Shooting Birds/Rabbits with Shotgun, safe to eat?
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Actually hunting involves hounds. Hence Hunting, shooting and fishing being listed as separate pursuits. In the UK hunting means hunting to hounds.
I agree at least partly; it shouldn't damage it. In fact that's the whole point of my post; that piercing an organ (whether by a shot pellet, a rifle bullet, or an animals fangs/talons) won't hurt the meat. I have some experience as I've hunted foxes and coons with dogs (on foot rather than on horseback over here) Granted we didn't eat either one, we sold the furs instead, but we did usually give the coon carcasses to somebody who did eat them. But then again, I also said that shooting it won't normally damage it either.
But the reference to trapping is anything but splitting hairs. Hunting is hunting, trapping is trapping, and fishing is fishing; they're not interchangeable.
If you are shooting rabbits up close, head shoot them. The shot will hardly spread at all and you get no shot in the meat. Preferably for close range do not use "too much gun". A closely choked twelve bore will shred a bunny at a few yards. a 410 aimed to the head leaves a nice clean carcass
Rabbit by British Red, on Flickr Hock the rabbit and leave it for a while for the fleas to jump ship, but paunch (gut) straight away it if there is a lot of meat damage
Yes. If we get that pedantic, hawking isn't hunting either. Nor is ferreting. But the point that they all require a violent death (piercing or crushing organs) remains valid. As does the likelihood that such piercing isn't going to damage the meat.
Yep as stated, killing something usually means damaging one or more organs - thats what kills it!
Or working out how to clear out shot from the toilet pan.....it wasn't me it was a friend...honest
Or working out how to clear out shot from the toilet pan.....it wasn't me it was a friend...honest
Nasty. Funny but nasty.
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Does it make more of a difference if it is a large animal then? Here is one of the recommendations in this article...
https://www.avma.org/public/Health/Pages/Disease-Precautions-for-Hunters.aspx
"Avoid abdominal shots because they lead to contamination of the meat and can cause the animal needless suffering. If any intestinal contents of the game come into contact with meat, the meat should be considered contaminated and should be cut off and discarded. Do not feed the contaminated meat to other animals, or they may become infected."
https://www.avma.org/public/Health/Pages/Disease-Precautions-for-Hunters.aspx
"Avoid abdominal shots because they lead to contamination of the meat and can cause the animal needless suffering. If any intestinal contents of the game come into contact with meat, the meat should be considered contaminated and should be cut off and discarded. Do not feed the contaminated meat to other animals, or they may become infected."
You cannot "avoid abdominal shots" with a shotgun. The holes made by No. 6 shot are small. Paunch (gut) the animal in a timely fashion, check the intestines for disease (e.g. white spots on the liver which may indicate tularemia), cook, eat, spit out any shot.
People have been eating shot rabbits for centuries. Don't sweat it.
People have been eating shot rabbits for centuries. Don't sweat it.
I think you have been reading too many articles on preparing game meat written by people who don't hunt.
Clean the meat, cook it, and you'll be fine.
Don't over think it.
Clean the meat, cook it, and you'll be fine.
Don't over think it.
i remember reading that clovis people actually aimed (deliberately) for the bellies of mammoth (and other large game) - the belly skin is softer---> deeper penetration and safer for the hunter: just wait until the animal falls over... (!!!NOT something i'd consider fair or would recommend!!!)
i've killed enough wallabies (and other small game)with heart shots (hollow points do nasty things to tissue...)and eaten the meat without any ill effects.
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Just wondering why no one seems to have picked-up the idea that hunting with ferrets leads to pierced organs and guts.
In ferreting the rabbits are ideally flushed from their burrows by the ferrets and are usually caught in nets and dispatched by neck dislocation .
Some folk do shoot or hawk the flushed rabbits in which case there may be carcase damage . Many soft -mouthed dogs will bring a rabbit to hand alive and undamaged while others will make more of a mess than a full choke ten bore at as many yards!.
Once in a while a ferret may make a kill underground but any damage is usually confined to the neck and head area as these are the natural target of most predators.
Any contamination from burst guts and gall bladder is more likely to have an adverse effect on taste rather than your health. Its amazing what a good rinse or soak in salt water does to clean-up a badly shot carcase.
The one thing that does ruin a good rabbit especially if it has been shot is leaving it in the sun too long before cleaning it for the freezer or pot.
In ferreting the rabbits are ideally flushed from their burrows by the ferrets and are usually caught in nets and dispatched by neck dislocation .
Some folk do shoot or hawk the flushed rabbits in which case there may be carcase damage . Many soft -mouthed dogs will bring a rabbit to hand alive and undamaged while others will make more of a mess than a full choke ten bore at as many yards!.
Once in a while a ferret may make a kill underground but any damage is usually confined to the neck and head area as these are the natural target of most predators.
Any contamination from burst guts and gall bladder is more likely to have an adverse effect on taste rather than your health. Its amazing what a good rinse or soak in salt water does to clean-up a badly shot carcase.
The one thing that does ruin a good rabbit especially if it has been shot is leaving it in the sun too long before cleaning it for the freezer or pot.
This is not always so. Rabbits often deliberately wedge themselves in a burrow so tight a ferret cannot get past them to get at the neck (rabbits are not stupid this behaviour is protection) when this happens the ferret will scratch and chew at the rear quarters of the rabbit, it is amazing how much damage a rabbit will take sooner than bolt. I have dug out many laid-up rabbits which were still alive despite having extensive damage to their hind quarters, so much so it makes you wince. I used to do a lot of rabbit control and have caught thousands of rabbits with nets/ferrets/snares/guns/and dogs. One thing often overlooked is care of the carcase after killing, many people gut the carcase far too soon when the rabbit is still warm, you should always allow the carcase to cool a little before gutting, gutted warm the blood in the cavity will run and stain the fat around the kidneys and the flesh in cavity will look scruffy, when cooled the fat will look clean and white and the flesh in the cavity will look pink and clean because the blood wont soil when cold (you only let the carcase cool, half an hour or so, some people do the opposite and dont gut soon enough which also spoils the meat) Shot in a carcase is nothing to worry about but I always pick out clean netted rabbits for myself as I have that option. Incidentally when you skin lots of rabbits you find all sorts of things, smaller early season rabbits that try to squeeze through a net will get net burns/marks to their flesh if left too long in nets without killing, I have lost count of the airgun pellets I have found lodged under the skin of rabbits.
