Rifle a Bad Idea for Squirrels?

[Swifty Morgan]

I am not a hunter. My experience shooting animals is limited to a few rabbits many years ago, plus shooting nuisance blackbirds off of phone wires. I have guns, but I own them for protection and fun.

I recently moved to a small farm which is infested with grey squirrels. I do not like them. They plant live oaks, which obviously merits the death penalty plus a severe fine. They are also a threat to my gardening efforts.

I got myself a hunting license, and sooner or later I plan to get out there and start shooting.

Question: should I forget all about rifles and go with a shotgun? My only sporting gun is a Browning Sweet Sixteen. I also have a .22 rifle and a Savage .17 HMR with a scope. I prefer rifles, but I have some concerns about rifle rounds leaving my property and killing the neighbors, which would probably have some repercussions.

Also, is an air rifle an acceptable substitute for a firearm?

My grandfather taught me that you should shoot squirrels with shotguns because it will blow them out of trees so you can collect them, but I am not that interested in taking them home. I just want to reduce their numbers locally.

 

[Varminterror]

How close is your nearest neighbor? How dense are the houses? Alternatively, can you choose your shooting angle to avoid the neighbors?

An air rifle, of the appropriate power, is a perfectly suitable alternative to a firearm. I have a few Crosman Pumpmaster 760's, my family made a tradition of Christmas Day squirrel hunts, for which the teens take the younger kids out with the pellet/BB rifles; a win-win for the elders, as this gets the kids out of the house to let them chat at reasonable volume.

A shotgun is also a great alternative, offering about as much range as a typical air rifle, but with the advantage of shot spread. A .410 with #6 shot has long been my favorite squirrel getter.

 

[Charliefrank]

I do 98% of my squirrel hunting with a scoped 22 rifle. I also hunt in the woods. If you've get neigbors around you then the shotgun might be a better choice. If the neighbors are right on top of you then the air rifle would be the better choice.
Always know what's beyond your target. A 22lr can travel over a mile. If you follow this rule you should be safe.
As I stated earlier I hunt in the woods so there are usually trees behind my target. This way if it's a clean miss you know you have a back stop.

 

[Milt1]

I side with Varminterror, a .410 with #6!

 

[LoonWulf]

Id use either the .22 or .17 if its safe and your neighbors dont mind. If that will be a problem, id probably go with an airgun. I use a repeater qb78 for rats, both furred and winged, alot.

 

[Swifty Morgan]

Maybe I'll go with rifles and only shoot squirrels near the ground, but I know I'll be annoyed if I go out there and the squirrels are all grinning at me from the trees.

I was really disappointed to read that I can't use an AK. Who writes these crazy laws, anyway? I think a 30-round magazine is perfectly appropriate for arboreal rats. The limit is 5 rounds.

 

[Chuck R.]

I hunt squirrels quite a bit, actually like it more than deer hunting.

I always use a .22LR scoped rifle, for me that's a big part of the fun of it. You've just got to line up your shots and be sure of your backstop. A good number of times they'll "hide" in the crook of a tree and you'll only have to take a couple steps right or left to use the tree as a backstop. Nothing like sniping squirrels and getting headshots at 25+ yards. For me it's like shooting 5 bucks in a day, cept I'm not busting my azz dragging them out.

Chuck

 

[FL-NC]

A good air rifle like a gamo will drop them, no problem. If they are on the side of the tree trunk, the 22 is fine- it won't go through a tree, and eventually they will get on the side of it. Shotgun will work fine too, but it will cost more for each kill.

 

[gspn]

I have a Benjamin Marauder that is absolute death on squirrels. This is a .177 caliber PCP gun and with a 4-16x scope on top, head shots at 30 yards are the norm. One shot, no noise, dead squirrels. It's so quiet that I can get multiple shots off without spooking the other squirrels in the area. I once got 3 head shots in less than 15 seconds because none of them reacted to the shot. It's not cheap, but it's highly effective and terribly fun.

