The 17 workd just fine for squirrels. I took 20 tree rats with mine last year. And none of them "blew up". I used the 20gr gamepoints and meat loss was extremely minimal. Especially utilizing behind the shoulder and head shots. I lost a grand total of 1 leg to the 17. Which is actually less than with my 22 because this rifle is so much more accurate. I have the heavy barrel Savage, and I love it. Mine is pre-accutrigger, and I put ina RifleBasix trigger kit to resolve the heavy, gritty pull. The only thing I dislike is the magazine release, and the fact that they didn't use a 24" barrel. Other than that, great gun. And I don't mind the weight of it, but I utilize a sling on all of my hunting weapons. Good hunting