Is it hard for anyone else to kill squirrels with .22 calibre?

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I'm using a Walther .22 Terrus with 18 ish gr JSB exact domes chronoing around 655 avg with an fpe of around 14 at an average distance of 40 FEET head shot or body right behind the shoulder is getting 70% instant death like ZERO nerve movement the other 30 % twitching for around 10 to 15 seconds and I would say about the same for Crosman Premier 14 ish grain hollowpoints which by the way work better on brain shots because of the little bit extra expansion and all the energy staying in and impacting the brain I am finding hollowpoints and their ability t leave the energy in the body and not overpenetrate are better for killing than these sharp pointed hunting pellets that over penetrate.
 
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Other factors...consider what you are more accurate with. I have an FX Wildcat in .22, a MKI. It has a custom Ernest Rowe polished barrel and 9 ounce trigger. I feel I can't miss with it and so far everything has met its maker.

I also have a used .25cal Hatsan BullBoss. But, I wouldn't hunt squirrel with it at this point. At short ranges, 18 yards, the shots may be a quarter of an inch off in any direction. The trigger hasnt been fully adjusted and never will be like the Wildcat's. I got this rig setup for raccoon or even coyote but not the small game like squirrel or chipmunk. 

I know what a 30fpe .22 will do, head shot anything within reason is lights out. I shot at a double walled metal thermos at 15 yards with a 18gr JSB and it went through all four stainless walls and out the other end. 30ft/lbs is alot so 40ft/lbs and a bigger hole would work great but if it won't go exactly where I want it at that scale size noodle I don't want to risk it.
 
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Believe it or not, I used my Diana Outlaw shooting H&N field target trophy 14.66 grain copper coated pellets. I usually use my FX Streamline with 18 grain Airarms pellets. I was dropping ground squirrels, the sound / impact and damage the little pellet did was amazing. I think the 18 grain is great but has to much penetration and pass through. The H&N pellets would explode and cause massive damage. 
 
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LOL!!! 😅😅😅



The squirrels here in Washington are seemingly evil sometimes, too! 😵



Sometimes I almost wonder if theyre genetically engineered or mutants or something? Used to go for head shots only with a springer .177, but now with my .22 springer bodyshots seem to work better. Got one last year with a body shot...1 shot and it dropped like a ROCK, DRT, didn't even twitch! 



Still rocking my Gamo Wildcat Whisper .22, my first .22 break barrel. Previously had a decade of only .177 springers and co2 stuff. Still like my co2 bb pistols, and need more! 😀
 
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I just began hunting squirrels about two months ago and agree with Matt247365's comment. 

1. Brain shots, not headshots. I've had three squirrels drop 8 feet and continue to crawl with headshots. One of the squirrels I shot, I shot between the eyes. He dropped but, was still breathing. I had to place another shot up his neck towards the top of his head. He was still able to crawl one step before dying.

On the other hand I was able to DRT two squirrels with brain shots. They just twitched for a few seconds.

2. I also think body ( heart/lung ) are just as effective if not more due to the bigger target area. Although body shots will destroy a little more meat.


 
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Chest shot with squirrels 95% of the time. They run but die like a deer with a chest shot 100% of the time. Brain shots are how I started...or what I first attempted but I found just a little drift and you end up with a sinus shot or an eyeball shot. When I do take “head” shots now it is at closer ranges and I go for the base of the skull. A little one way and it is a brain shot. The other and it severs the spine.

Also favor a good expanding pellet or slug for the wound channel shock value when my gun will shoot them accurately. Predator Polymags can’t be beat in the pellet world. NSA hollowpoints do the trick if you can get them moving around 800 fps or greater. I’ve anchored many squirrels with a .177 shooting Polymags.

My go-to squirrel rig right now is a .22 RTI Priest shooting 17.5 gr. NSA’s at 900 fps. It hits with a solid THUNK!
 
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Maybe it’s time to upgrade to 25? Even at 680fps it’s a really loud slap sound when it hits, sounds like someone hit it with a bat. The hydro shock alone should of killed them if it’s close. I forgot to re-zero and hit one a little low but it still fell straight down without moving at all. Infact with 25 it seems to me vital shots on squirrels stops them cold better, brain shots will produce a lot of twitch unless the spine is also severed. Had to do follow up shots all the time with the .22 unless it’s dead center in the brain. They are tough little critters. 



good example on this guy, 680fps hades dropped it where it stood with a vital shot. It was very energetic so I had to do a quick vital shot. The sound of the hit is way louder than the gun and no exit wound! Found the pellet right under the skin on the other side, down right perfect amount of energy and penetration. 
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I am having similar experiences. I have a squirrel infestation and after trying humane traps and then conabear traps with no success I was left either poison or shooting as last resorts. I used to shoot bench rest and varmit hunt so I thought I’d get a PCP .22 airgun to clean them out. After all, how hard can this be? Well, not so easy for me, that’s for sure.

