[.cheese.]

I am looking to go on my first hunt in about a month - small game - but am a little nervous about how to humanely take an animal.

I'll be hunting with a .22lr rifle, mainly because I don't have anything else - and am concerned about the animal still being conscious after I take my shot.

I don't want it to suffer, so I'm hoping if possible to go for a head shot? If I can do that, to basically turn out the lights as quick as I can. If I miss, I was hoping to be able to move quickly and use a handgun to finish the job - again as quickly as possible.

For me, while I really want to get into the sport of it, I plan to only take 1 animal with the intent of eating it (smoking it that night). I was hoping to go for turkey, but after reading it looks like that's restricted when it comes to rimfire. So I guess it would be small boars or something around those lines (I still need to figure out what is legal game for boars).

I know nada... zilch... about this and am learning as I read.

Please give me some pointers about how to humanely take game. I unfortunately don't have the option as of the moment to move up to a higher caliber for the rifle. That's on my to-do for the future.

[GCW5]

I'd recomend that you start with squrrels or rabbits. Head shots with hollow points are as quick a kill as you can get, but chest shots work well too, they just mess up some meat. I like squrrels slow cooked in the crock pot, rabbit fried.

Most wild hogs are pretty large and mean, I think you'd do better with atleast a 30/30 for them.

[.cheese.]

I didn't realize you could eat them.

What else is small but edible?

Actually, I think I had rabbit once at a restaurant. It had a strange texture if I remember right.

[GCW5]

Rabbit tasts just like chicken, or is it the other way around. So does Squrrel, rabbit is very tender, most squrrel is tough.

[hagar]

You have it wrong. Squirrel taste like bald eagle!:D

Stick to small game and pests till you get proficient. Use hollow point bullets that shoot accurately in your rifle, and only take shots you are confident of making. Handgun hunting should only be done after getting some experience. Study diagrams of the animals you intend to hunt, and aim for the heart/lung area. Head/neck shots can kill instantly, but can also lead to animals running of with a horrible wound and dying slowly. A lung or heart shot will kill an animal quick and humanely.

And lastly, make sure you hunt legally and ethically. Have a hunting license, and do not trespass, leave garbage in the woods or vandalize property.

[.cheese.]

of course

[Sunray]

"...use a handgun to finish the job..." You won't need a handgun for anything when you have a rifle. In any case, carrying one while hunting may be illegal where you are.
"...I know nada..." Start with a hunter's safety course. Most places require one to get a licence. Contact your local Fish and Game or whatever it's called where you are. The very last thing you need as a new hunter is to get arrested for hunting illegally.

[MDHunter]

A lot of states' hunting seasons are closed now as the animals are starting to near breeding season.

+1 on the hunter safety course, may be a requirement depending on where you live.

Michael

[308win]

If you are hunting with a .22lr stick to small game. We used to shoot our meat hogs we were butchering between the eyes with a .22lr but they were domesticated and in a pen and the margin of error was very small to put them down humanely.

[PaladinX13]

Of all the parts of hunting, I'd argue that shooting is the most easily mastered- especially the .22LR (which I can practice with on my land or at the range, whereas center-fire calibers demand more field experience)- so do that. Of course, take a hunter's ed course as others mention, but as far as the "making the shot" part, I'm really confident in my ability to gauge my own ability- whether I can make the shot under different time, distance, wind, etc. constraints. .22LR hunting is more about accuracy than anything else, so get accurate shooting under the same conditions you'll be hunting under.

If you do your part- using good judgment in relation to your skills- then .22LR will bring down anything that can be legally hunted with rimfire humanely.

[.cheese.]

I'm pretty accurate - although I hear a lot that the animals move quite a bit? Obviously, I don't want to be shooting at an animal that is running, but I don't know much about how much movement there is to deal with. Optimally, I'd want to shoot an animal standing perfectly still I imagine.

[jeepmor]

If you live near ranch land or within a weekend drive, it is currently "squeak season" as we called it in college. We could plink them right off campus in Klamath Falls where I went to schoo. I'm in Oregon and just went from Fields, OR to Baker City and we saw a bunch, the most in the Burns.

Asking at a grocery store of a good ranch to ask, the lady said, "All of them, just walk up and ask, some will give you ammo for your 22. A lot of ranches are rimfire only due to the flat terrain and close proximity to cattle and irrigation sprinklers. Lots of fun, look for dirt mounds in freshly cut fields. Not sure I'd eat em though, just practice your shooting.

[modifiedbrowning]

small game -
So I guess it would be small boars or something around those lines (I still need to figure out what is legal game for boars).

You are joking, right?

[.cheese.]

just going through the list of what's legal and trying to figure out what's small enough.

That wasn't a final choice or anything.

Criteria: small enough for a .22lr and edible.

[zinj]

I'd say the most humane gun for small game is the shotgun, within range. Multiple hits means a greater chance of getting an instant drop.

[dfaugh]

Shotgun is better for moving game...Even the best shot won't be reliably able to hit a running rabbit or squirrel w/ a .22.

When I hunt w/ a .22 (rabbit or squirrel) I wait for still head shots. A hit mean they're DRT (Dead Right There)...a miss usually means no injury/wounding.

To me, rabbit tastes kinda like white meat chicken, while squirrel tastes more like dark meat. But, I don't much care for either (especially squirrel) if cooked "normally" like you would chicken for example. But, do a search here (and elsewhere) and you'll find lots of tasty recipes. Many will use a variety of spices which cover up any "gamey" tate.

.22 for hog/pigs. Definitely re-think that one. I wouldn't consider less than some serious artillery ther. They can be taken with small caliber centerfire, but I might stumble unto a big one...and they're NASTY...large caliber semiauto for me!

[DWARREN123]

You have the right idea about a humane kill. It might be better to read up more on your local and state laws on hunting and some books on small game hunting. Turkey is usually shot with a shotgun sometimes (depends on localtion) with rifles. For boar I would go with shotgun or a larger caliber rifle than a rimfire.
Shooting small game is usually done whle they are still because of their size it is hard to hit them while moving.
I would also suggest you find someone in your area to help on learning how to hunt.
Good luck to you, be careful.

[Art Eatman]

Practicality: Patience lets you see a sitting squirrel. Rabbits tend to freeze in place when slightly spooked and the "booger" is at any distance. So, a shot at a staionary target.

Take the body shot if you're not confident about a head shot. Then, putting one foot on the head, grab the hind legs and pull and twist. Snaps the spine. For-sure dead.

Art

[smokemaker]

Also understand that some small animals that are fatally head shot sometimes (rabbits especially) will kick about a bit, even when mortally hit. The brain short circuits, for lack of a better explanation, and the critters kick and twitch for a few seconds. It doesn't mean that you made a bad shot, it's just the nature of it.

Just thought you should know, after voicing your concerns.