Some guy asked about the Marlin 795 on another board, and I said that it'd shoot all the squirrels he could eat.

He expressed amazement that anyone would eat squirrels, although he's eaten rabbit. I think he's only seen squirrels in parks.

So: squirrel snipers, let's see pics of your bag, with comments about the great American tradition of squirrel hunting.

For you squirrel hunters, how many use .22's and how many rely on shotguns?

Shotgunners: which pellet size do you favor, and how far out will you take a shot?

I'm hoping to see some fine CZ and Winchester 52 rimfires with nice 'scopes.

Do you wear camo for squirrel hunting, or is that overkill or too full of drama? Do you employ calls?

Squirrel recipes are welcome.

I haven't squirrel hunted much, but hope to more in the future. As my kids get a little older, it will be an easy way to introduce them to hunting.
This hunt I used a Stevens 5100 16 ga. My buddy had a Scoped Ruger 10/22. With #6 shot I could shoot out to 50 yards very effectively. For some reason THIS PARTICULAR shotgun shoots that far and hits hard. it is unusual.
I wear camo. They have good eyes.
haven't used a call, but it might make a wary squirrel make a mistake.

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War Eagle! '10 BCS & '13 SEC

Here's my two favorite squirrel rifles:

I have others, but these two are my favorites, as well as my father's favorite squirrel rifles.





When these two aren't being used, it's usually my 9422, Remington 41P or 341. I do occasionally use my father's old 16ga 94 Stevens too.

;9I don't use camouflage- usually just whatever I'm wearing, or a pair of overalls. I do like to use .22 Shorts instead of .22LR's- it doesn't tear them up too bad- the CCI .22 Short HP works the best! I've got an old canvas messenger style bag that is likely war surplus that works the best for carrying them out of the woods.

I don't use calls, but I used to have friends that had some of the best squirrel dogs- but they are gone now.
I doubt I'll ever have enough use to justify the cost of a squirrel dog. I don't even know anyone that has squirrel dogs anymore- bear and coon dogs, but not squirrel dogs.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

I bought a M39 carbine and a Weaver K2.5 in 1964 and killed a lot of squirrels with it. I still have it and even though I live in a rural area I am now afraid to shoot a rifle up in the air. I don't hunt much anymore but when I squirrel hunt I use a 1935 L.C. Smith 20 ga., 26 in., M&IC, #6 shot. I carry a call with me and if I sit for a while and don't see anything I use the call and sometimes it will make one show himself. Larry

We used to squirrel hunt a lot in Upstate NY, when I was in the Air Force up there. Most of us used 22 rifles, and one used a 410 bore shotgun. I used a 10-22 with a cheapo 4X scope. We had a lot of success in the wooded areas around the farm fields. One friend had a great way to cook them, but I didn't pay much attention to his recipe (wish I did now).. He soaked them in Dr Pepper or Coke for half a day or so. The cooking involved boiling them for a while, then rolled in a flour mixture and fried. After they were cooked for a while he added some water and beer and salt and black pepper. It made a kind of stew that was delicious with biscuits....

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Tom
"Panem et Circenses"

cz you asked?



and win




Charlie

Here is my New Savage 93BTVS 22 mag with a Bushnell 4-12x40 DOA 600 Scope.



Clyde

Thanks, guys! Keep 'em coming!

No pics - but
My main squirrel gun for a long time was a K17. A friend clued me into .22LR CBIs being a better round because it's so quiet but my 17 patterned like a shotgun with the slow moving bullets. So now I just use a Bull Barrel 22 LR Contender with the CBIs.
On a good day I can shoot 1 hole 3 shot groups with that combo.
On a bad day, cloverleafs

I still eat with a plastic tooth from a childhood dinner. Shotgun pellet in a squirrel busted one of my teeth - No more of that for me and mine.

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In dog years I'm dead.

I haven't hunted squirrels for several years, but I hope to start again this season after a couple of good frosts. I have dined on squirrel many times and prefer it pare boiled then pan fried in bacon grease/veg oil mix. Dumplins and squirrel goes pretty good too.

No pictures but I have a Browning T-Bolt that carries lightly and is a tack driver. As good as anything I've ever used. I do have a couple model 52's, one a B model with standard weight barrel that is still a bit heavy for woods hunting, but would do in a pinch or ifn' I felt frisky. The other is the Japan re-pop sporter. It is a fine rifle and will give any true model 52 sporter a run for it's money accuracy wise. I will probably take it at least once or twice this season. Actually, there's no shortage of good, accurate .22 rim-fires around the house. I've got a couple old Winchester single shots I bought for my grandkids that are up to the task also. A SAKO Finn-fire that will shoot their eyes out if you can hold steady enough resides in the back of the safe too. Dang, just talking about it has got me ready to go!

