Light loaded FMJ for squirrels?

[laserflat]

Try "barking" them.

Thread: Have you ever "barked" a squirrel?



Try shooting the tree right beside the head.

Say justgoto, what kind of rifle/cartridge is that in your pic?

 

[Wilderness Blacktail]

Kinda curious if you ever tried it. I know it's a really old thread lol.
Anyways I've worked up reduced loads for the 22-250 that ran 1400 or so with a 55 fmj, they hit 1" low at 25yds.
Thays the hard part, getting a squirrel load the has a usable POI when still sighted for ur regular load.

 

[hunterbob]

We did that before with 30 cal. rifles ,,,,We had too, where we were,, since we was out of supplies....Barking a squirrel off a tree with a 308 is not easy,,, Red squirrels too. We had a couple packages of rice to mix with it...The next day we just hupped it for 4 to 6 hours, back to cars...lol .....

 

[B23]

Gotta be careful with FMJ bullets, particularly when shooting at relatively flat angles, they ricochet big time!

 

[RT2506]

Illegal to use FMJ in TN so never tried it. Did try using a 45 cal muzzle loader with 40 grs FFG black powder with a patched round ball which was as low as I could go on the charge to get acceptable accuracy. Shot one in the front portion of the head broadside. Squirrel went spinning through the air down through the woods. When I found it the ball had entered the head between the eye and end of nose but it tore the offside of the squirrel to pieces all the way to the back leg. I tried barking two with this rifle but all it did was put them in high gear getting away. I did kill a few while deer hunting in NC with a 357 Mag. 10" barrel TC Contender pistol using very light loaded 158 gr lead round nose bullets shooting 25 yards or less downward for safety out of a elevated shooting house. Found out that shooting them through the ribs worked very good and did not rip them up.

 

[wv270wsm]

I use trailboss and a very soft home poured lead bullet from my 222. It's right at the speed of the 22 mag but reloadable. I got the mold from mid south and it throws about a 53 gr flat pointed bullet into dime sized groups at 50 yards

 

[MachV]

Put a blackout barrel on if you hope to keep it semi auto. Fmj shooting upwards is a bad idea and general bad idea anyway!

 

[hunterbob]

If I loaded a 223 FMJ with a light charge of powder, would it still blow the heck out of squirrels? Has any one tried this? Is there anything I could do to hunt squirrels with my AR?
They taste great and I want the meat.

Thanks
Ryan

So why don't you go ahead and tell us, but we already know , you're not a hunter, : Are You?

 

[hunterbob]

If I loaded a 223 FMJ with a light charge of powder, would it still blow the heck out of squirrels? Has any one tried this? Is there anything I could do to hunt squirrels with my AR?
They taste great and I want the meat.

Thanks
Ryan

There is such thing as learning to hunt from a good mentor, and what if i told you the word , Hunter. What is a hunter ? My definition is we hold ourselves responsible for making a clean shot, making sure that the animal is taken humanly and fairly. The hunter has immense respect for nature and thoroughly enjoys watching and being in the woods and fields. A hunter is someone that passes on their good traits to younger generations, so that the tradition of hunting your own food is passed down,and respect for his quarry. He always takes the correct caliber or shotgun to dispatch his game. He doesn't use a hi power rifle for a rabbit or squirrel or marvel at the destruction of the animal. Ethics means a lot when you are a hunter, and along with it goes integrity.

 

[manitou]

Put a blackout barrel on if you hope to keep it semi auto. Fmj shooting upwards is a bad idea and general bad idea anyway!

Finally, somebody hit on this. How safe is it to be shooting a centerfire up in the air? If the intent is to ground shoot them, my apologies.