Oct 24, 2015 4 min read

Squirrel season has been in for a week now and I have seen a high number of these tree dwellers but very little hunting activity.

This is a shame. If there is one small game animal that has held its own as far as numbers are considered it is the squirrel. There are those who hunt squirrel with a shotgun and those that make more of a sporting proposition out of it and try to shoot their limit by doing so at longer ranges with a .22.

Of course, such shooting could also be done by using the various .17 and .20-caliber rifles. The .20-caliber or its other designation the 5mm was introduced long ago and fell flat on its ear, but those souls that own one know just how effective it is at the longer distances.

For a long time ammo for this early high-speed rimfire was all but nonexistent, but today there is a company offering 5mm ammo and it can be found in most sporting goods stores. Of course, since the 5mm is a rimfire it cannot be reloaded and for quite a while a box of 5mm ammo was worth more than the rifles it was chambered for.

The problem as I see it was that the 5mm was ahead of its time.

Another good round for shooting at squirrels over the common 50-yard distance is the .22 rimfire magnum. Todays’ rimfire shooters rave about the .17-caliber rifle and tend to forget the old reliable .22 magnum. I would say this round has been and is chambered by almost every gun manufacturer that makes a rimfire rifle and ammo is easily obtained.

I should correct myself and say it is common when ammo of all kinds is short in supply. It seems that one day the common long rifle ammo is in short supply and the next it is a magnum or .17 caliber. Sometimes I am looking for match ammo and can’t find it. We live in unusual times.

Whatever rimfire the hunter chooses to shoot, one thing that is necessary is accuracy. The squirrel is not a very big animal and when flattened against a tree branch offers very little target.

In most instances, the cheap .22 rifle-scope combo just won’t do it. I know one fellow who uses a Remington Model 37 topped with an old Unertl 15-power target scope when shooting squirrels and he does get his limit.

You needn’t go quite that far.

There are good-shooting .22s that are lighter in weight and cost less. I had the chance of looking at a CZ while visiting Johnson’s Sporting Goods Store and found it to be a nicely built rimfire. While I didn’t buy it, with a decent scope mounted on it, I am sure I could hit a squirrel-sized target at 75 yards.

Ruger has always made a good rimfire and the old Mossbergs are good shooters, The 541 Remingtons were good also but, regardless of rifle, it must be topped by a decent scope and used with accurate ammunition.

Most of the scopes made for big game rifles are parallax free at 150 yards which means there is apparent movement of target in the scope.

The answer to this is either a scope designed for the .22 rimfire or one with an adjustable objective. The problem with the .22 scopes is that most are made in only 4-power. For most uses, this is enough power, but I prefer more for shooting squirrels at longer ranges.

My answer was to find a used Weaver 3×9 power with an adjustable objective. Of course, this particular scope hasn’t been made for some years. But a used variable can be found.

The other necessity is good ammo. Perhaps I should say, good ammo for the particular rifle you are using.

This can only be determined by trial and error. Try various brands of ammo until you find the one that shoots tight groups.

Sometimes it’s match ammo but sometimes it can be high-speed hollow points. My old Remington 513 Sporter likes Winchester high-speed hollow points better than it does the ammo.

You never know until you experiment. Squirrel hunting is fun and trying to bag these little acrobats at 75-plus yards with an accurate rimfire is even more fun and a bit of a challenge.

George H. Block writes a Sunday Outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.