Advice getting started on squirrel

[SuburbanWoodsman]

Never thought about calling… gonna keep that in mind myself

 

[doc holiday13]

I am also new to squirrel hunting (only deer hunted). In your opinion, Is it possible to squirrel hunt with a 12g or is it just to much?

Its fine. I used 12g for over a decade but carrying 50rds of 1.125 oz and a 8# gun up the holler/down the holler would wear me out. My 28g is 3# less and 50 rounds of 28g is 1# less than 50 of 12g. Not to mention lower recoil and fewer pellets to pick out of the squirrel

 

[Buffalotears]

Its fine. I used 12g for over a decade but carrying 50rds of 1.125 oz and a 8# gun up the holler/down the holler would wear me out. My 28g is 3# less and 50 rounds of 28g is 1# less than 50 of 12g. Not to mention lower recoil and fewer pellets to pick out of the squirrel

I hadn’t thought about the weight difference. That all makes sense. Thanks for the insight!

 

[Ditt44]

A 12-gauge is fine but a bit heavy in both weight to carry and shot/pattern up close. If you can put in choke tubes for a "full" pattern, I would do that and use 2 3/4 inch shells...low brass #6. If I'm all-around small game hunting, I carry my father's 1920 era Winchester Model 12. Light weight and still deadly.

A better option in shotguns, and should be fairly cheap, is a full-choke .410 in any variation with 3-inch shells of #6. That's my favorite shotgun for squirrels mainly because it was my first ... a Western Field three-shot bolt action that weighs almost nothing. It was made around 1950 I think and my dad got it for me when I was ten; I'm now 56 and it's as fun as ever, even for shooting clay birds. Now days I am into using small-bore muzzle loaders for squirrel, .32 and .36 calibers

 

[Mike Islander]

I am also new to squirrel hunting (only deer hunted). In your opinion, Is it possible to squirrel hunt with a 12g or is it just to much?

12 gauge is fine. I personally prefer 22, but you'll probably take more squirrels with the scatter gun.

Weight and recoil versus 20 or 28 gauge depends on the model. You can shoot light loads with 12 gauge that are comparable to either of those. Weight is less than a pound difference in many models. Autos will have far lower recoil.