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Dirty thirty .30cal
- Thread starter addison
- Start date
Agreed the kitty got some meow to her. So now is this fried squirrels with biscuits and gravy?
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Do you think .30 cal. is a bit of overkill for squirrels? What distances were you shooting. I have a .25 cal but have been using .22 for squirrels. Most shots are under 100 yards.
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Overkill? Not sure there is such a thang. Lol. But it probably does less damage than a 22lr. But dead is dead.
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I'll agree dead is dead! .30 cal if shot isn't a headshot is makes skinning a squirrel very difficult. Most of the time resulting with loss of meat!! .22 is best choice if saving the meat and less damage to body cavity resulting in smooth skinning process! .30 cal is tons of fun!! I'll be shooting a .25 kailbergun cricket 2 soon! Georgia Airguns informed me that my gun will be there display gun on thier site so that's pretty kool!!
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I know "dead is dead" but I know people who use 300 Weatherby magnums for shooting whitetail deer in my area under 100 yards. I can kill a deer with my woodchuck rifle (.223 or 22 hornet) just as dead and maybe quicker with a well placed shot to the head or neck and a lot less loss of meat. The largest caliber I ever owned for hunting in my area was .243. Therefore magnums for whitetail deer seems like overkill to me and a means for compensating for poor shooting. How much more brush and trees will that 300 magnum plow through with the increased risk of hitting other hunters. Part of the reason I switched to air rifles in the first place. I don't even need my 22LR to kill a squirrel although most people in my area use 12 ga. shotguns.. My air rifle is a lot quieter and cheaper to shoot. If 30 cal is all you got I guess you use what you got. But I still feel a 22 cal air rifle is more than adequate under 100 yards for rabbits or squirrels. I have a 25 cal gun that I would use for much longer shots with slugs and I just bought a 30 cal barrel for my FX Crown but that will be for hunting coyotes.
Sorry, but just sayin it as I see it!
Sorry, but just sayin it as I see it!
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The good old saying is overkill is just about right! I've taken squirrels with my PP700 in .177 caliber and only 700 FPS with 7.3 grain pellet to be exact but by no means I'll suggest that to everyone. Sometimes a quick shot is all you got and might not have the time or the opportunity the squirrel to seat still for the headshot, in these body shot only opportunities I say 25 is a minimum and 30 is a bit overkill but ensures a quick and humane death. Also as far as losing meat goes I see a lot of people only eat the legs so there might not be as much meat lost for the OP. I like to eat as much of it as possible but that's not everyone.
For all the people think the OP should downgrade to smaller caliber(me included), in time the OP most likely will come to the realization on his own that shooting squirrels with 30 is no longer a challenge and down right boring, a 177 laser is far more interesting. BTW, I started with 22 and found it difficult(cheap gun) and went straight to 25 impact, realized it's too dangerous in suburban environment and even with safe backstop it's simply too boring due to it's extreme effectiveness which also caused me to ran out of squirrels. With my 177 guns dialed in I'm checking my trees everyday multiple times a day, and when I do get a squirrel with my lowly 177 low power guns it's super exciting because of the challenge. Yes, I have to be patient and wait for the right moment to shoot but it's part of the thrill from the hunt. With my 25 guns it's not a hunt, it's just extermination! I see squirrel, grab my gun and aim center mass and dead, simple as that. There are time and place for both if you ask me, OP might have many hungry children at home he needs to feed.
For all the people think the OP should downgrade to smaller caliber(me included), in time the OP most likely will come to the realization on his own that shooting squirrels with 30 is no longer a challenge and down right boring, a 177 laser is far more interesting. BTW, I started with 22 and found it difficult(cheap gun) and went straight to 25 impact, realized it's too dangerous in suburban environment and even with safe backstop it's simply too boring due to it's extreme effectiveness which also caused me to ran out of squirrels. With my 177 guns dialed in I'm checking my trees everyday multiple times a day, and when I do get a squirrel with my lowly 177 low power guns it's super exciting because of the challenge. Yes, I have to be patient and wait for the right moment to shoot but it's part of the thrill from the hunt. With my 25 guns it's not a hunt, it's just extermination! I see squirrel, grab my gun and aim center mass and dead, simple as that. There are time and place for both if you ask me, OP might have many hungry children at home he needs to feed.
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Many different view points! I agree with many of the points that you guys have raised and pointed out.
I love squirrel hunting a lot probably more than I should being I have so little time! Here's from three different hunts with .30!
.30 cal allows me to make shots on moving targets very quickly and easily.. headshots would make good scope cam footage.
I love squirrel hunting a lot probably more than I should being I have so little time! Here's from three different hunts with .30!
.30 cal allows me to make shots on moving targets very quickly and easily.. headshots would make good scope cam footage.
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".30 cal allows me to make shots on moving targets very quickly and easily.. headshots would make good scope cam footage."
That's exactly what the guys I know that use .300 magnums for whitetail do. They want to shoot at running deer and hit them in the gut or any part of the body and still put them down eventually. Not very humane or sporting in my book! But to some people being able to drag a deer out of the woods and show off to their friends is all that matters. I think that shooting at a running animal is "desperate"!
"Many different view points!"
Yes, exactly! Those expressed by me are mine. I just put 'food for thought' out there. What others do with it is up to them.
