Tree Squirrel Rifles

[Taj]

I had a WInchester Model 69 that was very accurate for a non target rifle and it was my go to squirrel rifle for over 20 years until it was stolen along with 10 other long guns in 1986. I really miss that rifle. I haven't really enjoyed squirrel hunting ever since but I'm hoping to get back into it this year now that we can legally hunt squirrels on private land year 'round.

I have a suppressed 10-22 that is minute of squirrel accurate with subsonic ammo out to about 25yds and that's all I need for a squirrel rifle. I'm pretty pumped about it since I'm on a 10,000 acre hunting lease that is mostly pine trees but there enough hardwood creek bottoms to keep me busy.

Winchester model 69's have always been shooters. I have two 69A's that will definitely hold their own.

 

[Old Hickory 45]

I have .22 and .17 squirrel rifles and my .17 rifles are my go-to rifles now. At my age, it's difficult to stalk into good .22 range so my .17 rifles pick up the slack and they are tricked out rifles. They wear silencers which I think is a great benefit. My .17 HMR rifle is retired and my two .17 WSM rifles work great and better for the occasional large varmint I encounter while hunting.
Our squirrel season opens 8/30 this year so to stay sharp and to keep my .17 rifles earning their keep, I have been busting groundhogs.

 

[Marine Evan]

I built a special 10/22, bull Green River barrel, Trigger, custom Hogue Overmolded stock and put a Meuller APV rifle scope. Love it!! I shoot .40 HP CCI Velocitor rounds, sighted it in at 70 yards. I put 10 rounds in a 1" Target dot with it at that range. No, not first attempt, but working at it. Shoots about 3" low at 100 yards.

That is the honest truth. However, too **** heavy a rig for trapsing through the woods with. The hohue stock is too much and the bull barrel too. Also have another 10/22, it has a Varq carbon fiber barrel, light weight stock and a Mueller on it. Haven't tried for best accuracy but still using Velocitors.

 

[6.5x300 WBY]

My Anschutz 22wmr is my go to. Stupid accurate and already has got to work getting rid of the vermin that come too close to the house. Love this little rifle

 

[slick Nick]

The wife and i have springfields suppressed with just outa the box suppressed ammo at 50 you will give rabbits a black eye we were infested from some neighbors turning domestic rabbits loose and they did what rabbits do so we were able to drop 14 in a day and didn't hardly put a damper on em they have eaten about two bales out of our field no not small bales 1/3 ton so we dont like them very much hahaha

 

[FirstBubba]

I grew up hunting squirrels. We used shotguns, though my dad would sometimes shoot his .22LR.
After grampa and dad passed away, I pretty much got away from squirrel hunting. Raising a family, a move into unfamiliar territory and lack of "want to" without grampa or dad around and I pretty much quit hunting them.
I had a lease in a pecan bottom that was FULL of squirrels!
I killed a few, just out of old times sake, but even that didn't last long.

Met a guy at work. He and his son enjoyed squirrel hunting. Pat told me he bought a .17HMR specifically to squirrel hunt with, but soon sold it!
Per Pat, "If you don't head shoot them, there's nothing left to eat! I'm not good enough to head shoot them every time!"

I killed a few with my Ruger Single Six with .22 WMR. Not too bad!

I miss my grandma's squirrel and dumplings!

 

[Critter Picker]

I built a special 10/22, bull Green River barrel, Trigger, custom Hogue Overmolded stock and put a Meuller APV rifle scope. Love it!! I shoot .40 HP CCI Velocitor rounds, sighted it in at 70 yards. I put 10 rounds in a 1" Target dot with it at that range. No, not first attempt, but working at it. Shoots about 3" low at 100 yards.

That is the honest truth. However, too **** heavy a rig for trapsing through the woods with. The hohue stock is too much and the bull barrel too. Also have another 10/22, it has a Varq carbon fiber barrel, light weight stock and a Mueller on it. Haven't tried for best accuracy but still using Velocitors.

