Squirrel hunting with a handgun .17hmr?

7

7.62

New member
Does anyone hunt squirrel with a handgun? What about with a 17? I am planning on purchasing a .17hmr Tracker and would like to squirrel hunt with it
 
a 17 will definately kill a squirrel! if you want to eat it you may want to avoid body shots as a 17 will ruin a lot of meat.

now you have me thinking. sounds like a good reason to get my own 17 revolver! :D
 
A .22 Short will easily kill squirrel - the body is only maybe 2-2&1/2" thick. Headshots with a standard .22 (don't need high velocity) will do the job humanely and without damage to meat.
 
Outdoor Life

This months Outdoor Life had an article on handgunning for squirrel, including info on the .17 HMR and .17 Mach2. Might give it a read.
(or maybe it was Feild and Stream)
 
The bad news about your .17hmr is that it will tear up mr squirrel.

The good news about your .17hmr is that you can count on very accurate shooting so head shots are feasable when you can actually see the head.

If you are not going to eat em, the .17hmr works great. I have a Savage rifle and can attest to the accuracy of the .17hmr round.
 
i agree with colt...the 17 hmr can and will tear a squirell apart...but the accuracy is incredible...with little skill you can pop one in the head if the oppurtunity presents itself.

Osirus101
 
Pellet Gun? :-) Poor squirrel, that's like using my 22-250 on the little bugger... hahaha oh wait... I did before :eek:

Slingshots are fun, buy a blowgun if you really want some sport ;)
 
so far my 17 has been great for squirrel. head shots are the way to go. just even nicking the head kills the squirrel. not over kill if you shoot well. yea it is more expensive to shoot than a .22 but since when was having guns about money. if so we would all have and nef and nothing more. :D

have learned that the 17 bounces right off of an armadillo. didn't try a head shot so can't speak on that. body shots to crows creat a mess of things.

report with a 12" inch barrel is loud enough for hearing protection. much more of a "crack" than a 22 is.

i am waiting for my beaver to reappear in my pond. for some real fun.
 
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.
 
I'm of the school that you don't kill an animal unless it's for self-defense or you plan on eating it. I just can't bring myself to kill anything other than for the reasons they were put here. To sustain us. If I kill it, I'm gonna eat it.

This does not include PEST type animals like gophers or rats etc... Those can also endanger your crops etc...

(I grew up on a farm)
 
If you are not going to eat em, the .17hmr works great
Click to expand...

IF?

I was raised to hunt by a genuine born and raised in the mountains of West Virginia moon shine making/drinking hillbilly grandfathter who learned to hunt with muzzle loaders. He was far more conservation minded than anyone I have met since, including wild life management professionals.

The first thing about hunting (not gun safety that's a separate topic) is that if you kill it you eat it, period. To kill something without eating it is the lowest form of behavior possible in hunting ethics. The exception was only for inedible (coyotes which were shot for good reason) or diseased (rabbits with liver flukes) animals.

If you tear it up, you make stew. But you eat it. Hopefully that is not an uncommon ethic.
 
Squiirels and revolver

Use a 4" .22 or .38Spl (use Target wadcutters), definetly a test of skill.
This year I's carring a Contender in .410. Should be interesting season.
 
eh, to me squirrels aren't 'serious' game. I hunt most small game with 22lr coming out of a jennings j-22 pocket pistol. Does the job for me just fine, just stalk them fairly close and shoot them in the head.
 
.17 is way more than enough. I have taken several squirrels with a hand pump BB gun, and they drop right away. With the high velocity of the .17 I might even worry about over penetration with certain rounds. Then again, I may be wrong, I have never hunted with a .17, only shot target.
 
"Apparently people shoot squirrels because they steal food man provided for birds."

Apparently CobrayCommando is not aware that squirrels live wild in the woods. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top