.22 rifle

Originally Posted By: tincanI picked up a Henry a couple of years ago for squirrel hunting.
Great little lever gun. You can hunt with this gun all day and forget you are carrying it. Nice and light weight, and it is a good shooter.
But,, if you are looking for a squirrel rifle, take a look at the 17hm2"s. IMO, the absolute best squirrel round out there.

That said I was using an Anschutz 1517 MPR with an 8-32x Elite 4200, one afternoon I got 28 squirrels from 50 to 125yds without a miss or lost squirrel, they were all right there where they were hit.

I've been using a CZ Varmint with a Nikon 6-18x Buckmasters here at my house and there are a lot of hit squirrels making it back to their holes. I haven't figured out if it's bad hits or other squirrels dragging them into holes. I had verified and taken a picture of one and two hours later it had been moved. Also the breeze drifts the HM2 more than the HMR. I lose a fair number of hit squirrels.

I have been making hits out to 125yds, but the HMR is way more for sure, it eviscerates them.
 
Originally Posted By: woodguruOriginally Posted By: tincanI picked up a Henry a couple of years ago for squirrel hunting.
Great little lever gun. You can hunt with this gun all day and forget you are carrying it. Nice and light weight, and it is a good shooter.
But,, if you are looking for a squirrel rifle, take a look at the 17hm2"s. IMO, the absolute best squirrel round out there.

That said I was using an Anschutz 1517 MPR with an 8-32x Elite 4200, one afternoon I got 28 squirrels from 50 to 125yds without a miss or lost squirrel, they were all right there where they were hit.

I've been using a CZ Varmint with a Nikon 6-18x Buckmasters here at my house and there are a lot of hit squirrels making it back to their holes. I haven't figured out if it's bad hits or other squirrels dragging them into holes. I had verified and taken a picture of one and two hours later it had been moved. Also the breeze drifts the HM2 more than the HMR. I lose a fair number of hit squirrels.

I have been making hits out to 125yds, but the HMR is way more for sure, it eviscerates them.

If you are losing a "fair number of hit squirrels", maybe a little more range time is in order.
Also, the wind drift thing is not true. All rounds are affected by wind, some more than others. I keep hearing statements that the 17 is affected by wind more than the 22, but if you look at the ballistic tables the 17's fare fairly well. The speed of the bullet allows less time for the wind to drift it too far.
17hmr, way to much for squirrels if you are a sportsman looking to take the game home. I have hit squirrels with my HMR and what is left is a gooey mess, even the head shots. I will keep my HMR for raccoons and varmints.
 
Originally Posted By: tincanOriginally Posted By: woodguruOriginally Posted By: tincanI picked up a Henry a couple of years ago for squirrel hunting.
Great little lever gun. You can hunt with this gun all day and forget you are carrying it. Nice and light weight, and it is a good shooter.
But,, if you are looking for a squirrel rifle, take a look at the 17hm2"s. IMO, the absolute best squirrel round out there.

That said I was using an Anschutz 1517 MPR with an 8-32x Elite 4200, one afternoon I got 28 squirrels from 50 to 125yds without a miss or lost squirrel, they were all right there where they were hit.

I've been using a CZ Varmint with a Nikon 6-18x Buckmasters here at my house and there are a lot of hit squirrels making it back to their holes. I haven't figured out if it's bad hits or other squirrels dragging them into holes. I had verified and taken a picture of one and two hours later it had been moved. Also the breeze drifts the HM2 more than the HMR. I lose a fair number of hit squirrels.

I have been making hits out to 125yds, but the HMR is way more for sure, it eviscerates them.

If you are losing a "fair number of hit squirrels", maybe a little more range time is in order.
Also, the wind drift thing is not true. All rounds are affected by wind, some more than others. I keep hearing statements that the 17 is affected by wind more than the 22, but if you look at the ballistic tables the 17's fare fairly well. The speed of the bullet allows less time for the wind to drift it too far.
17hmr, way to much for squirrels if you are a sportsman looking to take the game home. I have hit squirrels with my HMR and what is left is a gooey mess, even the head shots. I will keep my HMR for raccoons and varmints.

Misunderstanding there, I'm shooting ground squirrels that I don't care about the meat on, I use a .22 for tree squirrels and go for head shots.

Range time, that HM2 is good for under half inch groups at 50, 3/4 at 100. When I do my drift check shots the groups are tight just drifted according to how much wind is coming across. I've had shots that there are innards on the rocks and they still crawl to their holes.

Like I did say, I'm wondering about other squirrels dragging dead ones into the holes, it's happening too much.

HMR is 100% DRT

I've shot levees on ground squirrels where I used a .22-250 and a .243, both heavy barreled Sako Varmint rifles with 6-24x scopes at out to 500 yards. The Delta always seemed to have a light to stiff breeze, when the .22-250 was drifting over four or five inches I'd switch to the .243. I understand no rifle has none, some are just less susceptible than others.

I have had people say that they think other squirrels are dragging them off.
 
The Savage MKII is okay, but if you have the money by all means get something a little better. CZ and Ruger are pretty good, a little pricy but people love them... I've witnessed that firsthand.
 
Originally Posted By: woodguruOriginally Posted By: tincanOriginally Posted By: woodguruOriginally Posted By: tincanI picked up a Henry a couple of years ago for squirrel hunting.
Great little lever gun. You can hunt with this gun all day and forget you are carrying it. Nice and light weight, and it is a good shooter.
But,, if you are looking for a squirrel rifle, take a look at the 17hm2"s. IMO, the absolute best squirrel round out there.

