I have killed quite few deer in my lifetime but would rather hunt squirrels or wild turkeys. I can not figure out why squirrel hunting with a rimfire rifle is not more popular. It requires patience, stealth, woodsmanship and a steady hand with an accurate rifle. Precision shooting at it's best IMO.

 

Unfortunately, I believe one of the main reasons is that most people would rather brag and show off a pic of themelves with a big buck rather than take the time to learn patience, stealth, woodsmanship and a steady hand with an accurate rifle.

 

Squirrels are so much easier to drag.

 

Tail looks good on the truck radio antenna!

 

The sad thing about many (not all) squirrel hunters that I have encountered in the last 45 years……they’re out for one thing and one thing only. The kill!
They’re out there to prove or feed their machismo (varies with the individual). Nothing short of a 12 ga for them, I tell you. At the end of their day they’re walking around asking others if they want a bag of dead cold squirrels. Honestly!
When I harvest a squirrel, it’s cleaned and skinned in 3 minutes. I don’t waste meat with body shots from a 22. If I can’t get a head shot….I don’t want it. I certainly don’t want a squirrel full of pellets either.
These guys will always find a spot and dump the squirrels (It’s Miller Time!) which annoys the dickens out of me.
Write about that for a change!
Maybe if they had a good Squirrel Alfredo recipe they would not be so callous and lazy. I definitely don’t trust being out in the same woods with em.

 

I know there are a lot of those type out there...I've seen the videos. Now, I stop watching any video as soon as I see the 12 Ga. It's funny but I am just the opposite. My wife doesn't eat squirrel (yet, hopefully) so I really don't care if I shoot any or not. I want either a head shot or clean miss. It's just great to be out in the woods.

 

Sacrablue, nothing worse than shotgunned squirrels. They feel like a bag of marbles. When we were kids it was 100 squirrel for bragging rights. It was always first reached by some miscreant with a shotgun. Being brought up by old timers the economics of cost of shotgun shell vs Squirrel didn’t compute. My kin all used 22shorts and would hack on us kids for using LRs. Uncles, Dad, ect taking me squirrel hunting taught me how to move in the woods, the trees & plants , tracks, ect. W
When you get tired of plugging squirrel with a rifle try a 22 pistol. Red Dots and other optics on yer pistol is gauche in this area, but still puts you a click above one that would use a shot gun.
My great uncle Less always said, you hunt squirrel everything else is just shot.

 

I tried the deer hunting, found it rather boring. I did kill one and the effort to get it back to the vehicle, home and dealt with was just too much for me. It was not enjoyable, it was work. Some people do enjoy both and I would never knock them for that. I just find the squirrel hunting to be what attracts my interest. Most of the squirrel hunting articles in magazines are too brief and boring too, just a one or two page anecdote thrown in between all the big game articles.

 

Agree about deer hunting. Seems like tons of work-especially on public land. Fortunately I have friends that keep me in venison!

 

I'm in Montana, our squirrels are about 6"-8" tall. Nobody hunts them. Heck I didn't know there were stories written about it.

 

Maybe under the right circumstances I would have liked deer hunting better, who knows? I used to enjoy bird hunting quite a bit. Life changed, opportunities changed and I changed to coincide with the way life went so here I be!

 

I use to deer hunt in my late teens and early 20s. You really need time to do it properly. Especially if you get one!
I'm a small game hunter at heart. Started there, and I'll surely finish this way.
I LOVE bird hunting even though I don't have many opportunities to partake. Rabbit hunting is always a pleasure when I can go. It's been years. Squirrel hunting is something that I can enjoy regularly. It checks most boxes for me. If there was a way for squirrels to fly through the woods like dove as I waited with my over/under 12ga that just might be perfect. Since that isn't likely to happen in my lifetime I'll be happy with my 22lr rifle waiting for that clean head shot opportunity with a smile. Maybe I'll deer hunt again one day, I will absolutely go if I need the meat. It just isn't what gets me going. Like many others here.
I get so much enjoyment out of squirrel hunting I can recall most details of the individual hunts I've been on in the last 10 years. If I could do that with most things I'd probably be a millionaire.

