SQUIRRELS IN TREES WITH RIFLES?

[IOWA DON]

In another forum I got involved in a discussion about the danger of firing a .22 rim fire above the horizon. The specific shot originally discussed was one where someone fired a low angle shot and killed someone about 700 yards away with the .22 long rifle cartridge. The discussion kind of exploded so I am looking for opinions from this forum. I suspect most do, but do squirrel hunters shoot at squirrels up in trees with .22 rimfire rifles? I used to hear that as long as the shot was at a steep angle the bullet would come strait down like a piece of hail and not be dangerous.

[Frankn4]

The thought of a squirrel in a tree with a rifle makes me shudder! especially if he is a good shot.

Seriously, this can be a problem. a bullet coming down almost straight is accellerated by gravity at the rate of 32 feet per second, per second. It can do damage, perhaps serious damage. This is one of the reasons many old die hard 22 rimfire squirrel hunters have gone to small shotguns with large shot.

It also helps to use no more 22 than necessary such as a 29 gr CB long. It is also necessary that shots be even more critical than ever. You need to be absolutely sure you can make the shot and it helps to have a bullet that will shatter or fragment on/in/by a squirrel head. You may need to wait until it is certain that the bullet will hit the tree trunk no matter if miss or passthrough. This adds to the challenge and excitement of squirel hunting, makes it more fun.

[STUMPJMPR]

I hunt squirrel with a .22.  The important thing is to know what lies behind your target.

[dks7895]

I hunt squirrel with a .22.  The important thing is to know what lies behind your target.

+1

[murphdog]

I was taught long ago to never fire a rifle unless I knew where the bullet would land beyond my target, and I've applied that same rule to my squirrel hunting.  So, no, I don't shoot squirrels in the open treetops with my 22.  As others have said, I will shoot them if my bullet will land in the trunk or a solid branch. Sometimes you have to wait patiently for them to move to a favorable spot.  Adherence to this rule is why I use a shotgun in the early squirrel season, when they're mostly in the open treetops.  But this time of year (winter) they're often on the ground, so I get to hunt with the preferred 22, and I don't have to worry about biting into shot.  For treetop shooting, I've decided 28 ga is best for me.  3/4 oz of #6 will drop 'em, but won't fill 'em up too bad with pellets.  I no longer have a 28 ga barrel, but I bought an adapter just so I could shoot 28 shells from my 20 ga barrel. 

[Dee]

Been huntin squirrels with a 22 for over fifty years. My, My at the uneducated folks that don't get the concept.

[BUGEYE]

Dee, I've got over 10 years on you and 99.99% of my squirrels fell to a .22 rifle.
safety is so ingrained in me that I don't even think about it.

[Dee]

Me either BUGEYE. I don't think about it either. It's all about common sense, and hereitage. Some folks that ain't done it, naturally don't understand it. By the way. Until the day my dad died, everyone in town called him "Bugeye". I have no idea why cause he wasn't. I saddly was called: "Little BUGEYE.

[keith44]

Years ago, when it was legal (ie not specifically out lawed) I would carry a .22 Hornet squirrel hunting.  I would wait for the right shot with the squirrel on the ground, or if I was at the top of a hill, catch the squirrel low in a tree with a trunk or LARGE limb behind the squirrel.  In early season I'd carry a .22 rimfire.  With the Hornet shots were 50 - 80 yards, with the rimfires distances were kept to 30 yards or less, same criteria.  I will readily admit to low harvest numbers, and a high hit count on the trees, but I always knew where the bullet would go if it passed through, or missed completely.  These days I use an air rifle for the challenge, and as an added measure of safety

[petemi]

It ain't rocket science.  KEEP SOLID WOOD BEHIND BUSHY.

Pete

[flintlock]

Iowa...Did the other poster have proof of someone being killed at 700 yards with a .22 or was it just hear say???

