Gauges for SQUIRREL HUNTING

[Mad Reloader]

Just got back from a hunt with Spike-1, and this topic came to mind:

Gauges of shotgun suited for Squirrel hunting.

Spike currently has a 12, but per him, it's a LOT harsh for what he considers a scattergun for treerats.

{Note: He does NOT reload for shotgun, in 12-ga I've only got a Lee Load-all which IME (with it & other Lee stuff) is suited for light/occasional duty only. My primary shotgun's a 20-gauge, as what litle wingshooting I do is for Dove & Quail)

He's pondering a smaller gauge.

Spike's initial thought... .410

My counterpoint... 28-gauge. (recall hearing that some hunters are using 28's for one or 2 kinds of smaller birds, so squirrel may be another kind of game the 28 may work for)

{20 may also be a possibliity, but he really really was consideing one of the real small bores}

Where he and I are at, .410 and 28 gauge shells can be had no sweat (16 is the problem locally!)

Runing it past the seasoned scattergunners, as to which of the smaller gauges...besides 20...would make for a good Squirrel shotgun!

[Dom]

Either one MR, or how 'bout a 22 guage, like a .22 lr over a 28ga. A 28 gives you quite a bit more shot and leeway, the .410 is exactly a .41 caliber. Nothing wrong with it, kinda depends on how good a scattergun shooter you are and how fast the squirrels are flying. I think you'll pick up more squirrels using the 28 tho. Hey, just get one of each!! Waidmannsheil, Dom.

[Mad Reloader]

Dom:

A little confusion here on this end from your last post.

Were you referring to a COMBINATION GUN, like either a Doppelbuchsflinte or the Savage Model 24, chambered in 22 LR in one barrel, 28 ga. in the other...

Or an arm chambered in 22 gauge?

(I did not know shells were made in that size. You CAN find 24-gauge shotshells, they're even scarcer than 16-gauge stateside but I know of at least ONE supplier if not 2, and the one guy also has 32 ga. shotshells. No sign of 22 gauge though)

Seems we're in agreement on 28 (0.550") preferrable to .410 (0.410"). :)

(Spike1 is NOT much of a scattergunner, else he'd probably already have a Mec and be rolling off shotshells, like I will do on occasion with my 20-gauge and the Mec 600 Jr.)

[kt]

being a frugal (cheap) kid i have learned to make what i have work. I dont see anything wrong with a 12 if thats what he has, only thing i dont like about it is the noise, after firing they all run and hide for 20 mins. from a high brass load of 4's to a low 7/8oz load of 6's and an IC choke there has to be something that he can find in that range that will kill but but ravage a squirrel. And in the early season when there is leaves on the trees a 12 with open choke is hard to beat. but if he is looking for a squirrel only gun i would go with the 410 i suppose, that winchester lever model 9410 i think? that would be ideal
kt

[Lilred]

Good que TMR,
I would say the 410 or even the 16. The only thing I never really like bout the 410 is that they never seem to hold a pattern over 30-40 yards. That's just been my experience, and some might be able to give arguement to that.
When them squirrels are sittin wayyyy at the top of an old oak...esp with leaves still on the trees, I wouldnt see where a 410 would do ya a whole lotta good. (Again, just my opinion, and others might have had better luck w/ that gauge than me.)

The 20 is a great gauge fer em, and even the 16. I can say that I've never hunted w/ a 28 gauge. I've shot em a few times, but I dont think I've fooled w/ em enuf to give even a half-educated opinion on em.

[Dom]

MR, just joshin ya on that 22ga -- I've never heard of 22ga, threw it in there for the combination 22lr / 28 ga -- which is what I'd get if I was looking for a squirrel gun. That Savage sounds like the ticket to me . . .

Or how about a standard Drilling -- I've got one that has a 16ga top left, .22 mag top right (einstecklauf in the other 16ga barrel), and when they are waaayyy out there, the lower 8x57 in the head does the trick!

[gd357]

I'd vote for a savage combo gun in .22 lr/.410 A couple of my friends have these, and they are a great combination. I couldn't tell you how many rabbits, squirrels, g-hogs, etc. met their demise from those guns.

gd357

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I've never liked a .410 for most game shooting....I prefer #5 shot for squirrels, and you don't get a lot of those packed in a .410 shell, including the 3" hull. Plus, most of the squirrels I have run across have some tough skin....I find a lot of pellets lodged just under the skin.....I hate the thought of a wounded critter getting away and dying a slow, miserable death. I would think that a 20 gauge, loaded with 1 oz of shot or more, would be sufficient. I don't have any experience with the 28 bore, but I think it would be too light for squirrels as well.
Tradition has it that most youngsters took thier first game (rabbit, squirrel) with a .410......but I don't stand on tradition!:p

[Mad Reloader]

As far as size of shot charge, 28-gauge is betwixt & between.

