Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics what scope for a 22lr squirrel rifle

I have the Clearidge Ultra RM and like it a lot.

fwiw,
Don't forget the greatest thing to hit squirrel hunting in years... The .17 HMR. Virtually innocuous once past it's ballistic arc carrying no weight to speak of, however, flat, flat, flat and less likely to ricochet especially in 17 grain V-Max form... One guys experience. fwiw & imho again.

Regards, Matt.

I like the 17HMR, but think that the 17HM2 is the best tree squirrel cartridges yet to be offered. It shoots as flat as the 17HMR out to 100+/- yards and, when they were introduced, CCI/Eley ammo was about 60% as expensive as the comparable 17HMR ammo. Sadly, the 17HM2 is a virtual orphan and, at least IMO, not as good since Eley stopped making ammo. I shoot a fair number of fox squirrels in harvested corn fields, sometimes at 100 yards or more, shots that would be much more difficult with a 22 LR.

I have been using a Leupold UL 3-9EFR for lots of years. It shoots bug holes and small critters.

For Squirrel in particular, a Leupold 4x rim fire would be hard to beat.

Jack

That's interesting. I always dismissed the Hummer as a squirrel gun because I thought it would be too destructive. Most of my shots are pretty close, so it still might be a bit much for my use.

Gotta agree with you on the 3-9 EFR as the best general-purpose scope for .22s. Had one on a CZ453 and it was perfect. When I got my Ruger RSI, I decided it would be too large to look right, but I'm beginning to think otherwise. The 4x looks good, but is lacking just a bit in magnification for longer shots with my old eyeballs. The Rugers are a bit problematic regarding scope mounting for good eye relief, so the 6x36 may still be best.

.260,
Could be.. Truth of the matter is that I never got very much experience with the HM2. I bought an Anschutz 1717 for $900 in 2006, mounted a Zeiss 4-14x44 side focus in Talleys, had McMillan make me a 1712 type stock in 75% OD, and the remainder in tan and black swirl, and bought a Gemtech .17 HMR Suppressor. The last step in the evolution is to send it to Masterclass to be pillar bedded and I think I will be done. My only issue is the thin blueing on the barrel, however, I would be more likely to replace it with a stainless Lilja than rublue or coat this barreled action. I love the Gemtech sticker they sent... Quiet varmint control. You'll never know we were here or words to that effect. It has been an expensive .17 HMR, however, it has proven worth every cent. A friend fell in love with it and wanted to build a mate, however, he stopped at $3500... I suppose the jump to $2k for the basic barreled action is a killer. It would have kept me from restocking it and cutting the barrel... I digress.

Regards, Matt Garrett

Pappy,
Nothing buy head shots... Heck the decapitation is part of the fun(I likely just made a watch list somewhere;-). Always heard an old-time story of a shotgun shot squirrel, who was clearly shot with the edge of the pattern, who came back to life in a long dead relatives hunting coat and the little fellow bit the stuffings out him before he could shed said coat...

Now I don't put them in my coat, would be messy, however, I have zero fear of being bitten OR biting down on a piece of shot. Different strokes I suppose.

Regards, Matt.

You must be a much more serious squirrel hunter than I am to spend all that $$ on a squirrel rifle. It sounds like you have more $$ in your rifle than I have in my daily driver!

In all of the years that I've hunted squirrels in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, I've probably encountered, on average, less than one other squirrel hunter per year. The lack of competition contributes to a lack of urgency on my part. My friends who don't embrace the challenge of hunting squirrels laugh at my $556 squirrel outfit:

Marlin 917M2S for $236
Boyds Rimfire Hunter royal/purple laminated stock for $100
Weaver V16, used, for $185
Warne Maxima rings for $35

I, mostly, hunt on private land, so no need for a suppressor.

Next time you see a Mepps spinner with a squirrel tail, the fur on the spinner might have come from a squirrel that I've killed.

EDIT: While they don't pay much, but what little they do pay helps to cover ammo costs. www.mepps.com

A couple of years ago, I decided that there wasn't much upland bird hunting in my future, so I gave my old Filson vest and leggings to my older son, who does quite a bit. Don't have a game pocket in anything else, so I just hang 'em on a string.

I haven't used a shotgun in a while, either as I always considered mammals as rifle material and don't like what it does to them sometimes. Gotta say though, that nearly every time I go squirrel hunting, I encounter opportunities on my way to my "spot" that would be best handled by a scattergun, either for safety reasons or because the little varmints refuse to hold still while the old fool finds them in his scope. I just picked up a really nice old A5 Browning that may get an outing or two this fall after I get some tubes installed.

BTW, every squirrel hunter ought to check out the squirrel hunting videos on You Tube from the Fieldsports Channel, Airheads, and the Airgun Show. Gray squirrels are a huge pest in Britain, our payback to them for starlings, house sparrows, and Piers Morgan.

3-9x40 Nikon EFR dot reticle scope.

I have the Leupold 3-9X EFR on a CZ. Nice scope and great for targets at 50' per A/O on my indoor, garage/shop attic range.

But, if you want a really great one, the Kahles rimfire is about the best I've used. It's on a Cooper .22LR, and is my best squirrel rig. I've shot squirrels out of trees at 50 yds. off hand, and I'm not the best off hand shooter. It's just such a fine set up; this Cooper has a perfect trigger.

DF

Leupold M8 six-power matte finish with AO. Very hard to beat on an accurate .22.




Blessings,

Steve

Yep, 2 great RF scopes that aren't made anymore, Leupold 6x AO and Kahles 2-7x36. I have the RF version (50yd parallax) Kahles 2-7x36 on my Kimber Hunter. I agree DF, it is a very nice hunting RF scope.

Nothing serious about it. A quiet .17 HMR is all sorts of fun. To be honest I had a Cooper 57M before the Anschutz, and while the Cooper was a better looking gun, there is NO comparison on the trigger between the two. Should you doubt this take your 57M and a 1717,1710, or my favorite two stage 1712 out of the stock and look at what is going on. The mechanics behind the feel is incredible. My cooper was fair. Not quite as good as really good old Remington. That said I've come across a few I would like to have just to look at.:)

I love upland game... Bob white are high art in the right environ taken over the right dog in the right warn season grasses under the pines... It turns to technicolor of course when you use the right 28 gauge...(grin) I could live quite happily without another 12 or 20 from now on... I do have a soft spot for the 16 gauge, however, for me on wild birds the 28 gauge with Winchester 1 ounce High Brass 7.5s are quite deadly... I love the 28 dearly... I plan to have CSMC build a scaled 21 Winchester in 28 in the next couple of years. If not sooner... Beavertail though I am not certain or straight or pistol grip... I digress.

I hunt my own land left to me by my Grandfather... I use a suppressor to preserve my hearing and avoid any more tinnitus. It is miserable enough now.

Regards, Matt Garrett.

3-9x40

I don't hunt birds, other than turkeys, and I don't do dogs, cats, or pets of any sort.

???

Reply to Matt in Virginia previous post.

Look at you with your high dollar rig. I paid 55.00 for my Marlin 989m2 in 1976 and I think 39.00 for the 2.5x Bushnell banner scope. Best 94.00 I ever spent. I bet I've shot 2,000 squirrels with it since then plus several hundred each of rabbits, woodchucks, coons, crows, pigeons and bullfrogs. It never jams when kept fairly clean and fed good ammunition and it'll still put 5 bullets on a nickel at 50 yards.

I would have to say a SS6x would be a great choice for a scope, since it's Parallax adjusts form close to far.