Tree squirrel pass through concern?

[walter3rd]

Should I be concerned with pass through on tree squirrels at 25 yards with my rws 48 -22 cal? The 48 seems very powerful and wondering if the skull or chest would stop the 18 gr. Pellet or at least slow it down to a non concerning speed. Wondering about the background safety issue. Thoughts? 

 

[c_m_shooter]

Yes they will pass through. You should be concerned about the backstop on the chance you would miss anyway. I know internet marksmen are perfect and never miss....

 

[plinker]

I shoot a Wildcat .22, 18’s and have pass through to ‘infinity and beyond’. If the pellet didn’t deflect( very visible on my slow-mo videos) I would try for a double! But alas, there is no control over the exit path and I’ve only seen squirrels hugging twice. 

 

[walter3rd]

That was what I thought. Thanks 

 

[Killshot714]

If your really concerned about where ur pellets go after..what I did was bait, away from..and put my bait where i had all my wood stacked or where there was no concern for pass through..doesn't always work but I positioned my self where those were my only shots anyways..

 

[blackdiesel]

There's a video of a guy shooting a squirrel with a modified QB PCP with 17 fpe (less than the D48), and the angle is perfect that you can see the flight of the pellet and it striking the squirrel's head and continue into infinity with hardly and direction change. 

 

[Arch_E]

I typically don't get pass through the Squirrel's head or body when I kill them at 20-25 yards with my .177 springer.



Arch_E

 

[intenseaty22]

If I don’t have a reliable backstop, I don’t take the shot. That could be the ground, a tree, a 2x6 behind some nuts, etc. Even with my HW30 at ~6fpe. 

 

[elh0102]

Oh yeah, definitely pass through. Most of the squirrels I shoot in the yard are 20-35 yards, using a 30 fpe .22 usually. Never had a pellet stop in the critter. 

 

[intenseaty22]

Another thought is to try pellets like the Polymags and Hades. Less likely to pass through, good stopping power. I have never had one of these pass through on a squirrel. However, you should still have a good backstop, as noted before, if you miss, it’s a complete pass through no matter what.