Squirrel runner

[capt hindsight]

Would appreciate thoughts and opinions from those of you who shoot squirrels, I've done a fair bit of squirrel control over the years but alway used .177 and generally H&N baracuda hunter (the hollowpoint version). Similarly these are my favourite pellets for ratting.

So this morning went out with a .22 PR900W using JSB express. It's fairly new gun but I've put plenty of practice in with it over the past few weeks and know i'm good out to 30 yards.

Checked zero before I went out, shot from rested using sticks and lrf to check distance.

Second squirrel of the day - dropped with a very distinct crack of a head shot from 25 yards. It hit hard and was bowled straight off the feeder and dropped out of sight behind a log. Normally I like to get to my quarry fairly quickly to confim its a clean kill, but I didn't even rush as I was utterly convinced from the impact noise that it had been killed instantly.

Then just as I got near the log the squirrel bolts about 20ft across the ground, straight up an ivy covered tree and disappears. I couldn't catch any sign of injury but it ran flat rather than the usual bounding.

I hate having runners and can't remember the last time I had a squirrel run. It's left me wondering how the shot went astray, if the squirrel moved just as i took the shot or if I'd just be best returning to the .177 hollowpoints.