Ethics of Squirrel Head Shots

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Swifty Morgan

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I've been culling nuisance squirrels with a scoped .22. A lot of people have been recommending head shots, so that's what I tried to do.

I found that this method didn't work too well. I shot one squirrel in the head three times and then had to crush what remained of his head with my boot. He suffered a lot. I shot another one in the head, and it ran off. The next day, I shot it again, and I found that it had a massive wound on its jaw. It had been suffering all night.

Since so many hunters say they shoot squirrels in the head, I'm starting to wonder if a) they're lying, or b) they don't care much about quick kills. It appears that a squirrel's brain is tiny, and a head shot is likely to inflict painful injuries that don't kill fast.

I decided to give up on head shots. The squirrel I finished off yesterday was shot through the upper body, and it dropped instantly and didn't move. The meat was fine. It just had a couple of small holes in it.
 
I've never been keen on head shooting any game. 50 years of hunting have shown me that many people are really not very good at rifle shooting. Shooting deer, boar with head shots that go wrong leave a animal to die a terrible death by starvation. I'm a qualified dog tracking instructor and the only wound that really makes me cringe is a bad head shot. So unnecessary. Squirrels, why not chest shoot them. I doubt there is much meat damage. Funny how when people are tell you how to shoot something they suddenly become a super marksman themselves.
We used to shoot grey squirrels on vermin days at the end of the pheasant season. All shot with shotguns. A dose of heavy shot through the dray got a bit of speed behind the little rascals. Mind you no one ever wanted to eat the tree rats.
 
That was one tough squirrel. :D I've head shot squirrels a lot over my life and never had one do much more than twitch before it fell dead out of the tree. But, I'll take a body shot. Ain't a lot of meat there, anyway. I generally go with a body shot, a little more target, when handgunning 'em. Of course, you could shotgun 'em. I've done that, but it just seems like cheatin'. I even have killed 'em with a shotgun pistol...TC Contender with .410 barrel. :D Deadly to about 30 yards.
 
That was one tough squirrel. :D I've head shot squirrels a lot over my life and never had one do much more than twitch before it fell dead out of the tree. But, I'll take a body shot. Ain't a lot of meat there, anyway. I generally go with a body shot, a little more target, when handgunning 'em. Of course, you could shotgun 'em. I've done that, but it just seems like cheatin'. I even have killed 'em with a shotgun pistol...TC Contender with .410 barrel. :D Deadly to about 30 yards.

It must have been back in the 60s that i shot a squirrel with my Webly and scott bolt action .410 It fell to the ground with the .410 fiber wad firmly wedged up its But. Not sure if the shot killed it or the surprise of the wad;).
 
2 things are required to head shoot critters of any type and drop them on the spot. The first is precision marksmanship ability, in the given scenario and within the limits of the shooter and equipment. The second is knowing where the brain is in the skull of the critter in question. If these 2 requirements are not satisfied, that's when you end up with animals getting their face shot off, being blinded, etc. Not a humane thing, and a scenario where recovery of the animal may not happen.
 
2 things are required to head shoot critters of any type and drop them on the spot. The first is precision marksmanship ability, in the given scenario and within the limits of the shooter and equipment. The second is knowing where the brain is in the skull of the critter in question. If these 2 requirements are not satisfied, that's when you end up with animals getting their face shot off, being blinded, etc. Not a humane thing, and a scenario where recovery of the animal may not happen.

I'd add an accurate enough weapon is required. This is why I usually choose the body of the squirrel when handgunning 'em. Now, my .22 barrel on my contender is more accurate than most rifles and it wears a 2x scope, but it's a matter of getting a solid rest in the field to make the shot. I'm often shooting off my knees or against a tree trunk or something, not the most solid rest for a handgun.
 
The bullet-resistant squirrel I shot took two rounds from a pistol at a range of maybe 4 feet. Thing is, I don't practice at 4 feet, so I don't really know that the bullets went to the point of aim. Who even thinks about things like that? I guess I should take a few close-up shots at a target and see what the deal is.

I practice at 7 yards, minimum, and I tend to think in terms of man-sized targets. If it had been anything bigger than a squirrel, I would have hit the brain for sure, because an error of half an inch or whatever would still put me in the cranium.

It's hard to tell exactly where shots landed when the squirrel is a mess. I just know they hit him in the head. The possibility that a squirrel could take a shot to the head and keep kicking didn't occur to me, so I didn't prepare for this.

I plan to shoot for the upper body from now on. Much easier, and it seems to work better.
 
I'd add an accurate enough weapon is required. This is why I usually choose the body of the squirrel when handgunning 'em. Now, my .22 barrel on my contender is more accurate than most rifles and it wears a 2x scope, but it's a matter of getting a solid rest in the field to make the shot. I'm often shooting off my knees or against a tree trunk or something, not the most solid rest for a handgun.
That's what I meant by the capabilities of the shooter and the equipment.
 
I found that this method didn't work too well. I shot one squirrel in the head three times and then had to crush what remained of his head with my boot. He suffered a lot. I shot another one in the head, and it ran off. The next day, I shot it again, and I found that it had a massive wound on its jaw. It had been suffering all night.

