New to Small Game Hunting

[NCGHunter]

Hello all I'm just getting into small game hunting, been deer hunting the past few seasons. I'm getting a Remington 597 .22LR for Christmas just to see how interested in small game hunting I would get so i didn't want to start out with something high dollar & end up selling it off at a loss due to me loosing interest in hunting something other than deer. I've read a lot of negatives & positives about the 597 .22LR so I figured for the price it was worth a shot plus I didn't have any .22 rifles in my arsenal.

Looking into trying my hand at squirrels mainly since them seem to be plentiful at my hunt property. Racoons would be an option since they show up on my game cameras frequently but I don't know of anyone with racoon dogs so it would be hunting racoons without dogs for the time being, haven't really heard of anyone doing this but figured it was worth a shot. We have had coyotes & bobcats show up on cameras & even seen a bobcat during the day, not sure a .22LR would be the weapon of choice on these two animals though.

But anyway I'm looking forward to reading posts & maybe next year entering the squirrel hunting contest.

[RemingtonKid]

Some people don't think that a 597 is a good gun, but I think that they are great guns. You will have a lot of fun shooting at and hopefully killing squirrels.

[ADVWannabee]

Congrats on the gun. I have one and really like it though I haven't shot it much. I put a Simmons scope on it and with CCI ammo off a rest, it will chew the center out of a target at 50 yards. The cheap, bulk ammo is all over the place, so sight in and hunt with CCI or similar high quality ammo and you will be pleased with the gun.

[Terasec]

Just make sure your targeting the critters for the right reasons. Whether its for food, hides, nuisance, competion for food with other animals,
Just not for targets.

[Bernie P.]

Even if you decide small game isn't for you a good .22 is great to have just for practice shooting.You can blast away all day for just a few bucks and your shooting skills will improve.Cant beat'm with a stick!

[NCGHunter]

Yea I've read up on a few tips on how I could improve the 597 on a few problems that they've been known to have if I need to. Also read that the cheap bulk isn't the preferred ammo of choice & had planned on going with the CCI ammo also due to good feedback 597 owners had on it.

The 40 acres I deer hunt on are full of squirrels so I should be able to get plenty of chances in the last 2 months of squirrel season here in NC. I've never ate squirrels before so it'll be a first this year. Also have heard that racoon makes for good BBQ, anyone ever tried this?

[bt4264]

[quote=NCGHunter;3742687]Yea I've read up on a few tips on how I could improve the 597 on a few problems that they've been known to have if I need to. Also read that the cheap bulk isn't the preferred ammo of choice & had planned on going with the CCI ammo also due to good feedback 597 owners had on it.QUOTE]

What tips are you referring to?? I have one too.

[NCGHunter]

Some but not all complain of the 597s have a heavy trigger & installing a Volquartsen hammer would help that & that some 597s having extraction issues & again turned to a Volquartsen extractor to fix that problem. Like I said some say they have had issues but others swear they're accurate straight out of the box. I still haven't shot mine yet so all I speak of is what I've read about.

[NCGHunter]

Just to follow-up my post above, I finally got to shoot my Remington 597 .22lr for the first time & sight-in the scope & am impressed with it. I used CCI Min-Mag 40grain & put 97 shots through it(saved 3 for checking coon traps) & didn't have a misfire or extraction issue at all. Now that deer season is over here I'll be hitting the woods for squirrels with the 597.

[Sheridan]

22LR is a great small game round.

Coyotes and bobcats are predators and need a biggger load to anchor them.