 

I’ve been hunting in a couple places out West and up in Canada where we were known as them crazy
Hillbillies that eat squirrels. 1st trip up to Canada bear hunting noticed abundance of squirrels. Next trip we took 22 and shot sack of squirrel for camp meat. Was like frying up a pine tree, not eatable.
So we actually were the crazy Hillbillies that tried to eat squirrel.

 

I’ve been hunting in a couple places out West and up in Canada where we were known as them crazy
Hillbillies that eat squirrels. 1st trip up to Canada bear hunting noticed abundance of squirrels. Next trip we took 22 and shot sack of squirrel for camp meat. Was like frying up a pine tree, not eatable.
So we actually were the crazy Hillbillies that tried to eat squirrel.

👍👍
I bet dem thar Canuck squirrels were sum dern good eat’n, Uh huh. 😉
No matter where ya go, theres folks that take a negative view to eat’n tree rats.
I’m like that with fish. I’m an avid fisherman but I’m really finicky about which ones I esteem as good for eat’n. Its a very very short list.

 

There are few "normal" forms of hunting I haven't enjoyed over the years, but shotgunning Squirrels is not one, nor will it ever be.

 

I don’t mind it so much if someone like a young‘un is using a 410 to bring em down out of tall, heavily foliated canopy. Heck I’ve done it myself. Its still hard! The squirrels are whiley and smart enough as it is…..in thick canopies…..dern near impossible sometimes. They definitely have the upper hand in that situation. But 12 guage…….thats over kill. Like using a 7mm mag on a ground hog.

 

I really wish I would have taken up squirrel hunting. I enjoyed hunting birds very much in Jersey where there were plenty of Pheasent, Rabbits and Quail. I still hunted Quail after moving to Arizona and Deer and Rabits. Those Jack-O-Lopes make for a great dinner.

Never say a regular squirrel while hunting in the desert. This was before I learned the joy of hunting with a .22. took many Rabbits but never a squirrel. I guess I miss that a lot.

 

12, 16, 20 and 28 gauge are often used with 7/8 ounce and 1 ounce shot loads, so shooting a 12 gauge isn't necessarily a "thing". Going all blanket condescension on shotgun hunters, here we go off on a tangent just like the antis. Semiautos are bad, only bolt actions should allowed. Handguns are bad, etc etc. There are plenty of bad apples running through the woods spraying the treetops down with rifle fire just as often as there are shotgunners and the rifle shooters are more dangerous when doing so. Slob hunters wasting game and trashing the woods need condemnation, true. But playing the superiority card for choosing to hunt with rifles instead of shotguns, very divisive elitist attitudes being displayed here.

Maybe those who hunt squirrels with bows or slings are even more superior than riflemen? Airgun hunters better than those use .22 long rifle? Muzzleloaders better than cartridge shooters?

And none of that has anything to do with articles in the gun rags does it.

 

Started deer hunting with my uncles in the mid 80s. We ran deer dogs which was the norm in those days.One of those years we camped on the river to squirrel hunt and I was hooked ever since.We used shotguns then mostly

Over the years I still hunted deer but strictly with a bow and enjoyed it although a lot of prep and work.Met a friend who shot competitive archery and realized that the reason I liked bow hunting was not so much the hunting but that I like shooting my bow.And so I started shooting with him in tournaments and slowly deer hunting took a backseat.
Duck hunting had my undivided attention for a few years and really really enjoyed that but like bow hunting it has slowly faded too.

So here I am looking hard at 50 in a few months and the one constant is squirrel hunting. Having a best friend since school thats ate up with as well is probably the reason.We joke about how we must look like fools to other hunters with all the time we spend just to hunt an ole tree rat.Opening morn is like Christmas to us and just as exciting this many years later. I pray I never lose that feeling

 

I would love to start regularly tree squirrel 🐿 hunt with someone some where semi close “100mile” to home regularly.

