Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Small Game 2021 Squirrel Season

Started off poorly so far for me here in my part of Alabama. After seeing a few zooming around in the treetops cutting acorns like they were on speed I stumbled across this one sitting still late this afternoon and put an RWS Subsonic through the chest. It was a nearly straight up shot and I had intended on the head but forgot to hold high and the bullet went into the chest so it was instant death either way.

Nice start!

Helping pap set up and move a couple tree stands tomorrow but will be hunting squirrels first thing. Will report back tomorrow! That’s a beautiful rifle!

Nice Rifle, Good shot, good stuff!

Got this one this afternoon with the Evanix PCP air rifle.

Got 1 today

Had a great morning, got these four with the Kimber Hunter. Beautiful day to be out squirrel hunting.

Excellent!!

This is great stuff, keep it coming!

Nice shooting Phillip and those are great photo's.
And I'll say it again, awesome looking knife.
RWS subsonic is such a great Squirrel round.

Really liking those RWS subs; positive kills without excessive meat damage when I've took body shots. POP down they go. Almost nailed a crow, bullet richocheted off a limb and it got away.

Our season in Louisiana starts this Saturday but weather is looking kinda dismal. Mosquitoes are horribly bad anywhere near the woods right now. We need some cooler weather.

Recovered RWS subsonics look darn near like a recovered Nosler Partition bullet, almost a perfect mushroom with a lot of solid base intact. Most of my rimfires really shine with RWS subs and a Kimber Classic I have shoots them like they're match ammo.

I’ve also had great results with Lapua subsonic HPs, but haven’t seen them for sale in some years. In my Browning T-bolt, they shoot better than the RWS ammo.

One time while hunting squirrels with a friend, we ended up competing. When we got together after dusk, John said “I guess I won” and showed me his 3 squirrels. When I emptied my coat he said “How did you do that?? I only heard 2 shots!!”, and I had to remind him I was shooting subsonics.

Out in the woods this afternoon, spotted just one. It was raining acorn cuttings down onto my head and I had to take a straight up shot. It should have been a miss but the bullet deflected off the limb directly beneath the squirrel right into it for the kill so I got it after all.

I prefer subsonic hollowpoints over anything else for hunting squirrels here in north Alabama. The ranges shots take place at are never too far for the trajectory of a subsonic velocity bullet, the noise level is much more acceptable to me, and the accuracy of any subs I have tested so far has always beaten any high velocity hollowpoint ammo. The terminal ballistics are just about perfect with any I've tried too. None of the crawl off fiascos of solid bullets but also not the serious destruction level of high velocity hollowpoints. I used to use SK Subsonics but they discontinued them. RWS performs excellently as well. The CCI is good, not quite as accurate as the RWS and the now gone SK. My Kimber Hunter doesn't get along well with the newer 38 grain Eley Subsonic HP's, five shot groups range from 3/4" to 1-1/8" at 50 yards. The older 40 grainers with the greasy lube were very good. I miss the SK's, don't know why Lapua/SK decided to stop making hollowpoints a few years ago.

I have a bunch of the old Winchester subsonic 40 gr. truncated cone hollow points in the silver boxes. Winchester did a super slo mo video of these things hitting a big grape and expanding as the bullet travels through the grape. They hit squirrel with a distinctive "whop" sound. These have been very accurate in my guns, usually grouping under 1/2" for five shots at 50 yards. Of course Winchester dropped them from production and later reintroduced them as an improved product. I can't get the newest version in the black boxes to group well enough in my guns to take them hunting. I had grabbed into a decent supply of the older ones when I heard they were cut from the line up so I'm set for subsonic hunting ammo.

I could have, should have gone this weekend. But, I don't have a lightweight 4 WD for those East Tx forest roads. Red clay & mud, considering the approaching rain storm, turn into "wish I'd have stayed home" pretty quick.

Trying to fix that.

Our season just opened up here in MS. Haven't really been bushy-tail hunting in a LONG time but use to be my favorite. Thanks for the thread. I'm about to dig out the ol' Ruger 77/22 and check zero. Although it's still a bit warm I may end up in the squirrel woods this weekend thanks to this inspiration.

And.... thanks for the comments on the RWS ammo. Just found some on Gunbroker and ordered. Yes, I know I overpaid, but.... just have to try it.

I don’t think you will be disappointed in the RWS subsonic ammo. Their HVHP is good stuff too, think if it as “German MiniMags”

FWIW, I pasted some of my notes below WRT zeros with various popular squirrel ammo in my Blaser.

MiniMag HPs POA/POI @ 25 yds-40M. Very accurate.

SGB/MiniMag/Win Extra Power/RWS HVHP all shoot to same zero

RWS & Lapua Subsonic HPs very accurate, print -1” @ 40m

CCI Stinger very accurate, prints +1” @ 40m

Eley Sport prints -1” @ 40M from hunting zero

CCI Std Velocity very accurate, -1.75” from hunting zero

I’ve not shot any “domestic” subsonic ammo to compare groups and zeros.