Anyone use a .22 mag for squirrels?
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i jus shot em in the head with w/e i had so i never worried bout meat messin but but mags are 5-7 bucks for 50 abd like u siad 10 bucks for 550 rnds thats big diff u wona see meat tearin up i shot a squirrel with my 17. he was on the ground facin me put in on his noise it came out his tail (wear it shoulda been i found the fron legs and part of the head the rest "poofed"
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Several years ago, when I owned a Kimber Of Oregon M-82 in .22 magnum, I used it one season for Squirrels. I really didn't care for it as the JHP was too destructive, and the FMJ version while it knocked them out of the tree, some Squirrels would simply get up and run off. The FMJ would simply pass through their bodies with little damage done. Ofcourse, if I head shot them it would drop 'em okay. I switched back to .22 LR HP as I felt I was doing better with that when it came to Squirrels. If I want a longer range or more powerful load for Squirrels I hand load my .22 Hornet down to 1,500 FPS, using SR-4759 powder, and use a 50 grain (High Velocity) type spitzer bullet.
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I have hunted squirrel's with a 77/22 RM .22 mag for many years.
It give's me about a 30-50 yard advantage over my 10/22 in .22 LR.
My favorite load for that is ,Winchester FMJ 40 gr. Though it is not the fastest, it seem's to be the most consistant in mine.
A game my brother and I play when we are squirel hunting is,
" If you hit the squirrel any place other than the head, You Clean Them All Yourself."
That seem"s keep the meat damage to a minimum.
A bad hit with any rimfire is just that.
It give's me about a 30-50 yard advantage over my 10/22 in .22 LR.
My favorite load for that is ,Winchester FMJ 40 gr. Though it is not the fastest, it seem's to be the most consistant in mine.
A game my brother and I play when we are squirel hunting is,
" If you hit the squirrel any place other than the head, You Clean Them All Yourself."
That seem"s keep the meat damage to a minimum.
A bad hit with any rimfire is just that.
Mostly Fox squirrels here. Maybe 3 lbs or a bit bigger on an old one.. Never found a good recipie for head's . Thats why we shoot them there.. Remember gutting alot of them with .22lr stingers and it tends to make a very stinky mess of them,,its why I try my best to do headshots only. With my magnum ,on shots over 90 yard's it is not alot different than a regular .22. Then I am not so picky.
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Squirrel brains, gaggggg! 
Won't catch me eatin' brains outta anything! Anyway, I did squirrel hunt for one season with a .22 magnum. It was a Savage 24D, the combo gun, with a 4x Leupold Shotgun scope on top. IF you didn't get the head shot, forget it, the entire squirrel was trashed. With Federal Premium Sierras or the CCI TNT's, it would often just blow them totally apart at less than 50 yards, in three to four pieces. With the CCI and Winchester JHP's it would render them into hamburger meat. Head shots left NO head period, just messy neck remnants. I sold it, didn't care for those results, plus the ammo was expensive and muzzle blast too loud for me in the squirrel woods. A .22 WMR makes a fine varmint rifle for 75 to 200 yard shots, but IMHO it's not too great for small game hunting. I actually started using the shotgun barrel on that Savage for shots less than 50 yards so I'd have something to bring home.
Won't catch me eatin' brains outta anything! Anyway, I did squirrel hunt for one season with a .22 magnum. It was a Savage 24D, the combo gun, with a 4x Leupold Shotgun scope on top. IF you didn't get the head shot, forget it, the entire squirrel was trashed. With Federal Premium Sierras or the CCI TNT's, it would often just blow them totally apart at less than 50 yards, in three to four pieces. With the CCI and Winchester JHP's it would render them into hamburger meat. Head shots left NO head period, just messy neck remnants. I sold it, didn't care for those results, plus the ammo was expensive and muzzle blast too loud for me in the squirrel woods. A .22 WMR makes a fine varmint rifle for 75 to 200 yard shots, but IMHO it's not too great for small game hunting. I actually started using the shotgun barrel on that Savage for shots less than 50 yards so I'd have something to bring home. Head's Removed?
That usually happened when I used my Hornet.. Wich I did for several year's. But with a 40 gr.solid .22 mag , usually they end up looking like Gumby. There eyes are about a half inch out of there socket's, unless you pick one for a target.
My favorite trademark shot is , in right ear and out left eye.
Did that on 3 of 5 one day with the .22 mag.
That usually happened when I used my Hornet.. Wich I did for several year's. But with a 40 gr.solid .22 mag , usually they end up looking like Gumby. There eyes are about a half inch out of there socket's, unless you pick one for a target.
My favorite trademark shot is , in right ear and out left eye.
Did that on 3 of 5 one day with the .22 mag.
I'm no yankee, but why eat brains when there are so many other things around? We have an old German doctor at deer camp who eats deer stomach and eats a pile of garlic cloves raw with most of his meals. That guy is more man than me... :yikes:
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my friends sister used to get very up set if he didnt bring in the brains from the ones he shot when he was younger. just like eating deer heart not much to chew on in my kills squirell or deer. head shots on squirell, heart shots on deer. keep :snipersmi
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