and let that area cool off. Oh, I have taken fleas home, during squirrel season but that's a different story ...


Be Safe !!!

 

[JWT]

I always preferred a .22 for both bunnies and squirrels. No lead pellets to dig out or bite into.

 

[Noreaster]

You have to be careful with a .22lr for rabbits and squirrels. Too much damage unless you make a head shot or use a lead round nose. The high and hyper velocity HP .22lr ruins allot of table meat.

 

[Panfisher]

I have walked a few miles chasing beagles, have 2 in the pen still. My favorite was a butt ugly .22/20 Savage. Tried the .22/.410 but was longer and heavier. Only problems I had with the .22/20's was that so many of them needed work to be consistent. Which isn't a big problem as mostly its simple fixes. Currently I have traded off the last .22/.410 and still hunt with a Stevens 311A side by side, not the lightest, or fastest or most expensive but for some reason when running beagles the side by side seems to be "right". for straight utilitarian bunny chasing the .22/20 is hard to beat, if they do the hop and stop and .22 LR through the noggin works wonders, if they want to come by at full run the open bore 20 ga. gets to play. Once I made a mistake and was expecting the quiet "pop" of the .22 and instead got the "boom", a shredded rabbit and a bloody nose. (wasn't holding it well, only made that mistake ONCE)

 

[Dc777]

Have you considered a 12 gauge? You could use it for other things such as deer, home protection, etc