Does anybody on here hunt gray squirrels with an air rifle? My wife gave me an RWS 48 in .22 for Christmas, and much to my dismay, my first squirrel was not harvested cleanly. It took two rounds to the head, two to the chest, and at least one in the hind quarters to put him down. Range was 30 yd give or take, about 50 feet up in the tree, broadside. I was using Crossman 14.3 gr hollow point premiers. I do not have a chrony, but the rifle is advertised to shoot roughly 900 fps. Are these results typical?
I was really dismayed that the shot under the ear did not anchor the squirrel. I could not tell that he reacted at all to the shots through the lungs either. One head shot was a little to far forward, but the one under the ear should have got him. Also, the pellets did not mushroom at all, acting like solids.
Are your rifles sensitive to hold when shot from leaning on the tree? I thought I had tested this at the range and did not notice any differences, but perhaps I did not experiment enough. I was careful to keep my hand between the stock and the tree though and thought that would be enough.
Appreciate any advice.
Last edited by RexM; 01/17/17.
