Rabbit Hunting -- Rabbit hunting with a muzzleloader shotgun is an absolute "blast"!  It is my favorite hunting with a muzzleloading shotgun.

Any smoothbore muzzleloading shotgun can be used for rabbit hunting.  I use a White "Thunder" that I bought on an online auction at a very reasonable price.  It is a delightful shotgun that weighs 5 1/2# unloaded.  It carries like a feather and points instinctively for me.  I like the light weight since most rabbit hunting I do is in thick cover and I like a gun that I can get into action quickly.  The only drawback that I've found with it is that it has straight rifling.  That is supposed to promote better patterning with tight chokes but I haven't tested that theory.  Currently these guns do not a appear to be available from  White Rifles.  Mine has the black wood stock which appears to be some kind of light hard wood. 

Rabbits expire easily which makes most hits of even one pellet in a vital area fatal for them.  I've found #5 shot works best for them.  #6 puts too many pellets in them and #4 tears up too much of that delicious meat.  Try to find #5 field loads!!!  I've never seen any and my wholesale catalogs list them but they're never in stock.  Perfect for the muzzleloader because its no problem working up a load with #5 turkey shot which is available from several sources.

Rabbits are available in just about any kind of dense cover.  They're "steak" to most four legged and two legged predators so they can be pretty wary and they're fast if they're pressured.  When I was growing up I used to hunt them with a 22 and shoot them while they were sitting still.  I  don't see many setting rabbits sitting still any more so its shotgun territory unless I'm just out for a walk.

The key to successful rabbit  hunting with a shotgun with a fairly open choke.  I like Improved Cylinder for most of my hunting so I started always start with that when I'm patterning.  The shotgun should  be patterned at the most likely  range you intend to shoot. I generally pattern my rabbit loads at 20 to 25 yards as most all of my rabbit shooting is done within that range.  

The fairly open chokes useful for rabbit hunting make the muzzleloading shotgun easier to load than the extra full turkey chokes.  It is helpful to carry some type of funnel to funnel in the powder and the shot.  I use a Thompson Center Pyrdodex can funnel which seems to work fine. All the components have to be carried so I pre-measure powder and shot and have that available in film or other similar containers.  I have 4  pockets in my upland hunting vest so can spread them out and put them in the sequence that works the best. 

Want  to know more about White and other muzzleloading shotguns?  Read my shotgun reviews in the Reviews Section. 

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