Rimfire rifle vs shotgun for squirrel

[alsaqr]

My favorite squirrel rifle is a scoped Browning Auto chambered for .22 Short.

 

[Double_J]

My choice depends on the terrain, time of year, and purpose of the hunt. Pest eradication I will use either a shotgun or a rifle as long as there is sufficient space to shoot the rifle. Woods walking/still hunting I prefer a rifle with a good sling ( rifles get heavy after a while). Should I be sitting in a stand of trees swarming with the critters I love a shotgun, especially a pump action or semi auto.

My favorite hunting area was a friend's grandparents property that had a hill that overlooked a stand of pecan trees. The hill had a nice size shrub that we hollowed out and would set up a folding table and snipe the little fellows most of the day. Sadly the property got a little "cramped" when a builder put up a subdivision not to far behind the tree stand. We still get out there with air rifles and shotguns, but the fun of sniping is gone.

 

[WisBorn]

For pinecone eating Wisconsin red squirrels; I have used a 30-06. I'm not sharing my tree stand with a screaming red squirrel.

 

[gunmechanic]

I prefer the rim fire.Head shots are best. The shot gun does to much damage to the little guys.Just my opinion to each his own.

 

[Switup]

prefer a .22, with leaves on the trees a shotgun...Taking your son, I would let him use the 20 gauge with a full choke if you have one...High brass #6s are my preferred load...

As to sighting in...My Remington 541-T is sighted in dead on at 50 yards and is just a touch high at 25, not enough difference to miss with head shots...The tricky ones are those at 10-15 yards, then the bullet actually hits low..

 

[Showman]

I have hunted squirrels with .22 handguns, .22 rifles, and shotguns. Like others, I don't feel comfortable firing a .22 into a tree, so the shotgun always got used way more often than .22s on squirrel hunts. Squirrel season comes in earlier than anything else in my state, so I always looked at squirrel hunting as a way to tune myself up for shotgun hunting for other game.
Using a rimfire rifle to tune up for deer season is a great idea, however, as some of you have mentioned. I did it myself.

 

[Showman]

I've hunted them with 12 gauge trap loads, .22LR HP and .50 cal. GPR muzzleloader. I load 30 grns of BP under a RB. The ball goes thru and thru w/o expanding. In all cases head shots are recommended. I'll boil them, then de-bone and add the meat back to the broth for squirrel stew using either chicken noodle or clam chowder as a base, with lots of cream corn and mushrooms.
It's interesting that squirrels arn't sure what the muzzleloader boom is about and don't care. However, hearing a shotgun or a .22 rifle, they will run and hide for a long time, before coming out again.

I liked to shotgun hunt squirrels with 12 gauge trap loads myself. I always used the same shot size for all small game: 7 and 1/2. Trap loads really hit hard, even on long shots.The copper plated shot penetrates better, I think, and stays round all the way to the squirrel (I know, I've examined them).

 

[Showman]

I've shot more squirrels with a shotgun, usually while hunting other small game, but like d2wing, I like to go out and sit, then still hunt them a bit. No squirrel shots on limbs, trunk only with the .22.

I had never though of "trunk only" (!) Now why didn't I think of that? If I couldn't shoot squirrels on the ground, I simply wouldn't shoot or I'd use a shotgun. Using the trunk for a back stop sounds like a great idea.

 

[.38 Special]

My usual squirrel hunting area is extremely dense forest, thanks to unwise "fire management" policy. A small upside to the foolishness is that it would be a real trick to fire a .22 into it without hitting anything on the way down. And at any rate, there are no homes and precious few visitors.

I am glad to see all the responsible shooters here, but there still are parts of the country where shooting squirrels out of trees with .22s (or flintlocks!) is a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

 

[Savage30L]

As a teenager and younger man I was an avid squirrel hunter, and almost always used a shotgun, which of course is very effective. One problem I found, though, is that, with a shotgun, the hunter stands a chance of perforating the bladder of the squirrel with a shot, and I did this a number of times. Squirrel urine is very pungent, and as I got older, I became less and less tolerant of it. I found that using a .410 with a full choke allowed more control of the shot, but that bladder perforation still might happen.

I don't hunt squirrels much anymore, beyond pest control in the yard (and I have found the Kania squirrel trap much more efficient than shooting with an airgun), but I'm considering taking squirrel hunting back up again. If I do, I'll probably stick to .22s and head shots. I love being out in the woods and if I don't come back with a bag full of squirrels I don't feel deprived.

By the way, for those of you who complain of old buck squirrels being tough, try cooking them in a pressure cooker. That works pretty well. You can cook them in a pressure cooker until they are tender, let the carcasses cool, remove the meat, and then use it for squirrel stew or squirrel and dumplings. Even the toughest old fox squirrel can be turned into a good meal that way.

 

[MDoutdoors]

Gotta go with rimfire. My preferred round for squirrel and other small game up to large fox or small coyote is hands down 17HMR. that round is lighting fast, flat shooting, and a little tack driver. I've also shot my fair share of squirrel and rabbit with a .177 pellet gun and along as you've got good shot placement. It does the job just fine

Never been big on shotguns for squirrel as in my experience the amount of meat harvested from a squirrel is already small enough, I'm not trying to pick out little pieces of shot from it also.

The left image was taken with a 17hmr. Bullet went straight through the neck, exploded his spine, and out the other side. Dropped him right then and there.

The image on the right was with a .177 pellet gun. Hit him in the shoulder, blew up the bone, then blew up the heart and lungs and the pellet disintegrated into the rib cage. Ran prob 10 feet up the tree out of instinct and dropped.

 

[Space Ghost]

I'm not a fan of lugging around a big, heavy, loud, hard recoiling shotgun... just to shoot tiny little tree rats with... then have to dig multiple pellets out of the carcass.
I'll take my .77/22, or 10/22.

 

[mcb]

I'm not a fan of lugging around a big, heavy, loud, hard recoiling shotgun... just to shoot tiny little tree rats with... then have to dig multiple pellets out of the carcass.
I'll take my .77/22, or 10/22.

A 410 or 28 gauge solves the weight and recoil problem. Using larger plated (copper or nickel) shot solves the picking shot out of the meat for the most part. Large size shot like #6-#4 with the plating will usually pass clean through a squirrel and the harder plating makes it much less likely to take fur with it.

 

[Mauser fan]

Since this is just for an opinion and a vote for the fun of it. I prefer a .22 rimfire if I am out to fill the pot. I don't care to mess around with filtering shot out of the stew. But truthfully I will use what ever is convenient at the time. A .22, pellet rifle, or a shotgun it makes little difference to me.

 

[Freudianfloyd]

My favorite way to hunt squirrel is to get in my tree stand with the Remington 511 that was handed down to me, and play Carlos Hathcock on squirrels running around on the ground.

A .410 while on the ground is my second favorite way to hunt them.

 

[ttittle]

I prefer a pellet gun .22 cal but a rimfire will do.

While I'm not a squirrel hunter, my son is. I can tell you a good accurate pellet gun is devastating to squirrels. I can't remember what pellets he prefers, but he is quite discriminating on which pellets he uses for hunting.

 

[Savage30L]

While I'm not a squirrel hunter, my son is. I can tell you a good accurate pellet gun is devastating to squirrels. I can't remember what pellets he prefers, but he is quite discriminating on which pellets he uses for hunting.

I DO NOT condone this fellow's gluttonous shooting of squirrels (and, in fact, wonder where he lives that he can get away with it), but his videos do show just what the potential is for modern air rifles. This video will amaze you.

 

[ms6852]

While I'm not a squirrel hunter, my son is. I can tell you a good accurate pellet gun is devastating to squirrels. I can't remember what pellets he prefers, but he is quite discriminating on which pellets he uses for hunting.

They do make a difference. I use a .22 cal pellet and soon realized that it would go through my wooden fence, I have to be careful.

 

[tactikel]

The best squirrel hunting I’ve ever had was on a 22 acre stand of dense oak in central Iowa (Saylorville). I used a 12 ga Browning trap gun. 1 1/4 oz of #4 shot took them DRT. Easy to clean, no shot in the meat. That was some good eating!
There were farm houses on two sides so I nixed a .22 for a shotgun.

 

[troy fairweather]

Lgs has a rem 514 single shot I'm thinking of picking up, I've been looking for a nice single and this one is in decent shape. He didn't have a price on it yet but said he may put it out for $180, I think that's pretty fair. Think the date code was yy but can't remember since I was looking at a rem 721 that I think was tt date code but I may have mixed them up, either way late 40s to mid 1950s I think. Wish it was d&t for a peep but finding a peep would probably be more then the gun lol. It would make a nice squirrel rifle tho.

I did pick up a weaver b6 with the tip off mount for $20 in nice shape.

 

[BKS]

I hunt squirrels for the fun of it, I enjoy the challenge of shooting them with a rifle or handgun. I mostly hunt on large tracts of public land where there aren't homes for a miles. I try ti pick my shots if at all possible but given the areas I hunt I don't overly concern myself with shooting them out of the trees. I wont hunt where there is a possibility of bow hunters, etc.
My absolute favorite way to "hunt" them is to shoot them off of deer feeders after deer season, they are corn fattened and better eating,
I have no desire to shoot squirrels with a shotgun anymore, I have done it in the past. If I was to hunt them with a shotgun again, I would use my 410 Wingmaster I got as a young child. First time I shot a squirrel with it I actually killed two with one shot.

 

[PistoleroWadcutterGANG]

Air rifles are my preference, Got 4 today.

 

[Appalachiannative]

Air rifles are my preference, Got 4 today.

View attachment 1154068 View attachment 1154069

Season is over in my state. How does the season work where your at?

 

[PistoleroWadcutterGANG]

Season is over in my state. How does the season work where your at?

Hi App. Here in Arkansas. We have pretty long season on squirrels. Here's a quick sound bite on our regs / limits.

Squirrel Season

Statewide: May 15, 2022-Feb. 28, 2023 and May 15, 2023-Feb. 29, 2024
Dogs allowed.

Daily limit - 12
Possession limit - 48

• Squirrels may not be hunted with rifles or handguns larger than .22 caliber rimfire or with muzzleloaders larger than .40 caliber unless a modern gun or muzzleloading deer season, bear season or coyote season is open.
• Squirrels may not be hunted with shotguns using rifled slugs or shot larger than T shot.

***Have to say both law enforcement and fish and game staff have for many decades been good and understanding here*** But that generous understanding comes with the responsibility of never causing harm or damage for your neighbors. Once broken you're done. (Really good guys) P.S they have publicly made it clear. In towns or close habitation pellet guns or BB guns only.

 

[Savage30L]

Kentucky has a Spring squirrel season, this year ours goes until June 20th. I don't usually participate because a)it's hot now, and b)most of the squirrels I see are just out of the nest, and not big enough to be meaty yet.