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Old August 2, 2005, 01:05 PM   #1
7.62
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Squirrel hunting with a handgun .17hmr?

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
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Old August 2, 2005, 01:20 PM   #2
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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!
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Old August 2, 2005, 08:25 PM   #3
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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.
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Old August 2, 2005, 11:54 PM   #4
38splfan
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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)
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Old August 3, 2005, 02:31 AM   #5
jeff_troop
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just picked up this taurus 17hmr on gunbroker. dang you for giving me the fever!!

http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/Vie...?Item=35407798
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Old August 3, 2005, 08:58 AM   #6
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Tell me how you like it. I'm dying to get one.
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Old August 3, 2005, 12:50 PM   #7
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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.
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Old August 4, 2005, 08:44 AM   #8
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Serious overkill for squirrel.
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Old August 17, 2005, 01:43 AM   #9
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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.

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Old August 17, 2005, 06:29 AM   #10
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Pellet Gun? :-) Poor squirrel, that's like using my 22-250 on the little bugger... hahaha oh wait... I did before

Slingshots are fun, buy a blowgun if you really want some sport
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Old August 17, 2005, 08:51 AM   #11
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yup. .17 is too much for squirell.
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Old August 17, 2005, 02:02 PM   #12
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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.

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.
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Old August 22, 2005, 06:08 PM   #13
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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.
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Old August 22, 2005, 09:21 PM   #14
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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)
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Old August 23, 2005, 12:56 PM   #15
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Quote:
If you are not going to eat em, the .17hmr works great
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.
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Old August 23, 2005, 06:01 PM   #16
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Apparently people shoot squirrels because they steal food man provided for birds.
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Old August 29, 2005, 08:17 PM   #17
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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.
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Old August 30, 2005, 11:32 AM   #18
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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.
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Old September 12, 2005, 09:56 PM   #19
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.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.
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Old September 13, 2005, 06:20 PM   #20
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"Apparently people shoot squirrels because they steal food man provided for birds."

Apparently CobrayCommando is not aware that squirrels live wild in the woods.
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Old September 13, 2005, 08:48 PM   #21
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Quote:
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.

That is how I am.


I don't use a .17cal to go squirrel hunting mainly because I don't have the money to buy one.I just use my NEF .410 with a load of number .6 shot and it does the job quite well.Or if I am shooting squirrels on the ground I use my marlin 22lr with a 3x9 scope set at 50yds and aim for the head and it does good too.

Last edited by lil_bro; September 15, 2005 at 08:13 PM.
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Old September 18, 2005, 11:57 AM   #22
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i use a browning buckmark varmit pistol with a 2x7 burris scope love it but also like the savage 17 hmr <makes skinnin easier>
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Old September 19, 2005, 06:46 AM   #23
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Just ordered my Tracker in 6" barell. I've always used my 12 ga. but I'm tired of spittin' out bb's If you ask me I think I'll do less damage w/ a well placed HMR to the ear than a 12 ga. pattern to COM. Therefor easier to skin & better in the Squirrel Pot Pie, mmmmmm Pie
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Old October 16, 2005, 05:16 PM   #24
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go with a 22lr or if you wanna have lots of fun and see them fly 22mag/17hmr. It depends what range i would go with a rifle. if it is long range 17hmr and 22mag or if it is short range 22lr will do fine same with a 22short
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