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20 ga on squirrel?
- Thread starter 4570tc
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peter hawbaker
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I have killed squirrels out to about 30 yards with my 32" .62 with no choke. I use Ballistic Products 20 guage shot cups that come with no slits, and slit them 2/3 of the way down. I use #6 shot. The last squirrel I shot with it was an estimated 30 yards, way up in a hickory tree. At the shot, there was so much sticks and leaves falling, I was unsure if I got the squirrel, but I did. It was evident that the pattern was quite large, from the amount of debris blown out of the tree. The squirrel was hit by two pellets, so 30 yards was probably pushing it a bit. Without using shot cups I would not shoot at a squirrel much past 20 yards with my barrel.
Good question, I recently took a wood pidgeon with my 58 naval enfield (smooth barrel) and 1oz of English 5s that was somewhere around 27-30yds up a tree quartering away from me.
These birds are big and not like little doves.
With just three or four OS cards between the powder and shot (powder was 60grnish) it came down with such authority but at first I thought I had just broke a wing but by the time the dog got to it it had died. By the blood some shot had made the lungs.
Squirrels are tougher and somewhat smaller so I would stick under 30yds but that is a respectable distance all the same. :thumbsup:
Brits.
These birds are big and not like little doves.
With just three or four OS cards between the powder and shot (powder was 60grnish) it came down with such authority but at first I thought I had just broke a wing but by the time the dog got to it it had died. By the blood some shot had made the lungs.
Squirrels are tougher and somewhat smaller so I would stick under 30yds but that is a respectable distance all the same. :thumbsup:
Brits.
I fashion my small game shot loads after this individual's recommendations:4570tc said:
http://members.aye.net/~bspen/SmoothboreLoads.html
Here are a couple of examples with GM smoothbore barrels, cylinder bore / no shot cup:
GM .62cal(.20ga) #4s, no shot cup, 25 yards
GM .54cal(.28ga) #5s, no shot cup, 30 yards
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Get within 30 yards. Be ready to have to shoot again. These were killed with 70gr.2fg lubed cushion wads 1-1/8oz of No.5 shot
Leatherbark, It's a good thing you had those keys jingleing of your belt loop or you might have kilt every squirrel in the woods! :rotf: Looks like you had a great hunt Congrats.
paulvallandigham
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I think you would want to limit your shots to no more than 75 feet( 25 yds.). 60 feet( 20 yds.) is more like it. Sometimes you simply have to wait for a squirrel to come down out of the high branches in an Old OAK Tree, or a Walnut, or Beech tree, to get them in range of your shotgun. But, then, isn't patience the core characteristic of Squirrel hunting?
You want a load that will put #6 or #5 shot in a 20 inch circle at 25 yards that insures hits on the body the size of squirrels. The Weight of the pellet is the key to pellet energy, altho at these short distances( under 30 yards) you don't lose a lot of energy or velocity from the MUZZLE. You can kill a squirrel with a centered pattern of #7 1/2 or #8 shot, but I recommend using #6 shot as a minimum, particular when shooting at a squirrel more than 25 yards from you. For all squirrels, #5 shot speaks with authority and carries a lot more energy to the game animal. The Shot tends to penetrate completely through the squirrel, so you don't have to " fish" for spent pellets in the meat. :thumbsup:
You want a load that will put #6 or #5 shot in a 20 inch circle at 25 yards that insures hits on the body the size of squirrels. The Weight of the pellet is the key to pellet energy, altho at these short distances( under 30 yards) you don't lose a lot of energy or velocity from the MUZZLE. You can kill a squirrel with a centered pattern of #7 1/2 or #8 shot, but I recommend using #6 shot as a minimum, particular when shooting at a squirrel more than 25 yards from you. For all squirrels, #5 shot speaks with authority and carries a lot more energy to the game animal. The Shot tends to penetrate completely through the squirrel, so you don't have to " fish" for spent pellets in the meat. :thumbsup:
In all honesty I only got 6 of these squirrels, My younger partner got the other 5 but all were shot with the same fowler (Jackie Brown).........We ran out of shot and borrowed several 12 ga shells off another hunter to cut open for the shot.
Plus several if not half needed another shot to get them to drop out of the tall oaks..........But we never lost one...........Reliably 20 to 25 yards if you aim well............We had to stalk out most of them to get within shooting range with both of us taking turns while I was coaching him.
Plus we caught an old farmer gone on vacation and his son let us hunt on a ridge that has'nt been hunted in decades!
Plus several if not half needed another shot to get them to drop out of the tall oaks..........But we never lost one...........Reliably 20 to 25 yards if you aim well............We had to stalk out most of them to get within shooting range with both of us taking turns while I was coaching him.
Plus we caught an old farmer gone on vacation and his son let us hunt on a ridge that has'nt been hunted in decades!
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