Swifty Morgan
member
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 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.