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The Jackalope Long considered a myth by chair-bound stuffed shirts who never venture outside the halls of academia, the Jackalope of the South-Western United States has continued to .. if not thrive .. at least survive. Reports of sightings and specimens taken by hunters turn up quite often. Those who choose to ignore the evidence of the Jackalope's existence are simply close-minded myopics. A distant relative of the Jackrabbit and one with whom they share many characteristics, the Jackalope is not a friendly bunny with antlers. No, it is a fearsome creature, known to attack with a ferocity that makes a wolverine look like a pet mouse! From birth the Jackalope's vicious anger is quite evident. At birth the only thing distinguishing the Jacklope from it's cousins is the fact they are born quite functional. A rabbit's litter when birthed is little more than hairless, blind pitiful little creatures that can't do much of anything. The Jacklope however gives birth to only one offspring and it resembles a 3-month old rabbit. White or light gray, the newborn has fangs fully developed and a rage to go with it. I have heard of the rare occasion of twins being born. When that happens the firstborn usually kills and eats the second born, unless the second born is meaner. It is a cruel world the Jackalope is born into! Antlers do not begin to grow until the end of the first year. Note here a 6 month old Jackalope being attacked by a coyote, and the result.
The Jackalope's intense nervous system requires it to eat 4 times it's body weight each day. Woe to the rancher who has 2 or 3 of these on his ranch! They can decimate a herd of cows in short order. That of course is one reason why the Jackalope is rarely seen. Ranchers have quietly reduced their numbers over the years until they are not the large problem they could be. Jackalopes are dangerous to hunt and should not be tackled alone. A nice short fast-handling levergun with sufficient power for one-shot stops is a minimum. I would not use less than a 30-30. At least one shotgunner with buckshot should be a backup and honestly, it's good to have 2 or 3. Especially if the Jackalopes are running in a herd. If you get into 8 or 10 of these together you will have your hands full, for they have no fear of gunshots. When the shooting starts they charge towards the noise with a fearsome growling and yowling like you have never heard in your life! I have seen grown men experience spontaneous bowel evacuations just at the howling of 2 or 3 Jackalopes. If the Jackalopes bunch up into a large herd .. well .. you do not want to tackle them with only 5 or 6 shooters. I once ran into a herd of Jackalopes and began shooting them. I killed 8 or 10 but was running low on ammunition. The little buggers were screaming and yowling and coming at me from several directions so I retreated up a canyon where I had them mostly in one direction. I must have killed 20 all told but they just gobbled up their dead and kept coming for me. About 9 PM that night I go trapped in a box canyon and used the last of my ammo shooting into the tightly-packed herd in front of me. When the shooting stopped they got deathly quiet, but kept moving towards me. I could see their evil red eyes glowing in the moonlight as they closed in. I took out my Cold Steel Master Hunter and laid into them, but it was no use. They swarmed over me and ripped me to shreds. It was awful. They killed me and then they ate me. I hate 'em! |
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