I have been trying for heart lung shots. The first poor little guy jumped 6 foot in the air and started thrash around on the ground. Okay I thought, we are all done here, but I’ll put another shot in to finish the business..... but no.... he the ran up the tree and hung out for a while. He then proceeded to come back down and actually fell out. Good l thought it’s all over, but no he just sauntered over to where he was before and started to forage again for food. I couldn’t believe it, this guy was like he was nuclear powered. The next shot finished the business, but even then he ran a fair distance.

The next squirrel I shot with the same tactic, heart & lung and he fell over dead instantly. 

Stikefast’s comments were a good reminder to me. With high velocity projectiles the animal is getting both a hydraulic shock and in most cases absorbing all the energy. With my airgun I’m finding that .22 Hades pellets are passing through, so if the shot placement isn’t hitting vital organs then all I’m doing is making the animal miserable. Airgun shooting is a whole different game and I need to get better at this.
 
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Someone once said E=MC^2 or Energy = mass times velocity squared.



Assuming 10.3 grain .177s, 18.13 grain .22s, 33.95 grain .25s, and 44.75 grain.30s all moving at the same speed of 870fps right before it hits the squirrel (which doesn’t happen in the real world)



.177 = 17.3 ft/lbs

.22. = 30.5 ft/lbs (roughly twice the .177)

.25 = 57.0 ft/lbs (roughly twice the .22)

.30 = 75.2 ft/lbs



A standard .22 LR with a 40-grain bullet moving at 1070 fps gets 101.7 ft/lbs (roughly three times the .22 diabolo). A .22 CCI stinger at around 1600 fps gets 159.9 ft/lbs (roughly five times the .22 diabolo).



A .220 Swift gets close to 2,000 ft/lbs. So that .22 at like 66.6 times the energy of a .22 diabolo has no problems killing squirrels.



“Some” portion of that energy is delivered to the squirrel based on pellet/bullet characteristics. At subsonic 870 fps with a diablo round pellet, think about it as a hole driller. Where you drill the hole is fairly important. A .22LR hollow point like the stinger is going to deliver a lot more energy (hydrostatic shock) than a .22 diablo (5 times more at a minimum). Hole placement is less critical as the shock cavity extends way beyond the bullet diameter.



With that being said, I routinely kill squirrels immediately on my bird feeder at 6 yards with my 10-meter pistol shooting 10.3 gram .177s (5.7 fps) with headshots and Brits do it routinely with sub 12 ft/lb air rifles, so our US 30 ft/lbs .22s are ample with good shot placement.



Your shot placement and mileage may vary.
 
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I've killed a couple hundred reds....mostly with 22 pellets. A shot to the head or neck is what I try for. Maybe only a handful required a follow up shot.
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Not everyone is as good of a shot as you Bob. There isn't any argument that .25 is way more forgiving than .22 even at same amount of energy or lower speed. Lower speed and more mass is better than higher speed and lower mass for less penetration and more energy transfer/dump. I shot squirrels with 22 and I can kinda see the hit, then I shot them with 25 at lower speed and I can see the concussion way through out the entire body. I can only imagine what 30 or 45 would do, it's like hitting them with a bowling ball!



I have zero issue with claiming lack of skill but will make up with mechanical advantages, we have the technology. At the end of the day a humane shot is the end goal whether through precision or blunt force, it's simply ethics. I've botched one too many shot on a squirrel to not wanting to use .22 on them ever again.
 
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I've killed a couple hundred reds....mostly with 22 pellets. A shot to the head or neck is what I try for. Maybe only a handful required a follow up shot.
Click to expand...

+1 to this. My reason is the target zone is greatly expanded. A little high and it is brain pan/stem, a little low it is both lungs. Right on it is spine/shoulders/heart. None of those 3 hits allow the squirrel to suffer. Note, I am shooting ground squirrels, and often times only their shoulder and head is visible. 
 
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