Sidewinder

Those are a little pricey to use on squirrels! I have a few of them, but want to save them for uncle Tom.

Pop Pop, thanks for your information. I figured the 3" shells would do a better job on the squirrels. What kind of gun were you shooting and what length barrel and choke? I have 12, 16, and 20 gauge guns I could squirrel hunt with, but I just wanted to do some hunting with a .410. I bought a brand new (6 rounds through it) Hatfield SA. It's the Remington 1100 knock off. The El-Cheapo gun! It has different choke tubes. Initially, it had some cycling issues, but I think I pretty much have that worked out. They way we hunt is with a squirrel dog. When the dog trees the squirrel, my hunting buddy has the first chance at a head shot with a .22LR. If he misses, I get to shoot the squirrel with a shotgun. Some of those trees look like they may be pushing the 35 yard range, or taller. I have been using one of my 20 gauge Remington 1100s.

Thanks for the suggestion, but they are too expensive for squirrel hunting.`

Yep! That'll work. We'll be hunting with a trained squirrel dog. But I did a lot of the kind of hunting you described when I was a teenager.

I appreciate the information MacGyver. I just picked up 200 paper plates a Wally World and planned on doing exactly what you suggested, using various load combinations. I was hoping a 2 1/2" shell would do the job, but have my doubts. So, I plan to work up some 3" loads as well.

Xsubsailor, I went through Afun P School (Aviation Fundamentals Class P school) in Norman. The friendliest and kindest people of any of my duty stations, in my Navy career. Will always have a warm feeling for those people. Were you shooting the 2 1/2" or 3" shells? What brand did you have the best luck with? What brand shells? I hand load and will try to duplicate the factory loads.

Thanks for your input Luckyforward. I like those Savage combos too. I have them in quite a few calibers . My grandmother cooked them like her southern fried chicken recipe. tasted like squirrel by Col Sanders! It was good. I have had it in rice, but never had the stew. bet it's good too.

Thanks for the reply. Some like hamburger and others like chicken. Squirrels can be prepared a number of ways and can be very tasty.

Thanks for the reply Auavodus. This kind of information is helpful, as I will try to duplicate the factory loads in my hand-loads. I had my doubts that "any" load in the 2 1/2" shell could get the job done. I appreciate your reply.

I have a Sheridan Blue streak, I bought new in the mid '60s. It takes a 5mm sized pellet. The .177 cal pellet would probably fall right through it.

Do any of you guys squirrel hunt with a .410 in Middle Tennessee? If so, I'm interested in the ammo you use to knock these gnarly little rascals out of the tops of our tall trees. I'm a re-loader, so I'll be trying to mimic the factory loads that are successful in 2 1/2" and 3" shells. I'm interested in feedback from hunters that have actually hunted and killed squirrels in Middle Tennessee with a .410. I will be hunting with a friend and his squirrel dog. He takes a .22 rifle and usually takes the first shot, unless they are running. If he misses, I take over with the shotgun. I have been using a 20 gauge, but want to use a .410 this year, if it'll knock them out of the tallest trees that we have around here. Sharing your experience of hunting squirrels with the .410 would be greatly appreciated. I can always go back to the 20 gauge, if necessary. Thanks and specifics on ammo would be appreciated.

Guys, I have a few .410s, from single shot break barrels to semi-autos. Recently I have become very interested in hunting squirrels with a .410, when the season opens of course. I have all of the other gauges from 12 gauge on down, except for 28 gauge, but have decided I want to try a .410 this season. More than likely it will be hunting with a friend and his squirrel dog. So, many of the squirrels go to the top of the tree with a dog barking and running around. I like to reload and have one MEC 600 Jr Mk V set up for 2 1/2" shells and the other one set up for 3" shells. Here's my question: what loads do you guys find to be effective in the 2 1/2" and 3" shells for the height of the trees here in Middle Tennessee? My primers will mostly be Cheddite 209, but I do have CCI 209s also. My hulls are a mixture, some AAs, some Winchester HS, some Remington, and some scrounged from the range. I'm old school, so I like to shoot squirrels with #6 shot in other gauges. I had planned to do so in the .410 also. I have a fairly good assortment of wads as well as powders. But I had planned to use mostly Lil Gun in the .410. We have some pretty tall trees around here and some pretty small squirrels. Can the 2 1/2 " shell be safely loaded with enough umpf to knock a small squirrel out of the top of our tallest trees. Or should I just forget the 2 1/2" shell and go right to the 3" shell? If so, what is the best load for squirrels in the 3" shell? I have no narratives here, nor any wayward intentions. I'm sincerely asking you loaders and hunters for some good load advice. Naturally, I would not use an unpublished/untested load, as it looks like these little .410s can jump up to some high pressures in a heartbeat. Thanks for your help.

