This is a VITAL thread
- Thread starter intenseaty22
- Start date
Sub-12fpe Daystate Revere in .177 has zero problems taking down a mature squirrel at 28 yards with a well placed pellet to the vitals.
Upvote 0
I don’t think I have ever stolen something as an adult. But I could not be trusted in your house unless that gun was under lock and key.
Upvote 0
I guess this ties up really nicely with the recently posted Aesthetics thread. Daystate doesn’t send many Sub-12s across the pond, so when I ordered this one, I asked for the nicest of the lot. I’m pretty sure I got it.
Upvote 0
I still have a few from my last order. I will likely buy some of the new .20 Bull Shark as soon as they become available. I can do something like that then.
Upvote 0
OK. I have not done a proper Autopsy in a while, but here it goes.
I took a shot on a squirrel this morning at about 29 yards. It was up the ol' Pecan tree and looking away. It was very still, but all I could see was it's tail and what I perceived to be it's back, or thorax area. I deliberated a few seconds and decided to take the shot. @KalibrGun Cricket Carbine Mini in .22 was the weapon of choice and the Hades the ammo used.
I took the shot and saw it immediately drop to the ground where if only kicked it's hind leg about 5 times and it was done. Did not run, did not do the dance, nothing, pretty much DRT. In my mind I swore I had hit the spine and probably heart and or lungs. So, it was a huge surprise to me when I realized that the pellet had basically hit the rear of the squirrel, near the butt area. I felt around for the pellet as I did not see a pass through and was able to palpate the pellet just under the hide in the upper thoracic spinal area.
I proceeded to cut it open and follow the trail of the pellet, which apparently had hit it's rump and traveled through it's intestines and ended up in the thorax. You see, I did not realize that it was lying down, or somewhat angled down. The pellet pierced the Liver:
Then it pierced the lungs. Notice that they are completely deflated as well as the massive bruising on them.
There was a huge pool of blood inside the chest cavity.
Then I noticed a huge clot of blood that had formed.
I removed it very gently and found the culprit. The pellet had pierced the Aorta and it probably bled out before it hit the ground. As I mentioned before, if the brain is instantly deprived of oxygen, it is all over right there and then. I am pretty confident that an "Energy Dump" did not have anything to do with it's demise. That pellet left the barrel at 22fpe and cleanly pierced the body from one side to the other, disrupting vital life function along the way.
I hope this brings some discovery, learning, and perhaps a bit of clarity in the ever raging "Heads or Vitals" discussion.
I took a shot on a squirrel this morning at about 29 yards. It was up the ol' Pecan tree and looking away. It was very still, but all I could see was it's tail and what I perceived to be it's back, or thorax area. I deliberated a few seconds and decided to take the shot. @KalibrGun Cricket Carbine Mini in .22 was the weapon of choice and the Hades the ammo used.
I took the shot and saw it immediately drop to the ground where if only kicked it's hind leg about 5 times and it was done. Did not run, did not do the dance, nothing, pretty much DRT. In my mind I swore I had hit the spine and probably heart and or lungs. So, it was a huge surprise to me when I realized that the pellet had basically hit the rear of the squirrel, near the butt area. I felt around for the pellet as I did not see a pass through and was able to palpate the pellet just under the hide in the upper thoracic spinal area.
I proceeded to cut it open and follow the trail of the pellet, which apparently had hit it's rump and traveled through it's intestines and ended up in the thorax. You see, I did not realize that it was lying down, or somewhat angled down. The pellet pierced the Liver:
Then it pierced the lungs. Notice that they are completely deflated as well as the massive bruising on them.
There was a huge pool of blood inside the chest cavity.
Then I noticed a huge clot of blood that had formed.
I removed it very gently and found the culprit. The pellet had pierced the Aorta and it probably bled out before it hit the ground. As I mentioned before, if the brain is instantly deprived of oxygen, it is all over right there and then. I am pretty confident that an "Energy Dump" did not have anything to do with it's demise. That pellet left the barrel at 22fpe and cleanly pierced the body from one side to the other, disrupting vital life function along the way.
I hope this brings some discovery, learning, and perhaps a bit of clarity in the ever raging "Heads or Vitals" discussion.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Love it, thanks! You did what I always wanted to do.
Gonna tell my liberal friends that some dude on the internet shot a squirrel and did an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. We are not anti science at all, actually we are very science-y!
Upvote 0
Got another one just before the sun went down. Was up the tree looking my way. It took a Hades square in the chest. It did try to walk off for a few yards, but it didn’t make it very far.
