Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Bucket'o Golden Bullets For $89.00!

348, I had one of those, and it is missing on my work bench.. Handy, but I bet you could get one made much cheaper..

I've been using the Remmy golden bullet hp in my Rem 121 ground squirrel getter, with great success. They shoot quite well for a plated bullet and the terminal effects are impressive. These are relatively new production - probably in the last 5 years.

348, I had one of those, and it is missing on my work bench.. Handy, but I bet you could get one made much cheaper..

So, pardon my ignorance but I never laid eyes on a western ground squirrel, or a gopher or prairie dog for that matter. Are they that much harder to kill than a regular old gray squirrel, such that one needs something hotter than a standard velocity .22LR to kill them cleanly?

I shot prairie dogs for the first time this summer, so I'm definitely no expert, but...

I had a ball shooting them from 100 - 135 yards with my .22 lr. It didn't blow-them-up like the other rifles, but killed them none the less. I was shooting the 42 grain Win. sub-sonic.

Ground squirrels in Idaho are small and not hard to kill. Expanding bullets are desired in my experience as solids tend to go on through and not anchor the critter where he stands. Expanding ammo seems to benefit from higher velocities to help with the expansion. Ranges are long and it's often (always) windy where I live, so higher velocities are an aid to more effective shooting. I use a 221 fireball quite a bit for the longer range targets and the rimfire for closer. Maybe out to 80-100 yards for the rimfire and out to 250-300 for the centerfire. Hits are not guaranteed, at least by me.

Academy has the 325 packs of Federal Automatch for $18.99 with free shipping over $25. For plinking they are what I shoot 75% of the time with no issues in an old Hi Standard pistol, Rem 597, 10/22 and various bolt guns.

That's a great deal. That's what I'd be buying and not wasting my hard earned money on the other crap...

gnoahhhh, having shot thousands of gr. squirrels and a few tree squirrels. The ground sq. will dive in to a hole.. The holes are everywhere.. Even though you may have made a killing shot, they get away.. I for one, don't like animals I have shot escaping into a hole to die later.. I never use solids on these guys, p. dogs are even worse because they are bigger.... Auto Match is used for water bottles, cans, rocks, maybe starlings, nothing else.. It is accurate, but doesn't kill fast enough for me.. Each to his own..

Wyo, I've had the same experiences with ground squirrels, but I've also watched as their buddies came out and drug their lifeless bodies back in the hole- presumably to dine on at a later time?
For that reason, I stay on a hole until I'm pretty sure I've gotten as many as possible from that hidy spot and I use Power Points as they really smack them good. Sometimes we end up with a pretty good pile in front of a single hole.....

Bob

Gnoahhh: I have shot just a few Tree Squirrels in my time and the ranges were in the 50 to 90 feet range.
I have shot Ground Squirrels with 22 L.R. ammo at 600 feet (200 yards) on several occasions!
Now mind you I don't ever recall hitting a Ground Squirrel at 600 feet with my 22's on the first shot but it would be much easier to do using "Hyper-Velocity" 22 offerings than with "standard velocity" ammo!
Its not the increased lethality I seek when buying faster 22 L.R. ammo - its the flatter trajectory and straighter path through the winds.
My average shot on Ground Squirrels with my 22 L.R. Rifles is probably 75 yards (225 feet).
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy