cast revolver squirell hunting

[bmortell]

after being only one in area to see 0 legal deer thought id try revolver small game. yesterday hit squirrel 15 yds with 44 240swc center mass suprisingly no meat loss. today hit a closer one with snub 38 wadcutter 2.7bulls load. being my first revolver or cast kills and small targets i was pretty happy

[John Allen]

I think they might call that overkill for a squirrel!!!! I use a 32 long myself which is still overkill but oh well.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I got one with a 9mm , over kill but use what you have on you , actually lost almost no meat i hit him right in the middle

sometimes they just make themselves a target

[pls1911]

How 'bout barkin' a tree rat with a 45/70?
Deer hunters with no deer get creative to eat supper.
Sad to say I missed the tree, hit the tree rat, and had to drive to town for dinner....

[Grendel99]

I like hunting with my 9mm HiPower and my S&W 686+ with a light load using cast SWC's. Surprisingly, it doesn't mess up very much meat. I still shoot some from time to time with a .22 LR, but it's more fun and great practice with the bigger ones.

[gtgeorge]

I got one with a 190grFP deer load in a 4" with no meat lost. It was an opportunity so I took it and was surprised at the lack of lost meat. Was pre-gutted though.

[siamese4570]

years ago, i was walking down the railroad track to one of my favorite shooting spots when i looked up and saw a squirrel sitting on the rail. Thought that i'd give it a try, problem was, i was carrying a ruger super blackhawk in 44 mag. it was loaded with a 240 gr cast boolit and 7.5 gr unique. at the shot the squirrel crumpled. figured like you guys that it was over kill and i had probably blown it to pieces. upon examination, i couldn't even find a drop of blood on the squirrel. finally stretched him out enough to see that the boolit went thru the base of his tail and fried his nervous system. Hardly no damage at all other than that.
siamese4570

[NSP64]

S&W model 49 "humpback" and hit the woods.

Only on Wednesdays. LOL

[labradigger1]

I prefer a 32 s&w long loaded with 98 grain rn cast for squirrell.
while deer hunting in december i had my rossi 92 and ruger super redhawk both in 44 mag. Never seen any deer but several squirrell. I shot one with the revolver center mass and clean kill with minimal damage.
Lab

[dale2242]

Light 38 spec light wadcutter loads are great for squirrel targets of opportunity while deer hunting.
A 6" M 14 is my choice...dale

[youngda9]

I see tons of squirrels when deer hunting. Many fewer when squirrel hunting.

[cdet69]

Isn't that always the case.

[CastingFool]

A couple of years ago, I went turkey hunting in the fall. No turkeys, but plenty of squirrels. Had some within 20 ft, so that gave me an idea to try squirrel hunting with my .22 pistol. Next time I went out looking for squirrels, someone must of ratted on me, because the only squirrel I saw, wouldn't let me get within rifle range, let alone pistol range.

[roverboy]

I shot one a few years ago with my .357. I was out walking with the dogs and one of them treed the squirrel and that was all I had with me. It did more damage than a .22 but, not really all that bad. I was using a 158 gr. swc load.

[kweidner]

A couple of years ago, I went turkey hunting in the fall. No turkeys, but plenty of squirrels. Had some within 20 ft, so that gave me an idea to try squirrel hunting with my .22 pistol. Next time I went out looking for squirrels, someone must of ratted on me, because the only squirrel I saw, wouldn't let me get within rifle range, let alone pistol range.

So true. On WMA land around here you have to get WAY off the beaten path for tree rats. It's like they see the .22 revolver and are like uh-oh this man is serious or either really stupid. I have found you can sit super still and wait em out though. They will eventually get stupid again and offer a shot.

[AZ-JIM]

Same story as the OP, no deer in sight so on the way back to camp plucked one with a .40 and a Federal Hydrashock....it puréed the chest cavity and the exit was smaller than expected but later I figured the sqirrel wasnt dense enough to fully expand the bullet.
Again, overkill but the alternative was my brother in law trying to get me to take it with a .300 Win mag and a 150g Hornady SST....[smilie=1:

az-jim

[phantom15]

It ain't a revolver but I got me a Handi rifle in .38/.357mag and a bunch of 158gr. 38 special loads for my next trip to the squirrel woods. Gonna be a blast.

[high standard 40]

I wish I could pursue small game with cast bullets here in Louisiana but we are not allowed. It is illegal here. I envy you guys who can.

[bubba15301]

I wish I could pursue small game with cast bullets here in Louisiana but we are not allowed. It is illegal here. I envy you guys who can.

not legal in pa.must .23 cal or smaller rimfire or centerfire/ .40 cal or smaller muzzleloader also

[high standard 40]

not legal in pa.must .23 cal or smaller rimfire or centerfire/ .40 cal or smaller muzzleloader also

Here the regulations allow only rimfire, shotgun no larger than 10 gauge, archery, or black powder no larger than 36 cal.

