Why I like penetration

[JimD]

I got my second squirrel with my P35.  I was not completely steady in my hold so I shot for and hit the front shoulder (I was nervous about a head shot).  The pellet went straight through both front shoulders and stopped under the hide on the off side.  The squirrel did not take a step.  Just fell.  It was a 25 caliber H&N FTT and muzzle energy is about 35 fpe.  The only other squirrel I've shot with this pretty new rifle I hit in the head and it went through.  With my little Prod I think I would still have got the squirrel but it wouldn't have gone through both shoulders.  My Prod is at about 17 fpe and will shoot through but not when I hit the shoulder.  This was a 15 ounce male. 

[Bicycleman]

Jim, nice shooting.  When you have a shot where the pellet is stuck in the skin on the opposite side of the squirrel, that signals that all the energy was dumped in the squirrel.  I really like it when that happens.  Nobody suffers that way.

[Bayman]

What was the distance on the shot? That's a lot energy and caliber for a squrl.

[JimD]

It was about 25 yards away about 30 feet up in an oak tree.  It ran up the tree when I opened the window but stopped on a large limb. 

I agree a 25 is not necessary for a squirrel but my P35 is my quietest gun due to the way the shroud is designed and the hair curler modification I've done.  It's about 10 db quieter than my Prod. 

I would rather have the pellet barely exit than stop under the hide.  They bleed out quickly that way.  This one had a lot of blood in it's demolished front shoulders.  I don't like the idea of the pellet exiting with plenty of energy to potentially damage something but my first choice is for it to exit.  But going completely through the vitals with a .25 hole is pretty effective, even without the exit. 

[PasadenaMike]

 

[ranchibi]

Very nice shot with your P35 and nice photo.

[Firewalker]

"That's what she said."

Really? Nobody? 

[Smaug2]

Nice shot.

It’s the INTERNAL bleeding that gets them. No need to exit. An exit on a nutter means a LOT of excess energy. Their skin is so rubbery!

[JimD]

Thanks guys for the complements.

This gun also shoots H&N slugs well.  As it's tuned, I only get enough velocity for them to expand if I use lighter ones (I've tested 28 and 36 grain, the former expanded, the latter did not).  I could use slugs for the few shots I take on squirrels (I can't often find them to buy) but if I use the lighter ones to get expansion, my penetration in wet paper was about half as much as the FTT.  For a shot like this, I worry a bit about the result.  For sure the squirrel dies, but does it die quickly or run a bit first?

I agree the internal bleeding and destruction of vital organs is what kills, not an exit hole.  But when I see the exit I know penetration was, in my opinion, "enough", some would say "too much".  I want a little margin in the penetration so that I consistently get clean quick kills.  When there are two outlets for the bleeding I think I have less blood shot meat.  Not a big deal but nicer when you eat them.

I could get more penetration with a heavier domed pellet but I don't do that because the trajectory would have more drop and because I don't really need more penetration than the light H&N FTT gives me.  They apparently will not always exit but I think they usually will which is what I am comfortable with.  When a pellet exits I want it to have low enough velocity it is not a risk of damaging things.   

[Nomadic Pirate]

The High shoulder/low neck shot is extremely effective, that is what I use for mongoose and it never fails,.......much prefer it to the head shot.

[avator]

IMO, the desired result is a dead squirrel... mission accomplished.
Good shootin'

[JimD]

Got another one a few minutes ago.  Fits my title so I'll just include it here.  The pictures are to illustrate the thing I find interesting about this one.  It was an 11 ounce female, sitting in the same tree and on the same limb as the last one.  So about 20-25 yards away and about 30 feet up.  Same P35, also with H&N FTT pellet.  This gun is shoots them about 875 fps so about 35 ft. lbs.

The pellet entered the lower near front leg, went into the body under that leg, and angled back coming out about midway down the body.  It exited, I did not recover the pellet.  The squirrel fell a second or two after being hit.  Nice clean kill but not the greatest shot placement.  But it worked.  Maybe I'll go back to head shots. 

Sorry the pictures are pretty bloody, I couldn't think of another way to illustrate the pellet path through the body - which I thought was interesting.

I have not tried this with expanding pellets or slugs but the squirrels die quickly with the simple domed pellets I am using so I don't see how an expanding projectile would help except they might not exit.  Could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it.