Small game getter: shotgun v rimfire

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...there is no reason to limit yourself to one gun...

Totally agree. It's at this point that we could veer off the rails because you've just touched on the whole concept of "guns every American should own:" rimfire rifle, centerfire rifle, handgun, shotgun.

It's at this point that I break out into Hank Williams, Jr. song: "I got a shotgun, a rifle, and a four wheel rive, an a country boy can survive." lol
 
Thinking in the context of a homestead, off-grid living, farm life, which long gun would you prefer in the role of small game (hares, grouse, squirrel) forager: shotgun or 22LR?

I think the answer to this is shotgun with at least mod and cylinder chokes and #6 to 7-1/2 shells. But one then loses the option of taking game at 40-50 yards (thinking of a scoped rimfire rifle here) and one definitely loses the option of stealth. (Friend of mine took some birds with his 22 pistol while we were caribou hunting, and the ricochets were louder than the gun shots. A suppressor would facilitate this even further.) The only other advantage to the rimfire I can think of is cost, size, and weight of ammo.

Any thoughts on this?

Well...

Once hit a big cottontail with a load of #6 highbase... and it jumper back into the bushes and down a hole.

Fortunately, shortly there after it came back out.


After that, went exclusively to the aperture sighted .22 LR, w/ 36-8 gr. hollow points, and keep the SG for our delicious feathered friends.




GR
 
Well...

Once hit a big cottontail with a load of #6 highbase... and it jumper back into the bushes and down a hole.

Fortunately, shortly there after it came back out.


After that, went exclusively to the aperture sighted .22 LR, w/ 36-8 gr. hollow points, and keep the SG for our delicious feathered friends.




GR

Man, that must have been some kind of Zombie rabbit to be able to take that blast.:) Ya got to shoot the zombies in the head.
 
When I was a kid in elementary school one of the boys asked why I hunted tree rats with a .410.

He even asked "Dontcha like shooting your .22?"

I said "Sure, but I like eating squirrels instead of thinking about how close I got to them with a .22"

DB asked about around his homestead, not trekking across the country, so I hardly see the advantage of toting a brick of .22 over a few rounds of #6, especially if they were .410 or even 20 gauge. They make slugs and Buck shot for both as well if you just have to have them,

I like .22 LRs a lot, but in a situation where there is no Publix or Kroegers or whatever and a tree rat or the lonesome dove might be all the meat that MIGHT be in the family's pot of rice tonight I think I want the shotgun.

-kBob
 
Thinking in the context of a homestead, off-grid living, farm life, which long gun would you prefer in the role of small game (hares, grouse, squirrel) forager: shotgun or 22LR?

I think the answer to this is shotgun with at least mod and cylinder chokes and #6 to 7-1/2 shells. But one then loses the option of taking game at 40-50 yards (thinking of a scoped rimfire rifle here) and one definitely loses the option of stealth. (Friend of mine took some birds with his 22 pistol while we were caribou hunting, and the ricochets were louder than the gun shots. A suppressor would facilitate this even further.) The only other advantage to the rimfire I can think of is cost, size, and weight of ammo.

Any thoughts on this?


If there's no ammo shortage or the like then a shotgun. If this is a scenario where I have to stockpile ammo then a .22lr.
 
Thinking in the context of a homestead, off-grid living, farm life, which long gun would you prefer in the role of small game (hares, grouse, squirrel) forager: shotgun or 22LR?
My preference is a rifle for fur and a shotgun for fowl. If I have to pick one gun for all game large or small plus self defense it would of course be a 12 gauge shotgun.
 
When I was a kid in elementary school one of the boys asked why I hunted tree rats with a .410.

He even asked "Dontcha like shooting your .22?"

I said "Sure, but I like eating squirrels instead of thinking about how close I got to them with a .22"

DB asked about around his homestead, not trekking across the country, so I hardly see the advantage of toting a brick of .22 over a few rounds of #6, especially if they were .410 or even 20 gauge. They make slugs and Buck shot for both as well if you just have to have them,

I like .22 LRs a lot, but in a situation where there is no Publix or Kroegers or whatever and a tree rat or the lonesome dove might be all the meat that MIGHT be in the family's pot of rice tonight I think I want the shotgun.

-kBob
I've hunted rabbits mostly with a .22 LR, but I agree; if it's absolutely positively gotta be dead, a shotgun with the appropriate projectiles can't be beat for much that's within range.
 