[gr8ful]

Here in La. hunting squirrels with a .22 lr is common, and on the federal wildlife refuge near my home, .22WMR is common because of the likelyhood of feral hogs which are considered an incidental species.  Also a mandate on non-toxic shot makes shooting a shotgun expensive and sometimes ineffective (steel just doesn't kill squirrels very well).  Until recently almost all of my squirrel hunting has been with a .22 LR (in our circle shotgunning squirrels is considered unsporting and best left to children starting out or those with fading eyesight) and I was always taught to never take a low shot because we hunt in thick palmetto and you can't be sure of what lies beyond your target.  Now I shoot a .17 HM2 and the biggest trouble I have is finding them in the brush after the shot.  50 yrds is an easy shot on a treetop bushytail, but not so easy to find where he fell in a thicket!!!  I still don't take low shots though.

[mechanic]

I've been hunting them with a 22 since age 10.  So far no one has been shot except the squirrel. 
 
A bullet fired straight up has a maximum "reintry" speed.  I've had 22's bounce off the top of a car and not leave a mark.  Remember high school science.  A bb and a brick will fall at the same speed, but certainly have different results.
 
With any weapon, safety should be ingrained.  I've been stung by shot from a shotgun, that if it had hit my eye would have most likely blinded me.  One I dug out of the skin of my cheek. 
 
Be safe, not sorry.....
 
Ben

[Graybeard]

I thought I had replied to this thread a long time ago. Must be two of them on this subject or maybe I'm just getting senile.

I've been shooting squirrels with a .22 rifle about as long as I can recall. I don't really remember just how old I was when I shot my first but I'm 66 now and have been hunting one critter or another for 61 of those years.

I confess to having shot a few squirrels with a shotgun but darn few. I've shot a lot more with a handgun than with a shotgun and some with both .357 magnum and .44 magnum with cast bullets in both.

Most however have been taken with a .22 rifle first an old Winchester semiauto that shot shorts only and later a variety of rifels in .22LR and even .22 magnum and shot a few with the old 5MM Remington rimfire. Man that first one was messy. After that I learned it was head or nothing for sure with it. I've even killed more with pellet rifles than shotguns and I'm a dedicated shotgunner but only with flying targets.

Most of the places I've shot squirrels were on national forest land where the nearest house was further away than a centerfire rifle could reach much less a rimfire. Still if ya make sure a tree is behind your target in case of a miss it's not as dangerous as folks who've not done it think. I wouldn't do it around here as it's quite grown up with far too many houses but miles from the nearest house I don't even give it a second thought.

[rockbilly]

I started hunting squirrels in the late 40s, I was taught to hunt with a .22 and that is about all I ever used.  Like GB, I killed a few with a shotgun, but not many.  I started with an old Winchester pump, later opn I was given a Marlin lever gun I still use it today when I have the opportunity to shoot bushy tails.
 
Growing up we lived so far off the beaten path that we didn't worry about shooting them out of the 90-100 foot Pine trees.  I'm a litle more cautious since there there is more population where I live today.

[Rock Home Isle]

In another forum I got involved in a discussion about the danger of firing a .22 rim fire above the horizon. The specific shot originally discussed was one where someone fired a low angle shot and killed someone about 700 yards away with the .22 long rifle cartridge. The discussion kind of exploded so I am looking for opinions from this forum. I suspect most do, but do squirrel hunters shoot at squirrels up in trees with .22 rimfire rifles? I used to hear that as long as the shot was at a steep angle the bullet would come strait down like a piece of hail and not be dangerous.

I worry about this...So I limit my shots to those where the squirrel has a nice solid tree as a back-drop. Hits and misses both will find the projectile buried into the bark of the tree that is directly behind my target.
 
These days I use my .22s less & less and my .32 calibre Blue Ridge Rifle more & more...that is so much fun. 

[dpastordan]

I have been hunting with both shotgun and .22 for squirrel since I was 12.  I was always taught to make sure of what is behind your target.  I once was up a treestand for deer but it was during squirrel season.  I found it interesting to catch the little rascals coming down a tree trunk and shooting down into them.