Ranch Rabbits Chewing Through Vehicle Wiring… Anyone Else Deal With This? My Latest Night Patrol with the .30 Mordax

[PestPlasteringPlinker]

I hear you , I can’t eat rabbit meat have allergy. Squirrel is okay though, as long as I can harvest enough to make it worth it.

One of my old neighbor got bout 40 of forest, I gotta find him and ask about pesting that property.

They're willey to get sometimes. After 2 they start barking if they're thick, I love when they do that. 'Oh? You think youre safe over there 50 yards away lil buddy?' Thump. 'Whats that Jethro? You big mad in that tree seeing your brother cleatus gone to meet the lord, and you feeling like its time for your forever nap?! Well I do oblige!' Thump!

I hand out free educational lessons on why they can stay off roofs and attics every chance I get!

 

[pan60]

 

[Danman]

Boy this thread is scaring me
Been doing my best to bag this blinking Rabbit on my property and I find out...he's hanging out under my project car!! Do you know how hard it is to shoot a rabbit upside down under a low car with a long pcp with a honking scope on it? I had to shovel the snow out before I could even see the bugger, let alone get a shot off safely. He ran to the neighbors and slipped under their front deck...safe for now.
He sheared one of my blackberry bushes right to the ground last weekend. They are alot less picky about what they eat when there's a foot of snow on the ground... Ice stuck to my air tube @ -11 currently

 

[PestPlasteringPlinker]

Oh f*** yes. That's a day for the books right there!

Boy this thread is scaring me
Been doing my best to bag this blinking Rabbit on my property and I find out...he's hanging out under my project car!! Do you know how hard it is to shoot a rabbit upside down under a low car with a long pcp with a honking scope on it? I had to shovel the snow out before I could even see the bugger, let alone get a shot off safely. He ran to the neighbors and slipped under their front deck...safe for now.
He sheared one of my blackberry bushes right to the ground last weekend. They are alot less picky about what they eat when there's a foot of snow on the ground... Ice stuck to my air tube @ -11 currently

Dude, they literally go into next level destructo mode when food gets scarce. You remember the cheaper plastic L gutter down spout tips to keep water away from foundations? Yeah, saw one of those chewed on as it was a bit green, figured maybe field mouse, rat could be? Checked out with some random rodent nibbles.

If I didn't have my zulus, id have swore to God it was a chupacabra I was hearing chew with a ruckus fit to beat brimstone and hell fire back down, quick lookie loo around, and yup! Two long ears and a wiggle nose scrappy cottontail.

Ill be the first to be honest enough to tell ya I was legitimately scared absolutely goosebumped at 1 in the morning plucking rats and mice out of a loft to hear something so loud and 'wtf is that?!' Its cold but I found myself almost froze stiff from that no good piece of fluff. As soon as he cleared the skirting, well, 32 grains of slug seasoning fixed that issue.

Im still a wuss puss about the dark, but its so much more productive for bunny rabbits and grain munching nuincences. Its different plinking off a porch I can tuck in if I see an 'aw naw' heebie jeebies, but still gave a thought of 'the hell am I gunna do sitting on top of an all you can eat buffet of small calfs if a freaking big cat is hungry? Or a black bear thinks that coupe looks like a KFC after a hard night of getting liquored up and bar hopping until last call?'

I got racoons, possums, bunnies, rats crows, and smaller pests. A coyote caliber for when breeding season pops up, that might take a bobcat if I had to, but bigger than that, and yeah, id be praying I wore brown pants showing up, cuz id be leaving wearing em.

 

[Danman]

Oh f*** yes. That's a day for the books right there!

Dude, they literally go into next level destructo mode when food gets scarce. You remember the cheaper plastic L gutter down spout tips to keep water away from foundations? Yeah, saw one of those chewed on as it was a bit green, figured maybe field mouse, rat could be? Checked out with some random rodent nibbles.

If I didn't have my zulus, id have swore to God it was a chupacabra I was hearing chew with a ruckus fit to beat brimstone and hell fire back down, quick lookie loo around, and yup! Two long ears and a wiggle nose scrappy cottontail.

Ill be the first to be honest enough to tell ya I was legitimately scared absolutely goosebumped at 1 in the morning plucking rats and mice out of a loft to hear something so loud and 'wtf is that?!' Its cold but I found myself almost froze stiff from that no good piece of fluff. As soon as he cleared the skirting, well, 32 grains of slug seasoning fixed that issue.

Im still a wuss puss about the dark, but its so much more productive for bunny rabbits and grain munching nuincences. Its different plinking off a porch I can tuck in if I see an 'aw naw' heebie jeebies, but still gave a thought of 'the hell am I gunna do sitting on top of an all you can eat buffet of small calfs if a freaking big cat is hungry? Or a black bear thinks that coupe looks like a KFC after a hard night of getting liquored up and bar hopping until last call?'

I got racoons, possums, bunnies, rats crows, and smaller pests. A coyote caliber for when breeding season pops up, that might take a bobcat if I had to, but bigger than that, and yeah, id be praying I wore brown pants showing up, cuz id be leaving wearing em.

Yeah around here squirrels go to bed by dark but Rabbits wake up when I need to get to sleep lol. Was 11:30 last night and im trudging around with my frozen pcp and shoes on in over a foot of snow.....im starting to wonder if I actually had a round in the chamber when I shot at the Rabbit.... I remember a big blue cloud of air but no impact. Wouldn't be the first time a pests gotten away when I chambered a round of air lol.... the only down side of non spring tensioned mags.