Shotgun, it'll handle everything within it's range. I personally rarely see small game more than 50 yards away in my area anyway... But that's just me
 
JUST the animals you listed? Rimfire. For all the reasons you have already stated. Even without a supressor, 22LR out of a rifle barrel isn't very loud compared to a 12ga or AR. A rim fire rifle is also more handy and light weight compared to a shotgun.

But for dealing with any other nuisance/pest animals like deer or hog, I would go with a shotgun. Probably in a bag to hold chokes and a slug barrel.
 
Shotgun, it'll handle everything within it's range. I personally rarely see small game more than 50 yards away in my area anyway... But that's just me
You raise a good point. I don't see them that far off, either, an when I do see them, they're moving fast.
 
I had a couple of Savage O/Us. One was .22LR/20 and the other was .357 mag/20. The .357 mag was very heavy and not particularly accurate. The .22LR/20 was also heavy and had lousy sights. It had a very tight choke that was practically unusable for grouse in my part of Maine, but may have been okay for road hunting in the North Maine Woods. The barrel brazing failed, being only attached at the muzzle and not well done. I quickly got rid of that one!
 
No wrong answer here, just different considerations.

I used both (Mossberg 500 and Marlin/Glenfield M25) back in the early 80's when I was dealing with a ground squirrel infestation in a small almond orchard. The shotgun was easier to use, but the rimfire rifle was cheaper to shoot and made cleaner kills (dead right there vs. flopping around) in my hands. I don't claim to be a great shot with a scattergun, so the latter was probably just me. Also, and this was a biggie, .22 CB Longs were so much quieter from a long barrel that the neighboring farms weren't disturbed.

Let me throw one more suggestion into the more-than-one-gun argument: a single shot centerfire 'rook and rabbit' rifle using a revolver cartridge, such as .38 Special or .32 S&W Long. Something like the .357 Henry single shot, or a H&R if you can find one. These are as clean at small game killing as any rimfire and give you a cheap reloading option if there's ever another Obama-esque rimfire drought. These rifles can be loaded rimfire quiet, plus you could carry a few rounds of hotter stuff for medium game if an opportunity presents.
 
Thinking in the context of a homestead, off-grid living, farm life, which long gun would you prefer in the role of small game (hares, grouse, squirrel) forager: shotgun or 22LR?

Too bad you don't like a 410. I didn't either until I started using one. And yes ammo for the 410 is expensive so I made my own loader and have about 300 rounds on hand. I am not really a fan of the shotgun simply because if used at the wrong range it will blow supper into a ragdoll to the point its unfit to eat. Or if you shoot a Dove out of the air and find it was hit by only two pellets from a 12ga shell then the other 498 pellets were wasted and din't serve any purpose. That makes a shotgun an inefficient gun for me.

If I use a 410 it is for sitting game. No wing shooting. Used that way it works well for when I need a shotgun. Other than that I grab a 20ga.

A 22 rifle is a given for the scenario you are describing.
 
A .410 single shot is super fun for knocking squirrels out of trees, rolling over rabbits, and even short range bird hunting. I just get tired of picking shot out if I am eating them. If it’s just to dispatch varmints, 12 ga pump.
 
My general purpose critter gitter is a Savage 24 22mag/20ga.
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But if I were to be out innawoods looking for some specific type of game I might take something more purpose driven (an AR for yotes, or a 12ga for tree rats)
 
One of my favorite guns is my savage 24 in .22/.410
I might like a .22mag/20 better....@gotboostvr ...but.?
You're covering a pretty broad spectrum of hunting when you can use ..22short, long, long rifle, cb; and the full range of shot charges and weights available in both 2.5" and 3" chamberings. Don't forget .410 slugs and perhaps .45colt (never tried it).
I carry an assortment in my ammo sleeve on the stock.
 

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One of my favorite guns is my savage 24 in .22/.410
I might like a .22mag/20 better....@gotboostvr ...but.?
You're covering a pretty broad spectrum of hunting when you can use ..22short, long, long rifle, cb; and the full range of shot charges and weights available in both 2.5" and 3" chamberings. Don't forget .410 slugs and perhaps .45colt (never tried it).
I carry an assortment in my ammo sleeve on the stock.

My thinking is anything a 22 short would kill, so will a 22mag. Anything a 410 shot shell would take, so would the 20ga. 410 slug/45LC, Same with a 20ga slug.

I'd feel better with the mag on yotes (or further out ground hogs) and the 20ga will soundly take a deer, hog or black bear (the latter two aren't particularly common in my stomping grounds)
 
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