# Pellet Gun for rabbits and squirrels???



## Camo

I own a Winchester 1000x pellet gun which shoots a 177 9.0gr beeman hollowpoint 1078 fps. Is this enought punch for the kind of hunting I do? I like to walk through the woods slowly and take out any rabbits squirrels crows or doves I see. I have a 3-9X40 scope on it and I feel comfortrable with it on shots to 65 yards. Is this enough or do I need to move up to a 20, 22, or 25? 
Also I have a Marlin 22 magnum which my dad gave to me. It has never been used except for sighting it in. It has a Leupold Vari X III 3-15X50 on it. Is this going to blow a squirrel to smithreens?

-Curt


----------



## Scoonafish

The .22 mag will do just fine.


----------



## Jorge_V

[[]]


----------



## RM422

Your 1000x will do just fine for squirrels and rabbits out to 65 yards. At 65 yards your .177 pellet will still be in the high 900fps range and will easily take out a squirrel. Just remember the right pellet and right shot will get them everytime. 300fps+ will kill a squirrel or rabbit out to 100 feet. If that helps any.


----------



## Bore.224

Camo do not listen to RM422 he seems to be a good guy but he thinks his pellet gun can put down deer at 50 yards!!! Do not take shots past 50 feet never mind 60 yards with your pellet gun. Go with the 22 mag.


----------



## RM422

I'm not going to get mad. But I don't like you telling people not to listen to me. And when did I ever say my pellet gun could take down a deer at 50 yards?

First of all I have taken squirrels with my 530fps .22 airgun from 30 yards in one shot. I have now modded my .22 airgun to 800fps and it can take them from farther. Well anyway. If before I was taking squirrels out to 30 yards with my 530fps which is only 8.92 fpe with a 14.3gr pellet then a 1000fps .177 at 7.9 grains is delivering 17.55fpe will take down a squirrel at 60 yards. By the time the .177 pellet gets to 60 yards it will probably be down to around 8-10fpe and you only need 4 fpe for a squirrel.


----------



## Gohon

> Also I have a Marlin 22 magnum which my dad gave to me. It has never been used except for sighting it in. It has a Leupold Vari X III 3-15X50 on it. Is this going to blow a squirrel to smithreens?


With that rifle and that scope you should be able to make clean head shots all day long at 100 yards, leaving the good eaten stuff in good shape. As for the one post telling you such things as


> you only need 4 fpe for a squirrel


 :lol: , as a real good guy once kind of said, when you see that kind of smoke coming from a post, don't inhale.


----------



## Bore.224

RM422 its good to have you back!!! :beer:


----------



## RM422

So it's good to have me back eh? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Do you believe me now about the 60 yard thing? And as for the other guy laughing at me about the 4fpe it's true. I read it on an airgun hunting site. Try it yourself. If you have an american 760, pump it about 4-5 times and that will get you about 4 fpe and try it on a squirrel at close range. Say like 15-25 yards. Or try it with a 1377 they give about 4 fpe at 4 pumps to.


----------



## RM422

Ok so 4-5 pumps with a 760 or 1377 gets you to about 490fps (both american versions that is) and delivers almost exactly 4.20fpe. So go out an try it.


----------



## the_rookie

Hey guys I havent shot the breeze around here for awhile whats up... BTW a 22 mag with 30 or 40 grain will blow it into pieces... usually 30 grainers will because of the extremely high velocity i believe around 2200 fps but anywho the air rifle will kill out too 60 yards because i have a .177 gamo shadow 1000 and ive taken a 60 yard kill on a squirrel with open sights it was my best shot ever i was aiming 6 inches over him and it still penetrated 1.5 inches so you should be fine


----------



## Bore.224

Now we got both pellet gun people with us!! I had a crossman 760 pellet gun when I was 9 years old, that is how I know you are wrong!! You say you read this info in a magazine? Well let me tell you from real experiance the 760 does not have enought power at 10 pumps to reliably bring down squirrels.


----------



## RM422

Hey the_rookie I'm glad someone agrees with me.

