Ten minute Bunny hunt.

[Elmer]

Yup, the Bunnies are getting scarce, had set up my gear at a well known productive spot and to my disbelief had to wait 3 hours for the first one to appear.
Was starting to think the new K5 virus had swept through my area until right on dusk with only ten minutes of light left (if you can call it that) they started to pop their heads out, which was pretty useless as the range finder was hard pressed to give a reading and I could only just see them and thats with Binos too.
There were a few about 525yds away but they were sitting right on top of a small hill with no back stop which made taking a shot waaaay to dangerous.
Anyway I did manage to get a shot at one ( Yup, 50 bucks for petrol, food etc and only one Bunny ... ) he was next to impossible to get a reading with the RF so I had to get one from a bush nearby.
At approx 405yds (370mts) I put the reticule of the Leupold on his chest and with no wind to worry about and spin drift to consider, I gave it one click to the left...I set the trigger and touched off the shot. That 250 is bloody loud when there is no wind but the victim was pushed on his side when the 55gn Winchester ballistic sivertip struck him in the engine room.
Their lack of enthusiasm to come out and play when only a few weeks before they came out a couple of hours before dusk, was I think, because of a strong 32kph wind blowing directly into their burrows which probably sandblasted their poor wittle noses when they poked their heads out.
Anyway the virus hasn't struck YET so I better make the most of it,
cheers,
Sean.
https://youtu.be/Js99sQUb8-s

[pete1]

Last i heard they were gunna release the K5 virus in 2017 aless they've released it early.

[Elmer]

Yeah , I heard that it was to be released in Spring 2016 or Autumn 2017...I have heard reports of areas being wiped clean of rabbits especially around the Coorong in SA , am wondering if thats the new strain.

[Squiddy]

Wasn't this on landline today on ABC?

[combo12]

The story goes that a rogue strain of calici virus (K2) has recently done the rounds ahead of the official K5 release date later this year. Whether it was a genetic aberration of the original K1 or an illegal import by person or persons unknown is yet to be established. Regardless, personal observation suggests that rabbit populations in parts of the Flinders Ranges & Burra area are very much reduced.

[gazza]

My spots are showing signs of less rabbit activity. They always have seemed to come in waves though. Last year sometime it seemed like a mini plague.

[YoungBuck]

Got an email from FeralScan recently, this is a paragraph of the email:

This weekend, ABC Landline will be featuring a story on wild rabbits in Australia, and the planned release of an additional strain of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV, also known as calicivirus) called K5 which is scheduled for release in autumn 2017. Hear all about the RHD-Boost project to control rabbits, and how you can get involved.

[Elmer]

Get involved ? F..k that, I will buy breeding pairs of bunnies , have them immunized then release them after the virus has hit....what small game hunter in his right mind would join forces to eradicate our sport. Yes they are a pest, but not as bad as pre 50s or 95 and releasing more strains of virus into the environment does not sit right with me.The places I go to shoot have reasonable populations of bunnies but they certainly are manageable and I could easily wipe them all out but then I would have nothing to shoot. One farmer I know got so sick of the little bastards burrowing under his water tank poured concrete down the holes then when set, they tried to burrow out with new holes; he simply flooded the new holes with water...problem solvered , no more bunnies. He didn't need a bloody virus.

[YoungBuck]

Yes to the recreational shooter this new virus is going to be a nuisance as its going to reduce the bunny numbers by heaps. Get in as much bunny hunting as you can before this time next year as your regular shooting locations may just become devoid of bunnies.

[Yelp]

Whether it was a genetic aberration of the original K1 or an illegal import by person or persons unknown is yet to be established.

Illegal import? Seriously? Is there any evidence to suggest that could have happened or was someone wearing their tin-foil hat

[Tomek]

From: http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agricultu ... /rhd-boost

Do not expect to see population reductions like those seen with the release of calicivirus in 1996/97. RHDV K5 is not being released into a naïve rabbit population like that in 1996. Knockdowns are expected to be improved by anywhere from 0- 40%, depending on location and susceptibility of the rabbit population to RHDV K5.It will not kill every last rabbit.

0-40% isn't bad. Would it be the difference between seeing say, 3 rabbits and 5? After the shot scares the rest off, does it matter that much? Excuse my ignorance and I have yet to go hunting...

[Elmer]

I really don't think K5 is going to be a real problem but what is going to be a problem is a nasty little virus getting around at the moment called RHDV2, its a French strain and somehow first appeared in Canberra in 2010 (I think) and has spread to NSW, Vic and SA . This little gem kills Kits as young as 4 weeks old and is highly virulent. In Europe the spread of V2 is slow yet steady BUT in OZ it has astounded the experts buy spreading in leaps and bounds (no pun intended) in such a short time frame. The OZ scientists are very concerned about V2 as it may (and probably will) affect the potency and spread of K5 (good for hunters, bad for farmers and scientists). The next couple of years will be very interesting , like one of the senior research scientists said (referring to k5) "K5 is going to be one big experiment, nobody can truly predict the outcome"....lets hope it wont be a positive one for the scientists.