.22 for squirrel

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mikeb3185

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going squirrel hunting for the first time,next week, this season and first time with a .22

is any type/model of .22 better? as in solid or hp, standard or high velocity ect

thanks \
 
A .22lr in just about any form will be good for squirrel. Just remember your distance (which needs to be under 100 yards).

I always try to get headshots on a squirrel. They need to get put down quick, as you will not find one that has been wounded. So, headshots. That being the case, bullet selection is not so important. Some rounds shoot better than others, so you might want to take a few for a spin (normal, hyper, super velocity).

What kind of .22 do you have? If you do not yet have one and money isn't a factor, then try to get a lever action or bolt action that can shoot .22LR, .22 long and .22 short.

EDIT

Otherwise, just get what you can afford and have fun.

BTW, get Sam Fadala's book "Complete Guide to Game Care and Cookery". you can get it here. It will tell you how to cook them up right.
 
My only suggestion would be not to go with hollowpoints. Any standard or high-velocity solid point will work fine. Hollowpoints work too, but tend to make an unneccesary mess of head shots.
 
Back when I was much younger and hunting a lot I learned how they shot squirrel back in the hill country. Its called 'barking' and its a pretty neat skill. The idea is to take your shot when the animal is on the trunk or on a big limb. Aim for just under the head. The concussion will kill the animal without touching it with a bullet. If the eyes are open its dead, if they are closed then its unconscious and will have to be dispatched in the usual way or left to wake up and live another day. We shot with old 36 caliber black powder rifles. I don't know if a 22 has enough punch to do it. I kind of doubt it. Fried squirrel or stewed if young is tasty. I never got real good with the barking technique, they were real sharpshooters but I did get my share of the little buggers. They also hunted as a team and by one of them going to the other side of the tree the squirrel had less places to hide. They would stand still for a few minutes and the animal would forget that there were two of them. When one moved the squirrel would go to the other side of the tree and then then the other hunter would have his chance.
 
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I suggest CCI Mini Mags or Win Power Points. If you can't find those go with a standard or high velocity round loaded with hollow points. Stay away from solids and sub sonics as they don't kill as effectively.
-Mike
 
You may want to try CCI Quick-Shok pre fragmented ammo. I've never shot anything living with it, but i can safely say that it is the most devestating .22 ammo i've ever shot a milk jug with. Never get tired of watching milks jugs getting split in half by this ammo.
 
I learned early on that solids were best for squirrels. You can put 'em down with an air gun. They ain't elephants. :rolleyes: Solids to a lot less damage on an upper body hit. Head shots are best but any upper body shot puts a squirrel in the pot. I don't remember loosing any squirrel I actually hit and I've been hunting 'em since I was a kid. I guess you could take a foot off or something, but if you hit the body, he's goin' to fall.

Heck, I've hunted 'em with .22 short solids, LRs, whatever. I like to use .22 solids now days and keep my shots inside 50 yards. Actually, rifle hunting 'em is so easy, I've taken to handgunnin' up last few times I hunted 'em. I have a contender in .22 that is primo squirrel medicine.

Every gun likes certain ammo. Buy a box of everything you can get and try each in your gun bench rested for groups at 50 yards. Pick what's accurate. Don't worry about power. ANY LR has enough power. I have one rifle that LOVES RWS target. It's unreal accuate with the stuff and so-so with about everything else. So, I shoot RWS target on squirrels with that rifle. My old Remington M512X which I got when I was 9 years old, has killed many a squirrel with different fodder over the years. It likes about anything. It's an almost target accurate gun and is a simple bolt action tube fed rifle. About the only thing it won't shoot well enough to suit me for squirrels is CCI Stinger and that stuff is overly destructive on squirrels anyway.

Think of it this way, hitting a squirrel in the chest with a .22 is about like hitting a human in the chest with a 105mm cannon round. Effectiveness is not an issue. :D
 
My squirrel rifle is a M82 Kimber with a Burris 4X mini scope. I hold that's as good a squirrel rifle as any ever made, and stand ready to prove it on the body of him who says different.:D

For years, I bought Winchester Wildcat solids by the 5,000 round case and killed hundreds (thousands?) of squirrels with that. I also have a Ruger 77/22M and that is too much for squirrels (I'll make an exception for late season, when all the leaves are off and you get some really long shots.)

For some reason, WalMart carries nothing but hollowpoints these days. My Kimber shoots those wide-mouthed Winchester hollowpoints very well, but they have a bit too much authority for my taste. They are definitely a head shot cartridge -- body hits make a mess.
 
Squirrel Hunting

When I was a kid in Missouri, Dad, always made sure that we had shooting sticks. We would walk slowly and see the squirrels. Shooting sticks increased our kill rates. You have to practice with them. I made one from a forked willow branch.

Lester
 
Hollow point 22LR,head or chest.They will run when they hit the ground.Never had much luck with a solid on anything.We must have tougher squirrels around here.I use a Marlin, model 39 lever with a 3x9 scope.If hunting cat squirrels I use a 20 guage.I also use a Ruger .22 pistol when I want to show off.
 
Hollow point 22LR,head or chest.They will run when they hit the ground.Never had much luck with a solid on anything.We must have tougher squirrels around here.I use a Marlin, model 39 lever with a 3x9 scope.If hunting cat squirrels I use a 20 guage.I also use a Ruger .22 pistol when I want to show off.
Click to expand...

I've hunted fox and cat squirrels in Texas all my life and never had the squirrel "run when it hit the ground" after a solid hit with a solid. I have practically blown 'em in half and ruined a lot of meat with hollow points when I was a kid until I figured out even a Benjamin air rifle would put a squirrel down, so why not use solids. I used to shoot solid shorts on 'em a lot, actually. They were quieter and when there was more'n one squirrel, I often had a shot at several as they ran around on the branch confused as to what was happening. :D

Squirrels up your way into angel dust or something?
 