Upvote 0
I've had a few end for end shots with my 32 fpe 25 caliber P35. From the front of the chest to under the hide behind a rear leg. They ran a little but died quickly. I also hit a couple in the head with my P35 177 (19 fpe) and had the pellet stop in front of a back leg. That dropped the affected squirrel on the spot. Haven't hit one in the backside yet but with enough fpe I can totally believe the pellet can pass through to something vital. Still I plan to restrict the entry point to the front half of the animal when I can.
Upvote 0
Due to the ongoing construction behind my house, squirrels have been staying away, ergo the lack of posting to the thread. However, pecans are hard to resist in the dead of winter.
This one took a single shot from my Sub 12fpe .177 HW95K. Around 25 yards or so, while standing on it’s hind, facing the shot. It hit with a Brown Box 10.5gr Crosman Premier, with a significant thud. It did run off about 5 yards and tried to climb the pecan tree. Then it probably fell (was on the other side to my view) and ran another 3 yards or so.
This one took a single shot from my Sub 12fpe .177 HW95K. Around 25 yards or so, while standing on it’s hind, facing the shot. It hit with a Brown Box 10.5gr Crosman Premier, with a significant thud. It did run off about 5 yards and tried to climb the pecan tree. Then it probably fell (was on the other side to my view) and ran another 3 yards or so.
Upvote 0
I used to see and shoot quite a few of those jumbos like that. After a couple weeks with my pardNV, I just about wiped them out. Only shoot 1 or 2 a month now.
Upvote 0
Same as you. When I first started culling them, I would get 50 plus a year, now, seven years later, I only get about 10 a year.
Upvote 0
I got this one this morning about 7:30 and it was my first body shot with my P35-22. It shoots H&N Baracuda Match 21 grain at about 835 fps. So about 32 fpe. It was a little over 8 yards away and about 20 feet up an oak tree. I did not realize it was that close and aimed at the head. I hit it in the front of the left shoulder (the side that is up in the picture) and the pellet exited low on the right side abdomen. The 15 ounce male did not even take one step. Just fell lifeless and my dog Cola grabbed it. I wanted her to bring it to me but I need to do some training on that. I did not have shoes on. But I walked over to her and got it. It's 4 squirrels now for this gun I got early in June after 5 with the 177 I got at the same time. I think my placement has been a little better with the 22 (either through luck or better shooting) but 2 of the 177 squirrels still had a bit of life left in them when they fell, all 4 of the 22s have been lifeless. But I took 18 with my P35-25 before getting the 22 and 177 and two taken with it ran a bit. After I get one more with the 22 I plan to switch back to the 177 and gather some more data. Over the 44 I've shot so far with a PCP, the only ones that ran at all were body shots, not brain or neck shots. But most of the body shots were just DRT like the brain shots. If Cola is outside when they fall they don't really get a chance to run, however. So I watch them when they fall and note which ones were lifeless. That isn't foolproof, however. The fifth one with the 177 looked pretty lifeless coming down and went a few feet back up a tree as Cola ran to him. It fell quickly, however, and Cola shook it until it wasn't moving. I hit it in the throat. I count it as a body shot since I did not hit the brain or spine.
Upvote 0
Another one for the Vitals thread today. This one stood on it’s hinds at 28 yards & took a .177 Hades to the cheat at a bit of an angle. As usual, the Sub 12fpe Revere delivered the goods with enough energy to deposit the pellet at the distal side of the POI just under the hide. It did run off……all of 4 yards or so.
Upvote 0
It’s been slow at the Black Hole, between bad weather, construction behind the house, and just plain ol’ busy. But, today I set up and was ready for customers to swing by.
I have been testing and practicing with my HW95K and happens that the Polymags have been spot on. Took this shot at 28 yards, aiming at the shoulder. Had to look hard, but there it was, a pinhole right where I had aimed.
I know I had hit it, as it jumped up in the air, hit the ground, and scurried away & out of my line of sight, behind the utility trailer. I gave it a few mins & sure enough, it was right there, no less than 4 yards or more than 5 away.
The pellet was just under the hide, on the distal shoulder & pretty much straight line across.
I have been testing and practicing with my HW95K and happens that the Polymags have been spot on. Took this shot at 28 yards, aiming at the shoulder. Had to look hard, but there it was, a pinhole right where I had aimed.
I know I had hit it, as it jumped up in the air, hit the ground, and scurried away & out of my line of sight, behind the utility trailer. I gave it a few mins & sure enough, it was right there, no less than 4 yards or more than 5 away.
The pellet was just under the hide, on the distal shoulder & pretty much straight line across.
Upvote 0