Wanting something for squirrel control besides a 22 and need opinions.

[Hoppy-tn]

let me start by saying I am a deer hunter and not a shooter, so not much experience beyond sighting in a scope and shooting at deer or coyotes and occasional critters. I don’t reload and don’t intend to. I have a house built out of bar wood and have a serious squirrel problem with them chewing through the wood and getting into the walls so now it is time to wage war on my squirrels. I own 10 acres of primary oak trees so ALOT of squirrels to take care of. I have a small inside dog that is terrified of thunder and gun shots. My 22 rifle does not bother her too much but when I shoot a squirrel with the shotgun it takes over 30 minutes for her to calm down. My wife has said I can buy a new rifle to take care of the squirrel problem so I need to find a new caliber to buy that is not much louder than a 22. I am aware of silencers but don’t want to wait 6 plus months to get one so wanting something to buy now. a 22 is the only small caliber rifle I have ever shot. I do own a 5.56 nato 223 a r and was going to use it but I shot it once saturday in the back yard to compare it to my 22 for noise level and it was way too loud And my dog did not like it neithier.
upon reserach I have read about 17hmr, 17 hmr2, 17 hornets, 204 Ruger. how much louder are those than a 22?
what is in between noise level of a 22long rifle and a 223 ar?
I know the decibels of a 22 are around 140 but can’t find the decibels of. 17 hmr or 204 Ruger.
I really like what I have read on a 204 Ruger but afraid it is going to be too loud.
I have also saw the cci quiet bullets for a 22 but have saw several posts where those bullets don’t shoot as accurate as normal bullets??
any suggestions on a different caliber than a 22 would be appreciated along with any experience of a caliber I should consider.
thanks for any input and help,

Hoppy

 

[.38 Special]

All of the rounds you mention are going to be much louder than a .22 rimfire. CCI's "Quiet" .22 is pretty quiet. It is not match grade stuff, but in most guns I have used it has been perfectly acceptable. If even that is too loud, there may be an air rifle in your future.

 

[Meeks36]

A decent pellet rifle. Preferably a pcp. Head on down to the air gun section on here. A lot of good info. Or look into suppressors.

 

[12Bravo20]

I hunt squirrels with a 17m2 in late fall and winter once the leaves have fallen. Yes it is a little bit louder than 22lr but not by much. It is definitely flatter shooting out to 100 yards. With the 17m2, 17HMR or anything else bigger, you will want to take head shots only if you plan on eating the squirrels. I learned that quickly with the 17m2.

 

[kje54]

A 32 caliber Southern Mountain kit from Jim Kibler........... Doesn't have the sharp retort modern ammo has.

 

[Lefty38-55]

Before I'd make a recommendation, I'll ask ... at what distance do you expect most of youre shots to be taken at?

I had a red squirrel problem and used a scoped Ruger Mk II pistol with a red dot, but most shots were 25' or less. I used the Aquila priming compound only (powerless) 'quiet' ammo and the results were spectacular! Got 7 one morning ...

 

[Frulk]

Pellet gun. Or send the wife to the mall with the dog during the times you plan to thin the herd.

 

[irving]

Hoppy-tn, welcome to the forum!

I read your post twice, and I still don't see why you don't want to use the .22LR. It's not because of the noise level, so what is it?

 

[Spats McGee]

I’ll add to the suggestions for a pellet gun or air gun. They’ve come a long way since I bought one on layaway some 40 years ago.

 

[jmr40]

Buy a .410 or 20 ga shotgun. Safer for shooting up into trees anyway and way more efficient. I'm not sure how much quieter they are if any than a 22. Probably not much. But the sound doesn't have that high pitch crack you get with a rifle.

 

[LiveLife]

house built out of bar wood and have a serious squirrel problem with them chewing through the wood and getting into the walls so now it is time to wage war on my squirrels. I own 10 acres of primary oak trees so ALOT of squirrels to take care of. I have a small inside dog that is terrified of thunder and gun shots. My 22 rifle does not bother her too much but when I shoot a squirrel with the shotgun it takes over 30 minutes for her to calm down. My wife has said I can buy a new rifle to take care of the squirrel problem so I need to find a new caliber to buy that is not much louder than a 22.

I have similar serious invasion problem with growing number of soup cans and tomato cans on our acreage and my semi-auto Legacy 1000 was not enough ... So I am thinking about going full auto. (If you need greater reach solution, there are affordable PCP solutions)

I’ll add to the suggestions for a pellet gun or air gun. They’ve come a long way since I bought one on layaway some 40 years ago.

