Jackrabbits

[kkeetr]

Someone told me today that the state of NM was encouraging hunters to shoot 'jacks because they are considered disease carrying vermin.

Yes, and leave them lay.

I know NM has laws against wanton waste but I was wondering if you had heard anything like this in your state?  Thanks.

[oso45-70]

kkeetr
I think that the wanton waste law is on game animals, but don't think jacks come under that law, in my opinion they are nothing but pests that eat a lot of grass that live stock need, with the weather being so dry the cows need all the grass they can find, they do make good yote bait if you are trapping,, Best wishes, keep your powder dry.

                            Joe

[trappenjoe]

Trapping in central nm I have noticed the jacks still have fleas and
ticks , I don't know ifn it's the drought we'r in or what . as for diseases
I haven't heard or seen .
 
 From what oso said 3 jacks eat the eqeal of 1 cow . thats from a study done in kansas .

Trappenjoe

[oso45-70]

trappenjoe
What are you doing down here with all these varmit hunters ? you know you trappers all smell bad after rolling around in all that bait all day,well what did you catch today ? did you make enough money today to loan me a couple thousand dollars,,, now back to the post
have you heard any thing about wanton killing when it came to jack rabbits? as far as i'm concerned they are in need of thinning out.
well see you later bud,

                                          JOE
keep your powder dry

[trappenjoe]

Funny you should ask, i cought 1 fox and 2 rabbits ironic aint it.
And I don't smell any different than my wife . lol  She's having some bad luck with cows stomping her sets.
No I havent heard anything about the cwd in the rabbits hopefuly not
we don't need it spreading more .

 Little joe

[varmit_master]

Hi this mite sound funny But are the jackrabbits that bad the only jack rabbit i have ever seen was out in Kansas and all i seen was 1 i live in Ark  and there for every 1 cottontail rabbit you have about 10 to 15 hawks  satting around and wild housecats runing around sounds like you have some good shooting to do there are the bobcats and coyotes fat and heathly VM  

[trappenjoe]

Jack rabbits over here are realy over popolated they're everywhere
you go. I have them getting in my traps everyday. fun to shoot ,thank god I have a good gun ( my dad made ( oso 45-70) anyways
Little Joe

[oso45-70]

VM,
It got so bad in about 1953&54 the ranchers paid you to kill jack rabbits.
In the area just east of albuquerque, nm, in what is called the estancia valley,
 the jack rabbits were so abundunt you could almost shoot in any direction and hit one, I used to go over there and spend the whole weekend shooting jacks. Acording to the old timers that lived there the jack rabbits come in cycles, but it has never been that bad since the 50s
They make good bait if you hang them in a bush and use a long string
and jerk the rabbit as you make your call, I have a automatic fishing reel
and run out about fifty or so feet of line and as you make your call shake
and bake, the next thing you know, if the yote takes the bait you have a surprise for him, Fun,,,, you bet the last you see is the stupid yote look on his face as you do your thing,,, BINGO. Best Wishes   joe

[varmit_master]

Hi sounds fun wish i could come down and shoot a few rds that them my nephew is getting in to hunting i take him along on a few deer hunts and and he has a bb gun and he can shoot it good so i got them a Rossi combo with a 22 barrel and a .410 shotgun barrel i am going to start taking him on a few coyote hunts without a gun let him watch for a while my dad takes him rabbit hunting i wish i could tech him how to trap like my dad show me but my job dont let me have the time to do it it would be fun to get him in a bunch of jackrabbits do the coyotes and cats catch very many do you have fox in your part of the woods lol it sounds like some great hunting VM

[Dalton Masterson]

What size of hook do you use when you are fishing for yotes???  :shock:
Just funnin. Growing up in Kansas and now in Nebraska, I have seen maybe 5 Jacks the whole time, and ate 1 of em. Kinda wish there were more. They are considered game animals here. DM

[oso45-70]

YUK!!!!! I can't imagine any one eating a jack rabbit, Maybe a young one, the adult jacks are tougher than shoe leather, NOW cotten tails thats a different story. In my mind they are better than chickens and better for you also. You must have eaten a young jack,
Best Wishes,, keep your powder dry,  Joe

[.22 coyote]

From what oso said 3 jacks eat the eqeal of 1 cow . thats from a study done in kansas .
Trappenjoe

What?!  Must have been a miniature cow versus three monster jackrabbits!

Seriously,  did some quick research and estimates vary widely:

#1:    15 jackrabbits to 1 cow,

#2:    8 jackrabbits to 1 sheep, 41 jackrabbits to 1 cow,

#3:    30 jackrabbits to 1 sheep, 148 jackrabbits to 1 cow.

I couldn't find any information on the state of New Mexico recommending
 that hunters shoot any jackrabbits that they encounter, and I browsed
the NM Deptartment of Game & Fish site including their news releases for
the past several years.

[.22 coyote]

Maybe talking about which “jackrabbit vs. cow” estimate is most correct is just splitting hares.  They obviously eat a lot.  I wonder if there have been any studies with regard to how much methane jackrabbits produce compared to cows.  Probably a waste of resources (anyone up for some Federal grant money?):  the nay Sayers would claim the results are just a bunch of hot air anyway.  Or it could turn into an explosive controversy.  What about this one?  How many jackrabbit pellets does it take to equal 1 BS?  

Here are some suggestions for New Mexico bumper stickers:

“New Mexican cattle are hopping mad!”
“Holy cow!  Jackrabbits eat a lot!”
“Have a cow - save some jackrabbits!”
“Eat a cow - save a family of jackrabbits!”
“Jackrabbits are pigs!”
“Save the grass!  Eat jackrabbit.”
“Cows are in trouble – that ain’t no jack!”
“It’s time for a New Mexican hare cut.”

   :-D  

[trappenjoe]

This was what I read along time ago ,  I didn't come up with the # . The
Kansas univercity did . On a year basis . I don't know  , but I do know as a rancher that I kill every one of them that I see .
Little Joe

[.22 coyote]

I don't know jack, but I do enjoy learning.  Here are some exerpts from a paper at the University of New Mexico:

“Despite their deleterious effects on rangeland, jackrabbits are such an important food for such carnivores as coyotes and bobcats that the hares may act as a buffer between the predators and domestic livestock. Predator-control programs sometimes seem to release jackrabbits from the depressing effects of predation, resulting in increases in their numbers and thus adding pressure on the rangeland. Studies in southern Arizona indicate that approximately thirty jackrabbits equal one sheep in food consumed, while one hundred forty-eight are equivalent to one cow." (5)

“In open juniper woodland, blacktail numbers are relatively low. When junipers are cleared, as has been the case in many places in the Southwest, the grasses may become more extensive, and black-tailed jack rabbits will become far more abundant. These blacktails will be competing with the livestock for this new crop of grasses and the gain for the livestock maybe less than expected." (3)

“Overgrazing, resulting in an increase in shrubs, enhances the habitat for jackrabbits; and it may further contribute to the deterioration of rangeland because the hares tend to graze forage more severely than cattle." (5)

For the entire article:

http://sevilleta.unm.edu/data/species/mammal/sevilleta/profile/black-tailed-jackrabbit.html

PS:  I'm not against shooting jackrabbits.  I just seek clarity, don't we all?