# Squirrel Hunting



## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

A buddy and I went out this morning for a little squirrel hunt and killed four. He's going to whip them up for supper tomorrow night. I've hunted all kinds of big game all over North America, but still get a kick out of something as simple as squirrel hunting with a .22 rifle on the back 40. Kind of takes you back to when you first started hunting as a kid.


----------



## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

I broke into hunting on squirrels, loved it, haven't been for years


----------



## brownegg (Jan 5, 2006)

Yep, shot my first one when I was 12 with dad's Remington target master .22 back in our woods...still have that gun and a partial box of .22 longs that they haven't made for years....it was a moment I will never forget...even though it was a neck shot while aiming for the head, cause Grampa always said that's the way to do it!

be


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Just 7 more days and the squirrels in my woods are in deep caca. Or I should say a limit are in a deep fryer. I have devloped a recent (30 years) love for squirrel hunting.

We didn't have many squirrels where we lived except those little pesky get in every thing and destroy it red squirrels.

I broke into huinting with rabbits and Partridges. I still love pat huntying today still. the level today is no where near today as back in thr 50's when 95% percent of the county was pulp cut off after the lumber trees were taken.


 Al


----------



## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

I got a .410 when I was 12 so that was my squirrel gun


----------



## crehberg (Mar 16, 2008)

Man y'all are making me regret not going today as planned. Gonna have to get one in one evening this week. Got a .22 bolt action two years ago that needs to get "broken in".


----------



## bobp (Mar 4, 2014)

I own the best squirrel dog ive ever seen....dead accurate....but almost never go....
She runs loose all the time now..stays treed....hearing her timber out with one really gets your pulse up

I really oughta take her more often.... the grankids would get a jolt outa going im sure...


----------



## Esteban29304 (Apr 29, 2003)

I have hunted squirrels with air rifles since the late 1950's. It is still a great, & VERY inexpensive way to put some meat on the table !


----------



## Chuck R. (Apr 24, 2008)

I normally wait till after deer seasons finished, but squirrel hunting with a .22 is my favorite hunting.

My wife thought I was crazy cause when we 1st bought our 80 acres I put up some squirrel nesting boxes and a couple feeders to increase my population. I've also been cleaning up Oak, Hickory and Walnut trees and planted a few Chinkapins and Sawtooths. Now the squirrels are taking over and I've got oaks sprouting up everywhere.

Just a matter of time before I have a squirrel "problem". Until then my neighbors gives me free rain on his place which has about 100 acres of hardwood that's loaded with Fox and Grays.


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to hunt small game with air rifles here.

I think they recently started allowing large caliber air rifles for some larger game like deer and hogs, but most stick with real firearms.


----------



## 4tu (Jul 24, 2018)

Fishindude said:


> I went out this morning for a little squirrel hunt and killed four. He's going to *whip them up* for supper tomorrow night.


WOW I never tried squirrel pate' or mousse that sounds awesome.
Here we just call Squirrels limb bacon, friend puts them in a pressure cooker for 5 minutes (after it at full steam) takes them out then seasons then flours them and fries them up, in a frying pan and it's so tender you cannot believe it. 

Little critter is my favorite squirrels, rabbit, dove, quail, frogs, robin red breast, rattle snake, perch man that's good eating easy and quick to prepare. I love venison and feral hog but that can get into a bit of work but little critters are natures fast food (double entendre meant).


----------



## macmad (Dec 22, 2012)

My philosophy has always been take my .22 if I want to hunt squirrels, and take my shotgun if I want to eat squirrels.  I am getting better with the .22.


----------



## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

Grandpa got all of us boys started squirrel hunting. He said it was unsporting to hunt them with a shotgun, so we've always used .22 rifles.


----------



## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

same here, shotguns were not allowed.
my dad and us three boys would have contests.
the limit was 5 squirrels each. .22's only and only head shots counted..
I had a single shot .22. when we got a squirrel up a tree, I held 3 or 4 bullets loosely in my lips. I could shoot as rapidly as a bold action ..
when I was 13, I got a job on a chicken farm. earned enough money to buy a bolt action Rem .22
I walked to town and went into the sporing goods store.
Paid my $36.oo and carried the gun home. No adults involved. try that today..
a friend and I took our guns to grade school so we could go to the YMCA after school for shooting practice.
the nuns said to leave them in the coat closet.
try that today..
......jiminwisc.....


----------



## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

I started out with a .410 shotgun. If you held off one body width to the side, only one or two pellets would hit the squirrel.


----------



## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Here we don't shoot them in the Head because it ruins them. My Ex would really get POed if I shot any in the head, said I did it on purpose.

big rockpile


----------



## bowslinger (Aug 4, 2007)

Love hunting them been using my dads old 16ga pump


----------



## brownegg (Jan 5, 2006)

How does it ruin them big rockpile? why would you shoot them in the little meat there is?

be


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

brownegg said:


> How does it ruin them big rockpile?


Some like to eat the brains.


