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Shotshells for Squirrel/Rabbit?

Deer season is over here and I am taking the 22 out tomorrow. As other people have mentioned I much prefer a 22 for squirrels, here it is illegal during deer season. I guess the deer hunters get a bit nervous with people shooting rifles up into the trees while they are setting in their tree stands.:D

It is an ongoing debate about shooting a 22 up into trees, I have been doing it for a long time and no ill effects I am aware of, I do try to have the tree or a limb as a backstop before I shoot. There have been studies about the danger of a falling bullet and depending on the angle there is very little danger. Chris
 
BTW, unless things have changed since I lived there rifle hunting is legal in IL for some species. I never heard of anyone shooting a groundhog or a coyote with a shotgun.
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I don't recall anyone ever using a rifle to hunt in Illinois. Even deer hunting was done with shotguns and slugs. My family's from the Eldorado and Harrisburg area.

I also don't recall hunting seasons for groundhogs or coyotes either. I bet they taste like crap anyway...

Doing some quick reg lookups...
You are correct, it is legal in Illinois to hunt coyotes with a rifle. Shows how much I know, or shows how much has changed in 20 years. :)
 
Bob W said:
I don't recall anyone ever using a rifle to hunt in Illinois. Even deer hunting was done with shotguns and slugs. My family's from the Eldorado and Harrisburg area.

I also don't recall hunting seasons for groundhogs or coyotes either. I bet they taste like crap anyway...

Doing some quick reg lookups...
You are correct, it is legal in Illinois to hunt coyotes with a rifle. Shows how much I know, or shows how much has changed in 20 years. :)
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I have shot plenty of yotes with a shotgun, actually my prefered method, and they do taste horrible I don't even think a buzzard will eat one. However I do like groundhog, especially a young one baked with some sweet potatos is very good table fare. Chris
 
All small game gets 12 gauge, 2 3/4" #6 shot from my Franchi O/U

All waterfowl gets 12 gauge 3" mag BB shot from my Remmy 870

Deer and bigger critters get a Slug from my 870, 180 grain from my marlin 336 in .35 rem, or 130 grain from my Savage .270 Win.
 
runningboar said:
It is an ongoing debate about shooting a 22 up into trees, I have been doing it for a long time and no ill effects I am aware of, I do try to have the tree or a limb as a backstop before I shoot. There have been studies about the danger of a falling bullet and depending on the angle there is very little danger. Chris
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When I did use a shot gun for squirrel I used #6 the most because I found it to be a better killer. #7 does less damage but is not as good a killer. Now I only use a .22. I find it to be much more rewarding. After shooting a shotgun all game seems to disappear for a half hour. When I use a .22 I can often shoot the next squirrel while I am cleaning the first. I only take head shots and only shoot if my shot has a backstop. It does limit my shots some but in the end it is a lot more fun.

I hate cleaning a squirrel that is all shot up and I hate cleaning them all at the end of the day. I tried a few new techniques this year and they worked very well. First I take care of them as soon as they hit the ground. I tried this method of SKINNING them.

http://members.localnet.com/~nickdd/

I am not nearly as good at it as the hunter in the video but it does work great as long as you don't cut the tail wrong. I cut all four feet off before I start. Next I don't bother to gut them anymore. At first I just cut the legs off at the shoulder and hip and put it into a zip lock and discarded the rest. It was quick and clean but I felt bad as a lot of meat was wasted. So I improved on it by making a cut down the back and across the next to the last rib. I then fillet the meat on the back and ribs up the the shoulders and remove it with them. Then cut the hind legs off at the hip and fillet the the meat on the lower back along with them. Most of the belly is removed with them at the same time. It is still clean as long as you do the the shoulders before the hips and only takes a few more minutes. If you do a good job I don't think much if any meat is wasted. I shot several squirrels either while or immediately after I cleaned their buddy. My first morning this year I shot three along a logging trail and left the discarded carcasses in places that I could find them the next am. When I went back in the am I confirmed that all three had been cleaned up during the night and only the skin remained.