Haven't hunted in many years.
I can remember going and using an LC Smith 12ga SxS. My Dad bought it from the local Police Chief for $35.
I used Peters HV 2 3/4 #4,,cause that's what everyone used all season for pheasants & rabbits.
Just about knocked my teeth loose. Can't remember getting any squirrels either. Just as well I guess.
Took a single shot .22 later but always ended up bored waiting around for those things and started shooting at sticks and stuff. More fun shooting,,not much of a hunter.

I found out the shipping date later on the LC Smith (Sept something 1908) while working at Marlin.
Col. Brophy was there and anyone with an LCS no matter the condition or grade was of interest to him. He looked up the info for me.
Those records are the ones he literally saved from the trash dumpsters in Marlins move to N. Haven.

I also like my 1022, but this one is not bad.

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Like some others I have not hunted in several years. I now don't even have a place to hunt. "City dweller" I do have the guns to hunt squirrels if I ever get to go again. Don


CZ 452 American with a Mueller 4.5 X 14 scope.



Ruger 77/22 with a Nikon 4X scope. Made in 1984.

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"Don't worry be happy"

You employ a dog, if you have a good one. And no - the dog doesn't need any camo. He's fine the way he is.

Of course you usually need at least a half-gallon of mosquito repellent, here in Indiana.

Shotguns are for things that fly so they are not used in civilized midwestern squirrel hunting. Any .22 accurate at "top-of-oak-tree" range will do, but I do not have a ready picture of mine - an old Savage Anschutz 54 Sporter. Handsome rifle, but I like Crsides' CZ too. If I were to get into the notion again, I think I might have to have one of those. Very handsome!

Autoloaders also considered uncivilized.

Here in France squirrels are protected. So are hedgehogs. No squirrel stew. No hedgehog pie. Lots of restrictions on deer. Wild boar are unrestricted - wish I could find one. Hunting season starts in a few weeks - hope I have more success than previous years. But how do you judge success? A morning's hunting with 20 or 30 of the local hunters followed by a few aperatifs and a meal prepared in our hunting lodge, accompanied by good French wine. Good company, and friendly conversation (in patois French, which stretches my comprehension of the language). What more could you ask for?

When I hunt on my own, that's how I normally return home.

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Kill it, cook it, eat it.

I agree. The FS looks nice. I have the Standard 452. No scope. I use it for target practice, but I once shot a rat at about 20 yards. I saw it basking in the sun, ran in the house to get my gun and as I got back it decided to move. It didn't get far.

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Kill it, cook it, eat it.

Tisk - tisk! I hope the authorities do not hear about this!

I have a hard time imagining how 20-30 French hunters have much success with anything, except driving game AWAY. But, given your description of the occasion, I would be willing to observe and see if I could make some sense of it. Are the guns loaded?

Forgot to add - good luck with the coming pursuits!

Like others, I haven't hunted squirrels in quite some while, but when I did, I used a scoped .22 rimfire, and made of them squirrel stew, pretty much the same recipe as for beef stew, only with more tasty results ... Squirrel hunting offers a great opportunity for training youngsters in hunting skills, patience, marksmanship, ethics, safe gun handling, etc. Have at it ---!

several years ago I used a Ruger single six with a 6 inch barrel. Now my older eyes don't seem to work so well, but I can still hit them with the open sights on a Stevens favorite. Brunswick stew or the slow pan frying some have talked about makes a great meal. Won't be long till the season starts!

A couple of my squirrel hunting pictures. I'm blessed to be able to walk out back and start hunting.

My 1984 Ruger 77/22, Simmons 2x7 scope, my old vest, and couple of squirrels from the hillside.



A better picture of the rifle.



When it rains, the nice wooden rifles stay inside.



Remington 597, Bushnell 4x.

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John 3:16 .

