Squirrel caliber?

[Bob McBride]

.32 and .36 with a wee charge is most often used. I’m building a .29. Ought to be a great pea shooter.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Bob, that should be devastating on chipmunks.

 

[Carbon 6]

Using a .45 for squirrels is a meat waster. .45 can,t be reasonably throttled back enough to get below a level where tissue vaporization won.t occur

Sounds like you've never hunted with a 45.
Sorry, but I have to sound the BS alarm.

 

[Carbon 6]

Hey , if all you have in mind is to kill squirrels and not eat them , .45 is ok except for one issue , that being launching a 130 grains of lead off into the air w/o knowing where it will end up.

Don't blame the caliber for your inaccuracy and choice to make skyline shots. If you can't hit the broadside of a barn and like to shoot skyward, use a shotgun.

 

[No Deer]

Have shot woods walks with my .32 flintlock. It was an 18 shot woods walk, and I made it all the way through it without having to swab the barrel. The last 2 or 3 were getting a bit hard to load, but made it through.
Here in Michigan strangely, there is no minimum caliber for muzzle loader riffles for deer, and just off the top of my head, I don't recall any limits on caliber for small game either.

TXFlynHog if you are anywhere near Lansing, contact me. Our club is holding our winter woods walk next Saturday, Jan 9. You are invited to come on out. There will be a lot of different riffles that you can put your hands on and shoot. If you let me know you are coming, I will bring my .32 flint that you can try.

 

[Tim-Ohio]

Sounds like you've never hunted with a 45.
Sorry, but I have to sound the BS alarm.

I'd have to agree, I used to routinely hunt squirrels with a custom slow twist .45 cal. The 18 gr of 3f made an anemic sound but would just drill a nice hole through a squirrel and was dead on out to about 25 yds.

Also experimented with about 25% wheel weight lead in my .32 flinter on squirrels. Seemed to help reduce meat destruction but haven't finalized my results yet.

 

[hanshi]

I love the .32 for squirrels. Most don't realize the power potential of a .32. I've killed squirrels with .45s, and though I do not recommend this, I've killed them with the .58 round ball. Surprisingly, the .58 is not destructive when the shot is placed just right. Hit the shoulder, hindquarters, ribs and you might have mist and floating fur in the wind. Head or neck is the way to go.

 

[Silky921]

.32 and .36 with a wee charge is most often used. I’m building a .29. Ought to be a great pea shooter.

Looking forward to the range report on that one. Briefly had a chance to buy a .29 and really wish I did.

 

[Rudyard]

Well I made a .290 cal the barrel probably meant for squirrels by one G Tyler. Not having squirrels either I made a flint' Baltic bird gun' Though we don't have Baltic birds either . 15 grains C&H 4 F .Never shot much small balls but rather like this Baltic piece, bit fiddly to load but pleasant gun . Rudyard

 

[MIOutdoorsman]

TXFlynHog if you are anywhere near Lansing, contact me. Our club is holding our winter woods walk next Saturday, Jan 9. You are invited to come on out. There will be a lot of different riffles that you can put your hands on and shoot. If you let me know you are coming, I will bring my .32 flint that you can try.

Well this is a generous and kind offer! I live close to Ann Arbor... Need to check with my “CFO” (Chief Family Officer) to see what’s on deck for next weekend. I will definitely let you know if I think I can make it to the Lansing area.

 

[No Deer]

Well this is a generous and kind offer! I live close to Ann Arbor... Need to check with my “CFO” (Chief Family Officer) to see what’s on deck for next weekend. I will definitely let you know if I think I can make it to the Lansing area.

Hope you can make it. Our club is in Laingsburg, about 30 miles north and east of Lansing, about halfway between Lansing and Flint. You can check out our website, listed in my signature. Not very up to date, but the directions and a lot of pic of our club are on it. Let me know if you need directions or have any other questions. Ann Arbor is not that far away.

 

[bud in pa]

Before the powers that be at the PA game commission decided to change the rules, i would shoot squirrels with my 50 cal. Pedersoli Kentucky. I always loaded 70 grains of 3F. The rifle was very accurate with the load and I saw no reason to change it. It was either head shots or rib cage shots. If you hit either the front or rear legs, chopped meat.

 

[Macon Due]

Using a .45 for squirrels is a meat waster. .45 can,t be reasonably throttled back enough to get below a level where tissue vaporization won.t occur. .32 and .36 don.t reach the mass/velocity level to ruin meat. There are two levels at which a .40 can be loaded. The lower level doesn't cause tissue vaporization , the upper one does. Hey , if all you have in mind is to kill squirrels and not eat them , .45 is ok except for one issue , that being launching a 130 grains of lead off into the air w/o knowing where it will end up.

