The last squirrel I shot was approximately 48 yards-I hit just below the neck and he died super quickly. That was one of my longer shots at small game. Just as with big game I typically try for the closest reasonable shot I can make.
What’s your typical shot distance at squirrels, rabbits etc?
I'd say my typical gray squirrel shot is about 35-40yds. Some out to 50 but, don't like it with a 22. I played around with a 17 near the end of the season. No game but, plenty of hopefully groups when shooting
Rabbits, average is about 5-10 yards. Typically cant see past that where we normally find rabbits. Hares a bit longer, more like squirrel. Squirrels Id say average is 20-30 yards, with 50 about the longest I normally take simply because I can usually get closer. I have sat on a deer stand at dusk and wished I had a suppressed 22 though, and could have taken longer shots in that circumstance. I never have, but if I “set up” for rabbit or squirrel the way I might set up for evening sit deer hunting I might take more 50-100 yd shots.
I'm running a 17hmr in Kansas. The fox squirrels here are skittish and spot ya from the fields and retreat to the thickest black locust and hedge rows they can find. Many of my shots are 75-100-ish yards. Rabbits, if I can find them, tend to be much closer, like 10-25. Farthest shot on a squirrel was 148 yards. I had a range finder and my brother was witness to the event. I've tagged a yote at about 40 yards with the 17, but that is a far as I'd shoot a song dog with that rifle
25-50 yards for squirrel hunting with a 22lr. I owned a 17hmr for a while and enjoyed how flat it shot, but it did a lot of meat damage unless you waited for the perfect shots, which aren't always the easiest to come by in our heavy timber.
I have been considering a 17 HM2 for a while now, just to get a little more consistency. It always looked like a fun little round.
I began my shooting career by killing ground squirrels, rabbits, and coyotes in the rolling hills of Northern California. To the tune of somewhere around 15,000 critters.
Average shot distance was probably 250 yards. Longest shots were 10 times that. Some shots were point blank.
You hit a sweet spot on ground squirrels and rabbits at the 200-300 yard mark where they have no clue why their friends are dropping around them. They scatter, but immediately go right back to feeding and playing, setting you up for more confirmed kills. At this yardage you can kill hundreds in one single sit.