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

*"Doctors in Kentucky have issued a warning that people should not eat squirrel brains, a regional delicacy, because squirrels may carry a variant of mad cow disease that can be transmitted to humans and is fatal.Aug 29, 1997"*
*
*
 Al


----------



## ridgerunner1965 (Apr 13, 2013)

I spent thousands of hours hunting squirrels in my youth with everything from a sears 22 cal pellet gun to a brass frame 44 cap and ball pistol.

we got a new guy at work that has some squirrel hunting champion dogs.he is wanting to go and I think I will do it.

I like the recipe of pressure cooking them for a few minutes and then frying them. I will try that.


----------



## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Ate the Brains all my life and **** and Possum Brains.

big rockpile


----------



## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

My boys loved hunting squirrels and were so excited to bring them home. They’d clean them, I’d cook them....but I never did eat them. Reminded me too much of a skinned rat. And I’m sure I wasn’t hungry enough.


----------



## brownegg (Jan 5, 2006)

Well actually they are considered a tree rat and are actually a rodent. They do taste good and some folks like them better than chicken. Nobody hunts them here much anymore....seeing a limit of 5 squrirrels on the ground while deer hunting is the norm here.

be


----------



## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

We are allowed 10 from last of May until middle of February.

big rockpile


----------



## crehberg (Mar 16, 2008)

Finally got a chance to sight my "new" rifle in last night. First "nice" 22 I think I've ever owned. Squirrels best be on notice!


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

New toys are always fun.


----------



## 4tu (Jul 24, 2018)

macmad said:


> My philosophy has always been take my .22 if I want to hunt squirrels, and take my shotgun if I want to eat squirrels.  I am getting better with the .22.


I hunt with a 22LR pistol 5+ inch barrel 33 yards is 100 foot I can hit a golf ball at that range most of the time, less now than in my youth. My eyes are getting older I may eventually use a green dot sight. those little T-Rex arms do not have enough meat or the rib cage so I shoot high on the body chest and head shots is all good for me. I gave up on a shotgun when I ended up with ground bloody gut splattered squirrel, If I miss, hey he'll be around nest time.


----------



## 4tu (Jul 24, 2018)

big rockpile said:


> Ate the Brains all my life and **** and Possum Brains.
> 
> big rockpile


My dogs likes people food, I don't eat brains (no flavor to me) so he gets themwith hearts and livers. I burn all the guts and lungs and hide in the burn pit or in the garbage to limit scavengers around the place.


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Nice looking little rifle. Have you told us what it is other than a 22LR?

I used a Remington pump for a lot of years then got a Rugar 77 22lr about 20 years ago. Loved that Rugar but got tired of not being able to reliably find ammo for it and was out for a long time about 2016.

Bought a Rugar 77 22 hornet and down load the ammo to 22 mag speed, sure does the job on tree rats out to 80 yards along the creek.


 Al


----------



## Silvercreek Farmer (Oct 13, 2005)

Gray squirrels ate my gas cans a few years back. When the season opened, I declared war. My favorite tool was a Ruger 22/45. Cleaned out ten or so of them and, surprisingly, it took years for the population to recover. It's about time to cull the herd again, but this batch has quite a bit of red on them and I like they way they look!


----------



## crehberg (Mar 16, 2008)

alleyyooper said:


> Nice looking little rifle. Have you told us what it is other than a 22LR?
> 
> I used a Remington pump for a lot of years then got a Rugar 77 22lr about 20 years ago. Loved that Rugar but got tired of not being able to reliably find ammo for it and was out for a long time about 2016.
> 
> ...


Sorry there Al. Ruger 8301. Nicest shooting gun I think I've ever had. It also uses the standard 10/22 magazine...so easy to stock up on spares. Only downside is it limits you to long rifle only.


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Are you saying the rotory Mag limits you to LR only? Or the rifles chamber and bolt is the limiting factor? 

Never the less that is one fine looking Rifle and has adjustable trigger and stock module even.

Should last a couple of generations. All the way to great great grand kids.

 Al


----------



## crehberg (Mar 16, 2008)

alleyyooper said:


> Are you saying the rotory Mag limits you to LR only? Or the rifles chamber and bolt is the limiting factor?
> 
> Never the less that is one fine looking Rifle and has adjustable trigger and stock module even.
> 
> ...


I agree Al... I hope it lasts well past me.

And yes, the magazine is the major limiting factor that I know of....but I'm going to say just from glancing I think the chamber is too long for shorts as well. I'm not 100% on that, but I know the gun is marked specifically "22 LR ONLY".


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I'll have to look at my bolt action Rugar 77 22 to see if it is marked 22lr only.

I have not shot a short in so long i can't remember the last time. Had to be at lest 60 years ago.


 Al


----------



## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

They make quite a few quiet and light loads now for .22 rimfire in full length cases, so the shorts we used in the past are pretty much outdated and unnecessary. The full length cartridges tend to cycle better anyway.


----------



## crehberg (Mar 16, 2008)

Fishindude said:


> They make quite a few quiet and light loads now for .22 rimfire in full length cases, so the shorts we used in the past are pretty much outdated and unnecessary. The full length cartridges tend to cycle better anyway.


I guess I've never paid that much attention before....growing up with old worn out lever and pump 22's to shoot...they'd shoot about anything. I'll have to look into some of the lighter loads...I guess that's why I've been having trouble finding shorts for my pistol!


----------



## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

We used Shorts for Road Hunting because they was so quiet.

big rockpile


----------

