Henry Rifle Forums

I plan on getting out again with the Ruger Hunter this mid week when the weather should be better than this deep freeze we are in now. I want to shoot it again at the same distance I shot at recently to see if I have any consistency with my accuracy and also try some hollow point ammo in case I get to hunt squirrels a while.
I may be expecting to much from a handgun in accuracy but I want it to be as good as I can get it. I don't want to cripple any game with it if at all possible. I am going to try to take most shots at squirrels less than 50 yds. and have a good clean shot at them or pass it up.
What kind of accuracy would my fellow members here be happy with to try to cleanly take game like squirrels? It has been years since I have shot at game with a hand gun and back then I relied on the accuracy of a T/C Contender that seemed to level the playing field with their exceptional accuracy. I may borrow my brothers T/C 22 LR match barrel and hunt with it a little before the season ends for small game the end of February. My shooting sticks I made help with accuracy whether it be rifle or hand gun so I will carry them into the woods and they double up as a cane to climb and descend steep banks and hills and saved my butt many times from falls. I left them at 4' in length to be used as I use them.
Everyone take care and be safe. bandit1250

Bandit, it's as much about distance as accuracy, because, as you well know, distance is part of the accuracy equation. Back in the day, I used everything from sling shots, bows, air guns, 22 handguns, MLs, shot guns and, of course 22 rifles for squirrel and rabbit hunting. It was just a matter of keeping the distance suitable for the weapon in hand.

A good example is the plain jane 10/22 carbine. No one ever accused the stock Ruger 10/22 carbine of being a "real squirrel rifle" as the myth of the squirrel rifle goes, but I used a stock 10/22 with great success, because my average shot was 35 yards or less. Where I hunted, there was no need to take longer shots.

The standard definition of match accuracy in handgun is a handgun that will print 5 shots at 25 yards into an inch group or less. It's a rare Ruger Mark that can't do this. Most of my Ruger Single Sixes have been typically inch and a half shooters, though I've had a few that could go an inch or even less. Still, I used Ruger Single Sixes, some even with fixed sights, for squirrel hunting and loved them. Again, just got close as needed to do the job. I'd still be plenty comfortable using a stock Single Six for squirrel hunting if I decided to hunt, again. For me, handgun hunting has always been more about the hunting - getting close - than the shooting.

You still have to be a good shot with the weapon you're using, of course. Nothing against self-defense shooting with a handgun, but that standard of accuracy won't cut it for handgun hunting. Bullseye or silhouette, though, are great standards of accuracy and great practice for handgun hunting.