Author Topic: Squirrel hunting informal bullet test  (Read 5249 times)

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skin

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Squirrel hunting informal bullet test
« on: May 28, 2021, 10:18:11 PM »
 I did a informal test during a squirrel hunt today. I wanted to find the hardest hitting ammo for squirrel hunting. I used my 457 varmint 22lr. Yardage was 25 to 50 yds. I normally use RWS 40gr subsonic hp but wanted to see if any other ammo would work as well.
 Ammo used are all labeled subsonic hollow point except the sk flat nose.Rws, sk flat nose, remington, Aquila (38 gr ), eley and fiocchi.
 I would shoot four or five with each ammo. The hardest hitting  was the rws ( and quietest ). It would knock them out of the trees. The rest did well. In order of perceived performance rws, aquila, fiocchi, eley, remington and last was the sk. I have a brick and a couple of boxes of the rws. The rest I have two or three boxes of each that I plan on using before getting back into the rws. Who knows how long the ammo drought will last.
 

Offline M1A4ME

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Re: Squirrel hunting informal bullet test
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2021, 07:05:53 AM »
My dad and grandpa killed a lot of squirrels with their .22's.  Grandpa helped feed his family with the small game his little Western Field single shot.

Dad said they used .22 shorts for a couple reasons.  Back in those days shorts were cheaper than longs or long rifle ammo.  He also said they were enough quieter that every now and then, when they missed a head shot, the squirrels didn't get spooked and hide.  They'd look around and go on back to what they were doing and then fall to the next shot.

Head shots only.  No one in my family ate fried squirrel brains (yeah, some people did) so head shots left a nice "clean" squirrel/rabbit body to cut up and fry.   The family had a single shot 16 ga. but the ammo for it was so much more expensive than the .22 ammo it was seldom used.

Sounds like you're found some good shooting ammo for yours.
I just keep wasting time and money on other brands trying to find/make one shoot like my P07 and P09.  What is wrong with me?

skin

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Re: Squirrel hunting informal bullet test
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2021, 03:22:51 PM »
 Mmmmm, dumplings, mmmmmm

Offline M1A4ME

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Re: Squirrel hunting informal bullet test
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2021, 05:03:44 PM »
We go home (visit mom now, used to be mom and dad) once a month.  Been doing it for over 40 years.

My two boys would be at the table every Saturday morning.  When they were small enough to sit on dad's lap that's where they sat.  Breakfast was fried squirrel, gravy (made with the bacon grease and squirrel "grease" and flour and always with mom's fresh made biscuits.

You could see the big smile on dad's face as the boys slurped up the biscuits and gravy and gnawed on a squirrel leg or two.

Some Saturdays it would be fried ruffed grouse, gravy and biscuits.

Great memories.

I brag on my dad's shooting (saw a lot of that over the years.)  Heard about his dad from him (by the time I was old enough to go hunting grandpa was all crippled up from a roof fall in the coal mines and some stuff from WW1 that caught up with him as he got older).

Me?  I can remember killing one squirrel with a .22 rifle.  No idea where I hit him at.  He was out on the end of a tree limb, preparing to jump to another tree and dropped when the rifle cracked.  I never saw him.  Yelled at that dang pointer dad bought down in Arkansas and when that sucker came off the hill side up above me he went down below me (where the squirrel fell) and picked up the squirrel.  I thought he was going to bring it up to me when I heard some funny noises and bones cracking and realized he was eating it whole.  Took a couple steps to the side so I could see him and all that I could see of the squirrel was the tail and two hind legs as they disappeared down the big dog's mouth/throat.  When I told dad about it he said, "That's when I'd have left him in the woods."  Not understanding, I asked dad how I'd leave Tuffy in the woods as he'd just follow me home.  Dad said he'd have put a .22 bullet in his ear and left him there for the coons and buzzards.  Dad didn't have much use for that big pointer.  Hunting all those years with a Springer Spaniel spoiled him and he never was happy with the way the pointer "hunted."

Fact is, I killed more squirrel with a .22 pistol than I ever even shot at with that old Winchester M190.

I've got a Win. M52B that is awesome on paper, thumbtacks, even flies at 25 yds. but I've never had it in the woods.

A good shooting .22 isn't real common in standard .22 rifles most people buy for hunting.  By good I mean dime sized (or smaller) groups at 25 yds.
I just keep wasting time and money on other brands trying to find/make one shoot like my P07 and P09.  What is wrong with me?

Offline crosstimbers

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Re: Squirrel hunting informal bullet test
« Reply #4 on: May 30, 2021, 10:45:23 AM »
I killed quite a few squirrels growing up with a .22 caliber Benjamin pump air rifle. Inside a few dozen yards it killed just as well as a regular .22, and i have never taken a squirrel with a .22lr from much farther than that.

I did once with a rabbit, was playing around with an old rolling block number four rifle. BIL saw a rabbit about a hundred yards out and challenged me to try the shot, so I did. The rifle was ancient, the sights very rudimentary and small....but I hit it. When I collected it the bullet had went in one eye and out the other. BIL was so impressed he cleaned it for me. It was luck, not skill, but I wouldnt admit that to him.
It's not saving any water if you have to flush it over and over....

Offline aysuleiman

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Re: Squirrel hunting informal bullet test
« Reply #5 on: April 04, 2023, 07:08:41 AM »
Hey there! Apologies for reviving an old thread, but I stumbled upon this and found it interesting. I've been looking for similar info on squirrel hunting, so it was great to read about your informal bullet test.
In the meantime, I've been thinking about trying out squirrel hunting with a bow. I recently found a great resource that has a draw length calculator to help me figure out which bow would work best for me. I'll leave the link below in case anyone else is interested.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, and happy hunting!
Link: https://archerytopic.com/draw-length-calculator/
« Last Edit: April 05, 2023, 10:35:04 AM by aysuleiman »

skin

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Re: Squirrel hunting informal bullet test
« Reply #6 on: April 04, 2023, 08:51:59 PM »
 Thank you

Offline Slikshot22

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Re: Squirrel hunting informal bullet test
« Reply #7 on: August 06, 2023, 11:22:12 AM »
some good reading here enjoy hunting stories as well as bullet testsI like segmented CCI bullets for hunting Squirrel