Airgun hunting eastern cottontails

[BwanaDave]

Having looked through this years hunting regulation synopsis Im still not sure whether it would be legal to hunt bunnies with a high power air rifle in the Chilliwack area on private property. Eastern cottontails are schedule C wildlife and can be killed at any time anywhere in the province with no bag limit as long as you hold a hunting licence if they are not causing property damage or you are off your own property hunting them. The hiccup is that a pellet gun is considered a firearm and Im not sure if you can discharge a firearm shooting a single projectile in the local tree farm fields around here. I'd really like to know before I lay out the cash to pick up a nice air rifle and start knocking on doors for permision to hunt. I'd appreciate it if anyone has any information or has tried this avenue to extend their hunting season in the past. Thanks
BD

[Blacktail]

You have to find out what the municipality considers legal hunting means and whether or not you can discharge a pellet gun.
Under the federal firearms a pellet gun is only considered a firearm if it can propell a projectile over 500 FPS but under the provincial Wildlife Act for hunting purposes a pellet gun regardless of its rating is considered a firearm.

From what I can gleen from the regs it would be my opinion that you first find out from the municipality what the bylaws are and then find out if the area where you want to hunt is in a single projectile ban area where you can only use a firearm with shot.If it is not so designated and the municipal bylaws prevent it then it would be a no go.If the bylaws are silent and outside the single projectile ban area then I would say happy hunting.

[Schutzen]

BD

Phone the local C.O. then your mind will be at ease one way or another.

[BwanaDave]

Thanks guys,

I actually looked up the municipal firearms bylaws online at the city of chilliwack website and am ok where I plan to hunt. Went out an shot 2 cottontails at a friends farm yesterday and both had torn skin around their necks, thick yellow pus ,crusted hair and small white / yellow spots on the liver. I also found one lying in the blackberries with no apparent gunshot wound ,the yellow pus around its head and stone cold dead. Ive snared/ shot a lot of varying hare / jacks in my day but am a relative newcomer to eastern cottontails. Is this a common sort of thing? I didnt eat either rabbit but did clean them to look at the livers/ internal organs. Im a little leery of eating them and am hoping that someone here has heard of this or has experienced this and can explain it to me. Neither rabbit acted strangely and both were shot by slowly walking beside the blackberry bushes and peering in to spot them.

BD

[Blacktail]

sounds like they have been poisoned in some way

[3kills]

dont a lot of rabbitts cary some sort of disease??? could that be it???

[YukonJack]

I'd get one into the Wildlife folks...might be something new or devious goin' on. No problem at all with our Island Eastern's. Never seen anything like that!

[steelheadSABO]

you can shoot their but i think its limited to 500 fps

[Grantmac]

Why not get a bow? It's definately not a firearm and many non-hunting savy folks seem to prefer their image. Plus it's makes the hunting that much more fun!

[tomahawk]

Is the air gun going to humanely kill the rabbit regardless of whether its legal or not?