doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Much ado about one squirrel

There's a posting with pix and big write up on another site by a man who took a stand and shot one squirrel with a 12 gauge gun. Such a big accomplishment. He wrote also he got second one but forgot to take a pix. There's anothre man over there who hunts squirrels with 10 and 8 gauge guns. What's this world coming to? When I was a kid squirrels were hunted with 22's or with 410's except for those killed by chance while hunting for rabbit or partridge. Sitting on watch for squirrels with a heavy gauge gun and writing a story on what a great hunt it was ? Ya right. What do YOU use for squirrels?

.22's and, if I'm on my game, from a handgun.

I did once take a red squirrel with a .45-70 but he was charging and I needed a stopper.

Yes, a shotgun, any gauge, leaves damage to meat where you don't want it. I use 22 short hollow points, that's all I have in shorts, out of an open sighted Remington Model 12. Aim for the head and down they come, if you hit them. The 22 short is very quiet, similar to an air gun, so your next squirrel is a short distance away. Can't imagine using a 12 gauge with it's roar echoing through the woods. I guess you shoot what you own though.

Model2128Ga

Maybe it's a first one, maybe there aren't a whole lot of them around his area, could be a shotgun only area. Maybe, he gets others to give it a try, or takes his boy out in the woods. Unless, of course, he doesn't feel welcome.

Might be a sign you need to upgrade the sites you hang around. Let's face it, here we debate flannel versus undies for cleaning AFTER the shot....


Best,
Ted

I've used 12 gauges, 20 gauges, 22 rifle, and my favorite .22 target pistol. Depends if I'm hunting them or eliminating them around the farm as pests. Or if I'm out hunting for whatever happens along, then it's normally my double

If you enjoy squirrel hunting and like to eat the critters ( I do!) then I say shoot'em with whatever you like. Nothing particularly sporting about wounding the animal with a misplaced .22 shot or using a .410. That's just one man's opinion, of course.

Using a .22 with good optics is a grand way to practice for still hunting big game. If you can sneak up on a squirrel you can do the same with a deer. I've found that sub-sonic .22 hollow points kill reliably if I do my part and only take sitting shots. The sub-sonics don't have the crack that shuts down the woods like regular ammo does.

What do I use? A good bolt action .22 with a 1" diameter scope and sub-sonic ammo. Or if I'm in the mood a 12ga Lefever G grade with #4 shot. Over-kill? Nah, it just makes for a reliable kill without small shot screwing up the meat...Geo

My favorite squirrel gun is a Thompson Center percussion muzzle loader. It has a nice peep sight. With a .36 caliber round ball you can't miss.
terc

Two ways to hunt squirrel, still hunt and stop to listen. That way you sneak up on them and the rifle is you best bet. The other way is the frontal assault or what we call "vine shaking". No still shots there because the squirrel comes out running, so the shotgun is the right instrument...Geo

When I was hunting squirrels regularly in my youth (with a scoped .22; never any good with a pistol), I wouldn't take a shot unless it was thru the ears of eyeballs; but I'll admit the last squirrels I killed were taken with a semi-auto 12-bore, were shot in my yard (had a big yard), and I was danged well pleased with myself. Seems my wife and I had enjoyed watching squirrel antics for years; but they somehow suddenly became "demon" possessed! The danged things begin to climb onto the back porch and chew gaping chunks from the bottoms of bannisters and posts, chew holes in door frames, jump onto window ledges and chew the corners off my wooden shutters, etc.; in short they were doing hundreds of dollars in damage to my home. We tried everything we knew to run them off to no avail; those rascals would return as soon as our backs were turned, and I finally I had no choice other that to break out the old semi-auto 12-bore. So from that point forward, whenever we heard squirrel chewing I'd grab the shotgun (kept by the door at this point) and slip out as quietly as possible to do battle. Invariably, their recognition of my presence was simultaneous to my seeing the squirrel so that any shots taken were at a varmint instantly in "high gear". This insured that all shots taken were of the most sporting variety; and 36 squirrels later, after every one of these little grey blurs had been given a sporting chance, peace came once again to Collier's Creek. One funny story; got up early one AM to find a squirrel destroying the base of a back porch column. As it was morning shower time, I was clad only in my boxers; but in defense of my home I felt compelled to act quickly and grabbed the shotgun by the carport door. Easing to the outer edge of the carport, there sat the offender staring at me from a distance of approximately 6'. Faster than a freshly turpentined cat, the squirrel made a bee-line towards my back yard shed along with an accomplice I had not seen. In text book form I rolled them both; and as I stood there in my underwear with smoking gun in hand and ego swelled with great pride; my next door pointy-headed liberal leaning Obama supporting retired professor neighbor, whom I had not seen across the way, comes walking across the yard and he says with the sincerest tone of concern, "Tom, you OK"? With zero hesitation I smiled and said "Jim, I've never felt better"!