Marauder by s s, on Flickr

Marauder 2 by s s, on Flickr

 

[red rick]

To make it a little harder I use a .22 rifle and I don't like biting into shot when I eat them , but if I wanted to kill more squirrels , I would use a shotgun . Your 16ga. with #6 shot will do find up to about 40 yards and you will not have to worry about the neighbors .

 

[jmr40]

For what you want to do use the Browning. If I'm wanting meat a shotgun is the easiest way to get it. And the safest. I do sometimes enjoy using a 22, but great care should be made in choosing shots. You can't randomly shoot a rifle into the air. The bullet will come down somewhere and could cause property damage or injuries. Death is certainly a possibility, but someone would have to be very unlucky with a 22 falling from the sky. Larger caliber rifles are certainly more likely to do more harm.

Shotgun pellets fired into the air will travel far less distance and would do very little if any damage when falling back to the ground.

 

[Charliefrank]

I have a Benjamin Marauder that is absolute death on squirrels. This is a .177 caliber PCP gun and with a 4-16x scope on top, head shots at 30 yards are the norm. One shot, no noise, dead squirrels. It's so quiet that I can get multiple shots off without spooking the other squirrels in the area. I once got 3 head shots in less than 15 seconds because none of them reacted to the shot. It's not cheap, but it's highly effective and terribly fun.

View attachment 770920Marauder by s s, on Flickr

View attachment 770921Marauder 2 by s s, on Flickr

That's quite an impressive air rifle. Is it as accurate as it looks?

 

[redbullitt]

The PCP air rifles are no joke. Heck they make deer capable ones... Airforce makes a very nice quiet one. Mine is nearly as good as a 22 lr with the velocity turned up. Anything I can hit with my 22 is in range of the air gun too. They are not cheap, but they are very quiet and cheap to shoot. I got mine when all the 22 scarcity nonsense started, and it replaced my 22lr for most uses.

I agree too that I could take multiple squirrels in the same area. It is no louder than closing a car door, though mine is built to be quiet and others are definitely much louder. MANY varmints have been taken care of with my airgun.

All that said, I would never trade it in, but they are not cheap at all to buy. If you are not in a position to pick one up, use that 17 of yours and only take safe sure shots. The 17 with fast varmint bullets is MURDER on squirrels and small game. As was mentioned, your shotgun is plenty viable too and might make it easier to tag out! The shotgun would most likely give you many more safe shot opportunities as well.

 

[MI2600]

I usually use my Crossman .177 CO2 rifle because of the neighbors.

I have to ask what does PCP mean?

 

[edwardware]

I won't fire a rifle upwards unless I'm way out in the bushes; this isn't a possibility anywhere within 20 miles of my house. I do kill 20-30 chipmunks a year with a 10/22T from my bathroom window. . . but all of them are below the horizon line so a miss ends in the ground on my property.

If you can't own, 100% and without question or regret, where every bullet stops, then use a shotgun or airgun; shot or pellets falling out of the sky are harmless.

 

[gspn]

That's quite an impressive air rifle. Is it as accurate as it looks?

Everyone has a different definition of accuracy, but I consider the gun to be quite accurate. At 30 yards I can park 10 pellets in an area the size of a dime...all the time. I use 10 pellets as my group because the gun has a 10 shot rotary magazine. You just load it up, work the bolt, and pull the trigger.

I needed a gun that would reliably make head shots on squirrels at that distance and this gun delivers.

 

[gspn]

I have to ask what does PCP mean?

PCP = Pre Charged Pneumatic. It has an air tank that you fill up. Mine holds 3,000 PSI. My setup is currently good for 30-40 shots before I need to refill the tank. At that point you either pump it up with a high pressure pump, or you refill it off a tank (like a scuba looking tank).

When I shoot it makes a sound like someone opening a can of coke. "PSSSssst". It's very quiet.