Bore.224 as for the 760 at 10 pumps that is more than enough power for a squirrel. My old self cocking 760 which is a 20 pump version will go almost straight through a 2x4 at 20 feet. And my grandfather has a newer 760 from 1976 and he killed a squirrel from about 60 feet with 3 pumps. I don't use my 760 for hunting very often because it is a collectors gun since it is so old. But I know that if I were to take it hunting I could reliably kill squirrels with it out to 30 yards. As I have told you before I do my airgun hunting with my .22 break barrel and have had 1 shot kills out to the 30 yards and past.


----------



## the_rookie

o man this is great cause apparently we all had for our first gun a pumpmaster 760 i think the farthest shot i took on a squirrle with that thing was... 25 yards and it killed him instantly with a bb right in the heart... that gun was so accurate but when i shot squirresl i used to pump it up 40 times i didnt know any better... but i want another bad


----------



## RM422

Yep 760's are the best. Like I said I have an old self cocking 760 that takes 20 pumps. Anyway whoever can't kill a squirrel with a 760 out to 30 yards needs shooting lessons.


----------



## John M

RM422 said:


> Hey the_rookie I'm glad someone agrees with me.
> 
> Bore.224 as for the 760 at 10 pumps that is more than enough power for a squirrel. My old self cocking 760 which is a 20 pump version will go almost straight through a 2x4 at 20 feet. And my grandfather has a newer 760 from 1976 and he killed a squirrel from about 60 feet with 3 pumps. I don't use my 760 for hunting very often because it is a collectors gun since it is so old. But I know that if I were to take it hunting I could reliably kill squirrels with it out to 30 yards. As I have told you before I do my airgun hunting with my .22 break barrel and have had 1 shot kills out to the 30 yards and past.


That is very INHUMANE to shoot animal with a with a weapon like that, how would you like if i shot you in the private area with a 760 from 30 yards, it wouldnt go through but it would hurt like hell, i hope you get in trouble with the game warden for what you do, you are the most unintelligent person ive ever seen in my LIFE, you probaly think a red rider BB gun can kill a bear from 60 yards, do you just go outside and decide " Well im going to take the weakest most crappiest gun i have and try to kill a squirel with it" what kind of bull is that :******: 
Sorry for the flame towards RM422 guys but he really ****** me off what he does is discusting uke: I think he should get banned from the Nodak forums because he is not a hunter hes a torturer and i think there is a very big difference between that
Just my thoughts, ive read RM422's older posts and he seems to be a wise *** and has a cocky attitude towards everyone and only likes people who agree with him.
~John M


----------



## RM422

This post is so funny I almost peed my pants reading it. John M some shooting education lessons are definately on order for you. Especially in airguns. Obviously you are very uneducated and need some more knowlege on airgun hunting before posting BS like this. If anybody out there can't kill a squirrel from 30 yards with a 760 then they need some serious help. I find that people who hunt with firearms don't have a full understanding of what airguns can really do. Some of the newer airguns deliver more fpe than a powder burning firearm. I also hunt with the 12 gauge when I'm out for rabbits and deer and such. But around the house my airguns do the trick out to 30 yards and further. Any airgun 300fps+ will kill a squirrel from 30 yards in one shot!! Oh and by the way John M thanks for the red ryder quote it was the funniest. Ya the red ryder is sure my weapon of choice for bear hunting. lol. I can't take your BS any longer I'm signing off...


----------



## John M

so yeah it could KILL a squirrel but could it kill it humanely? unless you get a headshot with the 760 its very inhumane, if you had the choice of shooting your balls with a 300 fps bb gun or a 12 guage shotgun with bird shot to your head what would you choose? shoot yourself in the dick bleed out for about 12 hours then die or die imdiently with the shotgun, ive shot squirrels with an airgun before they SUCK, i went up to the poor little critter and he was trying to stand up with a shot in his heart, pellet guns are not good unless you like seeing animals suffer and i guess that you do.