That's exactly what the guys I know that use .300 magnums for whitetail do. They want to shoot at running deer and hit them in the gut or any part of the body and still put them down eventually. Not very humane or sporting in my book! But to some people being able to drag a deer out of the woods and show off to their friends is all that matters. I think that shooting at a running animal is "desperate"!
"Many different view points!"
Yes, exactly! Those expressed by me are mine. I just put 'food for thought' out there. What others do with it is up to them.
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Well every shot is headshot or low neck shoulder hit! But I know not everyone is a good shot and aren't able to fully use the tool for the job properly. If I used a sling shot enough I'm sure that would just as challenging. Regardless at the end of day I'm there to put meat on the ground!
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I with addison on this, don't know how many fpe he is shooting but a subsonic .22 rimfire puts out about 100 fpe and the high velocity .22 RF which most people use puts out around 175 fpe and I have never heard in my life any hunter jumping another hunter for using too much energy for shooting squirrels using the old tried and true .22 RF. Except on air gun forums! Good Grief! I'll bet that are millions more squirrels shot with High Vel .22 RF and Shotguns than there ever has been or ever will be with air rifles!
I might add that I am a big Elmer Keith fan, wonder how many people here even know who he was? Quotes like "use enough gun", "I prefer to hunt before I pull the trigger" are the ideas that I grew up with. As you might guess I'm an old fart not used to all these new fangled guns but they are fun and that's what I hunt squirrels with these days mostly for the challenge. I've killed them with a .177, .20. .22, and .25 so far I think the .25 is the best probably because I don't have a .30 yet but when I do I'm planning on going out and murdering some squirrels with the .30.
And that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!
I might add that I am a big Elmer Keith fan, wonder how many people here even know who he was? Quotes like "use enough gun", "I prefer to hunt before I pull the trigger" are the ideas that I grew up with. As you might guess I'm an old fart not used to all these new fangled guns but they are fun and that's what I hunt squirrels with these days mostly for the challenge. I've killed them with a .177, .20. .22, and .25 so far I think the .25 is the best probably because I don't have a .30 yet but when I do I'm planning on going out and murdering some squirrels with the .30.
And that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!
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On the lighter side... when I completely decapitate a sparrow with my .22 I cannot help but feel like I just hit it with a cinder block.
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DeadOnShot appreciate your concern now please stop interjecting controversial opinions that appear to be jabs. I respect you as air gunner but agree to disagree.
Thank you!
Thank you!
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I have used a .50 cal, muzzleloader that is a flintlock at that just drop the powder charge down to the point where you are just getting minute of squirrel head accuracy at 25 yards go whack some squirrels. Actually it does a pretty good job too!
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WARNING! Guys, comment if you dare but make sure you are telling others what he wants to hear.
I wasn't making jabs or trying to be argumentative but assumed that we are all here to learn from others. We usually don't learn much from people who agree with us or share our views but from those that disagree. Provided, that is, that we are willing to listen and consider opposing views.
Muzzleloader on a squirrel! Now that's my idea of a challenge! Provided it is a clean shot and the animal doesn't suffer unnecessarily. I hate seeing animals running around with their guts hanging out of them.
I wasn't making jabs or trying to be argumentative but assumed that we are all here to learn from others. We usually don't learn much from people who agree with us or share our views but from those that disagree. Provided, that is, that we are willing to listen and consider opposing views.
Muzzleloader on a squirrel! Now that's my idea of a challenge! Provided it is a clean shot and the animal doesn't suffer unnecessarily. I hate seeing animals running around with their guts hanging out of them.
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Why use a .30 On squirrels?
Why drop a JDAM on a mud hut?
Why buy a car with a 400 HP motor?
Because you can is the correct answer.
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My question is, is this a hunting thread or a let’s bitch about what the hunters use thread? I was under the impression that it’s a hunting thread. Me personally, I don’t care what gun caliber or anything else you use. The animal is dead, it didn’t suffer, and the meat get to be eaten if they so choose. If someone shooting a squirrel with a .30 cal bothers you, then skip the thread. Again this is a hunting thread! Not a, let’s let everybody know my opinion thread. He went hunting, he killed a nice amount of squirrels and he posted it on a HUNTING thread. So say good job and move on. Nothing more nothing less.
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For the record... This is a hunting forum and the discussion involved the ethics of hunting responsibly. The topic of the thread was (Dirty thirty .30cal) i.e.- using a 30 cal air rifle for hunting squirrels. That opened the door for this discussion. The topic wasn't 'look at all the squirrels I shot today'.
Responsible hunting means using only the largest caliber needed to reliably kill the game with a well placed shot. (not "because I can" as Chuck-in-Ohio so blazingly claimed) Anything more than that puts others, that may be in the area, at unnecessary risk. Yes, I am sensitive to this because too many times I have been in the woods hunting with bullets from other hunters wizzing past my head.
Responsible hunting means using only the largest caliber needed to reliably kill the game with a well placed shot. (not "because I can" as Chuck-in-Ohio so blazingly claimed) Anything more than that puts others, that may be in the area, at unnecessary risk. Yes, I am sensitive to this because too many times I have been in the woods hunting with bullets from other hunters wizzing past my head.
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