That said I was using an Anschutz 1517 MPR with an 8-32x Elite 4200, one afternoon I got 28 squirrels from 50 to 125yds without a miss or lost squirrel, they were all right there where they were hit.

I've been using a CZ Varmint with a Nikon 6-18x Buckmasters here at my house and there are a lot of hit squirrels making it back to their holes. I haven't figured out if it's bad hits or other squirrels dragging them into holes. I had verified and taken a picture of one and two hours later it had been moved. Also the breeze drifts the HM2 more than the HMR. I lose a fair number of hit squirrels.

I have been making hits out to 125yds, but the HMR is way more for sure, it eviscerates them.

If you are losing a "fair number of hit squirrels", maybe a little more range time is in order.
Also, the wind drift thing is not true. All rounds are affected by wind, some more than others. I keep hearing statements that the 17 is affected by wind more than the 22, but if you look at the ballistic tables the 17's fare fairly well. The speed of the bullet allows less time for the wind to drift it too far.
17hmr, way to much for squirrels if you are a sportsman looking to take the game home. I have hit squirrels with my HMR and what is left is a gooey mess, even the head shots. I will keep my HMR for raccoons and varmints.

Misunderstanding there, I'm shooting ground squirrels that I don't care about the meat on, I use a .22 for tree squirrels and go for head shots.

Range time, that HM2 is good for under half inch groups at 50, 3/4 at 100. When I do my drift check shots the groups are tight just drifted according to how much wind is coming across. I've had shots that there are innards on the rocks and they still crawl to their holes.

Like I did say, I'm wondering about other squirrels dragging dead ones into the holes, it's happening too much.

HMR is 100% DRT

I've shot levees on ground squirrels where I used a .22-250 and a .243, both heavy barreled Sako Varmint rifles with 6-24x scopes at out to 500 yards. The Delta always seemed to have a light to stiff breeze, when the .22-250 was drifting over four or five inches I'd switch to the .243. I understand no rifle has none, some are just less susceptible than others.

I have had people say that they think other squirrels are dragging them off.


In that case, blast away
smile.gif
Wish we had that kind of shooting around here. A few gophers and plenty of feral cats.
Lot's of woodchucks, but they are protected here for some reason.
 
Did you see the pics I posted of the rocks where they live to the side of the house?

The only problem I've noticed so far is that they catch on quick and won't stand on top of the rocks once the first ten or twelve are knocked off.

I was thinking of building some sort of tree house platform so I can see them on the ground and sticking their heads out of holes.

My wife isn't 100% behind that one.
 
Originally Posted By: tincan
Woodguru Do you have a link to your pictures?

It's in this section small game hunting down 7 or so as "squirrel shooter's heaven"
 
Look for an old Remington 541-S bolt sporter. The action and trigger are same as the old 540-X target rifle. The trigger is as close to perfection as you are likely to find. The chamber is a match-spec chamber, which is smaller in diameter and depth, and engraves the bullet into the rifling upon closing the bolt.
Accuracy is competition-grade and the trigger is a dream, and it weighs around 5 lbs. or so. Mine is sheer delight to hunt with.

Oh, and the Browning/Winchester 52B Sporter repro made 20 years ago also fits the above description, but at about a pound heavier.
Either will make you fall in love with it.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Snowshoe HunterI bought a CZ455 American. Beautiful wood and metal. Put Millet rings with a Zeiss 3x9 Conquest on it. I'm waiting on a thousand rounds of Wolf Match Extreme Ammo to arrive to sight it in. The Cooper I was going to buy would take 6 months to a year to get.


Congrats on your purchase! I have only one CZ, a 30-06 550FS, I love it!...Let us know how it performs, I'm sure it will make you happy, mine did!...I too considered the Cooper, but couldn't take the wait....I ended up buying a Kimber Classic Hunter...not flashy, but has very nice wood and flat finish on the metal, I wanted a gun that was above average, but wasn't a museum piece!...I used Leupold mounts and a Swift scope I had that I took off an air rifle..shoots well and has taken rats, squirrels, and some other pests better left undisclosed!.....
 
Originally Posted By: Colorado PeteLook for an old Remington 541-S bolt sporter. The action and trigger are same as the old 540-X target rifle. The trigger is as close to perfection as you are likely to find. The chamber is a match-spec chamber, which is smaller in diameter and depth, and engraves the bullet into the rifling upon closing the bolt.
Accuracy is competition-grade and the trigger is a dream, and it weighs around 5 lbs. or so. Mine is sheer delight to hunt with.

Oh, and the Browning/Winchester 52B Sporter repro made 20 years ago also fits the above description, but at about a pound heavier.
Either will make you fall in love with it.

I've had the original 541, liked it so I got a 541-S and loved that, and then built an all out one hole grouping bench rest monster with a 1 inch custom barrel from a 541-S. That said the Remington 504 is made every bit as good if not better. I had a 504 in .22, one in HM2, an HMR, and both of the all out heavy barreled target 504-T models in .22 and .17 HMR.

I would recommend a 504 .22 to anyone who wants the all out high end feel and build quality on a comparative budget, not that they are cheap at about $500 or so. They have outstanding triggers and a great quality rifle feel.
 
Check out Kidd guns. His custom 10/22 is very hard to beat. If you like to tinker, get a 10/22 and shoot it, then decide what to tinker with. Trigger job is easy with drop in parts, usually all they need.
 
Back
Top