Summary in Short: Curious how to get started in small game hunting? Red on as Tim Hovey reflects on how small-game hunting shaped his development as a hunter, taught him patience, stalking, shooting and fieldcraft. He describes hunting rabbits, squirrels, hares, and marmots in Idaho, highlighting the challenges unique to both rimfire and shotgun. He also recounts introducing his daughters to hunting, and encourages experienced hunters to revisit their small-game roots.
I’d venture a strong guess that most hunters started along the hunter’s path hunting small game back in the day. Whether you marched through a feral field as a youth with a BB gun, or spent spring weekends plinking tree squirrels with a single shot .22, we all have our hunting origin stories. Using a borrowed lever-action .22, I shot my first hunted animal, a jack rabbit, at the age of eleven. From that day on, I knew I was a hunter, and I would pursue whatever I could for as long as I could.
These early exposures to the hunting lifestyle are beyond important. They teach young hunters’ patience, stalking techniques and above all, how to shoot. I can clearly remember the more time I spent chasing small game when I was young, the better I got.
As with any activity, hunters look to continually challenge themselves, often starting off with small-game hunting, and then moving on to larger game. This is the natural progression of a hunter. You apply these early lessons and experiences to new, more challenging animals to pursue. I’m no different. However, regardless of what I have planned each hunting season, I always carve out some time to return to my roots and chase small game.
Here in Idaho, cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare and red squirrels are considered small game species. I also add rock chucks (marmots) and jack rabbits to my small game bag. These last two species are considered non-game animals, but inhabit the same small game habitat I hunt and are open year-round to the small game hunter.
When I first started hunting as a kid, the tried-and-true Ruger 10/22 was my small game rifle of choice. I mounted a 3-9 Weaver scope on the rifle, jumped in my Toyota hatchback and explored all the public land I could. I learned the tracks and scat of small game and soon became proficient at harvesting rabbits and squirrels whenever I wanted using the .22 round. Despite this round being the cartridge of choice back in the day, I soon found that another new cartridge was going to be my go-to round moving forward.
In 2002, Hornady released the .17 HMR round. Reaching nearly 3,000 fps out of the muzzle and touting exceptional small-round accuracy out at range, the new cartridge quickly eclipsed the round-nose .22 round as the preferred ammo of choice for small-game hunters.
Purchasing a heavy barrel Ruger M77 in .17 HMR, I began making longer, more accurate shots, and honestly, dropping larger species of small game. When my daughters started hunting with me. I purchased two Savage .17 HMR rifles for them to use, and they began their hunting journey pursuing cottontail and jack rabbits. During those early years, we harvested tree squirrels, cottontail rabbit, jack rabbit, marmots and ground squirrels. Like I had, they started their hunter’s journey chasing small game.
Despite the .17 HMR round being smaller than the historic .22 round, what impresses me most is the improved accuracy of the new round out at range. My daughter Alyssa has a confirmed kill on a cottontail rabbit with a ballistic-tip .17 HMR at a laser verified 176-yards. That is a tough shot for any small caliber, but the ballistics and design of the .17 HMR make it the round of choice for rim fire hunters chasing small game species.
Another of my favorite types of hunting is simply walking the sage-covered desert with a shotgun and kicking the brush for rabbits. If we locate sage and rabbit brush closely associated with a water source, it’s likely that both cottontail and jack rabbits will be close by. Scouting new areas, we look for piles of round scat, rabbit tracks and small, one-inch-deep holes made by both species looking for young, green grass shoots to consume.
I prefer a 20-gauge or 12-gauge shotgun loaded with shells with shot sizes in 7’s and 8’s. If I’m targeting the larger jack rabbits, I’ll load up with number 6 shot. This type of hunting is challenging and rewarding. Often, small game will hold tight to cover, only breaking to escape when the hunter is close. Shot opportunities will be brief and quick, rabbits often only offering a flash of fur before they escape. This type of hunting will sharpen your snap-shooting skills and certainly help you practice swinging a shotgun for upland season.
While not in the category of small game in the state of Idaho, rock chucks or marmots are always part of my small-game pursuit. Living in a mostly rural area thick with agriculture, this crop pest is usually at the top of the list for removal by most ranchers. Not only do they consume cash crops, but they also create extensive burrows, often damaging foundations under barns and outbuildings. For me, when spring arrives and it’s time to chase small game, it’s not difficult getting access to farm properties to help control the marmot population.
Only six months after I relocated to Idaho, I met a rancher named Roger who stated that he had a marmot problem. He ranched beef cows and ran a substantial dairy only twenty minutes from my new home. During the initial tour of the property, I spotted dozens of rock chucks all over, eating and burrowing. After that, he gave me full access to his parcel in the hopes I could help.
Over that first season, using one of my Savage .17 HMR rifles, I began to remove all the rock chucks I could find. Beginning in April, when they start to show themselves, all the way through August, I killed close to 100 marmots, with the largest being a 15.4 pounder. Since that first season, I make sure my rifle is sighted in and I have a few boxes of ammo, so I can help Roger out when the season starts.
Do yourself a favor this season and set aside some time to visit your youthful hunting roots. Grab that rimfire rifle and hit the woods like you use to. Or grab your favorite shotgun and stomp the brush for bunnies. I’ll bet revisiting those simpler times will leave you with a whole new appreciation for the subtleties of chasing small game. After all, it’s where most of us got our start.