20 ga. Standard is 1 oz.

28 ga, 3/4 oz.

410 Standard, 1/2 oz (11/16 oz for 3" mag, FWTW....)

20 gauge may be the best bang for his buck, but only Spike will know for sure if 1 oz charges from a 20 are overkill, or if 3/4 oz from a 28 is insufficient....

Hmmmm. Since I have that 20-ga. Winchester already, and a pair of "Little Skeeter" tubes to shoot 28 ga in 12, as well as .410 in 12, perhaps it's time we did a comparison shoot for familiarization (the Winchester being a full-out scattergun in 20 will prolly perform better than a chamber insert, but easier this than buying 2 more shotguns, nicht wahr?)

[DaMadman]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with either one .410 or 28 guage for squirrel. I would however go with the .410 full choke just because you can probbably get the shells easier and less expensive and I like the .410 always have.

In Fact one of these years I am gunna get me one of those 9410 Winchester lever guns. Looks like a model 94 lever gun but shoots .410 shot shells and slugs.

Besides the less pellet you fire at a squirrel the less you are picking out when you eat them

[fabsroman]

Okay, I think I would stick with the 12 gauge or 20 gauge on this one. The 20 ga. is plenty light enough in the gun weight category and it can even be loaded with 7/8 oz. loads which are the standard load for it. The 1 oz. loads for the 20 ga. are the heavy stuff. Kind of like the 1 1/8 oz. are almost the standard for 12 gauges with 1 oz. being lite and 1 1/4 oz being heavy. The 20 gauge can even be loaded down to 3/4 oz. I believe. Once, I loaded 1 1/2 oz. loads of #6 in the 12 gauge for crows and one of my hunting buddies thought I was shooting a bomb.

Now, if you are worried about pulling pellets out of the squirrel, use something like 4's at 1,200 fps for through and through penetration. If 1,200 fps doesn't work, kick it up to somewhere around 1,300 fps.

As far as I am concerned, the .410 is pretty much enemic for hunting unless you have one very experienced gunner using it. I even hate it for shooting clays. The 28 gauge isn't much better. About the only time I would use the 28 gauge for hunting is on quails and maybe, just maybe, doves. Other than that, it would stay at home or be used only for clay shooting.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Besides the less pellet you fire at a squirrel the less you are picking out when you eat them

Yup,.....and the less chance you have of killing them!

[DaMadman]

Originally posted by Mr. 16 gauge
Yup,.....and the less chance you have of killing them!

Well I dunno I must be a super shot with my .410 because I take it squirrel hunting and they fall out of the top of big oak trees just as dead as if they were hit with a 2 ounce 10 gauge loads

in fact Remington has a nice 2-1/2 inch high velocity load in 6 shot that I used last time I squirrel hunted and every squirrel I shot was dead before it fell out the tree and a couple were dead before they could take another leap on the ground. I personally like a high brass #4 shot, the Remington Express 4 are good. But 6 shot works pretty darn good too.

Been huntin treerats with the .410 or the .22 since I was old enough to pull the trigger and it has always served me well.
I just hate using the 12 or 20 gauge cause the put so many pellets in the meat and the meat always has a bunch of blood bruises in it and They are twice as loud as the .410 and it takes longer for the other tree rats to recover and go on about thier bussiness after you shoot.

We all have our preferences and non re right or wrong, I guess it is all in what you get used to and get good with

[8X56MS]

I know that I have taken more squirrel with my old single barrel 20 ga, using #6 shot, than with any other gun I own. Thats all I used from about age 7 through highschool.
Worked well then, and it works well now.
When the leaves are all gone though, I move to a .22 rifle.

[jdwc9]

iv killed squirrles with everything,airguns, bows and all gauge shotguns.
i prefer the 20 or the 28 they do just fine for me

[gold40]

Maybe our Missouri squirrels are tougher....or just smart enough not to let me get too close. I use either a 16 or 12 gauge, loaded with high brass #4's. When they are up high in the oaks and hickorys, I still only get 4 or 5 pellets to hit.

When I used #6's, I'd find pellets just under the skin that hadn't penetrated well.

A .410 wouldn't do the job where I hunt.

JERRY

["yote"]

Another option that my father uses. He has an old single stage
MEC loader and a bizillion old paper hulls. He had a machinist
make a 2 1/2" shellholder. Then he trims 1/2" off the raggety
crimp end and loads little "popper" loads for the young ones.
It acually works pretty sweet. He can match anything from
heavy 410 to superlight 12 trap. He had to figure a way to put
all of those H&R 12ga single shots to use with the
new crop of grand kids and neices & nephews.