----------



## RM422

Now by the sounds of it you really do need some shooting lessons and are really in need of an IQ. A 760 will kill squirrels humanley no problem. I have done it and so have many other people. Even out to 30 yards. I have killed squirrels with my other airguns too with one shot, bang dead. I have taken head shots and chest shots both work the same. I have actually had it where I have hit squirrels from 30 yards with my .22 break barrel air rifle and the pellet did a pass through. In the chest out the back.


----------



## deadeye_youth

John M in all honesty I think you are freaking out a little to much about this I think almost everyone in this forum has used a pellet/BB gun to kill a squirrel or rabbit at some point and time in there life. You saying that if you shoot a squirrel in the heart and he isnt dead instantly that it is inhumane? That is obsurd. People shoot ducks and geese from the air with pellets all the time. They are coming from a shotgun yes, but most time they are not completely dead when they are retrieved. Is that inhumane. Of course it isnt. I could go on and on with examples of how people shoot animals and they arent dead instantly. Thats just the way it is.


----------



## John M

yes i know about the ducks of course it wont die right away sometimes but you still used a shotgun and gave all the power you could theres no step up therefore its considered inhumane, you can use a shotgun on squirrels thats a BIG step up from a 760 and if it still moves its considered humane because once again you gave it all your firepower you could get your hands on, now would you like to get shotgun with a 12 guage to the head or a 760?


----------



## RM422

JohnM give it up already.


----------



## Stealth

RM422 say:


> Your 1000x will do just fine for squirrels and rabbits out to 65 yards. At 65 yards your .177 pellet will still be in the high 900fps range


Ummmm, no offense but do you understand ballastics at all. The Winchester 1000 hardly spits out the pellet at 900fps. I don't know why all air gun new comers believe that the gun shoots 1000fps because Winchester says so! More or less its because they manufacturers use the lightest pellet available for velocity testing and heaviest for FPE tests. These are sometimes exaggerated or are not the consistent performance of the gun. Sure, when you first shoot the rifle it's going to be a hot rod, only though because the gun is diseling which actually will make smoke and a bad smell surface. This happens to all break over guns. Even top makers like Beeman and RWS have diesling guns, the diseling occurs from grease and stuff being combusted. Best thing to do is just clean some of the preservation gunk out or just let it diesel out. Sorry got off topic, but diesling does make a gun shoot faster blah blah. But after the break in period 700-1000 pellets it will be settled down and consistent.

I'm sorry to say that the Winchester 1000 .177 will not be shooting 900 fps at 65 yards. The pellet simply doesn't have the weight to carry out, nor the gun the power. Sorry if I step on some toes but the Winchester 1000 just is a pile of crap. The trigger is terrible, wood is disgusting. Gamo is a piece of cow manure as well. For maybe around $30-60 you can get 10X the gun than the Gamo,Winchester, aka other bad springers. You might like your gun now but you will LOVE these higher quality air rifles. My paticular springer of choice is the RWS 94. I've wrote many posts on this rifle and have yet to be dissapointed by its performance. Unfourtanely it's with Russ Best right now (probably the most dedicated air gun tuner in the U.S.) so I can't take Rookie up on his competition. I swear the squirrels sit out in the open just to taunt me everyday.

RM422 I'm not quite sure where you got your information about the velocity of the Winchester. Or if you took a estimation of it, but I must say you are incorrect. I'm a huge air gun fan and I love to share everything I've learned about them. Anyway been inactive for awhile so I thought I'd drop by. Yall take it easy.

Regards,
Derek


----------



## RM422

I'm also a huge airgun collector and a big airgun hunter. Even if you are right and the winchester 1000x doesn't even make it to 900fps even if it is doing 600-900fps that is still enough for a clean kill out to 60 yards. Man am I the only who has made amazing kills with airguns? I own both high power and low power airguns. And I have made a 66 yard 1 shot kill with a 500fps airgun. Thats not that low powered but it's nothing compared to my other 630-800fps airguns.


