Ethics of Squirrel Head Shots

[SamT1]

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.

Yes sir my sentiments exactly. “Ethical hunting” is a bunch of crap. The “Ethical hunter” movement was started as a way to put yourself on a pedestal. I doubt anyone hunting to feed their family is posting on online forums, so at the root of it everyone is hunting for sport, but mention an unclean kill and everyone goes all peta on you. You’d have to be an Olympic trap shooter to hunt birds by the online ethical hunting standards, but oh yea no one cares about them.....
The real concern would be does a squirl taste any worse if you don’t kill it DRT?

Anyone interested in a slow elk hunt? I pay a trained professional who kills slow elk DRT 2 days a week year round to do my shooting for me. He does head shots too, I guess it is the professional method of choice. Never worked consistently for me, but I’m no professional. My guy has never had one get away and a follow up shot would be extremely rare.

 

[buck460XVR]

Yes sir my sentiments exactly. “Ethical hunting” is a bunch of crap. The “Ethical hunter” movement was started as a way to put yourself on a pedestal. I doubt anyone hunting to feed their family is posting on online forums, so at the root of it everyone is hunting for sport, but mention an unclean kill and everyone goes all peta on you. You’d have to be an Olympic trap shooter to hunt birds by the online ethical hunting standards, but oh yea no one cares about them.....
The real concern would be does a squirl taste any worse if you don’t kill it DRT?

Ethics as defined by the booklet we use in teaching Hunter Safety is "doing the right thing, even when no one else is around". I personally do not see "ethical hunting" as a bunch of crap, nor do I see it as a movement to put ones self on a pedestal. I see it as an integral part of being a responsible hunter. A major part of sport hunting, since it is not mere survival, is ethics. Otherwise, it would just be shooting or poaching. Ethics is much more than just always making a quick killing shot. It is also how one puts themselves in position to make that killing shot and what one does after it. It also pertains to what one does when that first shot is not immediately fatal. Having the intentions of making every kill quick and painless is ethical, even when it doesn't happen every time. How is that "putting oneself on a pedestal"? Any deer hunter will tell you that a deer will not taste the same after following for 4 hours to finish it off or having to let it lay overnight before picking up it's trail. One will also tell you that deer shot thru the guts will have the likely chance of having the meat tainted....so yes, an animal will taste different, if you don't kill it DRT, even tho it has nuttin' to do with ethics. Funny you should mention ethics when it comes to bird hunting. The most ethical would be to hunt upland birds/waterfowl like turkeys....to only take standing shots and aim for the head. Sometimes the most ethical is not the most practical. Sometimes what may be ethical, might not be legal(as in putting a wounded deer down out of season or without a tag for it). In some areas, what may be legal might not always be viewed as ethical.....as in baiting. This is where I am at with the OP. If he cannot consistently hit squirrels in the brain and needs to aim for a larger target to get the job done, then for him, it is more ethical to take the body shots.....but that does not make head shots unethical for the rest of us. While you may not care for upland birds, other do. In some parts of the world it is ethical(and legal) to have more than one wife, to marry girls at ages younger than 14 and to marry direct relatives. Not so much here in this country. This is why trying to define what is and what is not ethical to folks is so difficult.

 

[Art Eatman]

I see "ethical" as mostly meaning that the hunter's intent, the goal, is for a quick clean kill with minimal suffering. Sorta separate from laws and regulations.

 

[entropy]

The real concern would be does a squirl [sic] taste any worse if you don’t kill it DRT?

And the answer to that is yes. The adrenal glands pump out cortisol and adrenaline while the muscles secrete lactic acid, and cannot eliminate it effectively while the adrenaline is active in the system. This is often why some hunters , particularly those who use shotguns for squirrels, make stew with them. Striving for quick, humane kills is benefical to both prey and predator. Mostly it is about knowing and accepting your limitations, and constantly working to improve your skills.

 

[gdcpony]

I shoot all my game the same way. I aim for the lungs. Head shots might save meat, but it isn't a high percentage shot.

 

[marksman13]

I have head shot squirrels my whole life with a 22 LR and a 17 HMR. I've never had one that seemed to suffer. They have all been either DRT or clean missed. The old fella I give them to never complains about the lack of heads on them either.

 

[gdcpony]

Yes sir my sentiments exactly. “Ethical hunting” is a bunch of crap. The “Ethical hunter” movement was started as a way to put yourself on a pedestal. I doubt anyone hunting to feed their family is posting on online forums, so at the root of it everyone is hunting for sport, but mention an unclean kill and everyone goes all peta on you. You’d have to be an Olympic trap shooter to hunt birds by the online ethical hunting standards, but oh yea no one cares about them.....
The real concern would be does a squirl taste any worse if you don’t kill it DRT?

Anyone interested in a slow elk hunt? I pay a trained professional who kills slow elk DRT 2 days a week year round to do my shooting for me. He does head shots too, I guess it is the professional method of choice. Never worked consistently for me, but I’m no professional. My guy has never had one get away and a follow up shot would be extremely rare.

3 members of my family get sick off beef so we actually do hunt venison as a substitute. We have to put as many away as we can during the season.

I think "ethical" in this use isn't about "DRT" kills. Heck, anyone wanting that to be the only acceptable "ethical" hunting is going to be disappointed. I think the term refers to minimizing the suffering and length of the actual dieing of the animal. You can kill clean or drag it out type of thing. No hunter likes the latter.

I sum it up to people who ask like this: I am out to kill animals not torture them.

 

[MCgunner]

After reading this thread, I'm wondering if my 7mm Remington Magnum is enough gun for squirrels.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

After reading this thread, I'm wondering if my 7mm Remington Magnum is enough gun for squirrels.

I’m going to try a 458 Winchester Magnum. Swamp squirrels are a Bear to kill.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Ever since blowing a squirrel in half with my first rifle (a .22 WMR), I've always been a head-shot squirrel hunter. Even with .22 LR and .22 Shorts.

I've never had problems with head shots that the OP has cited, regardless of what I've hunted.

One of my brothers has also been a head-shot guy, too...though his reasons were different. He never could stand to watch Dad cook up the squirrel heads, then crack the skulls open and eat their brains at the dinner table. So he made sure NO squirrel he shot ever had any brains left to cook up in the first place.

Personally, it never bothered me to watch Dad eat squirrel brains. One of my fondest memories was watching the girlfriend who eventually went on to become my ex-wife slap her hand over her mouth and run for the bathroom when Dad peeled a squirrel brain out and offered her a bite.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I been hunting with a 22 rifle for 40 years and I taken 100,s with head shots using HV HP ammo. I also taken just behind the front leg shots as needed! If they run off with head shots it's you, your gun or bad ammo or a combination of them.

 

[MCgunner]

I’m going to try a 458 Winchester Magnum. Swamp squirrels are a Bear to kill.

Well, I'd think it should work. The bullet is bigger than the animal. LOL!

 

[Art Eatman]

Five pages oughta be enough to provide the proverbial food for thought.