What makes a good squirrel rifle ?

[Spencer_Murphy]

I want to get a a squirrel rifle, I want it to be flintlock cause I want it to be a challenge to time the delayed ignition compared to percussion with the quick moving squirrels. That being said where do I start ? I see the main two calibers are .32 and .36 . I see percussion rifles turn up in .22-.31 caliber but I want to get a flintlock so they wont do it for me. I also see options are limited. To my knowledge Thompson Center only made .32 and .36 in Percussion barrels. Hopkins & Allen, Traditions and CVA also only made .32 and .36 cal percussion rifles to my knowledge. I have found that there are a few custom flintlocks floating around on the auction sights and Kibler makes the SMR in .32 and .36. I also found that DGW had a .32 cal flint Tenn Mountain Rifle but im sure they are a needle in a haystack these days. Pedersoli also makes .32 cal flintlocks but I havent heard good things about them. That brings me to my next two questions.

What custom builders or manufacturers still make a .32 and .36 flintlock besides kibler and pedersoli ?

Is it better to have a long barrel say 36"+ or a shorter barrel of say 20"- 32" ?

If anyone is looking to sell a flintlock in either .32 , .36 or a smaller caliber PM me.
If anyone has any knowledge of custom builders and manufacturers besides what is mentioned above who make small game rifles please share what you know... it helps a lot I have been scouring the internet for about 5 weeks now and I figured I should put a post here to see what others know that I havent found yet. Thanks for all replies and for any knowledge shared.

 

[Coolhand]

I have a Pedersoli Frontier in .32. It is a decent rifle, sights needed replaced first thing though. I now mostly shoot a my Kibler in .40, if I had it to do over, I would have just got the Kibler. Much better of the two, and not much more price wise.

Another fun pice to hunt the bushy tails with is a smoothbore!

 

[Silky921]

I'm in the 36 camp, but I don't think for chasing squirrel that you could go wrong with either. I will say, when it's winter and those fingers are cold, it's hard to handle, and those 32s are even smaller.

Would really consider a Kibler SMR for a squirrel gun if you'd be able to assemble it.

A Pedersoli is a very good place to start but they're costing alot more these days.

Also, go with the flintlock. Way more fun. If you tune that lock right, that ignition delay is going to be very minimal.

 

[3262]

I bought a Tvm .32 southern rifle a few years back and love it. Use is for rabbits and prairie dogs and would highly recommend it.

 

[tenngun]

A .36 is for my short fat fingers easier to load then .32. There is no better then the other. You don’t buy range with a tiny bit bigger.
I owned a senaca with a 26” and it was far more accurate then I could hold. That said a 42” barrel is a lot easier to sight in the tall timber. Even though your shooting close by.
Now I use a smoothie.

 

[TDM]

What @tenngun said. Long barrel .36

 

[FishDFly]

I want to get a a squirrel rifle, I want it to be flintlock cause I want it to be a challenge to time the delayed ignition compared to percussion with the quick moving squirrels. That being said where do I start ? I see the main two calibers are .32 and .36 . I see percussion rifles turn up in .22-.31 caliber but I want to get a flintlock so they wont do it for me. I also see options are limited. To my knowledge Thompson Center only made .32 and .36 in Percussion barrels. Hopkins & Allen, Traditions and CVA also only made .32 and .36 cal percussion rifles to my knowledge. I have found that there are a few custom flintlocks floating around on the auction sights and Kibler makes the SMR in .32 and .36. I also found that DGW had a .32 cal flint Tenn Mountain Rifle but im sure they are a needle in a haystack these days. Pedersoli also makes .32 cal flintlocks but I havent heard good things about them. That brings me to my next two questions.

What custom builders or manufacturers still make a .32 and .36 flintlock besides kibler and pedersoli ?

Is it better to have a long barrel say 36"+ or a shorter barrel of say 20"- 32" ?

If anyone is looking to sell a flintlock in either .32 , .36 or a smaller caliber PM me.
If anyone has any knowledge of custom builders and manufacturers besides what is mentioned above who make small game rifles please share what you know... it helps a lot I have been scouring the internet for about 5 weeks now and I figured I should put a post here to see what others know that I havent found yet. Thanks for all replies and for any knowledge shared.

What is your budget?

 

[oldwood]

I like a throttled back .40 cal. for squirrels. Loaded down , it's accurate and doesn't vaporize excess tissue. Loaded up , coyotes , groundhogs , foxes can fall to it's power. Very accurate , reliable caliber. The .40 cal. flint longrifle , I am blessed with , has a 3/4 " octagon straight barrel 38" long. Rifle is copied from an old walnut stocked , iron mounted Pittsburgh made gun. I'm going to put a cobbled up tang mounted peep sight on the gun. My eyes can't see the sights and targets w/o peep. Have use a .36 cal. before the .40 , but prefer the.40 cal. , due to it's versatility. The.36 tended to fall short on power for larger critters , while it was good for squirrels...........oldwood

 

[earlwb]

I used my .40 cal smoothbore for squirrels. It works great as a .410 shotgun equivalent. But it is a percussion gun. Maybe a flintlock shotgun is the way to go. It might be easier to find.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

The only correct answer is an 8 gauge side by side percussion shotgun.

Load each barrel up with about 3 ounces of #6 shot and let both off at once towards the squirrel.

Nothing like 1/3 lbs of lead to show Rocky “what for”!