Several hunters follow and control the dogs, several vehicles to survey the hunt generally, and the rest of us posted at fixed positions around the woods we are hunting. Once we are allocated a position we do not move from it. We maintain a safety angle of 30 degrees between each hunter. The dogs drive the deer out of the woods, and we shoot them (away from the woods so as not to endanger the dogs and the hunters with the dogs), except that I am not very good at that part. My hunt are allowed 10 to 12 deer per year for our territory, and we initially have three days fixed for hunting. If we don't get our quota within that time we continue on subsequent week-ends until we have them. The quota is based on population. I can't go out on my own hunting deer, must be part of the organised hunt.

My own hunt insist on shotguns only, but others allow rifles. The thinking behind our restriction is that the range is less with a shotgun, so there is less danger to other hunters or anyone else out in the woods. The downside is the short range and the lack of accuracy. Deer should only be shot at less than 30 metres to increase the chance of a clean kill. We use number 1 or 2 shot for deer, but if we see a boar we need to change to a slug. We always get our quota.

And we don't have a single white flag between us!

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Kill it, cook it, eat it.

I shoot 'em from a boat every once in a while. On this day it was about 10 degrees. The coves were iced over, so we hunted the main lake. I was going for the "layered look".

Mossberg 9200, # 5 or 6 shot.

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Chad a buddy and I used to float the Stones river a small river here in middle Tennessee. It has plenty of gray squirrels and fox squirrels. If you shot a fox squirrel and it fell into the water it would sink pretty quick. The gray squirrels would float. I never did figure that out. Those were good times. Don

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"Don't worry be happy"

I wear camo when hunting squirrels (need all the help I can get) I make things hard on myself and been using either a M-17 or m-617 with 6 inch Bbl. Im usually pretty successful if i can get within 35 yds or so. I dont use a scope but if I did I may be able to add a few yards to that. I just love the challenge the handgun gives. May not get as many squirrels but I have alot of fun doing it.

I love to hunt squirrels. My first hunting experiences as a young boy were hunting gray squirrels with a .22 rifle. I still prefer a good, accurate .22 for the task, and my current choice is a Kimber Hunter with a Burris 3x9 Compact scope. I do love to eat those squirrel I take while still hunting. I use WMT ammo and take head shots which allow quick, clean kills and limit/eliminate meat loss.

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195th Session FBINA

That sounds exactly like the way I've always hunted Whitetail Deer here in Virginia. Nothing will send a chill up my spine like a pack of Walkers hitting a hot trail first thing in the morning. Walkers and beagles are the most popular, but you'll see most every kind of hound you can think of. Like you, our choice of firearms are shotguns only, Buckshot only.

As we say around here..."When the tailgate drops...the BS stops."

Just remembered. I've got a few pictures.

My wife is handicapped. We get an invitation once a year to hunt with a group that puts on a hunt for the handicapped a few times a year. The invited hunter can take along one helper. Here she is in her blind early in the morning. It was COLD that day. But she stuck it out all day. She was so excited every time she heard a dog strike.



This club was really organized. They had blinds built and numbered. As soon as someone shot, there was a crew there to drag the kill out, and get it back to the skinning area. I'm not sure who killed the ones in the picture, but they're a couple of nice central Virginia Whitetails. I believe seven were killed this day. My wife didn't get a shot, but that didn't dampen her spirits one bit.

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John 3:16 .

No offense man but if you can't hunt squirrels and deer on your own... You sold the white flag.

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One gun is never enough...

That's what I like to hear. Someone who hunts without fancy add-ons like scopes and red dots. If I was allowed to hunt squirrels, that's how I would like to do it. Sadly, handguns are banned for hunting here in France. But the standard sights of my Winchesters or my CZ are all I need. Same at the range. People tell me to cock my handguns and shoot single action to make for greater accuracy. Some say use a rest. May as well have a machine do it for me. I want the challenge of doing it all for myself, not going for the easy option. Hunting is the same. It's me against that animal. Sometimes he wins, sometimes I do. Killing per se is not the objective.

As for the restriction on hunting deer, it's a conservation thing. If every individual hunter shot every deer he saw, there'd be none left in no time. Many times I have watched them, sometimes very close, gun in hand but open. Sometimes you just have to admire nature rather than kill it. I don't have a problem with that. And squirrels are quite rare in this region.

CajunBass, nice to hear your wife has a go when she can. Long may she continue. I divorced my ex-wife long before I came to France and took up hunting. I still miss her, but some of those fancy scopes should improve my accuracy (lol).

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Kill it, cook it, eat it.

