If you don't yet have a .22 ...

G

GingivitisKahn

Joined
Jun 8, 2010
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3,723
... you really ought to consider getting one. I know the ammo has gone up and has gotten harder to find but it's still out there if you look. I posted this elsewhere as well and it occurs to me that this is a good place for this discussion as well.

Given our currently craptastic deer population (thanks ODNR and your pro-poacher regs), I've decided to hit the small game harder this year than usual. Accordingly, I took a walk with my Ruger American Rimfire (you can find one under $300 without trying all that hard), topped by a $20 Simmons 3-9 gun show special and a pocket of Remington Golden Bullets (not great, but good enough).

Less than an hour later, I had a nice pair of fox squirrels (one male and one female) - both head shots, one round per customer. The female took one in one ear and out the other. Heh - no comment...

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After skinning both, I came across this guy high up in an oak tree - weirdly he had a hickory nut in his mouth when he died. Another head shot, one more round.

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Skinned him and moved on. Was about to head out, when I heard a commotion in the branches high up in a shagbark. Bobbled this shot and hit him in the neck (can't win 'em all) but he fell to just the one bullet. Note the hickory nut in this guy's mouth as well. A clue!

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My point? For the cost of about $0.25 in ammo (maybe $0.50 if you pay gun show prices for it), and a couple of hours, my inexpensive .22 setup provided a couple of nice dinners for my wife and me.

If you don't yet have a .22lr rifle - what are you waiting for?
 
I'd rather eat Mcdonalds with the $300. I don't eat squirrels. Conkers bad fur day was a squirrel.
 
I've taken a lot of squirrels and cotton tails with my 22, good eating. Its my go to round for small game over the last 40 years always works well with good shot placement. Good for snakes and small varmints too.
 
I love .22 rifles and pistols. They are super fun guns to shoot and .22 ammo is still out there for a fair price if you look for it. I haven't hunted squirrels in a while but might start since its more exciting to me than deer hunting.
 
Awesome squirrel hunting pics. I'm planning to squirrel hunt more this year, also, due to rising meat costs. And..., with a good recipe, squirrel is delicious. My mother can take a few squirrels, basic cooking ingredients, an iron skillet, and a crock-pot..., and make a meal that will rival the best $100 dinner you've ever had. My wife won't cook or eat them..., but she has OTHER redeeming qualities:D. I'm considering the Savage walking varminter for a new squirrel rig. Obviously, the Ruger is a good choice. How was your grouping when sighting in? Long rifle or magnum chamber?
 
I still have a .22 rifle I bought 25 years ago and used once. And several boxes of .22 ammo.

If I could go back in time, I would gladly unspend that money. :D

I find the .22 ammo shortage and the prominent signs (in every Walmart I have visited) kind of comical...I would dare say there are better calibers for the coming Armageddon, Apocalypse, or whatever it is...

PS love the Oswald-type shots on those squirrels. Wish you could do the same on some geese here...
 
banana-clip said:
I love .22 rifles and pistols. They are super fun guns to shoot and .22 ammo is still out there for a fair price if you look for it. I haven't hunted squirrels in a while but might start since its more exciting to me than deer hunting.
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Right there with you. Haven't even bought my deer tag yet this year - dunno if I will.
 
Wicked Sharp said:
Awesome squirrel hunting pics. I'm planning to squirrel hunt more this year, also, due to rising meat costs. And..., with a good recipe, squirrel is delicious. My mother can take a few squirrels, basic cooking ingredients, an iron skillet, and a crock-pot..., and make a meal that will rival the best $100 dinner you've ever had. My wife won't cook or eat them..., but she has OTHER redeeming qualities:D. I'm considering the Savage walking varminter for a new squirrel rig. Obviously, the Ruger is a good choice. How was your grouping when sighting in? Long rifle or magnum chamber?
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It's lr and the grouping was meh. So far, I'm just feeding it Golden Bullets - not known for great bench rest results. At 50 yards, I was around an inch but I've seen other guys do much better with better ammo.
 
I'll be doing a little bushy tail hunting this week, I'll be sure and snap a couple pics.
 
I have dozens of .22LR rifles and handguns and keep at least 10K+ cartridges on-hand. It's my favorite cartridge. I no longer eat squirrel, and at this point in my life, I too would probably first eat at McDonalds.

Only one of these groups was shot with a scope on a bench. The others are iron sights and no bench.

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Nice shooting , I am not that accurate and do better with a shotgun .I have four.22's . Im just not a very good shot anymore and have never had a decent scope until recently, when I acquired a remington pump 22 with a simmons Pro hunter scope that I have yet too fire. I also have a like new Remmington nylon 66 , only been shot once or twice . It still has the sticker on it . The 22 that has been my main rifle since 1975 is a Marlin M 1 . Then there is a old westernfield lever action that doesnt eject shells too well .



...and the wife and I love squirrel and rabbit .
 
Good thread, I've been looking at the latest Ruger 10/22 Takedowns. :)

DC
 
Anybody eat ground squirrels? We used to shoot a bunch by the train tracks.
 
Nice shooting! Do you wait a certain amount of time before skinning them? We have problems with fleas (and plague in certain areas) and are advised to let them cool so the fleas jump ship first. I haven't had squirrel in many years, but remember liking it, I'd like to try it again.
 
sodak said:
Nice shooting! Do you wait a certain amount of time before skinning them? We have problems with fleas (and plague in certain areas) and are advised to let them cool so the fleas jump ship first. I haven't had squirrel in many years, but remember liking it, I'd like to try it again.
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I go back and forth on that. Usually I wait a bit before going to get the carcass, partly to see if any more will show up and partly so it will cool and fleas will bail out. As to skinning, I go back and forth between skinning them right after collecting them (easier to skin, no fleas in my game pouch) and waiting til I am more or less done with the day.

If anyone has a great answer to this, I'm interested too. :D
 
A Ruger 10/22 was my first firearm, and the only one I will absolutely never part with. I've put countless rounds through it, taught my wife to shoot on it... absolutely should be a part of anyone's lineup.

Nice write-up.
 
I only hunt squirrels after a frost due to wolf worms early in the season. In south Georgia, that usually means sometime in November. Although the "experts" claim that wolf worms won't damage the meat...., if you've ever cleaned a squirrel with worms..., you WON'T eat it. No experience with fleas, and I have been hunting squirrels for years; however, I would guess that parasites are less prevalent during the cooler months.
 
Interesting, I've never heard of these, I'm going to check that out.

I was watching a youtube channel of a butcher in England who was showing some of his favorite rabbit recipes, and he mentioned that the rabbit had been hanging for a week - there was fog coming off the fur, so it had to have been in a freezer or something like that. I asked him the same question, because we also used to check the liver for spots in case of Tularemia, and he had never heard of that. No problem with fleas or anything like that - ever, according to him.

I'm starting to wonder if it's a U.S. thing...

Sorry for going off topic GK, I'm going to check Walmart tomorrow for .22 ammo, hopefully, they'll have some in.
 
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