 

[gspn]

I got mine when all the 22 scarcity nonsense started, and it replaced my 22lr for most uses.

That's when I got into it too. Mine now sits in the front of the gun safe. I use it more than any other gun I own. It's the perfect solution for cheap trigger time to keep the skills sharp.

 

[jmorris]

That's quite an impressive air rifle. Is it as accurate as it looks?

Yes, they are quite accurate.



There is quite a bit of drop as you extend the range but even 100 yards isn’t too far for them, once you know your hold over. Mildot sights are nice for this.



PCP stands for PreCharged Pneumatic, air it up then you can get a number of shots from the single fill. Makes for faster follow up shots than a regular pump or spring powered air rifle.

plus shooting nuisance blackbirds off of phone wires.

That’s not a good idea. Lots of work for someone to locate and repair it if you hit the line. Not to mention, with my luck, some little old lady wouldn’t be able to call 911 when she needed to.

 

[milemaker13]

I won't fire a rifle upwards unless I'm way out in the bushes; this isn't a possibility anywhere within 20 miles of my house. I do kill 20-30 chipmunks a year with a 10/22T from my bathroom window. . . but all of them are below the horizon line so a miss ends in the ground on my property.

If you can't own, 100% and without question or regret, where every bullet stops, then use a shotgun or airgun; shot or pellets falling out of the sky are harmless.

Wish I could pop chippys whilst sitting on the can! In my area (suburbs) even the pellet rifle can get me in big trouble. I've had to resort to rat traps to thin the population, getting about 30 per year.

 

[627PCFan]

My vote is the with the HMR. The velocity is so high that I trust them not to ricochet as much as the 22s do. Those suckers can bounce and the 17s that do bounce get so mangled they drop energy very fast.

 

[dh1633pm]

I can remember going to my dads about 20 years ago when he first built his house. He handed me his 10/22 and pointed to the giant maple in the yard. He said there were baby red squirrels in the tree and my job to was to sit on the lawn until they appeared. In a few minutes they did and I picked them off one at a time. The reds had pushed the grays away and they were also getting into his newly built house. Over the summer we pushed the reds back (early retirement) and imported grays from the surrounding community. They are still there today. So for squirrels, the 10/22 is hard to beat.

 

[Swifty Morgan]

RE shooting blackbirds off a wire, in retrospect, it does look like a bad idea. I was like 50 feet away, so I was not likely to mangle the wire, but if I had, I think the tar and feathers would have come out.

That Benjamin looks neat, but that's a lot of money for an air rifle.

 

[gspn]

That Benjamin looks neat, but that's a lot of money for an air rifle.

It surely is. I had some doubt about spending so much on an "air gun" when I bought it. However, having owned it as long as I have, I can tell you it's some of the best "gun money" I've ever spent...and I've spent tens of thousands on guns over the years. I didn't know what I was missing. You pay about $1,000 up front, but then shoot for pennies the rest of your life. You can shoot it just about anywhere with very few restrictions, which allows you to amass far more actual trigger time than you can with a powder-burning rifle or pistol. By the time deer season rolls around I've had thousands of sight pictures, breathing cycles, and trigger releases before I ever hit the woods. It's so cheap and accessible that it allows shooting to become second nature. You constantly and cheaply maintain muscle memory and the mental side of things.

It's not for everyone, but I'd be willing to be most people who like guns would love having a quality air gun around the house. Most shooters I know are blown away by the accuracy of it as well as by just how nice it is.

 

[MCgunner]

Unless you're lookin' for a new .22, I'd just shoot 'em with that 16. Nothing more effective than a shotgun. I've shot most of the ones I've killed, a LOT of squirrel, with a .22, either rifle or pistol. But, I've always said shotguns are too easy. Sounds like you're out to kill squirrel, not for sport. And, yes, shooting up into trees is far safer with a shotgun if you have houses around.