Hunting Small game with a .22 pistol

[Brasscatcher84]

Has anyone hunted small game with a .22 pistol before? I never have, but I'm thinking about giving it a try, and I'd like to know a little about it.

Is it best to use a revolver or a semi auto?

Does a longer barrel help?

At what distance should I take a shot?

Any other info you deem appropriate would be appreciated as well.

[mete]

Squirrel hunting with a 22 is a fun challenge .Either revolver or auto will work. Good sights , not that dumb plastic glow sight and good trigger is all that's necessary. Whatever distance you can hit at is OK !
Longer barrels usually help.
Practice with animal crackers at 50' or 22 metallic silhouette.
The nicest I've used was my friends 8" K-22 after I did a proper trigger job.

[tynimiller]

Reminds me of my quests to get a squirrel or rabbit with a bow and arrow....challenging as **** but an awesome experience. I'd say practice a ton, and longer the barrel I'd think the better. Depends how advanced you want to get but you could put a scope on it sight that puppy in and bam it'll pretty much do what a .22 rifle does just without distant accuracy of a rifle.

If I were going to do this I'd prolly just practice a ton and try to keep shots at 20yards or under...depending on game this could be challenging.

[shortwave]

Any other info you deem appropriate would be appreciated.

Safety! Safety! Safety!


Common sense tells us hunting squirrels would sometimes mean shooting up in tree's.

That said, please remember two things:

1. a .22 is one of the most dangerous rds. to hunt with due to the fact it will ricochet off of the smallest twig,rock,water,etc.

2. a 22lr can have the distance of up to a mile.

I've posted here on TFL before that I live in the middle of a deep woods. The squirrel hunting around here is phenominal which in turn brings alot of hunters close by during season that aren't real familiar with the area and many don't know this house is here.

I and my guest deer hunting here have literally been shot clear out of our deer hunting tree stands by squirrel hunters using 22's.

As I sit here typing this, I can look over and if I could see behind the top of the couch here in the living room, I would see a 22 projectile still lodged in the wood paneled wall. A present delivered through a living room window during a prior squirrel season.

Please,

make sure of your backstop

know where the house's are in the area your going to hunt

remember how far a 22 can travel and its ricochetting characteristics

[MOshooter65202]

Yes I have done a lot of squirrel and rabbit hunting with a 22 handgun,it's a challenge specially those little grey squirrels.Started out when I was 11-12 years old?? my parents bought(x-mas) my first

handgun a H&R 999 Sportsman 22 revolver,two of my cousins also were given 22 revolvers that year for x-mas...Small game wasn't safe for miles

Now 35-36 years later I still enjoy small game hunting with a 22 handgun,these days I really enjoy hunting with my Ruger mkII slab side 22 pistol..

Give it a try I am sure you will enjoy small game handgunning.

[Brasscatcher84]

So, Shortwave, you're saying I SHOULDN'T shoot toward other people or randomly in the air while I'm hunting? Well, doggone, I'll have to remember that.

[rickyrick]

^^^^^^LOL

[twobit]

Some of my fondest hunting memories are of hunting jackrabbits as a teenager in the early 1970's with my semi-auto Browning Medalist .22 target pistol. That pistol is so accurate that....well any misses were NOT the pistol's fault! If I could get a rest for the pistol against a tree or post I could hit them at 75 yards all day long. I still own it, and it is by far the most accurate pistol I have ever had.

[Scorch]

Rabbit hunting with a 22LR pistol is fun. I used to hunt them with a Diamondback .22LR revolver and a Ruger 22LR semiauto pistol. Either way, it is a challenge making head shots. And yes, longer barrels help because of the increased sight radius.

Something to think about: about a year ago I shot a friend's 22 semiauto pistol with a Bushnell red dot scope on it, and I am reconsidering scopes on handguns because of it.

[Pahoo]

I never have, but I'm thinking about giving it a try, and I'd like to know a little about it.

I hunt squirrels in the early part of the season and rabbits in the snow. It's enjoyable and challenging. I use either my 10" MK-II with RedDot or one of my 10" Contenders with a 2X scope. The longer barrel you is better but the shorter ones are even more of a challenge. .....

At what distance should I take a shot?

Your woods will dictate what you have to work with but I usually stalk and walk and keep my shots under 30YDS. Love to make them bark and sneak them.

make sure of your backstop

Great advice and I take the time to get current on any changes where I hunt. I have a valley that I hunt and keep the houses behind me that are on one side of this valley. Sure is tempting when a squirrel get between my and the houses. Get to know your woods and hazards. I usually field dress my squirrels back at the truck, wash my hands with water that I take. Learn the Cherokee method of cleaning squirrels. ..

Oh yes, have fun and;
Be Safe !!!

[Old Grump]

Thousands of rabbits with a H&R 922 revolver, hundreds of squirrels & pigeons with my S&W M41. Nothing like it to keep your shooting eye sharp and make you pay attention to your trigger control. Unlike shooting on a range you never know what angle or what position you are going to be shooting from and no standard distance. It will make a better hunter out of you and a better shot with any handgun in case you ever need it for serious social work.

[JackL]

A Ruger MkII Government Target Model was my default squirrel gun for several years, and it worked remarkably well. Hunting with a handgun is (IMHO) more of a challenge than hunting with a rifle, but is definitely doable.

If I were going to do the same thing today, I'd probably go with one of the Browning Buckmark variants, but really any decent .22LR handgun will do. Revolver vs. auto ... eh, whichever you like better. The only caveat I'd offer is that longer barrels are preferable to shorter ones because a longer sight radius makes practical accuracy easier to achieve.