----------



## the_rookie

I completely agree with RM22... BTW everyone I asked and im getting another pumpmaster for christmas... i will take care of this one this time... I'm also adding a 3-7X power scope. Yet I have to disagree with RM on one thing... if a .177 pellet is going 1050 out of the barrel which is good it will lose 47% of its energy at 50 yards... so if it was at 60 yards then your looking at around 490 fps which is more then enough power with a 9 grain bullet...


----------



## RM422

Hmmmm 60 yards 1050fps goes down to 490. It wouldn't drop that much. I'd say it would probably be down to something like 600 or 700. But yes a 9 grain pellet going at 490fps will still kill a squirrel from 60 yards.


----------



## Camo

> PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 12:28 am Post subject:
> RM422 say:
> Quote:
> Your 1000x will do just fine for squirrels and rabbits out to 65 yards. At 65 yards your .177 pellet will still be in the high 900fps range
> 
> Ummmm, no offense but do you understand ballastics at all. The Winchester 1000 hardly spits out the pellet at 900fps. I don't know why all air gun new comers believe that the gun shoots 1000fps because Winchester says so! More or less its because they manufacturers use the lightest pellet available for velocity testing and heaviest for FPE tests. These are sometimes exaggerated or are not the consistent performance of the gun. Sure, when you first shoot the rifle it's going to be a hot rod, only though because the gun is diseling which actually will make smoke and a bad smell surface. This happens to all break over guns. Even top makers like Beeman and RWS have diesling guns, the diseling occurs from grease and stuff being combusted. Best thing to do is just clean some of the preservation gunk out or just let it diesel out. Sorry got off topic, but diesling does make a gun shoot faster blah blah. But after the break in period 700-1000 pellets it will be settled down and consistent.
> 
> I'm sorry to say that the Winchester 1000 .177 will not be shooting 900 fps at 65 yards. The pellet simply doesn't have the weight to carry out, nor the gun the power. Sorry if I step on some toes but the Winchester 1000 just is a pile of crap. The trigger is terrible, wood is disgusting. Gamo is a piece of cow manure as well. For maybe around $30-60 you can get 10X the gun than the Gamo,Winchester, aka other bad springers. You might like your gun now but you will LOVE these higher quality air rifles. My paticular springer of choice is the RWS 94. I've wrote many posts on this rifle and have yet to be dissapointed by its performance. Unfourtanely it's with Russ Best right now (probably the most dedicated air gun tuner in the U.S.) so I can't take Rookie up on his competition. I swear the squirrels sit out in the open just to taunt me everyday.


Sorry to say it bro but the gun is sweet. Have you ever even shot one or is this just what you hear from people. Not to say you cant have a different oppinion (SP?) but I acctually like the gun better than my buddys RWS but again thats just an opinnion.


----------



## RM422

I wasn't the one who said your gun wont do 900fps. Because I see my name is in the quote. Unless you are qouting my post against his. The winchester 1000x is a pretty sweet gun. No question there.


----------



## Stealth

> Man am I the only who has made amazing kills with airguns?


No, you are not. I never stated that the Winchester could not touch off game that far. Actaully I think longer range airgun kills are becoming more common as air gun technology advances. I'd have to say my longest kill was right at 50yds. Shot the starling with my RWS 94 in .22 caliber. I didn't think the wadcutter pellet I was using would hold its accuracy and energy that far but I was suprised that the little bugger fell dead without a twitch. Upon inspection there was about a quater sized entrance wound to my immense suprise. Sorry if I mislead yall I did not mean in anway that airguns couldn't put down quarry at range. I know and have experienced that airguns (pre charged pneumatics in paticular) are extremely powerful. Last fall I went ram hunting with Eric Henderson and Jim Chapman. I got to shoot a beautiful Black Hawaiin at around 50yds with Eric's 50 caliber. It was a great hunt and eye opening experience to powerful airguns. 
Yes, Camo I've shot the Winchester but it wasn't very much to my taste. However I won't crank on the gun anymore since yall like it so much. I know that some folks have made them pretty wicked after some work, specially on that trigger. 
There is just something about airguns that draws me to them. I do know that given the opportunity I'd pick small game with an airgun over deer hunting anyday. That's just the way I am. So much great squirrel hunting in Texas and no body takes advantage of it. Guess I'll have to pick up their slack .

