Squirrel Hunting Coming Soon

[patience0830]

Haven't been in many years but every squirrel I've ever taken was with my old 10/22, Bushnell 3-9 and Mini-Mag HP.

View attachment 372388

I've been there and done that too, ancjr. And I've owned a few worked over 10/22's that would really shoot. And probably a pickup bed of other rimfires. But that Anschutz is a fine piece of machinery that will bust as many dum-dum suckers in a row as I care to waste ammo on at 50 yds. I've shot a few sqwacks in the eye at 60 yds with it. It cost me a couple other rifles and some time at work. (And some grief from my wife) But it was worth it.

 

[patience0830]

Haven't hunted squirrels in years but my daughter and son in law want to go this year. So, I will probably either drag out the Henry lever action .22 or I would consider one of my shotguns. All I have are 12g but with the right load it shouldn't be too bad.
Their desire to get out as well as this thread has me debating if I should consider getting a dedicated .22 squirrel gun. After all, I will likely be taking the grandson out chasing bushy tails one of these days too.
Now I have an excuse to shop for a new gun

Definitely buy the rifle. I hate picking shot and fur outta the meat. Only killed one with a shotty. Never again.

 

[patience0830]

.22s are more fun in the late fall when they migrate to the ground. Takes a full choke 12ga to really knock them out of the tops of mature trees when the leaves are still up. August/Sept hunts in the HNF are about targeting twitching clusters of leaves 100 feet over your head, then watching a squirrel take a swan dive and land hard enough to leave a crater. In late fall and winter you can locate them off dry leaf noise and get em with a .22.

Never had much luck blasting .22 straight up into the sky trying to hit them as they move around the treetops.

Takes a real rifleman to knock them outta the trees over in the Shawnee N/F in southern Illinois. We have a rifle hunt over there every year in September and I've killed some so far up that I thought they were tree mice when I shot at them. They get bigger as they fall and all the hair burns off on reentry. Almost all Grey squirrels so rarely an easy target like a fox squirrel head. Tough hunting but you'd wound and lose a lot with a shotgun. And a .410? They'd just laugh at you.

 

[patience0830]

Early season
My first gun a Rossi .410 single shot I use 3 in #5 or 4 shot. I bet it’s taken 200 + squirrels.

Savage mk II with a BSA sweet .22 scope very accurate.

Late season
Savage A-17 with a Nikon pro staff you wanna see some long range squirrel sniping.

I normally hunt deep in the Hoosier National Forest and get some long shots in mature trees. The downside is I usually get just a few Fox squirrels they tend to hang out around corn fields.

Wife makes an unbelievable squirrel and dumplings I think it’s better than chicken. She also fries them with her chicken breading.

Now I am hungry !

Best I've ever eaten were 15 minutes at 10# of pressure in a pressure cooker, then doused and simmered about 10 min in Sweet Baby Rays's bbq. 2nd best is pressure cooked then an egg wash and dipped in Mrs. DASH and cornmeal and fried in HOT bacon grease. Make your tongue slap the back of your head trying to get the last morsel.

 

[patience0830]

A300 Ultima Patrol.

The woods are too far away to come home empty handed. I'll get my squirrels even if I have to cut the tree down with #5 shot to do it.

I could hunt 'em from the porch. And occcasionally I do.

 

[bwframe]

All the squirrels I have taken in the last few years have been with the .22 M-Rod. The P-Rod will take them, but the M-Rod has twice as much magnification in the glass.

 

[thunderchicken]

Definitely buy the rifle. I hate picking shot and fur outta the meat. Only killed one with a shotty. Never again.

Yeah that's kinda the direction I'm leaning towards

 

[freekforge]

When I use my 1300 I load it with 4 or 5 shot and use an extra full turkey choke. at most distances I shoot I rarely get pellets below the shoulders. I messed up one time and forgot to swap chokes and didn't give enough lead as she ran and ended up with a pile of bloody fur that went into the trash.

 

[fullmetaljesus]

@fullmetaljesus Give us a picture. I want to see what this looks like.

Happily. Here's a pic of it moments after I made it back in June of 2022. Been meaning to make a new one and post it up on my online store. Just haven't gotten to it yet.

 

[bwframe]

Happily. Here's a pic of it moments after I made it back in June of 2022. Been meaning to make a new one and post it up on my online store. Just haven't gotten to it yet.

View attachment 372585

Is that patterned after the Pathfinder cooker, with the same features?

 

[jagee]

I've never hunted squirrels. Maybe I'll find some time to give it a shot ().

Maybe @patience0830 needs an apprentice.

 

[fullmetaljesus]

Is that patterned after the Pathfinder cooker, with the same features?

I went to class one day. The blacksmith said "we're making squirrel coolers today". He then made a squirrel cooker and walked us through it. Then said there's metal over there get to work. I grabbed metal went outside fired up a forge and got to work. What you see is what you get with this one. There's no extra pieces or thingys.

 

[Batchief909]

Early season....Winchester 97 full choke #5s. Late season.....CZ 455 American 22LR

 

[Mark-DuCo]

I use a Savage B22 FV-SR with a Dead Air Mask on the end and a Burris 3x9 on top. It has taken many squirrels.

 

[patience0830]

I've never hunted squirrels. Maybe I'll find some time to give it a shot ().

Maybe @patience0830 needs an apprentice.

See you at my place 0530 on the 15th

 

[patience0830]

I went to class one day. The blacksmith said "we're making squirrel coolers today". He then made a squirrel cooker and walked us through it. Then said there's metal over there get to work. I grabbed metal went outside fired up a forge and got to work. What you see is what you get with this one. There's no extra pieces or thingys.

If you've ever tried to eat an old fox squirrel cooked over a fire on a spit, it's like chewing a shoe. Cannot recommend.

 

[jagee]

See you at my place 0530 on the 15th

Shame our Saturday's are different days of the week.

 

[1nderbeard]

Would like to go this year. The only decent place I know of around me is deer creek FWA. That place tends to be hit and miss in terms of activity.

 

[patience0830]

Shame our Saturday's are different days of the week.

I am off until the 29th. @jagee

 

[fullmetaljesus]

If you've ever tried to eat an old fox squirrel cooked over a fire on a spit, it's like chewing a shoe. Cannot recommend.

I always bring a small pot and veggies to make stew.