Get yourself a full auto battery powered Barra 400e and declare whisper quiet WAR and snipe them out - https://www.amazon.com/Barra-Airguns-400e-Metal-Automatic/dp/B09YS6TB1W?th=1

And if they wage a full-on counter attack, set to full auto and mow them down with 1000 round capacity battery pack (Shooting THROUGH watermelon at 3:50 minute of video and against coconut at 6:25 minute)

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This is the Barra 400e ELECTRIC Full Auto BB Gun! The Barra 400e AEG (Automatic Electric Gun) is the result of combining Airsoft Technology and an actual .17...

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[JeffG]

Traps also work when you can't be vigilant.

 

[mope540]

You should consider the Goodnature A18 Squirrel Trap. They're not cheap, but they work. I've watched the YouTube videos, wow...they work.

The A18 Squirrel Destroyer - A Powerful & Effective CO2 Squirrel Trap - Mousetrap Monday

The A18 Squirrel Destroyer - A Powerful & Effective CO2 Squirrel Trap. In this video we test out one a Powerful CO2 Rodent trap and take care of Squirrels, R...

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I don't have that big of a squirrel problem, so I use a .177 RWS Model 48, but don't have to shoot farther than 20 yds. In this neck of the woods i could use a .22 Mag. for longer range targets..

 

[Hoppy-tn]

thanks for all the input, not tech savvy so don’t know how to copy post and reply to them.
I could use my current 22 rifle, it’s an old marlin (about 45 years or older) that is not made anymore, I took it to a gun store about trading in for a new one and the guy suggested putting it in the safe and keeping it due to it being in excellent shape and so old That it will only go up in value, so told the wife and she said buy a new rifle and I said
”yes ma’am” !!
as far as distance could be anywhere from 20 feet to 70 yards maybe a little farther. i can go sit in the wood behind the house and after 15-20 minutes there can be anywhere from 8-15 or more squirrels scattered all over the wood floor scurrying around.
I have thought about an air,pellet gun but hate to spend several hundred dollars on one when I could buy a rifle and sell it for a good chunk of my money back somewhere down the road.

 

[Savage30L]

The best solution for you may be something called a Kania Squirrel Trap. This is what I use. It's quiet, and works really well. I just bait it with sunflower seeds and sprinkle some on the ground below the trap. Squirrels will find the seed, and poke their heads up into the trap to get more. The trap breaks a squirrel's neck. As a plus, if you would like to eat the squirrels, the trap does not damage the carcass. I highly recommend the Kania trap.

https://www.kania.net/trapping-and-control/squirrel-trap.html

 

[.308 Norma]

A decent pellet rifle.

My .20 caliber Sheridan "Blue Streak" will make short work of any squirrel that ever chewed its way through anything. And it's not nearly as loud as a 22LR rifle.
Last summer I loaned my Blue Streak to a buddy who lives in town because he had a squirrel problem. A couple of weeks later, he brought it back. His squirrel problem isn't "back" yet though. And I'm betting by the time it is, he'll have a good pellet rifle of his own.

 

[doubleh]

Benjamin pump up pellet gun in 22 caliber. Adjustable velocity with the number of pumps, quite accurate, and not as loud as a 22 rifle. I once knew of one killing a medium sized dog with 8 strokes of it's pump and no, I didn't shoot it. The few break barrel pellet rifles I have shot are very close to a 22 in noise level. A 410 or 20 guage shotgun will be easier but much louder than a 22. Much more expensive to shoot than a 22 or pellet rifle too. There are CCI quites that aren't as loud as a regular 22 but none of my rifles will shot them accurately. It's an unlucky squirrel that would fall to it.

 

[dh1633pm]

I feed them in a feeder with a nice little squirrel deck for them to eat. I then use my pellet gun sighted in from the distance of the back door to their last meal spot, I mean feeder. I got a German springer in .177 with a moderator (silencer). It’s quiet and deadly. Got 24 of them rascals last year. I haven’t see a red in quite a while. Grays are happy to eat without boring a hole in my garage. Doesn’t scare the dog. Model doesn’t matter as much as being accurate with enough punch to do what’s needed. Optional are box traps with the spring doors. Catch then shoot them. Declare war and then get to work. One method is not enough to get the numbers you need.