Kind Regards,
Derek


----------



## NewguyinTown

ok, i have had the winchester 1000x for almost a year now, and im personally not that impressed, i cant always rely on the accuracy ( although today i got 2 kills with it 1 shots).
and at 60 yards doing 490fps a 9 grain pellet only has 4.79 lbs of energy in it, i personally wouldnt take a shot that far away without a better gun. and Camo, could ya tell me what what you did with yours? i do wanna fix mine.


----------



## Cleankill47

I don't even know if this is being continued, since the ones who started the thread haven't posted since last year. However, John M- hater of the airgun, you simply must know your weapon.

You need to be sure what works best for your gun at the distances you'd be shooting at. You wouldn't shoot a turkey with a skeet choke and number 9 shot, would you? Of course not, because that _would_ be inhumane. It wasn't designed for that kind of shot. I want to say that you probably shot him in the lungs, not the heart, and that you probably used a pointed pellet. If he was still breathing, then it's entirely possible you broke his spine just below the killing point on it. (Fifth vertebrae) That means you crippled him, without severing the nerves that carry signals to the lungs, heart, and the rest of the body. (Don't worry about it, it happens to the best of us. Once you get your first clean airgun kill, you'll be hard pressed to find a better rush).

It would be useful to know exactly what kind of airgun you used and what kind of pellet you took the shot with, as well as the range that you fired at. That way, I could show you how to take an animal cleanly, humanely, efficiently. For example, when hunting with my Gamo, 1000 fps or not, I don't take the shot until I am within 30 yards, at least, and I use Beeman Gold-coated hollow point pellets, or better.

Headshot: A hit to the brain is accomplished on a squirrel by aiming 1/2 inch behind the eye. (The midline between the back of the eye and the base of the ear) This shot, when taken with an expanding hollowpoint pellet, hits the brain, and all motor funtions cease. No pain, just blood, and meat in the crock pot. (It will also jump around quite a bit, but that is just electricity in the brain wearing itself out).

Heartshot: Best taken at relatively close range, using match (flat point) pellets, domed hunting pellets, or hollow-points. Aim directly behind the rear crease of the shoulder (but not the shoulder itself, it could lodge in the muscle and wind up a nonlethal hit).

Those are the only responsible shots a squirrel hunter should take. Eventually, though, you _will_ miss, and it won't always be a clean miss. When that happens, the best thing to do is to find the animal, and finish the job with a headshot. 
:sniper:


----------



## shryke300

my shadow 1000 takes squirrles just fine. It seems as though as long as i can hit them i can kill tham. I wonder what John m thinks of bow hunters. Btw, as a note of respect for squirrel survivability, my brother shot one through the chest with his bow, and it ran up a tree. I had to shoot it with my rifle to get it down and kill it.


----------



## sierra03

John M said:


> That is very INHUMANE to shoot animal with a with a weapon like that, how would you like if i shot you in the private area with a 760 from 30 yards, it wouldnt go through but it would hurt like hell, i hope you get in trouble with the game warden for what you do, you are the most unintelligent person ive ever seen in my LIFE, you probaly think a red rider BB gun can kill a bear from 60 yards, do you just go outside and decide " Well im going to take the weakest most crappiest gun i have and try to kill a squirel with it" what kind of bull is that :ticked:
> Sorry for the flame towards RM422 guys but he really ticked me off what he does is discusting uke: I think he should get banned from the Nodak forums because he is not a hunter hes a torturer and i think there is a very big difference between that
> Just my thoughts, ive read RM422's older posts and he seems to be a wise a$$ and has a cocky attitude towards everyone and only likes people who agree with him.
> ~John M


Im sorry john, I know this was a long time ago, but even today when i hear you freak out it makes me sick. I cant believe YOU didnt get the boot for posting somehting like that in a forum where kids might talk about BB- guns. (air guns). I know you dont like me, and dont care what I have to say, but dude its time for anger management(or detention).


