The most widespread feral pest in WA. Rabbits are everywhere, they breed like mad, and farmers have been fighting them since the 1850s. A bow is a brilliant tool for the job.
Rabbits cost Australian agriculture over $200 million a year. In WA they strip pasture, kill native seedlings, undermine soil structure with their warrens, and compete with livestock for feed. Eight rabbits eat roughly the same amount of pasture as one sheep. On a property running thousands of head, a few hundred rabbits make a measurable dent in carrying capacity.
They also cause massive damage to native bushland. Seedling regeneration in areas with high rabbit density is basically nil — anything that pokes above ground gets chewed to a stump. Rare native plants in the Wheatbelt and Great Southern are under constant pressure from rabbits. Calicivirus and myxomatosis knocked numbers back temporarily, but resistance builds and populations bounce right back.
Basically everywhere rural. The Wheatbelt is rabbit heartland — sandy soils perfect for warrens, cropping country with endless feed, and not nearly enough foxes or cats to keep numbers in check despite those species being pests themselves.
The northern corridor around Gingin and Chittering has big rabbit numbers on the sandy soils. Lifestyle blocks and hobby farms through there cop it — gardens destroyed, pasture eaten to dirt, young fruit trees ring-barked overnight.
South of Perth, the south-west has pockets too, particularly on cleared farmland adjacent to forest. Even the Perth Hills deal with rabbits on semi-rural properties. If there’s open ground and sandy soil within 50 kilometres of Perth, there are rabbits.
Rabbit hunting with a bow is the best training you’ll ever do. Small target, often moving, at variable ranges. If you can consistently hit rabbits at 15-25 metres you’re a genuinely good shot. That’s why rabbits are the perfect species for beginners to cut their teeth on.
This is the classic method. Walk through rabbit country with judo points or small game heads on your arrows. When you spot a rabbit sitting, draw and shoot. If you miss, the judo point stops the arrow tumbling off into the scrub. Brilliant for building instinctive shooting skills and it’s a relaxed, enjoyable way to spend a morning. Plenty of women in the WA bowhunting scene started exactly this way — a walk through the paddock with a bow, no pressure, just shooting.
Early morning and late arvo, rabbits come out to feed in the open. Walk slowly along fence lines and through paddocks. A rabbit sitting still at 20 metres is a very achievable shot. Move on, find another. You’ll cover ground, get some exercise, and take a handful of rabbits in a session. Farmers love seeing someone actually out there doing something about the problem.
Get a few mates together, have one or two walk through the scrub towards stationed shooters. Rabbits flush and run past the archers. It’s fast, chaotic, and great fun. Not the most efficient method per arrow, but it’s a good social outing and you’ll take a few if the numbers are there. Good way to introduce new hunters to the bush too.
If you’re new to bowhunting and wondering where to start, rabbits are the answer. You don’t need a 70-pound bow. You don’t need expensive broadheads. A mid-weight recurve or a light compound with small game points will do the job. The beginner’s guide covers gear in more detail.
Rabbits teach you fieldcraft. How to read wind. How to move quietly. How to judge distance. How to shoot under mild pressure. Every one of those skills transfers directly to pigs, deer, and foxes later on. Plus, landowners are far more relaxed about letting a new hunter onto the place for rabbits than for larger game. Low stakes, low risk, good practice.
Get your ABA membership sorted, read the ethics guide, and head out. You’ll be doing a landowner a genuine favour while building your skills.
This is possibly the easiest access conversation you’ll ever have. Almost every rural property in WA has rabbits. Almost every landowner is annoyed about them. The field guide covers the approach in detail, but honestly, for rabbits you can keep it simple.
Knock on the door, introduce yourself, mention you’re a bowhunter keen to help with rabbits. Carry your ABA card for insurance credibility. Most people will say yes on the spot. Once you’re on the property and they see you’re respectful, you’ll likely get invited back — and you might find they need help with foxes too.
You set the rules. We make sure they’re followed. That’s the standard, whether you’re hunting pigs in the forest or rabbits on a Wheatbelt cropping block.
The guide is free. The community is free. Just a bunch of WA bowhunters helping each other out. No gatekeeping, no fees.
regions
The Wheatbelt is fox and rabbit country. Community shoots, farm access, and how bowhunters fit into the picture.
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Rabbits, foxes and pockets of pigs on the northern agricultural fringe. Close to Perth with good access potential.
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A practical field guide to finding private land access for bowhunting in Western Australia. Where to look, how to approach landowners, and how to keep access long-term.
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