Squirrel Vs 357 polymag

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Dr. Kralenstein said:
What was the distance? My first one today was 35 yards from the muzzle and a body shot. That was the one where it split the side open.

The 2nd nutter was the one that lost half it's face. I couldn't believe the results. Kinda made me done for the day lol.
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Mines was 33 yards with a 160 fpe shot.
 
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Last one I shot was a chest shot at about 15 feet. Directly overhead. Normally I take headshots, but it was so close, I aimed center mass to avoid a poor shot. Normally squirrels are 25 yards or so at the closest distance. 50fpe, 25gr .218 expanding slug. Basically on par with the hollow fx slugs. Surprisingly no pass thru. But I'm certain it expired on impact. No movement aside falling to the ground. Looked like an explosion had went off inside of it. Very similar to the first .357 kill posted here but with no exit. Squirrels can be very tough critters. I find headshots to generally be the easiest way to get clean kills with smaller calibers.
 
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When I said I shot 10 squirrels with my 32 fpe 22 caliber PCP and they were DRT I didn't mean they took a step or two or moved after the shot. I mean DRT. Head shot squirrels will sometimes flip around some and a few might have done that, I don't keep track of it. But when they are flipping around they are still dead. Nerves are just triggering spastic movement. The one today just slumped and fell. It was just over 30 yards away.

I shot two squirrels with the exact same placement last year. One was with my 32 fpe 22. The other was with a 19 fpe 177. The 177 shot squirrel took a step or two and dropped. The 22 shot squirrel dropped immediately. Placement was behind the near side front leg and out the front of the chest near the other front leg. I don't think the 177 exited but the 22 did. These shots were about 20 yards.

I don't care if you guys want to use 357s on squirrels, I am just pointing out it is more fpe than really necessary. I'm not a fan of low teens fpe or less. I think high teens (like 18-19 fpe) work well out to 30 yards or so. 30-40 fpe work great as far away as you can put the pellet in the right place. More than that might be fun but it isn't really necessary.

With respect to higher energy projectiles not exiting that is due to expansion. I test expansion in wet paper. Metalmags expand at even the low velocity my Prod gives them. They also penetrate less due to the expansion. The greater the expansion, the less the penetration. May be handy if you are worried about hitting something after the projectile passes through. Penetration could be cut in half by significant expansion. That might be good if you are using a 357 on a squirrel but not if you want to eat it.
 
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JimD said:
When I said I shot 10 squirrels with my 32 fpe 22 caliber PCP and they were DRT I didn't mean they took a step or two or moved after the shot. I mean DRT. Head shot squirrels will sometimes flip around some and a few might have done that, I don't keep track of it. But when they are flipping around they are still dead. Nerves are just triggering spastic movement. The one today just slumped and fell. It was just over 30 yards away.

I shot two squirrels with the exact same placement last year. One was with my 32 fpe 22. The other was with a 19 fpe 177. The 177 shot squirrel took a step or two and dropped. The 22 shot squirrel dropped immediately. Placement was behind the near side front leg and out the front of the chest near the other front leg. I don't think the 177 exited but the 22 did. These shots were about 20 yards.

I don't care if you guys want to use 357s on squirrels, I am just pointing out it is more fpe than really necessary. I'm not a fan of low teens fpe or less. I think high teens (like 18-19 fpe) work well out to 30 yards or so. 30-40 fpe work great as far away as you can put the pellet in the right place. More than that might be fun but it isn't really necessary.

With respect to higher energy projectiles not exiting that is due to expansion. I test expansion in wet paper. Metalmags expand at even the low velocity my Prod gives them. They also penetrate less due to the expansion. The greater the expansion, the less the penetration. May be handy if you are worried about hitting something after the projectile passes through. Penetration could be cut in half by significant expansion. That might be good if you are using a 357 on a squirrel but not if you want to eat it.
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Well in all fairness, your squirrels are pretty small lol. Just busting your balls.

I typically have some thrashing or movement from head or vital shots, no matter what caliber or power level. I think this 357 cannon hits so hard it just zaps the nervous system super hard.
 
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This rig is too much for what I need really. My 55 fpe 25 cal works for anything I will airgun hunt/pest with. It was more of an experiment to see if I could get the smaller action to produce good power. It also scratched the big bore itch for me.

Doubt I'll be blasting anymore squirrels with it. Maybe some starlings and sparrows!
 
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Dr. Kralenstein said:
This rig is too much for what I need really. My 55 fpe 25 cal works for anything I will airgun hunt/pest with. It was more of an experiment to see if I could get the smaller action to produce good power. It also scratched the big bore itch for me.

Doubt I'll be blasting anymore squirrels with it. Maybe some starlings and sparrows!
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This definitely seems like more of an ideal sparrow rig
 
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Hold_Over said:
As much as you have shown us quality stills....pink mist and feathers sounds more like a video moment
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I've been looking into a tactacam with the film thru scope mount. Figure it's a bench gun anyways, so why not add even more weight? Although an ATN night vision setup would be great too. If I could ever stay awake for when the bandits show up and sift through my trashcans.
 
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Hold_Over said:
I have tactacam with 3 different mounts. None are the through scope option though. Works decent, got it rigged on my 2240 hpa carbine atm
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Do you have the solo extreme or the 5?

I want something with slow mo playback. No point in having a cannon of a gun if you can't see the wicked energy dump.
 
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Dr. Kralenstein said:
Do you have the solo extreme or the 5?

I want something with slow mo playback. No point in having a cannon of a gun if you can't see the wicked energy dump.
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Nothing fancy on mine, just the base model with 4k video. New enough it has the improved lens angle so you don't look 1000 yards away from the rabbit at 30 yards
 
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Hold_Over said:
Nothing fancy on mine, just the base model with 4k video. New enough it has the improved lens angle so you don't look 1000 yards away from the rabbit at 30 yards
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I tried one of those run cams the air shift guys use. That was similar with the distance issue. I also had a side shot for my phone, but that added too much bulk to the bullpup it was on.

I have a cheap phone mount that goes behind the eye piece but I won't use that either. You basically watch the phone screen from a standard seated position. Feels like a video game or something. Not for me.

Most of the NV scopes on the market just look out of place on a wood stocked rifle. My OCD doesn't tolerate it.
 
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Dr. Kralenstein said:
I tried one of those run cams the air shift guys use. That was similar with the distance issue. I also had a side shot for my phone, but that added too much bulk to the bullpup it was on.

I have a cheap phone mount that goes behind the eye piece but I won't use that either. You basically watch the phone screen from a standard seated position. Feels like a video game or something. Not for me.

Most of the NV scopes on the market just look out of place on a wood stocked rifle. My OCD doesn't tolerate it.
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I bought mine almost exclusively based on the mount that threads into the front stabilizer hole on my recurve
 
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