----------



## John M

I wrote that a while ago, i didnt have the knowledge back then as i did now, i learned the rules of the forum, so please drop it and stop stalking me.


----------



## sierra03

Stalking you!!!?? Im not stalking you, your everywhere. I think you are stalking me!


----------



## John M

You like study my posts and lurk around on this forum just researching me and commenting me, i think thats stalking.


----------



## sierra03

Its hard to miss your topics when they are all flamed up. Those are the topics I notice, and they are all yours. Why do you have to be so judgementing and negative? Your immature for how ever old you are. Do you go home and tell your mom, Oh my god this kid shot a squirrel with his air gun.

So you know, im not trying to be bossy and minding everyones business. I have stumbled past so many of your negative posts that I had to say something. Since you said the kid should get kicked off the site for shooting a squirrel, I think you should get warned atleast for flaming up on kids with 4 lettered words.


----------



## Joe Blow

i've just sat here for the past 10 minutes and ya know what i found out.I found out how immature john m is. I have nothing against the guy except that he cusses to much in these forums.These aren't boxing matches against each other there for all of us dumbbells to learn about hunting.
I have to agree with John about that the 760 could barely kill a squrill even 10 yards away let alone 60. i have to disagree on how he got all riled up for how "imhumane" kill a stupid insignificant animal the squrel is. i personally think anything under 650fps is not right,but not"inhumane".
-garret-


----------



## shryke300

In my experience it is kinda hard to determine what is right or wrong with squirrels sometimes. For example, i have the crossman 357 CO2 revolver, i think it has about 450 fps, i have killed a squirrel with one shot many times from 10-20 yards. I also have a gamo shadow 1000 that the last squirrel i killed it took four shots, one in the chest that knocked it out of a tree, another through the chest, aiming for the heart,(didnt work), one between the eyes, one in the ear, and finaly i cut its throat. my brother shot one through the chest with a bow once, and it still clibed up a tree and i had to shoot it twice with a rifle to kill it. Then again, i have also killed one with one shot from a slingshot and with one of those .40 blowguns. Some of those little buggers are tough. :-?


----------



## dlip

Better Idea, get a 22 lr.


----------



## Tholzel

Camo said:


> I own a Winchester 1000x pellet gun which shoots a 177 9.0gr beeman hollowpoint 1078 fps. Is this enought punch for the kind of hunting I do? I like to walk through the woods slowly and take out any rabbits squirrels crows or doves I see. I have a 3-9X40 scope on it and I feel comfortrable with it on shots to 65 yards. Is this enough or do I need to move up to a 20, 22, or 25?
> Also I have a Marlin 22 magnum which my dad gave to me. It has never been used except for sighting it in. It has a Leupold Vari X III 3-15X50 on it. Is this going to blow a squirrel to smithreens? -Curt


Let's put some numbers on all these claims.

If you look up the Beeman pellet comparison table at http://www.beeman.com/pellcomp.htm , you will find the weights of all his pellets. Select the pellet you have and if you know its muzzle velocity from your own air gun, you can figure out the energy at various distances using the formula: E- v-squared times grains divided by 450,240.

Typically, a .177 pellet that leaves the muzzle at 15 ft-lbs will have lost half of its energy at about 40 yards, i.e., 7.5 ft-lbs. That is good for about 3-inches of penetration in animal tissue, not counting bones, gristle or the folded wing of a crow.

Some of the claims of making one-shot kills of (gray) squirrels at 65+ yards while possible, seem unlikely to me because at that distance the energy is even lower--probably about 5 ft-lbs or less. That will kill a crow shot in the head or chest, but too often not a squirrel. Again, it is possible to make a one shot kill, but ever less likely.

However, the other parameter is accuracy. Although one could, under unusual circumstances, keep a 65-yard shot within one inch, I've never been able to do that more than once in a row--especially if there is the slightest zypher of a breeze.

