Aim point for squirrels?

[Old Timer 48]

For squirrels do you fellows aim center or do you use the 6 o'clock hold?

 

[wattlebuster]

I aim for the head.

 

[kemart17]

Head!!!

 

[necchi]

For squirrels do you fellows aim center or do you use the 6 o'clock hold?

It doesn't matter what your shooting at,,
If your rifle is zeroed for a 6 o`clock hold then use it.
If your rifle is zeroed for a center hold then do that.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Actually, the gun I use the most for squirrels is a 12 o'clock hold....This gives me some "wiggle" room when angle or distance increases....and I aim for the head....

 

[silly goose]

I aim for the head, and my rifles are sighted in for point of impact at the tip of the sight. I don't take manure shots and can't see a squirrel head in the woods far enough for elevation to matter.

 

[hanshi]

Head shots on squirrels are fine as long as you can surely hit them right and not have the ball glance off. I prefer shoulder shots so as to break down the front shoulder and slow them a bit. A heart/lung shot is good but they have been known to maul the hunter before they give out. A big carnivorous squirrel can be hard to stop if the first shot isn't solid. So I recommend breaking the shoulder down as this will give one time enough to reload for the heart/lung shot. :rotf:

 

[Ames]

Head shots for the meat, or bark them for the challenge.

 

[Vaino]

The top of the front blade is centered on the middle of the squirrel's head. Have never shot below the neck and have "grazed" the tops of quite a few heads which is a killing shot. I like 6 pcs of meat from every squirrel, so head shots are only taken......Fred

 

[George]

Does anyone actually set a hunting gun up for a six o'clock hold? Why?

Spence

 

[coloradoclyde]

Have never shot below the neck and have "grazed" the tops of quite a few heads which is a killing shot.

That's why I like using a .45 on squirrels...if you touch it, it dies.....Grazing shots kill.

Now "barking" a squirrel is another matter all together... :td:

 

[Old Timer 48]

Thanks guys for your input.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I used to do a lot of squirrel hunting with a .54 Renegade. I had a 42 gr FFg load (what an empty .45 Colt case holds) and that was dead on at 25 yards without changing my sights from the 90 gr FFg load I used for deer that was zeroed at 100 yards.

I aimed for the eye and sometimes missed and just hit them in the head. ;-)

 

[Vaino]

A few yrs back I was sitting and waiting for a gray to show itself and after 10 mins saw a large fox squirrel on the ground approx. 40 yds away. It finally "stood up" and I held a little above its head and fired. Couldn't see what happened to it so went down for a look. After seeing that it wasn't lying on the leaves, just happened to look into a low lying , hollowed out stump and on the bottom was the squirrel, still breathing. A furrow was evident on the top of its head. Killed it w/ the gun butt and went back to wait for the first squirrel...which I got after a 10 min wait......Fred

 

[rushlake1]

Does anyone actually set a hunting gun up for a six o'clock hold? Why?

Spence

..........................................

I do..... to see the whole squirrel head..due to aging eyesight.also use a low back of breach plug peep.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Does anyone actually set a hunting gun up for a six o'clock hold? Why?

Spence

Only if I shoot at the exact same distance and angle every time....

Otherwise you will shoot low due to an increase in angular distance and trajectory.

The absolute center of an object never changes....

 

[George]

Only if I shoot at the exact same distance and angle every time....

That's why I specified a hunting gun. A six-o'clock hold is only spot on at one distance and for one size target at that distance. You will hit high or low at any other distance. I don't understand how that setup would work in the hunting field. But, I've never tried it, maybe there's something about it I'm figuring wrong....

Spence

 

[coloradoclyde]

Well!...My squirrel feeder is the same distance from the kitchen table every time... :haha:

Beyond that it doesn't work for hunting for me.....

 

[Billnpatti]

I prefer to have my rifles sighted to hold dead center on my target. I take a 6 o'clock sight picture and then move the front sight up to the center of my target and squeeze off my shot.

Now, this is just my take on it so take it for what it is worth. If you set your sights for a 6 o'clock hold on a 4 inch bulls eye so that your POI is dead center , your shot will actually strike 2 inches above where you are holding. If it is a 6 inch bulls eye, your POI will be 3 inches above where you're holding. If you take that rifle to the woods and shoot at a squirrel's head, you stand a good chance of shooting over the squirrel. That's why I prefer to sight in my rifle to hit exactly where I am holding. But, that's just me and others like to do it differently.

 

[Billnpatti]

Well, I guess if you are dealing with really big dangerous squirrels like we have in Texas, since you have only one shot, you could use a larger caliber, shoot him and then fix your bayonet and charge. :rotf: