Tell me more! What constitutes a Squirrel Rifle?

[Kentucky Derby Cavalier.]

What is a Squirrel Rifle? Is it just a small caliber rifle for hunting small game? What was their prevalence and effectiveness compared to other weapons during the war? Would a smaller caliber gun have any benefit?

 

[smokepole49]

What is a Squirrel Rifle? Is it just a small caliber rifle for hunting small game? What was their prevalence and effectiveness compared to other weapons during the war? Would a smaller caliber gun have any benefit?

Any rifle under 30 caliber. some were used for taking small game this was there benefit.

 

[JPChurch]

Johnny Horton said he used his at New Orleans

 

[Pollaco]

Any rifle under 30 caliber. some were used for taking small game this was there benefit.

I tend to agree but does this include the 30 caliber or just the ones under it?

 

[smokepole49]

I tend to agree but does this include the 30 caliber or just the ones under it?

These rifles were extremely accurate, 30 caliber would have been included but for squirrels smaller were preferred. Grouse and turkeys even wild pigs made excellent fare for hungry soldiers who were foraging.

 

[thomas aagaard]

and it would typically use a patched roundball or similar.
(and not a Minie style bullet)

 

[Pollaco]

Even a small caliber can ruin some meat so make sure its a headshot.

 

[ranger326]

 

[Jeff in Ohio]

A squirrel rifle would not have been carried as a weapon during the Civil War, except in cases of unusual necessity.
One famous exception was Ohio's 1862 call to arms of all citizens to resist the threatened invasion of Cincinnati by Southern troops then in Kentucky. Ohio Governor Tod issued this proclamation:

"Our southern border is threatened with invasion. I have therefore to recommend that all of the loyal men of your counties at once form themselves into military companies and regiments to beat back the enemy at any and all points he may attempt to invade our State. Gather up all of the arms in the country, and furnish yourselves with ammunition for the same. The service will be but a few days. The soil of Ohio must not be invaded by the enemies of our glorious government."

He asked the men who answered his call to bring two days rations and a blanket. He expected 8,000 men - he got 16,000 men, mostly backwoods types bearing all sorts of arms, including small caliber squirrel rifles.

Soon, the danger had passed and they were all sent home. But they all had earned a month's pay of $13, plus a fancy certificate labelled a "Squirrel Hunter's Discharge."

 

[Kentucky Derby Cavalier.]

A squirrel rifle would not have been carried as a weapon during the Civil War, except in cases of unusual necessity.
One famous exception was Ohio's 1862 call to arms of all citizens to resist the threatened invasion of Cincinnati by Southern troops then in Kentucky. Ohio Governor Tod issued this proclamation:

"Our southern border is threatened with invasion. I have therefore to recommend that all of the loyal men of your counties at once form themselves into military companies and regiments to beat back the enemy at any and all points he may attempt to invade our State. Gather up all of the arms in the country, and furnish yourselves with ammunition for the same. The service will be but a few days. The soil of Ohio must not be invaded by the enemies of our glorious government."

He asked the men who answered his call to bring two days rations and a blanket. He expected 8,000 men - he got 16,000 men, mostly backwoods types bearing all sorts of arms, including small caliber squirrel rifles.

Soon, the danger had passed and they were all sent home. But they all had earned a month's pay of $13, plus a fancy certificate labelled a "Squirrel Hunter's Discharge."
[/QUOTE]
Lol, that's funny.

 

[Booner]

I think I'll have to disagree with the 30 caliber and under as sutable for squirrel hunting. Certainly back in the day there were a few rifles of 30 caliber and under in existence, but very few. The smallest caliber that would be in common use would have been a .32, with the. 36 caliber being the most common of the smaller caliber. The biggest complaint of the .32 would be how quickly it fowled compared to the .36. A .36 caliber with a reduced powder charge was small enough to use for small game, and big enough with more powder to be used on deer. Most folks didn't have many guns in their closet. More than likely it would have been a shotgun or fowler that could shoot shot at birds and squirrels and buckshot at deer. They would have something that provided utilitarian value. Something under .30 caliber didn't provide that kind of value.

 

[FedericoFCavada]

I've got a flintlock squirrel rifle: flintlock, long 42-in. octagon barrel, cherry wood stock with a grease-hole in it, .32 cal. Shoots a .310 lead round ball with a 0.010" greased patch. Rate of twist is about 1 turn in 48-inches.

Some lads took hunting rifles in the .40 cal. and up range with them to war. A .36, .38, .40 could all be used on small game and with a practiced marksman and a good load, could take a deer too. It might be a "squirrel rifle" in lore, but was on the larger end of what could be used for small game, turkeys, etc. and also medium sized animals like deer.

In addition to the small lead round ball, there are so-called "picket bullets" that are often found archaeologically. These are little lead cones, heavier than a round ball, that are basically conical bullets. Such "pickets" may have been used to allow the "squirrel rifle" to "punch above its weight."

Some southern "mountain rifles" that went to war were modified to be more militarily useful by having more reliable locks fitted, the wood stock cut away from the muzzle, and a bayonet and bayonet lug contrived and fitted to the muzzle. It would seem these were less reliable than a military style lock, and so were probably scrapped by the users when muskets and rifle muskets became available in much the same way that flintlock or smooth-bore arms were discarded.

 

[Kurt G]

I have a Dixie Gun Works Flintlock Tennessee Mountain Rifle in .32 caliber . It is fun to shoot and quite accurate , but the fowling definitely becomes a problem after several rounds. I don't see it having much practical use other than small game. I agree that a .36 or .40 would be a much better caliber for all around use .

 

[tbuckley]

Those that I have seen from eastern Ohio have been from .32 to .40 caliber.

 

[Booner]

My squirrel rifle is pictured below. It's a Southern Mountain Rifle loosely based from the Bean school of SMR due to it's lollipop tang. I assembled it two years ago from a Jim Kibler kit. Curly maple stock which is not so typical of SMR's as they were a working man's gun and their stock's are normally made of plain cherry or walnut-what ever was available locally and stained dark. These gun were plain; nothing like any fancy carving, etc. that would increase it's price, although the owner may have added something at a later date. It's iron mounted with a set trigger, all of which is typical, brass was expensive so you don't see it on this type of rifle, although a grease hole or a long narrow plain iron patch box are seen. The barrel is 46 inches long but the gun is not barrel heavy as it is "swamped," meaning the barrel is thinner in it's middle, so the balance point when you sight the rifle is real close to the breach end and it "holds" real easy. All the iron on a SMR is normally browned, so it doesn't reflect any light, but I elected to do a French gray browning and let the iron age naturally, or I may brown it later. Caliber is .36, 1 in 48 twist round bottom rifling. I have loaded it with as much as 40 grains of 3f and chronographed a velocity of just under 2,000 fps, so loaded heavy like that could make it a deer killer at close range, but it's not very accurate with that much powder. My normal load will probably be around 20 grains, as I'm still working on building it's most accurate load by varying the powder charge, patch thickness, and lube combination, but so far, it shows its capable of being pretty accurate. My biggest problem is that I've reached an age where I'm having some problems seeing the front sight as clearly as I used to.

 

[archieclement]

I think I'll have to disagree with the 30 caliber and under as sutable for squirrel hunting. Certainly back in the day there were a few rifles of 30 caliber and under in existence, but very few. The smallest caliber that would be in common use would have been a .32, with the. 36 caliber being the most common of the smaller caliber. The biggest complaint of the .32 would be how quickly it fowled compared to the .36. A .36 caliber with a reduced powder charge was small enough to use for small game, and big enough with more powder to be used on deer. Most folks didn't have many guns in their closet. More than likely it would have been a shotgun or fowler that could shoot shot at birds and squirrels and buckshot at deer. They would have something that provided utilitarian value. Something under .30 caliber didn't provide that kind of value.

I agree, think around here .32 or .36 would generally have been included as squirrel rifles

 

[Kurt G]

My squirrel rifle is pictured below. It's a Southern Mountain Rifle loosely based from the Bean school of SMR due to it's lollipop tang. I assembled it two years ago from a Jim Kimber kit. Curly maple stock which is not so typical of SMR's as they were a working man's gun and their stock's are normally made of plain cherry or walnut-what ever was available locally. These gun were plain; nothing like fancy carving that would increase it's price, although the owner may have added something at a later date. It's iron mounted, which is typical, brass was expensive so you don't see it on this type of rifle, although a grease hole or a long narrow plain iron patch box are seen. The barrel is 46 inches long but the gun is not barrel heavy as it is "swamped," meaning the barrel is thinner in it's middle, so the balance point when you sight the rifle is real close to the breach end and it "holds" real easy. All the iron on a SMR is normally browned, so it doesn't reflect any light, but I elected to do a French gray browning and let the iron age naturally, or I may brown it later. Caliber is .36, 1 in 48 twist round bottom rifling. I have loaded it with as much as 40 grains of 3f and chronographed a velocity of just under 2,000 fps, so loaded heavy like that could make it a deer killer at close range, but it's not very accurate with that much powder. My normal load will probably be around 20 grains, as I'm still working on building it's most accurate load by varying the powder charge, patch thickness, and lube combination, but so far, it shows its capable of being pretty accurate. My biggest problem is that I've reached an age where I'm having some problems seeing the front sight as clearly as I used to.
View attachment 348521

That is a beautiful piece !!

 

[Booner]

That is a beautiful piece !!

Thank you. I can't recommend the Jim Kibler kits high enough. His stock are all carved on a CNC machine, and all one has to do as far as wood working is square up the corners and sand the stock. I also have one of his Colonial rifle in 50 caliber sitting on my workbench. Its also in a curly maple stock and is a little fancier with a wooden patch box and brass furniture, typical of that period. I may try a little stock carving on it.

 

[LasisMore]

"Squirrel Hunter's Discharge."

Image of a Squirrel Hunter's discharge.

https://www.ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p267401coll36/id/21186

 

[Jeff in Ohio]

By the way, you should google "squirrel hunter's discharge" and you can see plenty of examples of this fancy certificate created in 1863 to give to all those Ohio patriots who defended Cincinnati from the threat of invasion those couple of weeks in September 1862. Thousands of these fanciful Discharge certificates were framed and proudly displayed on thousands of walls throughout Ohio.
You might almost think that Governor Tod sent these throughout the state in the hopes of having these heroes show up to vote to keep him in office, eh?
These men didn't get their $13 pay (a month's worth) until 1908, too late to help get votes for the 1860s politicians, but in time to help the office-holders of 1908.