A third problem is goosing the power output of any .177 rifle. The bore is so small, it becomes a losing proposition--you just can't get enough air out of the gun in the time it takes to accelerate a pellet of any weight. Thus, taking the same rifle and switching to a larger-bore barrel immediately gives you more hore power. This can be easily done with the better spring-piston rifles, such as Beeman and RWS.

In general terms .22-caliber seems to be the most efficient for rifles in the 20 ft-lbs range, but the farther reach of 5mm (.20-cal) may be preferred for crow hunting.


----------



## steve66

i think this topic got alittle out of hand but im gonna weigh in. i think a air gun would be good on squirrels but wouldnt shoot them past 20 or 30 yards, i wouldnt suggest a air gun on rabbits though. i know people have taken them with pellet guns before, but a rabbit is a very tough animal, (at least the canadian snowshoe is) i have shot one with a .22 3 times and it wasnt until the third shot that he quite running, it wasnt my shot placement because he had bullet holes in his heart, lungs and the final one right through the back of the head. they are packed full of adrenaline just like a deer. i have also seen people wound them with 12 guage shotguns with #4 shot (i wont use shotguns on rabbits) so i would say no on the airgun (you dont want to wound it and here it scream, believe me that is a really horrible sound that you will never forget). use your .22 mag and get good with it and take head shots.

just my .2 cents


----------



## hunter285

well im new to hunting small game and was wondering what a good gun would be for hunting squirrel :sniper:


----------



## hunter285

but i am withi a price range of with 50-75$ so plz get me something that will take a squirrel out :sniper:


----------



## pack999

most bb or pellet guns that shoot 600 fps will kill a squirel. Go to walmart and just read the box. Make your decision based on the fps and price. You do need to be old enought o buy one though. Hitting the squirrel is the hard part. I aim for the middle of the squirrel. If it hits it anywhere close to the middle or head it will die or atleast fall from the tree, where you can quickly put in a head shot.


----------



## Bo

i would use that 22 mag that is a hell of alot better than a pellet gun, ise a pellet gun only for the reason i live so close to the city. i stress that 22 mag is alllloooottt better. think gunpowder or spring???


----------



## Cleankill47

It's best not to even bother with tables and charts. All it comes down to is what you are comfortable with and how hard it hits. Personally, since I am in Georgia, a .177 will work just fine on rabbits, because here, they are light-bodied little cottontails. I don't think it would work very well on some heavy northern bunnies, though.

I _do_ know that a .22 Mag will work on anything up to about the size of a medium coyote, no matter _where_ you are in the U.S. The distance is the thing that you have to figure out for yourself based on your surroundings. Around me, everything is very close together and hilly, so I don't usually have to take shots past about 25 yards, and I don't sight in anything beyond that. (Actually, I do not have a scope on _any_ of my guns...)

To answer your questions basically, then:

On rabbits, go for a head shot with the .177.

For squirrels with the .177, you can take either the headshot or center of the chest, which is right behind that muscle crease of the front leg.

For .22 magnum with either squirrels or rabbits, always go for the headshot. The .22 mag will take out a lot of meat on a good-sized rabbit, and more than necessary on the already-puny squirrels. Headshots don't ruin any meat, _or_ the hides.


----------



## 85mustang

hunter285 said:


> well im new to hunting small game and was wondering what a good gun would be for hunting squirrel :sniper:


 A .22 rifle would be good for hunting small game like squirrel :sniper:


----------



## gray squirrel

i finly got away from pellet gun I am all over the 17 hmr And the 17 mach2


----------



## squiggerkiller23

i use my break barrel 1200fps pellet gun to take down squirrels all the time. a good placed shot will take them down at 60 yards no problem. i am used to shooting them with my ruger 10/22 with shorts in my yard. but i live up north and sometimes cant get pennetration with the .177 pellet guns on rabbits past 40-50yrds. i would go with a .22 over a pellet fun or even a 410 small cliber shotgun.


----------

