Shooting a squirrel with a 12 gauge?????

My friend said he shot a squirrel with a 12 gauge shot gun!! WHAT THE FUDGE!!!!!?! Wouldnt it like... blow up... or sumthin??? Why would he do that........... have you ever shot a squirrel with 12 gauge shotgun??!?Shooting a squirrel with a 12 gauge?????
Your friend's a real Einstien. lol...Shooting a squirrel with a 12 gauge?????
yea
It is not a big deal. I have shot plenty of squirrels with a 12 guage #6 shot with Improved modified choke. If the squirrel is really close you shoot its head. It usually doesn't penetrate the membrane under the skin.





Done it plenty of times.





edit:





I just read Canadian and want to say he posted while I was writing. The two are completely independent. Despite the similarities
NO it depends on the choke you use, and how far away you are when you shoot the Squirrel.*
What are you, stupid? Its called #8 and #7 1/2 shot. And no it wouldnt explode.
NO use a # 6 shot, improved choke, aim for the head and shoulder area at 10 yards.


Tried it a couple times it works





Uncle frosty, no worries


As far as I know this is a standard squirrel hunting technique (not saying it's the only one)
I Go hunting with my mossburg 500 12 g wit #6 shot with a pretty decent choke on it For rabits or squirrel.


If you are close enough like 4 five feet away and shoot it your pretty much destroying the squrril.. I mainly aim just above the head a few inchs and catch pretty most of the shot go in its head i might find a pellet here and there in the squirrel. Same thing goes for rabits i just aim at the top of there ears.





Spanky
Why wouldn't you use a 12 ga. shotgun to squirrel hunt with? I have taken them with a .410,, a 20 gs.,, 16 ga.,, and 12 ga. The damage done is no more from one gun to the other. Unless you were to shoot one a very close range.. say like 20 feet or closer. Using # 6 shot in all the above guns is basically the preferred shot size around here to squirrel hunt with. I shoot the 2 3/4 magnums # 4 shot in my 20 gauge.. Helps out more on longer shots.
when I was a kid we grew up without allot of money we lived in the sticks and hunting and fishing was away of life. I had a old savage 12 gage pump that I hunted with until I was 18 years old I killed everything from squirrels to whitetails with that gun. I now have a different gun for everything that moves but in all my best memories I still have that old savage on my shoulder and if I had not wore it out I believe I still find a use for it today. Maybe squirrels?
Yes, I've taken a lot of squirrels with a 12 ga shotgun. If you get up close to them, say within 10 yards, and shoot them, yes it will blow them all to pieces. Don't do that! If you shoot them out of a tree, they will most likely be about 25 or 30 yards from the muzzle of your shotgun and will not be blown all apart any more than a dove, duck or other game would be.





My preferred way to hunt squirrels is with a .36 caliber flintlock muzzleloader but occasionally I will hunt them with a .22 rifle.
hi there


why not , a blue wing teal is hardly any bigger than a squirrel and you shoot them with a 12 gauge, depends on distance.
i have i used bird shot out of a short barrel. it didnt damage the meat that bad at all i was able to eat it. i would not do with a barrel with a tight choke or too close.
It depends on the circumstances. Such as distance and all that. It certainly would not blow up, unless it was shot at point blank, but, even then i'm not sure. I've gone hunting before, but I don't recall shooting squirrels...
yes I have from about 25 yards with a modified cylinder choke and I use 2 3/4 shell with 6 shot or higher
The key fact here is shot size and distance it will be ok if those are kept in mind, actyally it will be easier than a 22 which is my prefrence for squirrels and rabbits, but I have used a 12 ga on rabbits when quail hunting, just let them run out a bit and it wont hurt the meat at all
A 12 ga is all I've ever shot squirrels with, other than a pellet rifle. No, the squirrel doesn't blow up but it usually doesn't flop around waiting to die either.
Yes I have and it works great but I vastly prefer a good .22 to the head. The shotgun was easy and I dropped 4 out of one tree of 8. I had to stop because I didn't want to loose track of where the ones on the ground were. I used #6 shot with a modified choke and just aimed dead on. My buddy calls it meat hunting, but I'm pretty good with the .22 and enjoy the skill a bit more. Any of the pellets left in the meat I just cleaned out under water while getting them ready for cooking.
That's what I use you have to shoot for the head and use the proper choke,sometimes you do dust a few.
A twelve-bore with 6 shot is one of the more popular and efficient combinations for tree rats. Head shots with a 22 LR are more fun but a heck of a lot less efficient, especially when the trees are full of leaves, and if you're looking for meat for the pot.
depends on how well your friend can shoot and how much shot its got in the shell and most of the time how close you are to it..
12 gauge is actually a widely used weapon for squirrels and rabbits. if you select the right shot size and choke size, you won't even be able to tell the squirrel was shot until you skin it, but it will drop the fury little vermin like a rock at ranges out to about 50 yards. with size 6 shot it's a great squirrel gun, and you can aim ahead of the nose to minimize pellets you have to pull out of the meat and still get a clean kill.
I hunt rabbit and squirrel with a 12 gauge all the time and it don't destroy the meat if you aim a few inches in front of the head. It depends on the type of choke and shot used. What happens when you aim in front of the head is as the shot spreads the squirrel is not in the direct blast and the pellets that are spreading out hit it. The squirrel is small enough that most of the pellits miss him except a few. You will get some in the meat but it don't ruen it. Pick them out and its good to go.
One word can describe the fact of shooting a sqirrel with a shotgun. POOF! nothing. Abslolutely nothing left. Maby a foot or leg but that is it. I did it once. It was funny.
No, I've never killed an animal. Sounds like your friend is a real hero
I have hunted jack rabbits with a 12 gauge, but I didn't plan to eat them. That's too much buckshot to pick out.
you could but theres not gonna be any squirrel after you shoot it.