You're a good man/friend Dirtshooter. Wish more people were like that. I was raised in the country on a farm, and we were taught the culture of helping and sharing with each other. When we killed a beef or some hogs. all of our neighbors got some free fresh meat.

PoofNoEyeBrows, I realize this post is almost 6 months old, but I have a Ad on GOC, looking for some .410 shotgun powder, that I just posted tonight.

Thanks Dirtshooter, your compassion for the cause is overwhelming. I'll store that helpful bit of information in the proper place.

I thought about that, and wasn't sure if it was worth it, for a small amount of shot separation. I have researched some of the other shotgun sites for reloaders that may have already solved the problem. Most of them were separating larger quantities of shot. I may try taking an awl or ice pick and punching some holes in some hard cardboard.

Greg, you're probably right. It may not make any difference in the way the load patterns. I was planning on loading the #6 for squirrels, as they have tough skin and need the higher pellet energy. I may just load it mixed and use the shells for the bunnies.

I have been on various shotgun web sites and some of the people are reclaiming hundreds of pounds of reclaimed shot...presumably shot at a skeet range. I only have a few pounds and was hoping for a simple and inexpensive way of separating them. I may wind up just loading them mixed, as the rabbits or birds may not know the difference!

Yep! You are probably right. It may not make that much difference in the pattern if they are mixed. I was just hoping that someone had used a simple/inexpensive device, like a flower sifter or the like, and had found that it worked.

Thanks, sounds like these guys are separating a lot of shot on a continous basis. Hopefully, these are the only ones I'll have to separate. I did enjoy reading the posts and the sieve pics. I can see where these sieves would pay for themselves if a person had hundreds of pounds of reclaimed shot.

Red333, thank you for your suggestion and I can see the logic behind it. What I'm dealing with, apparently was 2 bags of Lawrence Brand chilled shot, that sat so long the bags rotted to the extent that when attempting to lift the 25 pounds, each bag tore and ripped at the point where they were grabbed. Fortunately, for the bag of #6 shot, this is almost 2/3rds of the way to the top. The #7 shot bag ruptured about half way down. I'm not sure if the bags were full, but they were sitting in a plastic bucket, so they spilled out together. Looks like there may be 7 or 8 pounds of mixed shot to separate. I was hoping that there was some screen of a size that would let the #7 shot fall through and hold the #6 shot. If there's only .001 of an inch difference in size, the screen openings would have to be pretty precise.

Thanks for all of the comments. Has anyone loaded mixed squirrel shot and bird shot before and patterned to load? If so, what was the effect of mixing the shot sizes if any? I know there are reclaimed/repurposed shot sold. How do they separate the different sizes, or do they just sell them mixed?

I bought some old Lawrence Brand chilled shot in what I thought was all #6 shot. When we met, the bags were old and torn and there was a mixture of #6 & #7 shot in the bucket holding the shot bags. Not wanting to sit for hours, separating the #6 from the #7 size shot, does anyone know of a screen separator available on the market? If so, who might carry such an item for sale. I'm looking for something inexpensive, or suggestions on how such a device could be made inexpensively. I'm in the Murfreesboro area, and any direction/help would be appreciated. I can envision even a crack in two boards wide enough for the #7 shot to fall through, but not the #6 shot.

I have had many transactions through Gun Owners Club without any problems, and never had a "no show". Everything on there, right now, seems to be way over priced, but then it is every where else also.

Just goes to show that when a person is given something for free (money), as opposed to working and earning it, they will foolishly spend and squander it with little or no care for it's real value.