squirrel hunting

The use of a 110 Conibear is by far the best idea IMHO. The Hav-a-Heart cage trap would be great, but it is insanely expensive ($35-$50 versus $7.50 for a Conibear). I can't see using a .22 of any type. Even a pellet gun needs to have a backstop and it is limited in range. (At less than 50' I never failed to have them fall and die in that spot. Sure, I could kill them consistently at much greater distances but it was at the risk of them dying in the neighbor's yard.)

The Conibear won't kill people or put eyes out, and you are not limited by range. Properly placed, you won't kill the neighbor's cat and the risk of killing a song bird is minimal.
 
The CCI 22 short CB is their subsonic round. Shot from a rifle it isn't any louder that the cap pistols we shot as kids. It is quite a bit louder when shot from a pistol and I probably would not do that. It will flat go thru a squirrel so you must be aware of your background. I've had two that went thru the critter and hit my neighbors wood fence and I was able to find them laying in the paved alley. They were in relative good shape. Best scenario for me is if I can shoot up at them in the pecan tree. If I miss, the bullet will probably hit some limbs and leaves on the way up or the way down and fall back to earth with no velocity or power behind it. Nothing compared to even a small hail stone. Yes there is still some percentage that something bad could happen but so is driving on the hiways.
 
I've had two that went thru the critter and hit my neighbors wood fence and I was able to find them laying in the paved alley. They were in relative good shape. Best scenario for me is if I can shoot up at them in the pecan tree. If I miss, the bullet will probably hit some limbs and leaves on the way up or the way down and fall back to earth with no velocity or power behind it. Nothing compared to even a small hail stone. Yes there is still some percentage that something bad could happen but so is driving on the hiways.
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REALLY!

jag2

I hope you come back and re-read your post to see just how ridiculously irresponsible your shooting habits are. :mad:
Your type thoughts are exactly why I've got a .22 slug embedded in my living room wall from an irresponsible squirrel hunter and the reason I won't allow squirrel hunting with a .22 on my property.

Too, don't get mad at my post. Not meant to do that but to get you to stop and think about what you're doing.
 
I gotta agree with the pellet rifle. I too live in a sub-division on the outskirts of town. Altho I don't have a squirrel problem, I do have a problem with rabbits chewin' on my blueberries. I have a cheap break-action .177 pellet rifle that is accurate enough and powerful enough to keep me in blueberry pie. Trouble with any kind of trap is that you WILL catch something you don't want to. Hard to keep a straight face when the little girl from next door comes and asks if you have seen her new kitten that has been missing for a few days. Soft lead pellets do not ricochet like .22s and lose their power and velocity quickly. The subtle sound of a pellet rifle is also lost quickly in the everyday sounds of the neighborhood. Keep the .22s for the woods. They have no place whatsoever in a populated neighborhood.....aka, subdivision.
 
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Figured I would get somebody riled up and don't expect I could change anyones mind. And I am truly sorry your house was hit. All of my neighbors know what I do and if they asked me to stop I would. One even told me if I was chasing something I was welcome to come into his yard anytime. However, I don't leave my property or shoot at something that is not. If you haven't shot the round I'm referring to, you would be surprised at how quiet it is. The bullet speed (around 700fps) is considerably less than most pellet rifles and at 29 gr is probably about the same weight as most pellets but I don't know that for sure. I know that I pass up a lot more shots than I take just because I don't feel comfortable with it. That said I still average 50 to 60 a year for at least the last 4 or 5 years. If I thought (as many of you do) a pellet rifle was safer I would get one but it just isn't so. I have some other ammo I use occasionally that just uses a primer with no gunpowder. However, it is so light it won't even make it out of the barrel of some of my 22s but shot out of the right gun (gotta have a very clean barrel) it does okay. Sorry if some of you still disagree and I understand but our squirrel population is a big problem. I guess I could go to the pound and adopt a few feral cats and turn 'em loose, might work.
 
Depending on the closeness of your neighbors, the .22cb is a great option. There will be over penetration. I usually lay seed on the ground in front of a tree and use that for a backstop. Your other option could be a big bore blow gun. That should make for a fun Saturday morning.
 
Yep, as I said. Went clean thru but didn't even dent the fence or deform the bullet. Can't tell you how many shots I've passed up because the gas meter was in the background. Its like they know that's a safe place to be. I think they are that smart.
 
If you decide to trap the squirrels, once you have on in the trap spray a little bright paint on the back of the squirrel. That way, if you have one of them show up a second time you'll know that you need to take them further off. Or trap them and 'pellet gun' them. Saves spray paint.

I just shoot them with a 22, but I live in the country.
 
jag2 ,

Your thoughts of your shooting squirrels up in tree's(which you posted as your fav. shot) in a residential area with any kind of .22 let alone on the ground is just plain irresponsible.

You go further to say when shooting at squirrels up in the pecan tree's, if you miss the bullet will PROBABLY hit limbs or leaves on the way up or down and not have enough velocity or power to hurt anyone...