 

[Art Caputo]

The bulk of my squirrel hunting is late season(cold/snow), with the opportunity for coyote. Like others, I use a 40 cal, agreeing to the easier loading and greater flexibility. Most all my squirrels are shot at under 25 yards, with the 40 cal being accurate enough for head shots at this distance. My rifle is a TVM/Southern Rifle(M. Avance). Fast ignition and reliable, I also like the weight and balance of a longer barrel. Note attachment ;Misspell- TVM, not TVA)

 

[Brokennock]

want it to be flintlock cause I want it to be a challenge to time the delayed ignition compared to percussion

With a little practice and technique, the difference isn't that dramatic. At least not with a well made gun using a quality lock.

Does your state have caliber restrictions for small game? If not, maybe get a .45 and use it for deer and squirrels. Otherwise I'd opt for a .36 for the loading reasons mentioned above, just easier to grab and manipulate the slightly larger ball. Also it allows for a thicker ramrod.
Keep your eyes tuned on the Track of The Wolf website for guns that come up for sale there.
Is a kit an option for you? If so there is the Kibler SMR, a fee models from Sitting Fox and from TVM.
TVM also makes decent completed rifles. I have heard good things about Sitting Fox kits,,, but not about there completed guns.
Also watch the classifieds both here and on the ALR forum.

 

[Grimord]

I have both a .32 & a .36 flint lock guns that I use for squirrel hunting. My state has restrictions as to caliber (no larger than .36 with PRB only) for small game. Both guns have 40"+ barrels which I find better for sighting in on a squirrels head. I recently sold a CVA percussion .32 which had a 25" barrel because the short sight radius was not as accurate for me.
As said, keep an eye of the TOW site for a gun, or if your budget allows consider a Kibler or other custom gun maker. Check out the Contemporary Long rifle Association for gun makers.

 

[lbothell]

With a little practice and technique, the difference isn't that dramatic. At least not with a well made gun using a quality lock.

Does your state have caliber restrictions for small game? If not, maybe get a .45 and use it for deer and squirrels. Otherwise I'd opt for a .36 for the loading reasons mentioned above, just easier to grab and manipulate the slightly larger ball. Also it allows for a thicker ramrod.
Keep your eyes tuned on the Track of The Wolf website for guns that come up for sale there.
Is a kit an option for you? If so there is the Kibler SMR, a fee models from Sitting Fox and from TVM.
TVM also makes decent completed rifles. I have heard good things about Sitting Fox kits,,, but not about there completed guns.
Also watch the classifieds both here and on the ALR forum.

I agree! Find out your states restrictions. I live in PA and they don’t want you using anything above a 40cal for small game or at least the last time I checked. Before I realized this i shot a pile of squirrels with a loaded down 45 and it was great! I actually think i loaded to about 20 to 25 grains, this was a sweet gun to hunt with for squirrels. After I realized my mistake I got a 40 used it a little but then got a trade gun and fell in love with that challenge too.. But now I am looking at the world of the .32s again my first gun was a .32 and I sold it, it wasn’t a good one but I sure loved the caliber. Give Dixon muzzleloading shop a call they are in PA he has tons of used flintlocks and at times will have 32 and or 36. Great people to work with wish I lived closer again bc I was probably in that store twice a month when I lived out there hahah

 

[Ed Pilkington]

Spencer_Murphy Fellow Pilgrim, i used Big bore .50 for forty Years. Finally decided to ease my shoulder so converted the .50 percussion to 19 gauge Flint smoothbore. Love at first trigger pull. The ball tore through anything this side of a grizzly with less sharp push. Pattern was super at 30 yards. Now recently i have wanted to have more eatable squirrel meat so I contacted Kim Kibler and chose after thought and prayer a .40 SMR. Super easy build. Accurate as all get out and the Kibler swamped barrel feels more balanced than my little Savage .22 automatic…Shudder!! Just right for the rodents head and good for the walk up deer. I’m a pretty healthy 84 year old and this is all i will ever need or want. (Kibler is amazing)

 

[Kentuckyjed]

Has anyone ever barked a squirrel with a .62 caliber?

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I hope you're not disappointed with the ignition speed of a well-tuned flint gun. Just as fast as any caplock. Use a good lock and barrel as well as set triggers.
I have had a .29 by H. House and a .32 I built for my self many years ago. They were incredibly fast and accurate rifles. I'll be making another .32 this winter with a 44"swamped barrel.

 

[reddogge]

I built a dedicated .32 squirrel rifle years ago. They are very sweet shooting rifles. It has a Ron Griffie barrel, Griffie walnut stock wood, but I forget who made the lock.

 

[hanshi]

IMHO a dedicated squirrel rifle needs to be no larger than a .36. I killed squirrels with both the .32 and .36. Barking them? If you can hit a small limb certainly you should be able to hit the head-neck area. But some hunters can do just that and I'm not one of them. I've used the .32 the most but the .36 has some advantages. It (and the .32 probably) not only can handle small game but coon & fox size ones too. It will kill deer and has done so. With full power loads it can handle anything up to about coyote size - but a .40 is better for coyotes. But if, OTOH, an all around rifle is preferred the largest "minimum" legal caliber should work. Generally this would mean a .40 or .45 in most states.

 

[alcessapiens]

The hardest part of finding a good squirrel rifle is getting one scaled to the squirrel. They’re little tiny critters and can’t manage a heavy gun. And flintlocks are too likely to set their fur on fire. I’ve never tried teaching my squirrels to shoot, they seem happy enough bitching and chittering at me from the trees.