I've been going back and forth for weeks. Cheap side - ruger American rimfire or savage MK ii. For looks/reviews CZ 457. For being a true trainer - Tikka T1x (my main rifle is a T3x .308). Decisions decisions….
Squirrel - 22 or 12 gauge?
- Thread starter HottyToddy
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I've never done it (haven't hunted squirrels yet) but I thought the same thing about sending a projectile up into the skies. Even a little .22 can do some damage…
Hunted them for years with a 12 gauge mossberg, it'll kill em but i switched over to my 22. henry and i prefer a 22 specifically because i don't like to bite down on pellets
Buzzard Breath
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Levee Jumper
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It really depends on how tall the timber you are hunting is.
In some of the big river bottoms in west Tennessee it's all a 12 gauge with a 30" barrel, full choke and a 1 1/4 of 5's/6's wants to knock a squirrel out of the top of a big pecan or hickory tree.
When dealing with 6-20 grey squirrels in a tall tree, Its not fun being under gunned.
However if you are in a woodlot in middle TN with short timber, a .410 would be plenty.
Yes Sir! Henry makes a fine rifle and it has filled my bag with bushy tails many a times. good looking gun. what scope you have?
I will also add to this by saying that i do not shoot into the air when using a 22. it can be difficult to catch them on the ground but if you carry a set of quarters in your pocket you can have them on the ground by rubbing the rough edges together to make a cutting sound. works quite well.
Carlos
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I always hunt them with one of my 22's. The short hollow points are my favorite round.
Carlos
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Love the wood stock on a 22. What magnification scopes do you use?
Carlos
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Most of mine are 3x9x40 and that one's a 3x9x50, but I think a 2x7x32 would work as well, or even better.
I haven't been in several years, and I didn't know much about scopes back when I set these rifles up.
Tweeter
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Iv shot em with everything imaginable, but what I mostly shot em with is my mod choke and dove load, I go for head shots and it don't mess em up . We used to use a dog so no way a 22 would work. And as Iv got older something about shooting a 22 in the air is unsettling for me.
My great uncle purchased a Winchester Targetmaster .22 I was told from the Sears & Roebuck catalog. Later in life he gave that rifle to my grandfather who gave it to me in 1973, my 10th birthday. Single shot open site, wood stock and a long barrel. I still have the gun but don't hunt with it due to it bump fires now. But have taken hundreds of squirrels and a few rabbits with it long before I ever knew about hunting with a dog.
Preference and safety is 20 or 12 with #5 or 6's with canopy or within close range of homes or structures. But late winter it's now a ruger10/22 with a cheap scope
Preference and safety is 20 or 12 with #5 or 6's with canopy or within close range of homes or structures. But late winter it's now a ruger10/22 with a cheap scope
Grew up in Donelson and loved it but moved out in 96. That place has changed a ton and you couldn't pay me to live in Davidson county now. As for guns I haven't squirrel hunted in years but would use a shotgun when the leaves were on and a .22 when they weren't.
David Sapp
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T1X is a really accurate 22, would be my choice.
Any older marlin with a 3-9-32 or 40 , solid 40g for accuracy, if you want a mess of squirrels to eat shotgun with #6 shot, use to love #5 but I haven't seen any in years I don't think, You couldn't get me to hunt anything with a 410 lol
Buzzard Breath
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That's a 2-7 x 32 Leopold I had laying around. I had to reset the parallax for squirrel hunting distances, but that was pretty easy to do with YouTube.
Be different, 17hmr
What's the noise difference between 22lr and 17hmr? I don't want to have to fiddle with earplugs
