We often get questions on the AGF about the exact point of impact (POI) for quarry. In light of recent questions on this, and the wave of newcomers, I thought I'd compile this in the spirit of shared knowledge and education. The seasoned shooters on here know what they are doing - so please don't feel I'm teaching any of you how to suck eggs - I most certainly am not. But hopefully some will find this of use and getting peeps to think about being as humane as possible is never a bad thing!
Couple of caveats. The below is based on shooting with a sub 12ft.lbs air rifle where brain shots (and brain stem shots) are the goal for maximum efficiency. People often talk about 'head shots' - very true, but actually you need to think about it as 'brain shots' and even 'brain stem' shots. The below discussion in this OP also assumes you're shooting a grey squirrel from a perfect 'side-on' perspective.
In the image below I'm trying to illustrate how not all 'head shots' are brain shots and why this can lead to non-fatal outcomes. If you shot into the POI area highlighted in red here - you're shooting too high. With a larger calibre you may still knock the grey down, and you might get a second shot off with a PCP but lets be honest with each other - we all plan to do it with one shot and we should not be relying on being sloppy in the first place. My first top tip for grey squirrel shooting is don't shoot too high. It is unlikely to be humane nor lethal. In the image below there is no brain in the highlighted part of the skull that is also crucial for life. So as a general rule, it's a 'no go' for me.
Try this. In your mind draw an imaginary line between the back of the eye and the base of the ear (by the way, you can do exactly the same for rabbits!). But this is just the first stage of the process. Nonetheless, draw this line in your minds eye and project it onto the grey squirrel.
Then simply bisect that line (imagine a half-way point along the line) in your mind and you can aim for that as your POI. This is illustrated below. In my experience this is a humane and effective POI - nothing wrong with it. But, it's not the most effective - a 'slight' adjustment is needed for the soundest of drops.
A number of years ago I switched my favoured POI - and whenever possible (assuming the angles allow etc - perfect side-on shot) I have moved my POI more posterior on the surface of its head in order to target not just the brain, but the brain stem and the back of the brain as this region is crucial for life in that it controls breathing and autonomic processes (like flight or fight responses). If you take this region out - then its lights out. Ultimately, lower and more posterior - but not 'too far' back.
I hope this is helpful to anyone (and our new members) starting out on their grey squirrel control journey. Fundamental to all hunting / pest control / conservation - is a humane dispatch. Studying the brain location in the skull will help place the pellet where it needs to be for optimal effects. I will try and add to this with other images for frontal, for 3/4s angles, and rear positions in due course. Feel free to add your own.
Note - bit of trivia for you - I generated the image of the grey squirrel in this thread using AI algorithms. It looks quite realistic - no? Absolutely no grey squirrels were harmed in this thread.
Couple of caveats. The below is based on shooting with a sub 12ft.lbs air rifle where brain shots (and brain stem shots) are the goal for maximum efficiency. People often talk about 'head shots' - very true, but actually you need to think about it as 'brain shots' and even 'brain stem' shots. The below discussion in this OP also assumes you're shooting a grey squirrel from a perfect 'side-on' perspective.
In the image below I'm trying to illustrate how not all 'head shots' are brain shots and why this can lead to non-fatal outcomes. If you shot into the POI area highlighted in red here - you're shooting too high. With a larger calibre you may still knock the grey down, and you might get a second shot off with a PCP but lets be honest with each other - we all plan to do it with one shot and we should not be relying on being sloppy in the first place. My first top tip for grey squirrel shooting is don't shoot too high. It is unlikely to be humane nor lethal. In the image below there is no brain in the highlighted part of the skull that is also crucial for life. So as a general rule, it's a 'no go' for me.
Try this. In your mind draw an imaginary line between the back of the eye and the base of the ear (by the way, you can do exactly the same for rabbits!). But this is just the first stage of the process. Nonetheless, draw this line in your minds eye and project it onto the grey squirrel.
Then simply bisect that line (imagine a half-way point along the line) in your mind and you can aim for that as your POI. This is illustrated below. In my experience this is a humane and effective POI - nothing wrong with it. But, it's not the most effective - a 'slight' adjustment is needed for the soundest of drops.
A number of years ago I switched my favoured POI - and whenever possible (assuming the angles allow etc - perfect side-on shot) I have moved my POI more posterior on the surface of its head in order to target not just the brain, but the brain stem and the back of the brain as this region is crucial for life in that it controls breathing and autonomic processes (like flight or fight responses). If you take this region out - then its lights out. Ultimately, lower and more posterior - but not 'too far' back.
I hope this is helpful to anyone (and our new members) starting out on their grey squirrel control journey. Fundamental to all hunting / pest control / conservation - is a humane dispatch. Studying the brain location in the skull will help place the pellet where it needs to be for optimal effects. I will try and add to this with other images for frontal, for 3/4s angles, and rear positions in due course. Feel free to add your own.
Note - bit of trivia for you - I generated the image of the grey squirrel in this thread using AI algorithms. It looks quite realistic - no? Absolutely no grey squirrels were harmed in this thread.
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