[35remington]

Opining that a 38, 32, 9mm or 40 is "overkill" for squirrel is completely missing the point. If the squirrel is not severely damaged, it's not "overkilled" and all of these relatively low energy rounds are hardly overkilling if the squirrel is not damaged. Even a more powerful round........a lot more, will not overkill if the bullet action is not violent.

Here's one that'll throw all those in the shade. A pesky squirrel was driving me nuts, pun intended, there were no deer that morning, and I was in a deer stand shooting into the ground. I was using my 45-70 shooting a fairly wide meplat 405 at 1260 fps using 16 grains of Unique (Marlin lever). This amounts to 1,430 foot pounds, about triple a .40 Smith and Wesson pistol. If those low powered pistol rounds are overkill, this would be super duper overkill, right? Nope.

Smacked him at about 15 yards as he foraged noisily in the leaves. The bullet went in the front of the chest and came out the side, reentered the left rear leg and made its exit out the back of the same leg. The squirrel was remarkably intact with no bloodshot meat or tearing. You could eat right up to the hole.

Despite being 3X the energy of a "overkill" 40 pistol, and probably near 8 to 10 times the energy of a 32 Smith and Wesson long revolver, the squirrel wasn't "overkilled."

Overkill is pulped, bloodshot, two or three piece squirrel with what remains having bloody tatters and innards hanging out. Overkill does not apply if the squirrel is intact.

[TXGunNut]

Was dove hunting years ago and sat down to rest under a big oak tree. Three squirrels began chasing each other around in the next tree and I waited until I could cover two with a shotgun pattern. Shouldn't tease a dove hunter who hasn't seen a dove all day. ;-)

[shawnba67]

I've gotten a pair of squirrels with a 45 SAA. Had to shoot one 4 times! Might be because it hits an inch high at 5yds(that was the day I found that out) first 4 just knocked and kept him loopy,grip did the hard work.

[Brett Ross]

If I can ever get my Nagant too shoot straight enough , small game is my plan for it.

[goofyoldfart]

TXgunnut: Don'tcha know, you really gotta wonder what the surviver squirrell thought when the other two got blowded away[smilie=l:

[WRideout]

I worked up a load for my Nagant pistol with 2.0 gr Red Dot under a .311 round ball that is surprisingly accurate. I plan to use it on squirrels and rabbits some time.

Wayne

[Djones]

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt124/duckwhackercmon/63FCD0E9-3785-45AC-BEA3-11A6C383A225-12342-0000014836E97C6C_zpsc0a09de7.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/duckwhackercmon/media/63FCD0E9-3785-45AC-BEA3-11A6C383A225-12342-0000014836E97C6C_zpsc0a09de7.jpg.html)

38 special 125 grain boolit at about 600 FPS. Right through the head. I never got a shot on any greys with my revolver but get plenty of them with the 9422. Settled for a fox squirrel at 12 paces.

[Docjames]

I used to hunt with a 32swlong and it was a good killer, kinda tricky compared to a 22 revolver tho because the recoil is hell comparatively. No real meat loss, and wadcutters did the same thing to squirrels as to paper.

[bmortell]

since i started the thread gotten a few more little critters with 44 came to the conclusion its perfectly fine for small game.

especially compared to 17hmr which is suposed to be a small game gun, darn things gut skin and quarter squirels in a blink of an eye.
people buyin those new 17wsm will be in for a suprise POOF squirrel confetti

[slughammer]

I worked up a load for my Nagant pistol with 2.0 gr Red Dot under a .311 round ball that is surprisingly accurate. I plan to use it on squirrels and rabbits some time.

Wayne
I had great plans for a S&W model 16 until I read the game book regulations....

I see your signature, does deer really qualify as organic? I don't think they know the difference in what a field was sprayed with.

[WRideout]

I had great plans for a S&W model 16 until I read the game book regulations....

I see your signature, does deer really qualify as organic? I don't think they know the difference in what a field was sprayed with.

Thanks for the heads-up. I am relatively new to PA; when I first came here and looked at the hunting regulations, I came to the conclusion that if they watch you long enough, they will catch you doing something wrong. As far as the deer eating Roundup, it depends on where they come from, but it's supposed to be funny, anyway. As far as I know, meat can't have gluten in it. I like to take a poke at the vegan liberals once in a while.

Wayne

[johnestmon]

I still use my old three screw Single Six Ruger. I have a 3X scope mounted, and with the .22 Mag cylinder, I can take squirrels out to about 75 yards.

[aspangler]

We can't use center fire ammo of any kind here for tree rats but CAN use any muzzle loader including a .69 cal or larger. Go figure.

[brstevns]

When I was a lad I used a EIG made Colt Navy .36 cal black powder pistol and a Hawhs single action in 357mag. Would load 2.5 700X and a 125RN cast bullet in 38 spec. brass.

[Owen49]

Back in the days before bifocals, I'd use a Smith & Wesson Model 10 HB loaded with CCI primer, 3 gr. Bullseye & 158 gr. cast SWC.