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Rimfire rifle vs shotgun for squirrel

Rimfire rifle vs shotgun

  • Total voters
    89
BreechFace said:
I spent some time in college nuisance hunting squirrels out of almond orchards near a dairy. My cartridge of choice was a 17HMR, but we weren't hunting for meat there. It's amazing what squirrel colonies can do to an almond orchard yield. These squirrels were all taken on the ground beneath the trees or running to their bunker underneath pump stations or on the side of sediment ponds.

If one wanted to and was a good shot the 17HMR would take the heads off at the shoulders and preserve the meat, even out to 75 yards or so with a good scope. The 17HMR is a very flat shooting and accurate round once one finds an ammo and production lot of that particular ammo that your rifle likes.
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Sounds like a fun job. We only have apple orchards around here. Ive thought about trying out one of those rifles before. I've always been worried they wouldn't have enough punch to em but then again air guns are usually .17 caliber
 
Appalachiannative said:
Sounds like a fun job. We only have apple orchards around here. Ive thought about trying out one of those rifles before. I've always been worried they wouldn't have enough punch to em but then again air guns are usually .17 caliber
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A chest to gut shot will nearly split a squirrel in half with the Hornady vmax @ 2,650fps MV. They are very immediate destructive results (see picture below).

So it’s headshot only if one wants the meat, or shoot them with FMJ load.
 

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I like a 22 if I'm gonna be setting still, preferably with a good fine-crosshair scope. My CZ 457 and Leupold 4x28 usually fill that bill. If I'm running behind a dog with the guys, I like to carry a shotgun, preferably my M12 full choke 16 gauge. However, I have been known to carry an iron-sighted pump 22 when it's "my turn" to carry the 22 on a dog hunt. Usually there are 4 or 5 of us chasing 2 dogs, and most guys will carry a shotgun. But, we have at least one 22 in the group for the ones that hold tight. A scope hinders more than it helps when dog hunting I think, since if they're running it's harder to get on them with a scope than it is with irons. A Marble's bullseye sight is excellent for both moving and still squirrels, as is a good peep, but I like the bullseye better.

Mac
 
If I'm in need of 4 or 5 squirrels for a pot of Jambalaya ... I carry a Model 17 Remington 20 gauge pump ... I don't want to miss any .

If I'm just out and about for relaxation and maybe don't feel like cleaning any squirrels I take the Ruger 10/22 ... when I got the 22 LR they tend to not give me a shot ... jumping and running , they wont stop and hold still ... I'm not the best shot on a moving / running target .

My most productive hunts , in Louisiana ...8 bag limit - 24 possession limit ... were with the shotgun !
Gary
 
MacAR said:
I like a 22 if I'm gonna be setting still, preferably with a good fine-crosshair scope. My CZ 457 and Leupold 4x28 usually fill that bill. If I'm running behind a dog with the guys, I like to carry a shotgun, preferably my M12 full choke 16 gauge. However, I have been known to carry an iron-sighted pump 22 when it's "my turn" to carry the 22 on a dog hunt. Usually there are 4 or 5 of us chasing 2 dogs, and most guys will carry a shotgun. But, we have at least one 22 in the group for the ones that hold tight. A scope hinders more than it helps when dog hunting I think, since if they're running it's harder to get on them with a scope than it is with irons. A Marble's bullseye sight is excellent for both moving and still squirrels, as is a good peep, but I like the bullseye better.

Mac
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Reckon that's part of why I'm partial to the scatter gun. I'm always hunting with dogs
 
I like using a.22 rifle and head shoot them . The shotgun tears them up to much and I hate biting shot and bone . I find it very relaxing still hunting squirrels . I do more rabbit hunting now than anything .
 
Arkansas Paul said:
I love SxS shotguns. The history, nostalgia, all of it.
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I grew up using a SxS 20 gauge borrowed from the Sheriff of Miller County Arkansas to hunt until I got my own shotgun when I was eleven. I used a .22 on occasion but the 20 gauge in the early season. I loved that borrowed shotgun and that was a main reason I bought one.
 
For those using .22s, are you using dogs? Whats your average take?

I prefer to use a .22 but I don’t like shooting them into the air. If I’m trying to kill more than a couple, I take the shotgun.
 
DM~ said:
So, it's exactly what the pict. shows, 8x57JRS.
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That's the rimmed version of the .323 bullet 8mm Mauser, not the earlier .318 bullet version correct.

Great grandfather had a rolling block in .318 version which I think is just JR. I only remember it because my grandfather always complained about finding bullets for it.
 
Where and when I went squirrel hunting, there were no occupied homes (other than my uncles' home) with a mile or more.
Today there are too many homes within .22 rifle bullet range there to let me fill comfortable shooting at squirrels in trees.
 
In 1971 I was stationed at Vandenberg AFB as an Environmental Health Specialist. I saw an article in a journal about a Sylvatic Plaque survey being done at Fort Collins. I called and volunteered my services as they were asking for squirrels from military bases. I finally got permission from my boss, the Hospital Commander and the Base Commander. For safety reasons I had to use a 12 gauge shotgun lent to me by our Security Police. No problem. I had a ball going down to the beach waiting for the ground squirrels to pop up and then take them. I’d send the remains packed in dry ice back to Colorado.

I received a call from a Captain from another base that heard what I was doing and asked if he could join me. He brought his new .222 Remington for a two day hunt. That was fun shooting at 100+ yards back on the base. Really wasn’t leaving me much to send off when he hit them in the body, but head shots decapitated them cleanly.

That was the best month of my 4 years serving my country.
 
zdc1775 said:
That's the rimmed version of the .323 bullet 8mm Mauser, not the earlier .318 bullet version correct.

Great grandfather had a rolling block in .318 version which I think is just JR. I only remember it because my grandfather always complained about finding bullets for it.
Click to expand...
Back when this firearm was built, (1935) they were hand built and there was no std. in dimensions, not even bbls.. "J" bbls were/are .318" but bbl. makers in that time period made what THEY preferred and mine measures out at .321", so I use .323" bullets with great accuracy. A stroke of luck really!, and having been built by one of the finest gunmakers of all time, doesn't hurt either!

Krieghoff-Crest.jpg

DM
 
22lr with head shots. Shotgun just ruins the meat.
I prefer to hunt them with bird seed while bow hunting deer for the entertainment. Helps pass the time in the tree stand.
 
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