...and you expect people here to accept that your neighbors know what you're doing and have no problem with that.

Apparently you live in an area surrounded by people which are very ignorant when it comes to what can happen when someone is irresponsibly firing a weapon. Especially in a populated area.

Figured I would get somebody riled up and don't expect I could change anyones mind. And I am truly sorry your house was hit. All of my neighbors know what I do and if they asked me to stop I would...
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Your admitted irresponsible actions should rile up every responsible gun owner. You make it hard for safe pro-gun folks and easy for the anti's that use actions such as yours, especially after someones been shot to try and label us all.... And don't worry, you won't change my mind.

Your actions are absurd. You are playing Russian Roulette every time you shoot your CCI .22 shorts in your neighborhood, especially up in the air and you say you don't expect to chance anyone's mind?:rolleyes:...try convincing the cop when he/she comes out to take the report on the kid you hit with your .22. And if I were you, I'd be praying the kids/parents attorneys never reads your posts on here.

Too, your neighbors shouldn't have to ask you to act responsible with your firearms. They aren't responsible for them, you are. Along with every round fired from them. Including the ones which could ricochet off your limbs/leaves or just plain miss everything, travel to the other side of the development and hit someone.

Too, is it even legal to fire a gun where you live? Are you in the city limits?

As I type this, I really can't believe I feel the necessity to do so...but if it makes you stop and think and changes YOUR actions, maybe some poor innocent person won't get hurt.
 
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Okay, lets shut this down. I don't want to be responsible for shortwave having a stroke. I truly do understand and appreciate your concerns and worries. The round I'm using is not widely sold and I'm guessing you've never fired it. In one of your earlier posts you suggested using a pellet gun instead. I have fired this round from fairly close range into a paperback book and it penetrated about 3/8 of an inch. I'm guessing most pellet guns can do better than that. A regular 22 short blasted thru the book (about 1 1/2" thick) leaving a pretty good exit hole. I appreciate that everyone knows a 22 is not to be taken lightly and should be used as cautiously as any other more powerful round. This thing is about as powerful as a midrange pellet gun, so lets just leave it at that.
 
The round I'm using is not widely sold and I'm guessing you've never fired it.
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The CCI CB short is not nearly as illusive as you may think and can be bought at many gun stores as well as on-line...

...and yes I've fired my share which included intentionally ricocheting/skipping them off water into targets across abandoned strip mine ponds. The reason I can tell you from experience the danger of shooting them in a populated area.

Hope you re-consider your tactics for your neighbors sake.

I'm done commenting on the subject.
 
The bullet speed (around 700fps) is considerably less than most pellet rifles and at 29 gr is probably about the same weight as most pellets but I don't know that for sure. ... If I thought (as many of you do) a pellet rifle was safer I would get one but it just isn't so.
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There's a HUGE difference between even a light-loaded .22 rimfire round and a powerful conventional pellet gun with a conventional pellet.

A typical .177 pellet is 11 grains or so as opposed to a very light .22 bullet which would probably weigh about 30 grains. In addition, conventional "hourglass" airgun pellets are inefficient projectiles due to their very poor aerodynamics compared to bullets and therefore are typically considered safe after only about 400 yards of downrange travel as opposed to what might be over a mile for a .22LR bullet.

Airgun pellets tend to be very fragile and if they ricochet, they are typically badly damaged in the process of bouncing off the ricochet-inducing surface. That means they won't fly nearly as far or be nearly as dangerous after a ricochet when compared to a more conventionally shaped bullet. .22 rimfires, by the way, are notorious for being ricochet prone.
I'm guessing most pellet guns can do better than that.
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I doubt it. Even at close ranges, the shape, construction and light weight of airgun pellets makes them very poor penetrators, which dramatically decreases the chances of them shooting through a wall, or even windows. I have seen a pellet from a .177 airgun hit a sliding glass door only about 5 feet from the muzzle and not only fail to penetrate, but fail to do any damage at all. The soft lead pellet flattened out when it hit the glass and didn't leave so much as a mark on the door. Try that with even a very light .22 rimfire loading and the results would be much different.

Also, while the 700fps you quote is exceeded by some airguns, you don't necessarily need an airgun that powerful for good pest control as long as you are careful about shot placement. If you read Ron Robinson's books on airgun testing and hunting, you'll see that he's taken game as large as jack-rabbits using CO2 airguns with muzzle velocities lower than 500fps and careful shot placement.

Finally, the velocity figures you see quoted in advertising for airguns are typically achieved using the very lightest pellets available. A .177 airgun advertised as having a velocity of 1000fps might actually shoot under 700fps with more common (and useful) pellet weights instead of the extreme lightweights used in the testing.
 
I am really surprised that no one has mentioned Aguila Super Colibri .22 ammo. 20gr. projectile, 500ft/sec, and quieter than a CB. 11ft/lbs of muzzle energy and lethal to squirrels and pigeons. I wouldn't shoot then with no backstop or up into the trees but i would use them in a residential setting if i could get a safe ground shot.

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