# New to squirrel hunting



## khut (Jun 4, 2006)

Hey everyone, I am new to the arena of squirrel hunting and I was wondering if y'all could give me some advice.

As for my gear I have a Daisy powerline 880 with a 4X zoom scope that fires .177 BBs or pellets at 750 FPS. I have crosman pointed .177 premium grade field hunting pellets. Is this good enough or do I need more?

Also, I am having trouble zeroing my scope, any advice?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!


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## Brower (Mar 10, 2006)

yeah one thing about zeroing in that scope. JUST JUNK IT! that scope they give you in the kit is just to intice u to buy there product it never stay accurate and i know from expirence cuz i had that gun. It depends what type of squirrels ur hunting cuz big grays will probly just shake the shot off and run. So ur best bet is too get a high fps gun and a better scope if you want one
dont trust the ones they give u in the kits


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## ishootstuff (Oct 19, 2007)

All I wood recomend is some tawmahawk pellets. Cheap and effective. Other than that ur gunna get a squirrel


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## carp_killer (Nov 24, 2006)

i reccomend a .22lr


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## Neanderthal (Oct 30, 2007)

I agree- a .22 or a shotgun. I just don't understand the recent fascination with air rifles. I own a nice one, but it mostly sits in the gun cabinet.


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## dfisher (Oct 12, 2007)

khut said:


> Hey everyone, I am new to the arena of squirrel hunting and I was wondering if y'all could give me some advice.
> 
> As for my gear I have a Daisy powerline 880 with a 4X zoom scope that fires .177 BBs or pellets at 750 FPS. I have crosman pointed .177 premium grade field hunting pellets. Is this good enough or do I need more?
> 
> ...


Hi,
Well, I think that I would think about hunting them with an air rifle and then get a .22 or shotgun and have at it.

When I started squirrel hunting, I always used a shotgun and # 4 shot. I still hunted, which means I eased through the woods, about half a dozen steps or so at a time, and scanned the foliage for movement. I tried to always stop by a tree to break up my outline too. Believe it or not, squirrels that live out in farming country, unlike their food begging town brethren, are pretty wary and can become very hard targets.

Later, as I got older and became more skilled and patient, I switched to a scope sited .22 LR with target grade ammo. I find that target quality bullets are very consistent and do a fine job when centered in the head of a fox or grey squirrel. I know a lot of guys opt for the hollow point, but if you have a decent .22 with a good scope, you should have no problem pegging a squirrel in the head at 20 to 40 yards.

Now, a couple of things to think about, when hunting squirrels. First, later in the season, you'll encounter a number of them on the ground as they scurry here and there looking for nuts. Think about it. All of the mast has fallen from the tree tops to the ground and the mast eaters are going to be on the ground, where the food is.

Also, later in the season, when it's cold, squirrels will, more than likely sleep in, coming out for only a brief period of time, to grab a quick snack before going back to their den. When they come out like this, they will invariably go to ground, and if you can find a grove of hickory, oak, or even walnut or beech trees, you could have them all around you. They'll venture into corn fields too, for corn that the farmer has missed.

Of course, the best squirrel hunting is generally had on those early fall mornings with a hint of Jack Frost in the air and not a leaf stirring. You can hear very well and notice movement in the tree tops with no problems at all. You can often hear them cutting the hulls and shells of hickory nuts and acorns at a reasonable distance on these mornings, and can certainly here them "barking" in their peculiar, chattery, voices clear a crossed a woodlot.

Stalking these noisy tree rodents is great fun. Just move in the direction that you hear them, SLOWLY but steadily, as they won't hang around in a tree top long, after they finish breakfast. The ones that are cutting nuts are never hard to locate, as the rain of nut hulls and shells give them away easily. Wait till they get a nut and start nawing it. They are usually hunched up and immobile at this time and make for an easy shot. The barkers, usually the young of year, are busy too. Generally they have spotted another squirrel, a deer, or sometimes a hunter, you, and it has them on edge and in a scolding frame of mind. Look for them about one third to half way up a tree. More often than not, they'll have their butts tight against the trunk, but sometimes they'll just be sitting on their haunches on a larger limb. They have the dangerous habit of flipping their tail back and forth as the chatter away. This stands out easily and has led to the downfall of many a young, tasty, squirrel.

Remember; don't shoot too far at them. They are tough, hardy animals that really blend with their environment. A wounding shot can knock one out of a tree and allow it to crawl a few feet where it can be easily over- looked. Also, if you do wound one and it's still alive when you find it, finish it off before you touch it. If it should get a hold of you you'll think you're tangled up with a Singer sewing machine. Lastly, don't shoot through their leaf nests. They build these in the late summer and early fall, usually in oak trees, and use them for laying up in the middle of the day, protection, and only God and the squirrel knows what else. They will use these if you spook them and they can't make it to their den. Don't shoot through the nest! Just sit and wait. They'll be back out in a bit, when they think the danger has passed. The same strategy applies to den holes. Just wait and they'll reappear in a few minutes or so.

Hope this helps you out some,

Good luck,
Dan


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## Stonegoblet (Jun 24, 2007)

:withstupid: wow :withstupid:

Well, my friend has had the Daisy Powerline 880 for quite some time and it's a good little gun. I prefer the Crossman Powermaster 66, But the Daisy is a good gun. It isn't neccesarily a sexy gun, and is by no means sleek, but it does it's job well. As for the scope, yeah, it's pretty scrappy. Good luck!


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