You sound like you read a lot and have a lot of theory.I am talking about practical experience based [ in my case on several years hunting and in my buddy's case on 40 years + ] So when I say that we discovered a .32 or a .36 was just as hard on body shots as a .45 you can believe it. Also I got a good laugh from your 130g. of lead launched into the air comment.I guess a 36 just comes down like a feather huh? A lot of keyboard hunters/shooters even in the muzzle loading world it appears.
Macon

 

[oldwood]

Macon..........Experience??? Started hunting and trapping as a kid because we had no money for kid's stuff. Hunting season's arrival meant fewer Spam suppers. Trap line generated cash to buy scarce ammo. Finally at age 14 got a meaningful job and enough extra cash to begin shooting competition indoor small bore rifle in winter and 16 yd. trap shooting in summer. Any center fire ammo was home brew , including shot gun. All the center fire rifles we had were home made. Had to take a break from gun fun to get an education so I had a marketable skill. After the educational adventure , landed a serious electromechanical engineering career . I hated it , but did it for family and money. Made stocks for a dozen or so center fire deer rifles of different calibers just to reload ammo and experiment with them hunting deer , etc.. Finally , 1970 M/l rebirth hit Pa.. Began scratch building muzzleloader rifles and shooting competition offhand muzzleloader. Also began experimenting with hunting muzzleloaders. From then until now , all small game hunting was done with muzzleloading rifles and shotguns. Quit using shotguns in the late 1990's in favor small bore m/l rifles . The .36 was my favorite for hunting farm squirrels. Again , respected my farming friends and neighbors enough to not shoot larger caliber guns in the air with the possibility of damaging humans ,livestock or property. I no longer hunt farms and hunt out of a camp in the big woods in Pa.. My all time favorite rifle these days is a .40. It's an ugly walnut stocked , iron mounted repurposed trigger guard/butt plate Cheat River Preston Co. W.Va. rifle. First game ever harvested w/it was an unlucky grouse on the ground. Shot the head off the bird @ maybe 10 yds. Forgot to mention the 150+ m/l guns I built and restored since 1970. And yes , I read a lot , but it's all pre 1850 American frontier history mostly first and second hand accounts of real folks experience on the Appalachian frontier. Somewhere in the 1980's just decided to try and separate fact from fiction on most of the mythical BS floating around these days pertaining to modern m/l experience. And Macon..didn't mean to offend you and hope you're Forum experience is positive. Never be afraid to ask yourself "What the heck was that? I was once told , in an engineering meeting in Holland, "you Americans ask too many questions." I replied , Well gee Adolf , that's what keeps us free , especially , if it generates the truth............Luck to ya Macon..............oldwood

 

[hanshi]

I started hunting well over 60 years ago. When I got into muzzleloaders I yearned for a .32 or .36 for small game. When I finally found myself with a little "pea shooter" I went to work on bushytails. Time and time again I found a hit in the mid-body of a squirrel did the same (minor damage) as hits from my .22LR, no damage, just an in & out hole. Head shots/neck shots, just as good. The .32 was always loaded with 30 grains of 3F, so it wasn't a powderpuff load. With the .36 I used the same load but soon reduced it to 20 grains. I found the .36 might benefit from slightly more attention being paid on ball placement. I have yet to use my .40 on any game.

 

[oldwood]

Early 1960's we hunted squirrels relentlessly . In late season , w/open woods and snow , making long shots w/.22 unmentionables , had to shoot a couple big fox squirrels multiple times to make up for bad first hits. How they hung on to high thin limbs shot through like that always amazed me. I can say using my .36 , and now .40 haven't had that problem using m/l for squirrel...........oldwood

 

[Boomerang]

I still use my .54 for everything. That's what's nice about black powder. The load is fully adjustable for the type of game your hunting.

 

[user 49399]

Hey Boomerang! Nice rifle and looks like nice shooting! What load did you use for those squirrels?

Thanks

 

[Percy]

Hi Boomerang, Nice job on those squirrels. Makes me want to get in the woods and look for a few. Nice rifle, what is the sight mounted on the tang. Looks like something I might want to try on my .54 to get those clean head shots.
Percy

 

[410-er]

I have a TC Cherokee in 32 and a TC Seneca in 36.The 36 is more turkey,yote,etc caliber.The 32 is perfect for squirrel,pheasant,rabbit,etc.
DSCF2166 by t410er, on Flickr
DSCF2122 by t410er, on Flickr