I am going to say my experience is close to yours. Head shots can hit a jaw, allowing the squirrel to run off and die in pain. I have murdered a massive number of squirrels with air rifles and my experiences are that head shots can leave a squirrel alive, though very stunned and incapacitated. I have had to dispatch a very stunned, immobile squirrel, after a solid head shot. I did hit one in the eye socket, and it was dead before it hit the ground. I have made neck shots, (not where I wanted to hit!) apparently these cut the veins/arteries to the brain, and were very lethal.

Shut down the brain of any mammal, and you will end the existence of that mammal. My theory is, we are trying to kill the squirrel brain as rapidly and reliably as possible. I am of the opinion that the most positive mechanism is to kill the brain through massive bleeding. Depriving the brain of oxygen is an absolutely positive kill mechanism. I wait till I have a side or quartering shot. Shots through the chest cavity generally kill a squirrel within 5 to 10 seconds. I don't have a timer, so my time perception is probably off. I aim such that I want the bullet exit to be at the shoulder point opposite my near side aim point. If I can get a pellet to cross diagonally through the chest cavity, the end result is massive internal bleeding. The organs between the shoulders are the heart/lungs with plenty of arteries and veins. When I retrieve these squirrels, cut them open, they exhibit massive blood accumulation in the abdomen. Many of them died bleeding through the nose indicating the lungs were punctured. They may run 10 feet, but they they quickly exhaust the oxygen left in the body tissues, and then they drop dead.

Gut shot squirrels run off and die suffering. Spinal shots are mixed, inevitably paralyzing the squirrel, but not necessarily killing it. I did hit one recently, the bullet went through the shoulder and hit the spine. What killed the squirrel was that the pellet cut some large vein/artery near the spinal cord. The abdomen was full of blood.
 
Good call. Boiker room will do the trick just fine. I'd say it's much easier to hit a walnut sized targed than a tic tac ....not a fan of headshots and any game myself.
 
I have always used CCI Stingers when hunting with a 22. I harvested more squirrels and snow shoe hares than I can count. I've never experienced a bad head shot. All have died instantly. Maybe what you experienced was ammo failure.
 
A group of my friends are squirrel hunters. If they have the choice to hunt squirrels or deer, they always pick squirrels. 3 members of one family eat the heads and favor them over the rest of the squirrel. They never take head shots.
The other 2 guys don't eat squirrel heads so they always shoot them in the brain. None of either group ever use a shotgun, only scoped .22s. They also always limit out regardless of the method used.
Why? Because all of them are excellent shots. Perhaps, that relates to your problem.
 
I've been culling nuisance squirrels with a scoped .22. A lot of people have been recommending head shots, so that's what I tried to do.

I found that this method didn't work too well. I shot one squirrel in the head three times and then had to crush what remained of his head with my boot. He suffered a lot. I shot another one in the head, and it ran off. The next day, I shot it again, and I found that it had a massive wound on its jaw. It had been suffering all night.

Since so many hunters say they shoot squirrels in the head, I'm starting to wonder if a) they're lying, or b) they don't care much about quick kills. It appears that a squirrel's brain is tiny, and a head shot is likely to inflict painful injuries that don't kill fast.

I decided to give up on head shots. The squirrel I finished off yesterday was shot through the upper body, and it dropped instantly and didn't move. The meat was fine. It just had a couple of small holes in it.
Well, you do have to be a good shot. Perhaps a shotgun would be more effective for you.
 
I've taken plenty of headshots on several kinds of critters, I know I can hit what I need to at the appropriate distance....I also know when NOT to take the shot due to unfavorable conditions (weather, distance, relatively untested ammo, take your pick) and I reckon that's the largest contributing factor in not losing a critter: knowing when to take a different shot, and sometimes when not to shoot at all.
 
Well, you do have to be a good shot. Perhaps a shotgun would be more effective for you.

I was wondering when someone would say this.

I shot a squirrel in the face, twice, from four feet away, after shooting it in the head from a distance, and it didn't die. I didn't know that was possible. I didn't miss his head. I destroyed everything from his eyes forward, but I must have missed his brain. I didn't know my shot had to hit the brain directly, especially after all the things I've read about "barking" squirrels.

For what it's worth, I use a shotgun during hunting season, and it doesn't always kill them instantly either. This year I had to shoot two twice. That's why I got the pistol.
 
A squirrel's brain is a small target, and you are correct, a shotgun doesn't always kill them instantly either. You do have to learn where the brain is on them. I shoot for the head on squirrels whether with a .22 or a shotgun. But, as horsey 300 said, the mark of an ethical hunter is knowing when not to take a shot, as well as when to take one. The .22's I've used for hunting I trust to hit the brain if I do my part, as distances I can get to with squirrels.I try to get as close as possible; that is how I hunt them, by stalking. It is great training for deer hunting.
 
I shoot red squirrels on sight with whatever I have in my hands. Mostly use my 17. Take them out with head shots most every time. They just drop from the tree. We never shoot grays around here. Too valuable for your timber.

My dad also hates picking up walnuts and butternuts from the yard. The squirrels never seem to mind.
 
Ethics of killing things, why are you killing them?

If you are killing them for consumption, it shouldn’t take any longer than it takes to reel in a marlin off the coast.

If you are killing them because they are a pest, it shouldn’t take any longer than poison takes to kill a rat.
 
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