Silly Squirrel

M

Morgoroth

New member
I am going squirrel hunting this weekend and I was wondering what load you guys would suggest for a 20g Moss 500.

I have some left over slugs from deer hunting, but I think some type of bird shot would be better since I want to actually retrive the squirrel, and not just have it rain back down on me in little peices.
 
hard to go wrong with 5's or 6's.....enough shot to get em out to a pretty good decent, not so many shot youll be chipping a tooth on them when you try and eat it later.
 
.22 hollow point in a scoped rifle!

IMHO, a .22 long rifle hollow point in a scoped rifle is the best squirrel round. Fun to shoot, cheap, deadly, accurate, quiet, low recoil, no picking out birdshot from the meat.......did I mention fun to shoot :D
 
I've hunted the critters with a 20 ga. and either #4 or #6 shot. It works, but I still prefer to use a .22 long rifle to hunt 'em. Much easier to clean when there's no shot to dig out. Also more sporting IMO.
 
You best use enough gun ! ! ;)

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Nothing smaller than #6 (too many shot to pick out when you clean them) and nothing larger than #4 (tears up the meat). Lightest load you can find.
 
Thanks.
I would probably usually use a 22 also, but my friend it going with me and he does not have a gun so one of us will use the 22 and the other will use the 20g.
 
I would have to say a 3.5" 4BK would just be enough to handle them... :p

j/k. I think anything under 5 or 6 should do just fine. Just bring a choke or two, and you should be set for those long ones :).
 
My classic squirrel loads holds 6 shot. In 12 gauge, I load 7/8 of a oz and push it at about 1200 FPS. With a good bit of choke, it fills the skillet nicely.

In 20 gauge,I use the Winchester field loads. Mod choke.

And I hope you were kidding about shooting slugs UP.
 
Their a pretty tough critter.
I'd go with the slugs if I were you.
A good heart/lung shot and they usually go right down within 15 or 20yds.;)

Actually, I think it would be fun to use the slugs and "bark" them like in the old days.
We really dont have squirrels here or I would have tried it, but it sounds like fun.
 
I've always found that squirrels are tough little critters. I used to hunt them with a shotgun all the time, and found that with anything smaller than 6's, I had too many drag themselves into a hollow tree, or I had to run them down and finish them off with a stick. Six's did ok, and four's were great. I eventually settled on 5's, in a high brass shell, some of those trees where tall. I never used much but a modified choke, but in those days, screw in chokes were unheard of, so modified was the "all round choke."

12 or 20 doesn't much matter.
 
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