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New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
#7999293
10/05/20 09:07 PM
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Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 2
TexasHunterFisher49
OP
Green Horn
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OP
Green Horn
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 2 |
What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel? Is the .410 caliber a better choice for squirrel than 12 gauge? Thanks!
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#7999521
10/05/20 11:28 PM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 15,708
603Country
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 15,708 |
I always used 6’s or 7 1/2s in my 12 gauge. I think I used 6’s in my 410. Using a 410 will force you to be a better stalker/hunter.
Not my monkeys, not my circus...
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#7999531
10/05/20 11:33 PM
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Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 553
AMF
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 553 |
If you've got the patience to pick out all those pellets, I'd say 6 or 7,1/2s. I use a glassed 22.
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#7999776
10/06/20 02:46 AM
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 12,200
ntxtrapper
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What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel? Is the .410 caliber a better choice for squirrel than 12 gauge? Thanks! .410 #6 full choke is my choice when I'm in the mood for shot gunning them.
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#8000235
10/06/20 04:08 PM
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Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,687
SherpaPhil
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Pro Tracker
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Posts: 1,687 |
I find anything smaller than #6 leaves more pellets in them and they're harder to find.
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#8000325
10/06/20 05:42 PM
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Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 733
jseago
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Tracker
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 733 |
4s or 6s
I have some 5s that are ideal
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#8000335
10/06/20 05:50 PM
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Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 228
pine knott
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 228 |
6 or 71/2 . You will appreciate the 12 ga. if your in tall timber.
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#8000812
10/07/20 01:19 AM
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Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 15
Keller
Light Foot
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Light Foot
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 15 |
I like #4, and have even used #2, less pellets in the meat, and sometimes the bigger shot will pass all the way through. I prefer a .22, though, but some areas you can't rifle hunt.
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#8000820
10/07/20 01:28 AM
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 4,243
Erny
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
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Posts: 4,243 |
I use #6 or #4 depending on the time of year. But what I really enjoy is using my 22.
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#8000864
10/07/20 02:01 AM
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 4,684
CitySlickerHunter
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
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Posts: 4,684 |
No. 8's for me in 12 ga. The BB's USUALLY stay in the skin, not the meat
"I can't be over gunned because the animal can't be over dead"-Elmer Keith 10/30/2012 I VOTED for The American
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#8003704
10/09/20 01:20 PM
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Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 3,415
JimBridger
Veteran Tracker
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Posts: 3,415 |
I use #4 or #5 shot in both a 12gauge and .410.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Edmund Burke
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#8006494
10/12/20 01:52 AM
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Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 42
anacacho
Light Foot
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Light Foot
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 42 |
I have had the best results using a 12 gauge, with full choke, and #6 shells--especially during the early season when there are still leaves on the trees.
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#8024522
10/26/20 07:26 PM
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 900
freeonfreak
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 900 |
What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel? Is the .410 caliber a better choice for squirrel than 12 gauge? Thanks! I use #6 with an IC Choke. Good up to 50 foot oak tree. It doesn't damage the meat. Sometimes they hang on for a minute then i hear the thump when they hit the ground.
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#8038093
11/04/20 10:05 PM
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,522
Reloder28
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,522 |
Remington Pheasant Loads - #5's
[b][/b]
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: JimBridger]
#8039820
11/06/20 12:03 AM
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Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 19,275
Biscuit
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 19,275 |
I use #4 or #5 shot in both a 12gauge and .410.
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#8053109
11/17/20 02:00 AM
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Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 3,728
10 Gauge
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 3,728 |
Sorry I am late to the thread. I love squirrel hunting, and it is about the only hunting I do. I normally use a mossberg 835 with full choke. I prefer #4’s. A full choke and pretty much any load of #4’s that patterns well will knock the biggest fox squirrel out of the tallest pine. My personal favorite is Remington Express XLR, #4 shot. I also like Federal Heavy Game Loads, #4 shot, and they are a little cheaper and slightly more common.
If you are sensitive to recoil Remington’s one ounce game loads, #6, are great shells too and they are dirt cheap. I have killed a lot of squirrels with them and my youngest boy killed his first squirrel with them. Fine for grey squirrels but they lack the terminal performance on big fox squirrels high in pines.
Since I moved to Missouri I have been limited to steel loads on conservation areas near my home. No larger than #4 steel during gun deer season. Pretty much any high velocity waterfowl shell you can find cheap will work. I have killed greys out to a little over 50 yards with just some old federal speed shock #4’s 2 3/4”.
Lead should outperform steel but I have had no problem using the cheap high velocity steel in #4 and #2. Winchester xperts and federal speed shocks.
Last edited by Bryan C. Heimann; 11/17/20 02:01 AM.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-14
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: TexasHunterFisher49]
#8054782
11/18/20 01:17 PM
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Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 3,728
10 Gauge
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 3,728 |
I forgot to add, at close range try to edge them with the pattern or get a shot with the head peeking around the tree. Full choke up close they might look fine but insides will be mush if you center the pattern. Especially with a full choke
1 Thessalonians 4:11-14
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Re: New to hunting. What is the best 12 gauge round for squirrel?
[Re: 10 Gauge]
#8069978
11/30/20 04:51 PM
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Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 1
TRC3
Green Horn
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Green Horn
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 1 |
I forgot to add, at close range try to edge them with the pattern or get a shot with the head peeking around the tree. Full choke up close they might look fine but insides will be mush if you center the pattern. Especially with a full choke I just got back from my first hunt ever. 12guage full choke. I took 4 squirrel with #6. The last 2 in a row were a little farther, maybe 20 -30 yards. Both ended up not being a quick kill. They fell out of the tree, but I had to finish them with a blow to the base of the head. I switched to #4, unfortunately the next squirrel was closer, less than 10yards, I hit center pattern right in the arm/chest. It was an instant kill but it was also a mess. I should have aimed in front of the head. I was at Caddo National Grasslands WMA at Coffee Mill Lake.
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