 

Well, that is where you use #5 shot, as it typically goes clean through the squirrel!!! And what is wrong with my 12-gauge side x side??? We are all firearms enthusiasts; we should be supporting each other, not splitting us up. JMHO you understand.
God Bless, Frank.

 

.22 also is a lot of fun on tree rats.

 

As a young kid I started out hunting squirrels with a shotgun. A 20 gauge H&R Topper Single. After a couple of years I switched to a 22 rifle and have not looked backed. That was 51 years ago. Recently I bought a Mossberg Baby Model 500 full camo .410 "Turkey" gun to be used with TTS shot for turkey hunting. As our squirrel season here starts very early now(mid September), the trees are leafed up, still green and the shots are close. I decided to give the little .410 a go on squirrels. I managed to bag a limit of 6 squirrels with 6 shots and really enjoyed the experience. I kept my shots inside 25 yards, took no running shots and waited until presented with a decently clear shot. I have gone back to my .22/17HM2 rifles but I must admit it was really fun bagging a few with that little .410

 

Clisby, I agree, but squirrel hunters are in the minority. It is human nature that bigger is better ! This even holds true with squirrel hunters. It all involves a little bragging. Most find it more appealing to brag about a ten point than a gray squirrel. Start bragging about killing a few nice gray squirrels and one of the ladies present might say, yeah, she could do that at her birdfeeder, ouch!

Just to touch on some other things mentioned here. I don't see anything wrong with a little bragging, by most. Good natured ribbings and such are good for all. When one becomes consumed with bragging is when it becomes distasteful. When one hunts to say look what I killed, they become less thought of and generally will lose their audience. But regardless of what one is bragging about, bigger is better. I truly believe that the hunting world has changed for the worse. Fewer folks as each generation arrives that actually enjoy the hunt, they enjoy the shot! The internet, cameras, baiting ( because hunting is too hard) and such has them hunting for the shot and not hunting for the animal. The time will soon be upon us when none will visit their stands unless they have a bragging size animal on camera. They can't brag on a little buck or doe, too small! So it is about bragging and size all the way around.

Few want to hunt and they are becoming fewer. Some things are obvious to even those that don't hunt, the biggest one being that it is impossible to be hunting at a bait pile. How one could convince hunter or non hunter that baiting requires some skill on the part of the shooter is beyond me. Lot of folks reading this do it, they know it is not hunting. They know any ten year old kid could have poured the corn out in the same place with the same results. One of those times bragging becomes distasteful. As a matter of fact a lot of kids are doing just that and they will never be taught to hunt. Hunting will not produce good results right off for the majority so why practice it?? It is hard to answer that to someone that just wants to shoot. The beauty of nature and what it teaches one about all animals when one is out and about, pales in comparison to instant bragging rights! No going back, it is where we are at.

Shotguns, I am fond of saying that any able bodied man who uses a shotgun for squirrels would poison the well at the Orphanage. I don't consider that hard and fast but is what I think in general. Someone mentioned shooting them with a .410 I think that does put a little challenge back into it over other gauges . The man or woman that can consistently pluck them off at 20 yards with the .410 won't have any trouble with a .22 in my experience but it is not for me. I started taking a 9 year old two years ago and he has started on a .22 as of now. He still carries the .410 and I carry the .22 . when a good opportunity presents itself I give him the .22 and show him what to do. He generally always gets a limit with the .410 but I am getting tired of cleaning them and I make sure he takes them home. He has killed a few, maybe a dozen with the .22 and he is learning.

I do think the best way to teach a young hunter is for him/her to begin with a shotgun. They learn about squirrel hunting and they learn when to take the shot , this works to their advantage when transitioning to a rimfire.