My 10-22 has that same barrel, but a Boyd's thumbhole stock. Really likes CCI SV ammo. Also have the Mueller scope. I've taken it to 200 yards. Will be out of elevation at about 300. It's a riot to shoot at those distances.

 

[ObiJohn]

Man, I wish we had a tree squirrel season in Idaho. I'm originally from the Midwest and miss it. Beside I absolutely love old Winchester and Remington .22's. I just finished a project on a model 74 Winchester. They look like two pieces of sewer pipe put together but have a reputation for being very accurate, which this one is. It's a 1941 gun and was a really rough on the outside but had a great piece of walnut on it and a good bore. Cut the barrel to 22", grooved the receiver for scope rings and reblued it. Refinished the stock with a "slacum" oil finish and added an ebony grip cap and forend tip then checkering. View attachment 749688

That is fantastic!

I grew up in the Southeast and squirrel hunting is by far my favorite activity. Montana has a red squirrel season, and Oregon has a season on Western Grey squirrels. I plan to try it out this fall, likely with my Kimber K17 in .17 Mach 2 because I'm assuming the shots will be long.

 

[ObiJohn]

Accuracy and quality are very relative things. You don't need a match winner or benchrest rifle for squirrels. Don't ever shoot a Cooper. A friend let me shoot his. My match winning CZ's aren't that great anymore. Enjoy you Model 60 or whatever and stick with it, be happy.
I shot an Olympic Biathlon rifle once at a training camp. There's a whole other world out there. Stay out of the rabbit hole of excellence.

You say this, but one of the great joys in life is hunting tree squirrels with an extremely accurate .22 rifle. I use Kimbers, my Remington 541-S, and my CZ 455... all shoot around 1/2" at 50 yards with good match target ammo (Eley Tenex, old Fed UltraMatch, RWS R50, Lapua Midas). I got fixated on this after reading an article by Don Lewis in, I believe, the 73 Gun Digest about hunting squirrels in Pennsylvania with target rifles. I would rather spend $1500 for a week hunting squirrels in a national forest in the Southeast than on a deer hunt where you get one shot and then the hunt is over and the work begins.

I've also used my Daystate Pulsar HP .25 PCP rifle, which is honestly a smidge more accurate (smaller groups) than any .22 rifle I own and taken squirrels cleanly out to 60 yards with NSA 33gr HP slugs. Totally quiet... the loudest sound is the smack of the slug hitting the squirrel. I've hunted with friends within 100 yards and they don't hear the shot, only the hit.

Folks, go down that rabbit hole!
:)

 

[Peyton2020]

My Anschutz 22wmr is my go to. Stupid accurate and already has got to work getting rid of the vermin that come too close to the house. Love this little rifle

Good looking rifle. What scope are you using to dispatch the critters?

 

[stovepipe]

Squirrel hunting with a rifle is one of my favorite things to do, KY legalized coyote hunting at night a few years ago and now the groundhog have made a comeback

 

[MKWas]

Wait till the tree is full of squirrels.....then shoot the tree...with a 50 bmg.... pick-up all the squirrels!

I ran into a guy long ago who said he shot squirrels with a 30.06 - he called it barking. Wait for a squirrel to flatten itself against the bark, then shoot the limb it's on below the squirrel. The shock wave kills the squirrel and knocks it off the limb. No bullet holes, internal injuries only. It probably tenderized them too.

I've never tried it, though in Ohio for small game rifle & hand gun calibers are unlimited. I should use the 458 Win Mag just to say I've done it, though I'm concerned about shooting it upward & keeping the bullet within 50 acres.

 

[scooter1954]

I ran into a guy long ago who said he shot squirrels with a 30.06 - he called it barking. Wait for a squirrel to flatten itself against the bark, then shoot the limb it's on below the squirrel.

I remember one of my uncles asking me if I had "barked 'em", after coming in with several squirrels near 50 years ago. At the time, I thought he was pulling my chain. Evidently, he was serious!

 

[Taj]

I've "barked" more than a few squirrels in my day. Usually sitting around deer camp with nothing but a high powered rifle. I had about 50/50 success rate.