First Squirrel Hunt

Status
Not open for further replies.
lpsharp88

lpsharp88

Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2012
Messages
998
Location
Berea, KY
I'm going on my first squirrel hunt in a few weeks, and have a question or two.

I'm trying to choose what weapon to use. I have a pump shotgun (590A1) and a Ruger 10/22. I'm leaning towards using the 10/22 for the task. Would that be the best option? Everything else I have is center fire pistol or rifle and would be illegal

My next question (assuming the 10/22 is used) is about sights. I currently have the stock sights on it. The little gold bead in front and the white diamond in the rear. I'd really like to replace that since it can be hard to pick up. Is magnification needed? Or would a set of Tech Sights be ok?

Thank you in advance!
 
Last edited:
I personally would go with the 10/22 and a 3x9 1" scope. With the leaves on the trees it will be more difficult to pick out your target with peep sights. I have Tech Sights as well and they are fantastic.

Mals
 
All depends on the area you shoot. If your shooting up you need to know where the bullet will fall. So if in a area with close neighbors a shotgun would be preferred. I use both but mainly a 22. I've learned to call them and get them on the ground or down in the lower port of the trunk. I use a 20 ga with #6 shot with the shotgun.
 
I used a 12 Ga with #4 or #6 birdshot. It is much harder to hit a squirrel with a 22 LR than a shot gun. If the squirrel is moving, you can get him with a shotgun, but I never could hit a moving squirrel with a rim fire or a pellet gun. Maybe there are some Annie Oakley's who can, but I had to wait till they stopped and looked at me.

The furthest I ever hit a squirrel in the woods was with a 22 LR and that was at 50 yards. He was on the tallest tree in the area on a top branch. Otherwise, I see them around 25 yards due to the underbrush blocking my vision. I never found a distance advantage with a 22 LR due to blocked line of sight. I was much more impressed with the killing power of a shotgun as multiple pellets hits on a squirrel were highly lethal.
 
Of what you have, the 10-22 is a better choice, but I would add a 4x simmons. Your 12 ga. riot gun- not so much. The BEST choice (esp. in the fall) would be a 20 gauge with some plated #6. Even a single shot cheapie from a pawn shop.
 
FL-NC said:
Of what you have, the 10-22 is a better choice, but I would add a 4x simmons. Your 12 ga. riot gun- not so much. The BEST choice (esp. in the fall) would be a 20 gauge with some plated #6. Even a single shot cheapie from a pawn shop.
Click to expand...
Reviews say that the rings on that thing are crap. So I looked at the Leupold rifleman rings. Any idea on the height needed? I've got no idea how to tell if low or medium would be better
 
The iron sighted 10/22 gives the squirrels a great sporting chance, the 10/22 with a scope tilts those odds in your favor a bit. If the trees still have a lot of leaves , early in season, I usually go out the door with a 20 gauge pump(Remington model 17)....I want all the edge I can get because we cook the squirrels and they are fine eating .
When the trees are full of leaves , the squirrels are hard to spot and will run, hitting a running squirrel with a 22 is tough , the squirrels don't need an edge.
Gary
 
I prefer a shotgun until the leaves drop, but after looking yours up, it looks like a cylinder bore, which would limit you to very close distances. (Does make a great rabbit setup though!)

Keep in mind with .22 rimfire, you'll have limited accuracy, and probably lots of trials with different ammo, to find one that shoots well in your gun. This means you don't need a high quality 500 yard sniper scope. A lot of .22s have trouble doing squirrel size groups at 100 yards. If your vision is good, open sights are fine. As my eyes aged, I began using a cheap 4x with full size tube, that helps out a lot in dim light at dusk.
 
lpsharp88 said:
Reviews say that the rings on that thing are crap. So I looked at the Leupold rifleman rings. Any idea on the height needed? I've got no idea how to tell if low or medium would be better
Click to expand...

My wife's Ruger 10/22 sports a Leupold VX-1 2-7x33mm in LOW Leupold QRW rings on an EGW picatinny rail mount. Or at least it does today, as the QRW rings allow me to swap the scope out and move it from rifle to rifle in minutes without any tools if that rifle has a proper picatinny rail mount. Squirrel head sized targets no problem at 50 yards.

Solid as a rock. Good on a .30-06 or .22LR or 12ga with slugs. Allows me to get the most out of a reasonably priced, high quality scope. So far, it has graced 3 different rifles at different times. Worth every penny.