Larger gauge shotguns on squirrels by able bodied folks! Those people in my experience are not squirrel hunters they are more of squirrel killers. My experience. They rarely clean them and run around trying to find someone to give them too prior to throwing them in the crick.

As far as airguns, blowguns, archery and slingshots for squirrels and where does it all stop to be considered elite, It stops with you! What do you consider reasonable ? A lot of folks consider reasonable the amount that comes easy. I consider reasonable the amount that can be achieved with a little hard work, determination, and practice. I never intentionally shoot a squirrel anywhere that I think would result in any meat damage or a cleaning mess. That means the shot must go in and out the head. I find this reasonable as I know scores of hunters that do it.

As far as folks writing about squirrel hunting being an after thought or just something to get one out of the house, I suspect they are just shooting them anywhere they can with anything they can. When I see a person repeatedly killing a limit of Level 5 headshot squirrels he doesn't have to say anything. I know he is probably a hunter. I suspect he has learned enough while out there that he doesn't have to bait his deer either! There are exceptions and I know of guys that conditions were so favorable they simply went to the same spot and shot squirrels until they got a limit of good headshots discarding the others!

I believe some think that shooting a deer at a bait pile or at some properties managed just for the paying customer is tougher than killing limits of squirrels on public property with a rimfire where anyone can take an equal shot. They are not experienced hunters.

Not to contradict myself too much but killing squirrels is not all that hard. I have hunted them in six different states and in several areas in those states. Sometimes we can get to bragging a little too much on how hard it is and how great we are. Kids do it. But they kill big bucks at bait piles easier!

I recently spent three weeks at a squirrel camp which is the most time I have spent all at once. Great company, great food. A friend of mine Killed a B & C buck recently and joined us at camp. Very little talk about it and no bragging, he showed some pics his first night there. He did brag on some of the shots he made on squirrels though.

 

Shotguns, I am fond of saying that any able bodied man who uses a shotgun for squirrels would poison the well at the Orphanage. I don't consider that hard and fast but is what I think in general.

Larger gauge shotguns on squirrels by able bodied folks! Those people in my experience are not squirrel hunters they are more of squirrel killers. My experience. They rarely clean them and run around trying to find someone to give them too prior to throwing them in the crick.

I recently spent three weeks at a squirrel camp which is the most time I have spent all at once. Great company, great food. A friend of mine Killed a B & C buck recently and joined us at camp. Very little talk about it and no bragging, he showed some pics his first night there. He did brag on some of the shots he made on squirrels though.

Some thoughts... you are painting with an awful big brush there. This actually makes me think of character assignation by association, or elitism, you may not have meant it that way, but it can certainly be interpreted that way. So, if you use a shotgun, you could be guilty of illegal and/or unethical behavior, just because you use a shotgun. Pretty wide net you are throwing there. I have used a shotgun on more occasions than I can count to hunt squirrels and I can't recall ever throwing any squirrels away when taken with said shotgun. I've shot plenty of squirrels that I didn't eat, but others did eat them. They were not thrown in a "crick" or the woods or anywhere else for that matter.
Why use a shotgun, well just because I want to. Occasionally I might like to do things an easy way. May be other species are also in season that a rimfire would be inadequate for. Turkey, quail, snipe, woodcock, rabbit and deer with slug or buckshot. Easy to open the sxs and slip out the shot and drop in a slug and buckshot. I guess I could add coyote, groundhog and fox to the list.
The last 2 lines from your post relating to "Squirrel camp" but it could be any hunting camp. My idea of an ideal setting is a cabin in the woods, but it could be many different places. It is the friends and comradery that makes a hunting camp special. On that I 100% agree with you.
God Bless, Frank.

 

It's funny how there is derision amongst squirrel hunters as to honorable method of dispatch when 99.8% of the general population think that anyone who would kill and eat rodents is a total whack job.