 

[FL22]

Boy this thread is scaring me
Been doing my best to bag this blinking Rabbit on my property and I find out...he's hanging out under my project car!! Do you know how hard it is to shoot a rabbit upside down under a low car with a long pcp with a honking scope on it? I had to shovel the snow out before I could even see the bugger, let alone get a shot off safely. He ran to the neighbors and slipped under their front deck...safe for now.
He sheared one of my blackberry bushes right to the ground last weekend. They are alot less picky about what they eat when there's a foot of snow on the ground... Ice stuck to my air tube @ -11 currently

Yeah around here squirrels go to bed by dark but Rabbits wake up when I need to get to sleep lol. Was 11:30 last night and im trudging around with my frozen pcp and shoes on in over a foot of snow.....im starting to wonder if I actually had a round in the chamber when I shot at the Rabbit.... I remember a big blue cloud of air but no impact. Wouldn't be the first time a pests gotten away when I chambered a round of air lol.... the only down side of non spring tensioned mags.

Sounds like you need a compact and night scope or flashlight red dot to me .

 

[PestPlasteringPlinker]

Yeah around here squirrels go to bed by dark but Rabbits wake up when I need to get to sleep lol. Was 11:30 last night and im trudging around with my frozen pcp and shoes on in over a foot of snow.....im starting to wonder if I actually had a round in the chamber when I shot at the Rabbit.... I remember a big blue cloud of air but no impact. Wouldn't be the first time a pests gotten away when I chambered a round of air lol.... the only down side of non spring tensioned mags.

I've done that, force of habbit to cock before I air up, and since I usually do most pesting trial runs with a sst, I've done it, quite a few times.

I seriously am considering a thermal bit for next winter because I know spotting critters would be sweet. I'd definitely have to figure out holdovers on it, but im thinking it would be neat to see the difference.

Sounds like you need a compact and night scope or flashlight red dot to me .

Yeah, I know my set ups aren't the shortest by any means, but I'll say the ir, totally changed up the hunt for sure. Haven't been in a position to take shots upside-down, yet, but aquisition is a breeze. I don't know if we're going to get snow this year in the pnw, so I haven't seen how snow works with ir, but, id say for sure, ebay on decent used ir scopes would be the way to go in my books!

 

[Danman]

Sounds like you need a compact and night scope or flashlight red dot to me .

Hw50 and flashlight is tool of choice normally in these close up (no scope) tight situations.....it lives in my daughter's bedroom, she was sleeping and I was in a hurry lol.

 

[Zelos1]

Alright folks…
I’ve seen rabbits eat grass, I’ve seen them eat flowers, I’ve even seen them eat stuff I swear wasn’t edible —
but I’ve never seen them commit FELONY-LEVEL vandalism on vehicles.


I roll up to this ranch, and the owner tells me,
“Yeah, rabbits are chewing the wiring under the trucks.”
I thought he was joking. Nope. These little guys turned the underside of one rig into an all-you-can-eat buffet. I personally don't really believe it but apparently, they caught one in the act when they lifted the hood.


So naturally… it was time for night patrol....
I grabbed the Western Airguns Mordax Long Strike in .30, slapped the PARD Nightstalker 4K on top, and brought the new RIX Optics Pocket K3 thermal spotter — because if you’re going after criminally-minded rabbits, you bring the good stuff.


And let me tell you… they were out there.
Everywhere.
Like some kind of furry wiring-eating cartel meeting in the dark. lol


Huge shoutout to Airguns of Arizona for keeping us supplied with gear that can handle this level of stupidity. I promise you; the equipment didn’t flinch — even if I did a couple times. This was also my very first time using this new thermal spotter for filming and I was very pleased with how helpful it was to not only spot the rabbits, but film the action. Let me know how you think it turned out?


Honestly though… has anyone else ever dealt with rabbits eating wiring?
Rats? Sure. Mice? Of course. But rabbits?!
I guess these ones skipped salad and went straight to copper.


If you want a good laugh (and some actual decent shooting footage), Here is the full video that includes more technical details —

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Let me know if you’ve had similar pest problems… or if this ranch is just cursed by the world’s hungriest bunnies.


Stay safe, keep your wires intact, and may your pellets fly true.

Love to shoot me some rabbits! How long of a drive are you from western Washington?

 

[PestPlasteringPlinker]

Love to shoot me some rabbits! How long of a drive are you from western Washington?

Bubba im 60 north of seattle!

 

[Zelos1]

Bubba im 60 north of seattle!

Puyallup!!! Howdy!

 

[PestPlasteringPlinker]

Puyallup!!! Howdy!

Do the Puyallup! Hell yeah! Whats good from the great cow county of skagit man!

 

[Zelos1]

I hear you , I can’t eat rabbit meat have allergy. Squirrel is okay though, as long as I can harvest enough to make it worth it.

I am getting ready to try pigeon this spring..we will see!

 

[PestPlasteringPlinker]

If you've got any mills nearby, seek em out for permissions. Lots of them don't like bird poop on finished products.

 

[Zelos1]

If you've got any mills nearby, seek em out for permissions. Lots of them don't like bird poop on finished products.

Great idea Thank You