got out sqwerl'in

[armymedic.2]

went out this am and had a ball. i shot 3 greys, and 1 red. the red got tore up pretty bad, and the grey's had some mighty big holes in em. i have always liked the charge in my rifle around 40 grains of 3f, cause it makes my .36 a multi purpose, with plenty of punch for an occasional yote or something that size. and, every sqwerl i have ever shot with it landed on its face and didn't move. been losing a couple of tasty legs(bruising) mostly. so im wondering, do you guys who shoot 36's find the same thing? how about you .32 guys? is it the caliber or the charge. i mean, even if i shot with 30 grains it would be smokin out there, and my gun doesn't like 20 much/i think it drops too fast. i have a blue ridge, so nice long barrel and im sure it eats up all my powder fully utilizing the charge. i dunno, i guesss im just wondering why my "squerril" rifle, is hitting them more like a deer rifle.

 

[Flint311]

Caliber or charge? Probably both. When I shot my .36 Pedersoli while rabbit hunting, it'd chew 'em up. Now wait for head shots with the .45, not running shots... I know these are light skinned animals, but the rb in a small caliber can be devistating!

 

[jethro224]

I haven't shot any with a .36 (but Roy is workin' on that :grin: ) but a .32 with 20 grains will wreck a squirrels head and not bruise anything that matters. I've only shot 'em in the head and at 25 yards or less. I'd shoot a coyote at close range with that load too.
If you don't mind the mess, a lung shot would probly work as well on the squirrels. There ain't much rib meat on a squirrel anyway. Either caliber is going to make a nasty hole in a small critter.
Where are you hittin' 'em?

 

[armymedic.2]

most shots hit em dead center mass, and a few fo where i tell em to and hit the lungs. it is a big stinkin mess though. i thought maybe i was overcharging because i have seen pictures of peoples squerrils on here, and they didn't look chewed up too bad. maybe they were just posted good side out for the pic. glad to know im not the only one. my buddies look at my squerrils and then me like im sick for using a gun that makes that big a hile, and im thinking, it is a squerril rifle!

 

[Roy]

Just got to pic your shots and pop them in the head.. makes it a lot nicer that way. :v

 

[jethro224]

Here's a pic of the one and only squirrel I ever shot with a .50 GPR (70 grains of 2F, was loaded for deer). It's also the first (and last) one I ever "barked". Don't look bad at all in the pic but, ...let's just say I didn't have to do hardly any guttin'. It was also the only squirrel I ever had to track after it hit the ground. He made it about 15 yards and hid under a log. Was NOT pretty. I'll stick to head shots.

 

[armymedic.2]

i just used to a .22 i guess. never seen such a mess. head shots are nice in theory, but these eyes don't see heads too well over the sight past about 15 yards. seems a shame to stop there when i can hit a sqwerl in the middle out to about 40. :grin:

 

[jethro224]

Ahhh, I don't think yer givin' yerself enough credit armymedic. Just aim the OTHER SIDE of the shoulders or right at the end of the squak (be sure to pick the front end :grin: ). Them heads really ain't much smaller than the middles.

Or, just keep shootin' 'em in the middle. :thumbsup: You ain't losin' much of any meat on a center hit anyway. Sometimes you'll hit a shoulder on a head shot too.

I usually clean 'em where they fall. I carry a cooler bag with ice in it when it's warm out and put 'em right in there. Gives the woods a few minutes to settle down, nobody has to see the icky parts, keeps the fleas and ticks off me, and some lucky critter gets a free meal.

If it's cold out or I'm with a partner I'll carry 'em on a strap.

Whatever way you do it, squirrel huntin' with muzzleloaders is just plain fun! :hatsoff:

 

[Roy]

Whatever way you do it, squirrel huntin' with muzzleloaders is just plain fun! :hatsoff:

I agree :thumbsup: been a while though...

I started cleaning small game before I leave the woods too. Works out better that way.

 

[TDW]

The anemic long tailed "chipmunks" we have here, that people call squirrels, have been under constant attack from my .40! Head shots only with 30 gr. Dupont fffg. Even though it pretty much decapitates them, no usable meat is wasted (I've never warmed up to squirrel brains and eggs :barf: ). Still, all in all, it's a kick. I gotta get to a place with real squirrels, like the reds and grays we used to shoot in Iowa! Maybe I'll call some of my Iowa cousins!!!
TomW

 

[wvbuckbuster]

I understand what your saying. I use a .40 and it is hard on them if not hit it the head or thereabouts! My .40 started out as a cap gun then I wanted to try a flint and it was cheaper for me to have the lock changed than go with a new gun. Well after changing the same load I had been using for squaks (25grs. 3f) wouldn't group as tight. I had to go to 40 grs. 3f to get the same size group. I have seen it said here on the forum before but this is another reason or excuse to own another gun-different cal. Hope to try a .32 in the future. :hmm:

 

[captaincaveman]

I shoot a TVM .36 southern flinter with a 42" Long Hammock barrel and 40 gr 3f at squacks. I would like to drop the charge a bit (40 gr will straight cut a squack in half sometimes) but my rifle don't like any lighter load. On the plus side a groundhog or yote out to about 100 yards is fair game

Josh

 

[petemi]

I hunt small game with my .32 T/C Cherokee. When I first got the rifle quite a few years back, I found it was a tack driver with 50 gr. FFF Goex, a .015 patch and a round ball. I liked the accuracy and started hunting with it. The first opportunity came with a snowshoe hare comng at me at about 15 yards. I shot him in the face and all that was left of his head was a strip of skin and one ear! I immediately reduced the load to 30 gr. and have been happy with that for bunnies and squirrels. For larger varmints, I go back to the 50 gr.

 

[tx50cal]

I am going to take the boy out tomarrow evening for a squirell hunt. I will be using the .32. I hope to smoke a few. I will post the result. :grin:

 

[KyFlintlock]

Congrats on getting out there and laying some down. I should have gotten off my lazy butt more for squirrel this past year.

Wess

 

[juancho]

I shoot them with my pensylvania .45 loaded with 15 grains and I get no mess.Just a nice hole thru. I personaly don't care much for head shots as a .45 ball will stop them in the spot even with a marginal shot. That load is ok for me up to 30 yds or so, but I try to get more like 15 to 20 yds for a shot.

 

[ratgunner]

I made a head shot on one in October as it was faceing me.The ball went through end to end and got guts all over the meat.I was useing a .32 longrifle and 30 grains of 3F,I guess I gotta pick my shots better.Point is it dont matter so much the caliber. :hatsoff:

 

[armymedic.2]

ya, i knocked my load down and it made a big difference. i couldn't go down too much cause the rifle likes it a little hot, but i am getting much less damage now. fun either way, but i always string them to my bag, and it gets messy with big holes

 

[HFD60]

I shoot them with my pensylvania .45 loaded with 15 grains and I get no mess.Just a nice hole thru. I personaly don't care much for head shots as a .45 ball will stop them in the spot even with a marginal shot. That load is ok for me up to 30 yds or so, but I try to get more like 15 to 20 yds for a shot.

JUANCHO...JUST A LITTLE HEADS UP...HERE IN PA YOU CAN ONLY USE A .40 CAL OR SMALLER FOR SMALL GAME

 

[ratgunner]

Yep,gotta watch those regulations. :applause: