#6 steel or #7 1/2 lead for squirrel? 20ga, mod. choke.

Taking my boy squirrel hunting. Never used steel shot, but it was all they had for reasonable price.

Not much help as I haven't used either on squirrels but from experience on waterfowl I'd go with the lead.

Not much difference, either will do the job on squirrel. Make sure the gun is rated to shoot steel shot. h.h.

Went w lead. Boy got his first squirrel yesterday evening.



Dropped without a twitch

Cool! h.h.

Congrats to Jonathon!!

Steel is a good way to break a tooth....7.5's are small and there is a lot of 'em in a load....with my 12 ga. I like 5's and either a mod or full choke ...... even out of the 20ga. I used to have 5's were the way to go, if you could find them, 6's would be the back up if I couldnt find 5's... congrats to the young guy !!

Couldn't find #5s, that's what I wanted. The 6s they had were triple the price of 7.5s and steel 6s.

I'm not paying $15/box for 20 ga shot shells lol
Don't need high brass for tree rats

Our local Walmart carries "Regular" #5 shot for 20 & 12 gauges. For the .410 they only carry #4, #6, #7 1/2 loads. They even have some 28 gauge & 16 Gauge shells on the shelf. Prices are in the same range: 20 & 12 gauge are about $1.50 cheaper than a box of 3" .410's.

Mine has plenty in 12 gauge.....

12 Gauge is the most popular gauge, and is versatile.

And overkill IMO

Son is 13.....

I need some 16ga and can't find it locally.

For squirrels...there is no over kill, esp when HIGH in the tree tops .... ;0) .....

Even at Walmart weedy? Ours has a fair bit of 16. Surprised me.

Could have helped you out a couple weeks ago but too late now. Gave 3 boxes #6 away to a guy cause they dont fit in any gun I own. h.h.

I agree, in that ones 12 gauge is a bit "overkill" for Squirrels and even Rabbits, with regular loads. Also too much recoil for younger Hunters. My Grandfather always used a 16 gauge while my Dad (when he had time to hunt) used a 12 gauge. I always went for the smaller gauges like the 20, 28, & .410. One can buy lighter loads for the 12 & 16 gauges, which have an 1-oz. of shot, which would be fine.

Here's a load for a 12 gauge that is about as easy on your shoulder as it can be. One ounce of shot @ 980 fps.

I don't know if it will cycle an autoloader, but it works well in pumps, etc...

http://www.basspro.com/Winchester-AA-Low-Recoil/Low-Noise-Target-Loads-Shotshells/product/67999/

I find that a 22LR is perfect.

No over kill here, I use a old Mossberg.410 shotgun I got when I was a child. I use #5 or #6 shot depending on brand & what works best in my gun.