Stay away from anything that will make a mess of the meat, hollow points and try to take head shots. They can be tough buggers and wounded animals tend to disappear.

Worst feeling in the world (to me) while hunting is a wounded animal left to die later...
 
For hunting squirrels, use solids. Aim for the front shoulders or head. Not sure what 22's are allowed in NY state for hunting. In PA, you can't use semi-autos. Pick up a few boxes of 22 shells and do some shooting targets to make sure you rifle is hitting ok. You usually can't go wrong with CCI ammo, but every 22 rifle seems to have a preference for a brand of ammo in terms of shooting the best.

My favorite squirrel rifle is my Remington 541-S with 4x scope. If allowed, the Ruger 10-22's are a lot of fun. Marlin 39A is a great squirrel rifle.

Be careful with the 22 rifle. Remember it is a rifle and will shoot a mile. Try to have a backstop.
 
If you wanna save the meat (and you should) go for head shots. Body shots are often messy, and ruin alot of good meat (and there's not that much there to start with). And, for head shots, almost any .22LR will do the job.

My buddy and I just spent several months trying all kinds of .22LR ammo, in 5 different guns, to find the most accurate loads. They ALL liked standard velocity, 38 or 40 grain loadings the best. Some of the high velocity stuff was OK, but none was as accurate as the standard stuff. The 3 best we found (and this was pretty much for all 5 guns) were:

Wolf Match Target
Winchester T-22
Federal "Classic" Gold Label

So try these for starters. But every .22 seems to like something different, so try out some different ones as well. Some people DO get really good accuracy out of the high velocity ammo.

If you don't have a really good scope, consider buying an inexpensive one.
I was given a Marlin Model 60, with a junk Tasco ".22" scope on it. I replaced it with a Tasco "Pronghorn" ($40) and it now consistently shoots 10 shot, dime sized groups at 50 yards (perfect for head shots on squirrels) using the Wolf Match Target.

I also have a 25N bolt, with a similarly crappy scope (a 2.5x Redfield)...I've not used it much, but think I'm gonna buy a better scope, and see what it'll do. The reason I don't shoot it much, is the model 60 is SO darned accurate, I just love shooting those tiny groups with it. But I suspect the boltgun can be just as accurate.
 
Eley match is some awesome stuff in both my rifles.
Click to expand...

Surpisingly, we tried some of this, as well, including in my buddies $2500 target gun. And the Wolf Match Target was actually more accurate. Goes to show you never know what a gun is gonna like.

P.S. Boy is that stuff expensive!
 
As far as I know,the squirrels around here aren't on anything,but they are wild.They don't poke their head out and pose for the shot,well sometimes they do,but you can't count on it.I don't eat the heart,lungs or head,and if I loose a forleg that dosen't bother me to much.I do know some folks that eat the heads though,my dad and a lot of the old timers did.I have used solids on squirrels,and killed them very dead,I've also had them run into a nest,or a fork in the tree and die.Way up there or way out on a limb thats way up there.If he's not dead when he hits the ground,he will run and hide.As I don't hunt in my yard or the park where the grounds are cleaned and mowed,there is usually a lot of underbrush and briars for him to get lost in.
 
I have an old Remington Target-Master single shot bolt action .22 It has a long barrel and shooting shorts it is almost silent. Like the rest said anything will work for a head shot and you don't need any hyper speed zombie killer bullet for squirrel's
 
Surpisingly, we tried some of this, as well, including in my buddies $2500 target gun. And the Wolf Match Target was actually more accurate. Goes to show you never know what a gun is gonna like.

P.S. Boy is that stuff expensive!
Click to expand...

Yeah, but I shoot beer cans with Federal Lightening. :D

My old Mossberg shoots best with RWS target, even better than with Eley, and it's cheaper than Eley. Eley turns my old Remington into a friggin' Anchutz! :what: Stuff is miraculous in that gun. I keep a box around just in case the club decides to have a 22 shoot. :D
 
I started off squirrel hunting with a pump up .22 air rifle and iron sights. I killed lots of squirrels with this rig.
When I got older I graduated to a ruger 10/22 with a 3x9 scope. This rig was death on squirrels and quickly became pretty boring. It's almost too easy. I eventually replaced the scope with a williams peep sight and that put the challenge back into it, for awhile.
When I hunt squirrels these days, its with a revolver, usually a 6" model 17. Squirrel hunting with a handgun brings back some of the excitement that I used to have as a kid about squirrel hunting. It can definitely be a challenge.
I usually use solids for squirrels. A cci stinger will pretty much destroy a squirrels head, and I think they're overkill. As long as you take head shots, you can use anything from a CB to a .22 mag. If any other small game is available, you might want to use a high velocity hollow point. But just for squirrels, you don't need them.

Have Fun
 
I also like Wolf Match Target ammo (40gr solids). Buy them a carton at a time so the lot numbers match. Priced around $35 at shows.

Believe it or not, I get good accuracy out of the standard high velocity Remington stuff as well as Federal ammo in several rifles. Standard velocity 22 ammo tends to be more accurate overall and is sufficient for squirrel hunting.
 
If you're going to eat them stay away from the hyper or hollow points as they are to destructive. The Wolf match target which is a subsonic is a good choice and hits with plenty of authority out to 50-60 yards. I now use nothing but subsonics for my squirrel hunting and even the Remington subs perform great in my guns. Plus they are some of the most accurate 22 ammo you can use. Try for head shots as suggested or the front shoulder where you will lose less meat to damage.
 
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