Mike,
Really early on in the game, I learned from my Dad NOT to use long rifle rounds for squirrel hunting. The standard and high velocity rounds of long rifle would leave a bushy tail stuck on a branch, where the lowly short would knock his ass down.
I did use LR to dispatch skunks caught in my fox sets, as there seemed to be less drama (and, stench) involved. We also used LR to snipe at raccoons on a friends farm, working a night shift to keep his Dad's sweet corn from being marauded by those wretched beasts. We would park a car with the headlighs on down the road that ran next to his Dad's corn, and have at 'em as they crossed in the middle of the night. It was fun until about midnight, then, it was just another 3rd shift job.
We got paid by the kill.
I have a lot of time involved with .22 rifles, but, not recently. My kid will shoot for about a half hour, then reaches for some electronic device of some sort.
I would have shot (and, did a few times) from sunup to sunset.
Best,
Ted