[shortwave]

So, Shortwave, your saying I SHOULDN'T shoot towards other people or randomly in the air while I'm hunting? Well, doggone, I'll have to remember that.

Brasscatcher84,


My sincere apologies to you if thats ALL you took out of my post....

...also, given the facts that I don't know you or how much, if any, hunting/shooting experience you have of any kind as you didn't elaborate on these things in your opening post other than saying you have never hunted with a 22 pistol before and the fact that every year while I'm camo'ed out, up in my tree bow hunting, someone squirrel hunting with a 22 slings a projectile up through the trees towards me, just thought it was worth mentioning.

Again, my apologies.

[Brasscatcher84]

Shortwave, it's common courtesy to assume that the person you're talking to about hunting is competent about hunter's safety unless they come to you with a question about hunter's safety. Otherwise, you're talking down to them and insulting their intelligence.

I'm terribly sorry you hunt in an area that is shared with other hunters. A great many hunters are rednecks, and rednecks revel in stupidity as though it were some great cultural achievement. That's why I avoid public land like the plague.

[shortwave]

Again, I'm sorry thats all you took from my post.

Its common courtesy to assume...

I'll assume you know what is said about assuming.

Any other info you deem appropriate would be appreciated.

Apparently not.

Maybe you should have left that part of the your post out or better yet, worded that part differently so as not to get offended by someone taking the time to respond to you in which you turn around and get smug with.

Discussing the possible range of a 22 and its ricochet characteristics, IMO, would seem to be classified as 'other info' when hunting with a 22.

This is all private land and its usually people coming from the city doing the trespassing and ignorant hunting, not the local 'rednecks'.

So we don't tie up your thread with all this waisted bandwidth. Please PM me if you want to discuss this further.

[Clifford L. Hughes]

Brasscatcher:

Hunting with a 22 pistol is a challenge. I agree that shooting up in the air is dangerous and should not be done. When I was stationed at 29-Palms Marine base I hunted jack rabbits with a Ruger Single Six revolver. It was a real challenge hitting them on the run. However, most were taken while they were sitting. Most were shot under twenty-five yards.

Semper Fi.

Gunnery sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired

[Pahoo]

ASSUME ? .... Nothing !!!
BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT? .... Hardly Ever !!!
PATIENCE? A whole bunch !!!

I am a hunter safety instructor and have seen many adults that haven't a clue about the different aspects of safe gun handling or the safety elements of different types of hunting. We are all on a learning curve in this great adventure of shooting sports. You read many posts in here about folks trying to learn more about a paricular type of hunting. I have only hunted hogs once in my life but please don't ASSUME I know what I'm doing. .....

Gees, doesn't anyone want to know about the Cherokee method of skinning squirrels?? ...

As always;
Be Safe !!!

[highvel]

I've hunted squirrels with my Buckmark Silhouette .22 with a 2-6x scope, it's almost cheating out to 50 yards!
Loads of fun.

[Pahoo]

Brasscatcher84
So glad you asked !!! .....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dekM...eature=related


Be Safe !!!

[jimbob86]

I have used my Ruger .22/45 to take cottontails..... more challenging than a shotgun, for sure!

At what distance should I take a shot?

At whatever distance you can reliably make a killing shot.

Rabbits are not hard to kill: I've taken quite a few with a pellet gun. A hit to the head or chest with a .22 hollow point is invariably immediately fatal..... though a rabbit's chest is pretty small, compared to it's belly, and a belly hit will not kill it anytime soon...... certainly not soon enough to recover it.

Pointers? Practice.

Stalk slowly, keeping your eyes open for movement. Don't panic if you spook one-pretend you did not see him, and he may pause offering you a shot. If he does run out of sight, keep stalking him, as he won't go far and will want to return to the area you spooked him from.

[Crazy Carl]

Thanks, Pahoo!

That's very similar to how I learned to skin 'em, but the rest is a big improvement over how I learned.

Can't wait to get some good squirrel huntin' in, this fall.

[BIG P]

Yes, Do some every year I like to use both auto & Rev. Both of mine are Rugers the one I use the most is a 9.5 single six with interchangable cylinder to 22mag.armadillas, coons,rabbits for the most part but have taken a few coyotes & pigs also.the long barrel seems to be alot easer to make good hits with Also makes a good boat gun in Gator season.pratice a bunch helps alot I use golf balls & shotgun shells @ 50' to start chase them from there. small game hunting is a BLAST with 22hand gun. good luck

[jrothWA]

Rohm 4" revolver or my Dad's Woodsman, for small game.
Talk about sharpening your skills.

Now use a M17 6" or Contender 10".
My hunting partner used an old H&R 999, was deadly accurate for him

For squirrels, I noticed that an overcast drizzly day was better forseeing more and scoring more. For early season, locate hickory trees [normally the first tree in Ohio & Michigan to turn color against the still green others] still hunt slowly and softly and use your ears to locate the mews of the gray or sharp bark of the fox.

Enjoy!

[shortwave]

Pahoo,

Looks like Sarge knows his onions when it comes to cleaning tree rats. Thanks for sharing vid.



I wish we had the black squirrels here in Ohio like they have in Michigan.

Saw one in my brothers front yard that was as big as a house cat.

[treg]

Been doin' it for nearly 25 years and I'm looking forward to our squirrel season in a month minus a day. Small game tastes better when you use a pistol.

I highly recommend a Ruger or Browning autoloader with a 5 1/2" or so barrel and adjustable sights. Whichever feels best in your hand, you can't go wrong.

Finding the HP ammo that your gun likes best is also very important. .22's can be picky about what they like. You have to bench test them to find the one that your gun will shoot most accurately, then the rest is up to you.