best .22 for killin' squirrels?

[WarriorMonk]

I've got a plague of ground squirrels, and I'm feeling ready to try using a .22 from about 100 yards away. A friend of mine thought that maybe that was a bit far for a .22 to have enough energy. He said I might need to get a special kind of .22. What I want is a .22 with a very common (and cheap!)ammo, enough range and power, and most importantly, low price! Any ideas?

thanks

[Ed Norman]

My wife likes her Ruger 10-22 and hits them regularly at 125 yards. We use the bulk packs of hollow points, usually Federal and sometimes American Eagle. I like an old Winchester 75 target 22, but it isn't cheap. Our 6 yo DS uses a Chipmink 22 rifle that is tiny and he is good out to 75 yards. She has a Simmons 3-9 scope, he has a Burris, and I use a Weaver target scope.

[pheasantplucker]

I've got a Remington 572 pump .22 with a Simmons scope on it and it is a tack driver. I've never had to be that far from squirrels to nail them...If you creep up on them ,and sit with your back against a tree for 20 minutes, they should start popping out. I've killed majority of squirrels between twenty and forty yards...But to answer your question...I'm certain there's plenty of energy in a .22 at 100 yards. I think my ammo flies at 1250 ft./sec

[hunter63]

How can you even see "ground squirrels" at 100 yds?
Your talking chipmunks and gophers right?

Any properly sighted in w/ proper sights, .22 will do the job.

[Ed Norman]

Around here they are mostly Wyoming ground squirrels. Not tree rats. I mean squirrels. You see them very easily at 100 yards after they have eaten the vegetation down to the dusty ground.

[jross]

The normal weight of a .22 is forty grains and will do the trick in my Mossberg Plinkster bolt with a Simmons 3x9x40 on it.. When I want to do chucks or coyote I use a hollow point thirty grain Wild Cat which hits harder than the 40 grain although wind affects it more.

[Ed Norman]

Shooting these squirrels is a quantity affair. You can easily shoot 1000 rounds in an afternoon. Figure you hit at least 80% or 800 squirrels, then come back in a week and you can't see a difference in the population. Some ranchers buy the ammo for us, that's always nice.

[Jolly]

http://www.clarkcustomguns.com/1022con.htm

Call 'em up and tell Kay Miculek you want a "squirrel special" just like her daddy used to build. They're not cheap, but they'll shoot 100 yard, 5-shot, 1" groups, guaranteed.

Everybody ought to own at least one fine rifle sometime in their lives....

[poorboy]

My vote if you want economy is git a marlin model 25, a good scope and bulkpack federals seem to shot very good..Friend has a thompson center semi-auto that is the berries in his hands, at a little more cost..97 remingtons are sposed to be good.. the 39 marlins also do well..happy shootin'.

[John Carter]

Remington 597 with scope
Marlin 60 with scope and very very cheap. The marlin has been around for 40+ years and you can find them all day long for a little of nothing.
Easy to get parts for and great shooting.
They will eat anything you feed them here is a link to considerhttp://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums...splay.php?f=20

[crafty2002]

I would have to go with the Remington 597 also. It may be because I like the model 700 so good that I bought the 597, (which I no longer own) but if I ever buy another new .22, that is what it will be.
It is hard to beat the rifle. Matter of fact, as far as I am concerned, the only out of the box .22 that will beat it is a Weatherby, but they aren't cheap by no means. And they aren't that much better than a Remington. I would rather spend the money on 3 or 4 remingtons than one Weatherby's.
JMHO
Dennis

[sammyd]

We had a nice Savage bolt action that would peg em pretty good.
Usually killed rabbit and pigeon with it but took the occasional squirrel.

[MWG]

I use this for squirrels in the backyard.... It is good at 1000 yards.

[MWG]

Oh my bad, you said 100 yards...

[sammyd]

I take it you're not saving them for stew.........

[Quint]

My usual squirrel rifle is a Ruger 10/22 in stainless with a 3x9 40 Leupold scope. It's pretty accurate and being stainless with an overmold stock I don't have to worry about weather or scratches and such. If I'm doing long distance shooting with a .22 I drag out my old Remington 513T matchmaster. It is a beast. A heavy barreled match rifle that is astoundingly accurate. It's what my father used in competition. I removed the Redfield peep sights that he used and have a Leupold VX-III 8.5-25x50mm mounted. It weighs a ton so it's not really practical to walk around hunting with it but for sitting in one spot and sniping squirrels or other small game it is deadly. With match grade ammo the groups you can achieve are amazing. I really need to find another 513 or two to have as spares. This one is going to be shot out eventually and need re-barreling.

I'd really like to have a new Remington Model 547. They don't produce many of them and you go through their custom shop to get them but they're beautifully done and so much more attractive than most .22s on the market. For some reason most new bolt action .22s all look crude and slapped together. I'd love to have a matched pair of 547s in .22 and .17 HMR.

[65284]

I use a scoped Remington 700 BDL in 22/250 or my scoped Savage 22 Hornet.

[Blair]

MWG

Can I borrow your "squirrel gun" for some raccoons that hit my poultry last night?

[MWG]

Originally Posted by Blair

MWG

Can I borrow your "squirrel gun" for some raccoons that hit my poultry last night?

This is my raccoon gun. You are more than welcome to borrow it, I hate raccoons.

(You don't even want to see what I hunt deer with...)

[Blair]

I'm drooling!!!! All I'm asking is 1 minute with that and the raccoons! I wouldn't even need a flashlight to light up their eyes!

I'm no longer content with my rifle.