The ring height will depend on how large your scope is, particularly the objective. The Leupold 2-7x33mm can get by with low rings and I would counsel a similar-sized scope or smaller. Because even with the low rings, I had to gorilla tape on some folded up washcloths to build up the stock to get a proper cheek weld for her. Higher rings would require more stock build-up. Remember, these 10/22s are sold to shoot as-is, with iron sights right on the bbl. Raise the sight line and you gotta raise your eyeball. Floating your head without a good cheek weld is the wrong answer.

Good luck. I, too, will head to the squirrel & rabbit woods with my daughter in the next few weeks. Her with a Cricket & 4x fixed power scope. Not sure what I will bring yet.

http://www.lensandlasers.com/

https://www.leupold.com/hunting-shooting/scopes/vx-1-riflescopes/vx-1-2-7x33mm/
https://www.leupold.com/tactical/mounting-systems/qrw-mounting-systems/qrw-1-in-low/
http://www.egwguns.com/scope-mounts/ruger-10-22-picatinny-rail-scope-mount-0-moa/
 
Three of the best accessories for hunting squirrel are your eyes, your ears and a folding stool.

Wander around in the woods looking at the ground. You’re looking for “cuttings” – fragments of nut shells, pine cones and so on. When you find those, you’ve found squirrels.

Come out to the feeding area a bit before dawn and sit on your folding stool, leaning back against a tree. As the sun comes up, you will be able to hear squirrels feeding either in the trees or on the ground. Your sitting position allows you to easily engage squirrels in about a 150-degree arc – much better than sitting on the ground. And you can easily and silently stand if that’s not enough.

After you get your first few squirrels, it’s time to move on – either carry the stool on a piece of rope slung across your shoulders, or leave it there and come get it later. Walk slooooooly, and stop and listen every step or two. Keep your head on a swivel, looking in all directions as you move.
T
 
Thanks for all of the help! The 590 sure does make a good rabbit gun. I've gotten several of them, no problems at all. It makes an OK skeet gun as well. I'm gonna be using Mini-Mags for now, or maybe some Federal Automatch, we'll see what groups better out of the two. My first hunt will probably be from a boat (that's legal here in KY), but I'm definitely gonna do some dry land hunting of them as well. My fiance's family has some land, and I'm gonna scout/use that if at all possible, and maybe check out some WMAs too.
 
Shotgun, with 6 or 7 shot would be my choice. My dad bought me my first shotgun (a Mossberg 12 gauge pump w/modified choke) for my 11th birthday. I don't know that I could count the number of squirrels and rabbits that I took with that gun. I'm now 65 years old and still own the same model (sadly, not the original). It's all you need to hunt squirrel, rabbit, dove and quail. Maybe not as effective as a semi-auto but just as fun, none-the-less. I also used it for several years years for skeet and trap shooting before I could afford a good over and under.
 
I've killed squirrels with everything from a sling shot to a 12 gauge, even some centerfire rilfes. The very best is my Anschutz 1502 17Mach2. That said, it doesn't matter which you choose. Each weapon dictates the hunt differently. If you take the shotgun, you will have to take only shots within the effective range of the gun, usually under 35 yards, but you can shoot running squirrels. With the 10/22, you can take running shots, but you'll almost certainly miss, but you can kill squirrels at twice the distance of your shotgun. Just go and have fun.
 
Given the options of a 12 ga or a 10/22, I'd take the 10/22 any day, I set mine up with a BSA Sweet .22 3x9 for distance with shoot through rings for the really close easy shots.

But if it were an option I'd take a .410 or 28 gauge for early season, possibly a 20 if I wanted to stick to a common caliber, I never liked using a 12 for squirrels cause it always felt like I was throwing too much lead at the little buggers. Plus I prefer not to spit lead throughout my meal.

Either way if I remember correctly I wouldn't have needed either for my first squirrel hunt because a fidgety 12 year old makes for very quiet woods. Hunting for squirrels as a kid taught me more than every deer hunt in my life.

Best of luck to you, may the bushy tails be bountiful in your freezer.
 
I have a heavy-barreled Savage that I use to 100 yards. But, it's heavy and hard to use on a walk, snap-shooting and such.

I am considering a 10/22 with either a rear peep or low power (1.5x to 4x or so) scope for this task.

Set up with a proper shooting sling, it should be plenty for a squirrel walk.

Josh
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
  • Poll
squirrel hunting
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
AStone
A
P
  • Locked
Impromptu Squirrel Hunt
Replies
6
Views
488
Pegwedge
P
B
  • Locked
Squirrel Hunting Gun Help
2
Replies
33
Views
3K
Mike1234567
M
M
  • Locked
.22 squirrel hunting near Austin or Georgetown?
Replies
17
Views
3K
Chazz
C
sturmruger
  • Locked
Squirrel Hunting when do you first start going out?
Replies
22
Views
1K
Vern Humphrey
V
Back
Top