 

[gwpercle]

Clean and keep squirrels in the freezer until you have enough to make a nice Gumbo , Jambalaya or
my favorite a Sauce Piquante ...
If young ... simply fry them and make some Gravy and a pan of biscuits .
All Good Eating !
If you have something that's good to eat ... it ain't no problem in the Cajun world !
Yeah ... it's True , Cajuns eat anything !
Gary

 

[Anchorite]

The best solution for you may be something called a Kania Squirrel Trap. This is what I use. It's quiet, and works really well. I just bait it with sunflower seeds and sprinkle some on the ground below the trap. Squirrels will find the seed, and poke their heads up into the trap to get more. The trap breaks a squirrel's neck. As a plus, if you would like to eat the squirrels, the trap does not damage the carcass. I highly recommend the Kania trap.

https://www.kania.net/trapping-and-control/squirrel-trap.html

View attachment 1190872

View attachment 1190873

See, this is the real value of THR. Just when you thought you’d seen it all … And I have to wonder how long it took someone sitting around to come up with this contraption and how long did they field test it before bringing it to market? We need answers!!!!

 

[Howland937]

All of the rounds you mention are going to be much louder than a .22 rimfire. CCI's "Quiet" .22 is pretty quiet. It is not match grade stuff, but in most guns I have used it has been perfectly acceptable. If even that is too loud, there may be an air rifle in your future.

I'll 2nd CCI Quiets. Same length as .22 LR, same velocity as .22 short. Very quiet in my bolt action rifles but won't cycle a semi-auto. I'll also add that standard velocity ammo out of the 28" barrel of a 52B is just as quiet. Both are more quiet than the RWS or Gamo air rifles I've had. CCI Quiets out of the 28" barrel? I've had louder cap guns.

 

[12Bravo20]

Clean and keep squirrels in the freezer until you have enough to make a nice Gumbo , Jambalaya or
my favorite a Sauce Piquante ...
If young ... simply fry them and make some Gravy and a pan of biscuits .
All Good Eating !
If you have something that's good to eat ... it ain't no problem in the Cajun world !
Yeah ... it's True , Cajuns eat anything !
Gary

Just about any type of meat tastes good with the right seasonings added to it. And I agree the young squirrels get fried up while the olde ones get added to gumbo, jambalaya or even simmered in a pot of BBQ sauce until tender.

 

[westernrover]

I like my Henry single-shot 20 gauge loaded with steel shot. I'd eat tree squirrels, but not the ground squirrels and in my experience, it's the latter than tend to create infestations. If I wanted to buy a new rifle for this, the 17 HMR is supposed to be a lot better out to longer range, especially with wind. On the other hand, the cheapest 22LR is less than the least expensive HMR and 22 is more available. I'd love a centerfire cartridge, but only because I enjoy reloading. If I didn't reload, I'd really only consider 22LR or 17HMR. In any event, if I wasn't shooting the scattergun, I'd factor in spending a lot on an optic.

 

[brewer12345]

thanks for all the input, not tech savvy so don’t know how to copy post and reply to them.
I could use my current 22 rifle, it’s an old marlin (about 45 years or older) that is not made anymore, I took it to a gun store about trading in for a new one and the guy suggested putting it in the safe and keeping it due to it being in excellent shape and so old That it will only go up in value, so told the wife and she said buy a new rifle and I said
”yes ma’am” !!
as far as distance could be anywhere from 20 feet to 70 yards maybe a little farther. i can go sit in the wood behind the house and after 15-20 minutes there can be anywhere from 8-15 or more squirrels scattered all over the wood floor scurrying around.
I have thought about an air,pellet gun but hate to spend several hundred dollars on one when I could buy a rifle and sell it for a good chunk of my money back somewhere down the road.

Is your marlin a 39a? If so, you have a bunch of options with quieter ammo. The Aguila subsonic is very quiet out of a longer barrel like the 39a and very accurate.

The argument for a pellet gun is that you can buy very quiet suppressed rifles without jumping through nfa hoops.

Traps work 23/7...

 

[tmd16556]

I’d buy a new pellet rifle for close to the house and then use your 22 out in the trees. Any subsonic 22lr is relatively tame out of a rifle.

I took out a lot of yard squirrels with a Benjamin 22 caliber pump pellet gun. Over 20 yards bullet drop starts to come into play, plus chipmunks have a fast enough reaction time to get away between the sound and impact. The other trick was a live trap around the trouble areas. Squirrels and rats could be dispatched as needed.