For some reason this computer wont let me on Photobucket so no pics. My old stand by for years was a Remington 514 single shot with a 7/8" Mossberg scope on it. I gave $10 for it and it was one of the most accurate 22 rifles I have ever seen. Lost that gun ( long story), but by then I had a 4 digit SN Winchester 52 with a 6X Lyman Junior Targetspot on it. I shot the best group I've ever shot with anything including smoe high dollar bench guns with that rifle. 5 shots center to center @ .003". I called that rifle my magic gun because it never failed me. I got the hots for something and traded that gun off (been trying ever since to get it back) so I use the Winchester 74 that I killed my very first squirrels with. It was my best friend's Dad's gun and my friend gave it to me when his Dad died.
I also have a K22, 10/22 bull barrel, and a 22 conversion for my M4 rifle.
If I really want a challenge I have a Green Mountain .32 barrel that drops into my Hawken stock. It shoots phenominally (sp?) with Dupont FFFG, a wonder lube patch, and round ball.

My tree rat rifles are a Kimber .22 Hunter and a Sheridan Silver Streak.

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Regards,
Guy-Harold Smith II

If you've got ratatouille on the lunch menu, I'm gonna pass, thanks anyway.

Since I can't discharge a firearm in my back yard, my pellet rifles are my tool of choice. I'm shooting the damn tree rats as home defense, not for groceries. I don't know what it is they like about my roof so much.

The Stoeger X20 Supressed in .22 has pretty much taken over as my first choice.
The Gamo Whisper in .177 has taken countless flufftails, but now gets reserved for when I have to shoot one inside the attic (hence the light and laser!)

I'd just about rather squirrel hunt that any other outdoor activity. My dad and grandfather started me out young with a Winchester single shot .410. Hunted with a 20 guage during my teenage years. My senior year in high school I bought the Browning BL22 pictured below and its been my main-stay squirrel rifle ever since. This .22 has taken hundreds of squirrels in the past 25+ years.

Started my boys squirrel hunting early too. Hunting with their grandfather and I, we went ahead and started them out with .22 rifles when they were 6 years old, my oldest is in his early 20's and has never hunted them with a shotgun and typically bags a limit with his .22.



We love pan fried squirrel with mashed pototoes and gravey, and a batch of homemade biscuits.

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- Change it back -

stevens single barrel 16ga.... marlin model 60.......remington 1100 20ga.... ruger 10-22 ....... ruger standard 22 auto.... ruger super single 6 9.5 barrel........iver johnson .410 .........smith and wesson .38 pre model 10 , wadcutters.............winchester 97 16ga, ...........


heck ? i've used em all on squirrels... great vittles...


peabody

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yer dawg ate my duck

I have a few "Squirrel guns"..........

An old Marlin 39A (late 40's) a Winchester 62 pump, a Marlin Bolt Action (got that one when I was 11) and the best is a CZ 453 American with a single set trigger & a Burris 6X scope.

I also like taking my M63 into the woods while Pheasant hunting just for that squirrel that pops up once in a while. No fair shooting one with a 12 gauge.

I used to do a lot of squirrel using a Remington Model 121A pump. Wish I still could.

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Mighty 90's,Trying 4 a 100!

And now we know the real truth about why you deny yourself the use of the telescopes!

I found another sport involving squirrels. Since I do not eat the meat, and they are fairly easy to hit, I try to shoot the nuts they are gathering out of their paws.
Pretty hard to do, and the look on their face when you hit one - Priceless.

I dunno.... seems cruel to shoot 'em in the nuts.

I wondered why the squirrel population seemed to be declining.

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Insert short witty words here

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Non gratum anus rodentum

Just be very careful out there in the woods. I took this photo the last time I went squirrel hunting.

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James Redfield
LM #497

I like sniping squirrels with my Thompson Machine Operative B. It is an integrally suppressed .22 bolt gun built on a Savage MKII. It make4s a sound about as loud as what you hear when you open a can of soda pop.



Funny thing happened last squirrel season with me shooting this rifle. I shot a squirrel high up in a beech tree as he started down a large limb. There was a loud sound from up in the tree that sounded like someone banging two 2x4's together. I jumped in shock at the sound as the squirrel dropped like a rock. Turns out the bullet had went in his forehead and traveled the full length of his body before exiting through his left hip joint. I suspect that the large limb he was on was hollow is the reason for the sound I heard.

BTW, the scope on my rifle is a Leupold fixed 4X.

I have squirrel hunted since I was a kid with a wide variety of rifles, shotguns and handguns but this is now my one and only squirrel gun. I like it