 

tfrank, I gave my experience. . I never grew up around shotgunners and the ones I have been acquainted with care as much about the squirrels harvested as I have stated. They seem to be after the kill. I am sure most folks here have had more experience with adult shotgunners using large gauges on squirrel than I have and if I was painting overly broad in your experience then I apologize to those that do otherwise. I stated what MY experiences were and was not privy to your experiences to state them, nor would I feel right doing so.

 

But assuming that everyone who uses a shotgun is like them is too far a stretch of the imagination. I was down at Nags Head surf fishing and a carload of folks from an unnamed location had caught a bunch of really nice bluefish. Probably at least a dozen 5 to 10 pound bluefish laying on the beach with their throats cut. They asked if I wanted them and I said no, so they packed up and left, leaving the fish where they were. That was in 1988 and I still wish I could have found a way to get them in contact with a Park Ranger. But do I generalize that all folks from said unnamed location are folks like that... no I don't. Just those specific individuals. I just couldn't let go what you said without comment, thats all. We still friends, right!!!
God Bless, Frank.

 

I am the hardiest guy you will ever meet to make mad. I am kind of locally famous for that. I have said it before, the last time I was mad was in the late sixties, that is a fact. I have made a few mad though with giving my opinion and stating experiences. I think some are always looking for something to get mad about . I think my bedside manner is bad.

 

Who'se worse Lerrab, the man who shoots a limit with a 12 gauge and dumps them, or the man who does so with a rifle and dumps them? I've seen both. Rifle hunter held in such high esteem, the man with a scoped rifle can kill them from far far away without a chance of ever being spotted by the prey, the shotgunner has to get inside of 40 yards. You're an elitest of the worst kind whose posts are chock full of passive aggressive putdowns and outright insults to other hunters. Others earlier in the thread did so also. I just shake my head in disappointment.

 

I have shotguns, rimfire rifles and airguns. This season I've chosen to use air rifle. It has been a while since I have used a shotgun. I like the longer reach of a rifle but the quiet and safer ballistics of the air rifle where I live. I hunt squirrels because I enjoy it and none are ever wasted. I do share some with my cats. Not even the innards get wasted, they slurp up that too and crunch on the heads, Am I bad for sharing with my friends? If so color me guilty.

 

Painting shotgun shooters as being crude talentless slob hunters is wrong. I've seen plenty of riflemen shooting nests, I've seen plenty of rifle gut shot squirrels dumped because they were ruined, I've had rifle bullets nearly strike me a couple of times, I've seen hunters with semiauto rifles mag dump at running squirrels, I've seen shots taken into blue sky with dwellings in possible bullet travel, etc.,etc. It's the individual who is the rotten apple not the entire basket full of people who might be choosing to hunt with a shotgun. Bad behavior does need condemned, regardless of the weapons being used.

 

When I was a kid a shotgun was all we were allowed for small game including squirrels. I have actually shot way more squirrels that I have ate with a shotgun. Can you really trust a young kid with a rifle who might not fully understand where and when it’s safe to shoot a Rifle up into trees. I think squirrel hunting with a 22 is kind of more refined and takes good judgment of when you are kind of safe to shoot. Yes I have had bullets hit near me and past me when I was Rabbit hunting over dogs. We had to start yelling to get them to stop shooting. Funny story. I had made my dad laugh which didn’t happen often. We were eating something I don’t remember what but what ever I bit into was nasty and I put my hand up to my mouth and spit it into my hand and put it on the corner of my plate. He kind of looked at me in disgust and I said bullet. He started laughing. I have never forgotten it.
I mean because some of the stuff we ate you could run into a bullet or BB that got missed.

 

I've seen dumped loads of fish before too. Once the fun part is over it's easy to dump the kill when nobody is watching. There are plenty of stories of deer shot for their racks and the bodies tossed aside. Spoiled game can happen easily in hot weather. I've lost a few doves that way. I couldn't brag much on taking bag limits then, or now either. There are many people who are better hunters than I am. We should congratulate those who do well, encourage those who can improve and not go alienating members of our own group over hunting weapon choice.