is a semi auto .22 lr accurate enogh to hunt squirrel with?
i am thinking of buying one for squirrel hunting. if i polished all of the moving parts with 0000 steel wool, and could i get accuracy comparable to a bolt action? in general, are semi autos accurate enough to squirrel hunt with from 50 yds.
Hold off on the steel wool!!!!! Buy and shoot the gun and break it in and about any semi .22 on the market should be accurate enough for squirrel hunting.
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i am thinking of buying one for squirrel hunting. if i polished all of the moving parts with 0000 steel wool, and could i get accuracy comparable to a bolt action? in general, are semi autos accurate enough to squirrel hunt with from 50 yds.
Easily.
In fact, grab ya a Marlin 795 from Academy Sports/whoever for around $130, then use the Marlin $20 Rebate coupon on Marlin's Website...it is the LEAST expensive way to get into a New .22lr rifle.
And read the Marlin 60/795 Accesories thread over in the Marlin section if you wanna trick it out like a Wild Man
Heck, you ain't even gotta polish all the moving parts, although I do suggest the loading gate & trigger/sear mating get a touch
The Marlin's have Micro-Groove barrels, which are inherently precise...far more precise than anything you'll find in a .22lr by anyone else. Beats the Ruger 10/22T target model easily. All you haveta do is figure out which ammo it likes the best (CCI's work pretty darn well) ((Avoid Remington Golden Bullet bulk packs like the plague)).
On the other hand, they probably have the most "Lawyered" Trigger ever known to mankind...so tweaking the trigger is a neccesity...but once you get the trigger/sear area smoothed & the pull-poundage lightened up...you can take on CZ's Head-to-Head.
I also suggest a good Pillar Bed job...but I'm a precision nut
But for tree rats...all I'd do is monkey with the trigger a bit until I was happy & slap a decent fixed-power scope on it like a BSA 4x32/whatever and go clobber some varmints!!
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i am thinking of buying one for squirrel hunting. if i polished all of the moving parts with 0000 steel wool, and could i get accuracy comparable to a bolt action? in general, are semi autos accurate enough to squirrel hunt with from 50 yds.
I think it's a great idea polishing everything with 0000 steel wool, not that I would ever do it but whatever turns you on.
Can you get accuracy comparable with a bolt gun, probably not but who cares if all you're gonna do is try & shoot tree rats. Accuracy will be good enough. Are you accurate enough to shoot tree rats should be the question.
Just remember one fine point..........know where your shot will fall!!!!!!!! Basics, but what goes up must come down and a .22 can come down a mile away should you miss. .22's have killed many people!
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One of the first things that helps many semi-auto .22's would be to glass bed the receiver and barrel from the receiver to the forend of the stock.
This has a lock-up-line-up effect. .22 barrels are generally pinned to the receiver rather than screwed in as in a higher power rifle. This pinning does allow for a certain amount (even if very small) play, or looseness between the barrel and the receiver.
The next ultimate accuracy step will be good optics and LOTS of practice.
Fifty yards is doable but realistically practice, practice, and lots more practice is what will win the day.
The Marlin 60SB, right from the box, with a good 3-9X32 scope, has the accuracy for 'minute of squirrelhead', just try different ammo til you find what that particular rifle really likes.
50 yards is pushing it for hunting treerats anyway. I rarely take a shot more than thirty yards. Find a good clump of hardwood trees, sit yourself down, and wait. As the "Prince of the Treetops" comes in to feed, you can bag your limit without moving from that spot. Make sure you know where each falls.
Don't fire more than one shot at a time - the rats will settle down quickly after each shot.
Easiest hunting short of tying a critter on a leash......
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One of the first things that helps many semi-auto .22's would be to glass bed the receiver and barrel from the receiver to the forend of the stock.
This has a lock-up-line-up effect. .22 barrels are generally pinned to the receiver rather than screwed in as in a higher power rifle. This pinning does allow for a certain amount (even if very small) play, or looseness between the barrel and the receiver.
The next ultimate accuracy step will be good optics and LOTS of practice.
Fifty yards is doable but realistically practice, practice, and lots more practice is what will win the day.
How many barrels have you seen that werent threaded in and then pinned?If the barrel is loose the gun needs fixed. If you "bed" the barrel,You will cause accuracy problems,especially in wood which will put a different pressure point on the barrel every time the weather changes.,,,sam.
I have brought many squirrel down,(mostly headshots at about 25yds) with a Ruger MK2,S&W M41,Colt Woodsman and Huntsman,and other self-loader .22lr handguns using 4" and longer barrels.I also brought many down with auto-loading rifles.You can do it and I know you will. ,,,sam.
I would say the same thing thats been said here before if it fits good and you practice, about any .22 will work. Most of my gun purchased are based on how the gun fits, hours upon hours of reading reviews, and mainly what i can afford... which isn't much . If you like the feel, buy it and have fun shootin the tree rats.
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A man's gotta BELIEVE in something... I BELIEVE I'll go huntin!
That Billy, is bad to the bone. If I was going hunting with a semi auto 22 i would look for one by Thompson Center. Their 22's have a match chamber but the guns are still light enough to take out in the field.
If the SHTF and you are out squirrel hunting. I have heard that the "Supremely Viable" 10/22 Ruger will get the job done. If the squirrels have mutated from radiation and are about twice their normal size, you may have have to hunt them with a .410 with slugs..
Seriously, with a decent scope you won't have any problems hunting Tree Rats with a 22 auto. I have been hunting them for years with a Marlin model 99 M1 and my Marlin model 60.
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I don't scope my .22s and I only owned semi-autos until recently. I have never had a problem hitting squirrels, rabbits, armidillos, coon, kitty cats, etc. If ya can't hit a squirrel at 50 yards...it's not the rifles fault.
__________________ ''Somebodies got to let ya down sooner or later.'' -JOE
Many years ago a squirrel peeved me off by waking me up...so I blasted it with a 12-gauge shotgun. The slug pretty much removed all the guts from the interior of the squirrel to the exterior.
It was overkill...but you just don't Earn the nickname Tackleberry without using a cannon to swat a mosquito
Thank God the Police Academy movies have been pretty much forgotten...
Don't worry ma'am, I'll get your cat out of the tree...BLAM BLAM BLAM!!!!
except by me...
RIP David Graf...we miss ya!
__________________ Marlin & Calico Specialist
I'm not just Trigger Happy, I'm Trigger Ecstatic!!
is a semi auto .22 lr accurate enogh to hunt squirrel with? 
. If you like the feel, buy it and have fun shootin the tree rats. 