Bob W said:
I also don't recall hunting seasons for groundhogs or coyotes either. I bet they taste like crap
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You couldn't pay me to eat coyote but groundhogs taste a lot like squirrel.
 
.22 for both. Squirrels get shot only on the ground or on the trunk of a tree for a backstop. Aim for the eye, they all fold up. Not only do I dislike finding shot in my meat, the shot also pulls clumps of hair into the meat which I find even more unpalatable.

Just bought my 8-year-old sun a Henry lever gun in .22LR, tried it out last week and it hit everything I pointed it at. Very intuitive rifle, can't wait to go after bunnies this weekend!
 
I go with 6...for squirrels, I've even used 71/2 on rabbits..they seem a little bit easier to kill to me but squirrels can have some thick skin...for an allround small game shell 6 seems to give you the best compromise interms of shot volume vs pellet mass...I know fols that use 6 for turkey as well.
 
IMO, I would use #6 or #7.5's for rabbits and #7.5's or #8's for squirrels. I've shot a lot with all of these sized pellets.
 
tknife said:
I used to carry a Savage .22 longrifle/20 gauge over under that was my dads, and got tons of bunnies and ground squirrels with regular bird shot.
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Thats my favorite combo, 7 shot to buckshot to slugs in a camper. Shoot for the head with the 22 if running, roll them with the 6 shot
 
I use an air rifle to kill them with a head shot, however if I do take out the shotgun, which I occasionally will, I use #6 shot on Rabbits and squirrels.
 
My Uncle passed away about a year ago and he didnt have any kids. My aunt called me and told my she was going to give me a 22 rifle of his and my brother got his 12 guage. My rifle is an Old lever action Marlin 39a that he bought when he was in the Navy back in the 1930s. I like it. I finally figured out how to break it down an clean it up really good. Its a good shooter. Very accurate but I dont know much about lever action 22s. Anyway, it seems to be very accurate. I have always used a Rem. 870 pump for rabbits or squirrels, so this will be my first time to use a 22. One thing about that 22 is that its short and heavy. Its seems to be a solid shooter.
 
Wildone39 said:
My Uncle passed away about a year ago and he didnt have any kids. My aunt called me and told my she was going to give me a 22 rifle of his and my brother got his 12 guage. My rifle is an Old lever action Marlin 39a that he bought when he was in the Navy back in the 1930s. I like it. I finally figured out how to break it down an clean it up really good. Its a good shooter. Very accurate but I dont know much about lever action 22s. Anyway, it seems to be very accurate. I have always used a Rem. 870 pump for rabbits or squirrels, so this will be my first time to use a 22. One thing about that 22 is that its short and heavy. Its seems to be a solid shooter.
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You're gonna love the lever action. I have a Henry .22 lever action that takes any type of .22 round you can think of, except magnum of course :o It takes longs and shorts and can carry a good amount of them. If the first shot doesn't hit you have 14 more 'til ya run out :D
 
I Use sixes for both.

Bubbanumber1 said:
If you do shoot close, aim a little to the front or just let them go till they get far enough away you don't blow them to pieces.
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When I was a kid my only gun was a 12 gauge with a 30 inch full choke. I let rabbits get way out there before firing. Now I use a 410 and blast away.
 
I like #6. I try to get complete pellet pass-through if possible, even if that means slightly compromising pattern density and using a bit larger shot than most would pick. (I spent a small fortune on dental work last year to fix a tooth I broke on a single #8 pellet in a grouse breast.)

The downside is sometimes shattered bone in the meat intead of pellets.


Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
Bob W said:
I grew up hunting squirrels and rabbits with shotgun in Illinois where rifle hunting is illegal. Really, any size shot will do fine. :) We used anything from a #6 to a #8.


Squirrels are usually in the trees. Firing a rifle into the treetops is not a good idea. Even a .22 has a maximum range of a mile or more...
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I agree completely. In fact when I was growing up, state conservation officers would come to my school and discuss outdoor safety ect and they told us all about the range of rifles and advised us to never shot a rifle in the air.

Now back to the question I use #6 shot on both.
 
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