Varmint Master

Excellent info and very much appreciated. I am still watching the cliffs and while drive up a fire road with by buddy a couple days ago, we spotted a lone squirrel in the rocks. My next move is to position myself within 17HMR range of the area with the spotting scope and hopefully run across my first colony.

As we all know, here in TX they are considered varmints and their wariness makes them a challenging pursuit. I am still asking for any additional info and/or hunting experiences as I think this type of shooting could be very enjoyable and any info shared would benefit any of us who might like to "bust some squirrels".

Thanks again...

Thank you for the welcome Mr. Stubb...

from me too! I've never seen an animal that seems to know you're after them like a rock squirrel. They can trash a house if they can get in. I'm pretty sure there's a house by Luckenbach that they've run amuck in, but...it's no longer my problem! Many moons ago, Dad got in the attic and shot them between the roof and the ceiling with a .22. Then, he got a bamboo fishing pole and tied treble hooks on the end to retrieve the bodies. He said "Don't touch the hooks! Don't touch the hooks!" (I touched the hooks and pricked my finger. )

You sure that wasn't a pellet attack. Interesting little critters. Have been watching them for years in the Texas Hill country.

Kill all the trashy things you can. Last year I killed 17 here around the house. 4 so far this year. They chewed up some wiring and I declared war on them.

.17HMR would be pretty much perfect for Rock Squirrels. I don't know that you would need a spotting scope, but a decent pair of binoculars would be helpful.

In that setting....I would expect most of your shots to be 'frontal' (after the first shot), so a fairly narrow target. Not unlike Prairie Dogs.

I have shot a variety of .17HMR through my rifle to find out which it liked best (most accurate).

The CCI 'TNT" if your rifle shoots it well....would be devastating on Rock Squirrels.

Any of the bullets will be subject to wind drift so if you have full value wind you might need to compensate a little. At 100 yds...usually not too bad, but beyond that...the little pill gets pushed around easily. I consider mine a 200 yd. rifle for purposes of retained energy, velocity and accuracy...but prefer 125 yds and under.

Hope you find them. Good luck.

Thank you for the welcome Mr. Creekrun!

Excellent analysis of the .17HMR limits and expectations. I have been known to pack the .22-250 if distance is questionable. Thank you for the well wishes and I will post hunting results and pics should I luck into a good "mess" of the varmints. Nice looking rig Mr. Flintknapper ..

That would be one very fine day of shooting!. It is supposed to be near freezing in my area tomorrow morning. I will take a position with the spotting scope and watch the cliffs as the sun rises and begins to warm the rocks. (fingers crossed)!