There are no greater joys than passing on your own knowledge to your children, especially if it is related to a mutual passion. I am fortunate to have three children who share my enthusiasm for being outdoors and hunting. We recently took a trip to our favorite rabbit-infested property and while there was certainly plenty of entertainment, I was pleased to be able to teach them some important lessons as well.
It was a Saturday after my sons, Matthew, Timothy, and Andrew, had finished their sports commitments for the day. We all agreed that the weather was too good to stay indoors and an afternoon attacking rabbits was on the agenda. After a short text message to the property owner to confirm that it was okay for us to go hunting, we quickly packed the car with all the essentials for a long-range rabbit hunt.
Binoculars, rifles, ammunition, ear muffs and, of course, all the other paraphernalia that a child has to carry on a hunting trip were thrown in the back of the four-wheel drive. Kids love donning their military greens and filling their belts with pocket knives, multitools, torches, and flints to start an emergency fire. Boys have an innate spirit of adventure and obviously there is a little Boy Scout born in all of us.
I am lucky that the children are three brothers who enjoy each other’s company and appreciate the opportunity to go hunting together. They have become very proficient with their favorite rifle, a CZ 452 Classic in .17HMR. The .17 is a great caliber for kids to learn to shoot; It has virtually no recoil and shoots flat, making it easy to use at a wide variety of distances. Matthew has the family record of 36 rabbits in one day with this rifle, but the other two are eager to beat it.
Arriving at the property, we get ready and head towards our favorite spot that gives us a wide view of a series of burrows. We called the type of shots we were about to take ‘snipers’ because it involves shooting at longer ranges with great precision. The shots are generally fired from more than 200 m and a rifle in one of the 22 calibers proves to be the best medicine for our main target: rabbits.
We have found the .17HMR to be quite capable of taking rabbits to 140m, but the larger caliber rifles are more emphatic and are a lot of fun to shoot due to the extremely flat trajectory.
In addition to using their CZ on this trip, the kids would shoot rabbits with my Remington 700.22-250. It is a beautiful rifle with a laminated thumbhole stock and heavy stainless steel barrel. The rifle is equipped with a bipod and significant work has been done on the trigger to ensure it breaks accurately at 2 pounds. I believe that a good trigger has a great influence on one’s ability to shoot accurately, and sniper rabbits need a rifle and its shooter to be as fine-tuned as possible.
The other important part of a long-range vermin hunter’s equipment is a high-quality scope. Normally I’m not a fan of using super high powered scopes on hunting rifles, but because rabbit sniping requires target shooting accuracy I think a range of at least 14x is necessary.
After a short period of time looking at the surrounding hills with their binoculars, the boys soon saw some bunnies. The rifle is geared to fire 1.5 “high at 100 m and can consistently fire groups of five sub-MOA shots. Guys were targeted to target the center of any rabbit’s chest to ensure quick human kill.
The first rabbit succumbed to the power of .22-250 and soon, there was more to fall. It’s surprising how quickly rabbits venture out of their burrows despite being startled by a previous rifle shot. Patience is an essential virtue of a rabbit sniper, and if you’re willing to sit long enough, the rabbits will come back out to bask in the sun.
After depleting the population from the first burrow, we walked through a nearby stream to another location that provides an ideal vantage point for shooting. On the first hill of our walk, one of the children saw a black wild cat. The animal was too elusive in this first instance and disappeared from sight on the bank of the stream.
This started a long stalking, which took us over 1 km along the creek until we were again in position to shoot the cat. Matthew was able to put a .17 caliber ballistic tip through the back of the animal’s spine and was pleased with himself shooting his first wildcat.
As we settled into our next sniper spot, the guys found a tile lizard. As all hunter families will know, taking kids on hunting trips isn’t just about shooting; it gives them opportunities to explore all things in our natural environment.
Too many children these days spend hours playing their game consoles and hardly venture out of their living room. Being outdoors develops in children an appreciation for our native animals and plants, and reducing wild animals is one way that children can help these native breeds thrive.
After a few more sniping, we started heading home. We stopped at a log leaning over a fence, providing a perfect break for the kids to practice target shooting with their .17. Kids love to shoot targets and understand the need for accurate shooting when hunting live game. We could have stayed there shooting at our makeshift targets for hours, but it was starting to get dark and we needed to find four-wheel drive.
One of the essential skills of hunting in the bush is being able to navigate back to the vehicle. I always talk to guys about the importance of being aware of their surroundings and paying attention to distinctive landmarks. They also make use of technology and had set the car as a waypoint on their GPS when we started. When it was time to return, we simply followed the direction of the travel arrow on his GPS.
Sniper rabbits provide opportunities to teach children the basics of hunting, such as walking a bit and looking a lot, stalking quietly and downwind, and of course using a rifle to its full potential. These skills will undoubtedly come in handy for children when they start hunting larger animals, such as deer, when they get a little older.
During the trip home I couldn’t stop thinking about the special moment we always have together on these trips. The boys were already planning our next hunting trip. “Dad, can we whistle some foxes next time?” said one of the boys. “Sure,” I replied. Let the weekend come!
