One topic of great discussion in the realm of squirrel hunting would be the brain shot. In fact, from my experience, this one topic is the most argued point in all of squirrel hunting. Why? Is one drastically better than the other? Most opinions that I have heard side with the brain shot. But from my experience, and in my opinion, the brain is not the best possible shot on a squirrel.
I’m sure there are many of you reading this that have already disagreed with my opinion, and perhaps for your hunting area, it is false. However, all the areas in which I have hunted, there has never been a single one in which the brain shot dominated the vital area shot. Why? Allow me to give you a few reasons.
First of all, the squirrel is a small target. Compared to a deer or a turkey, or even a duck, a squirrel is a small target. By no means am I saying that it is impossible for anyone to shoot a squirrel; all I am trying to state is the fact that squirrels are a much smaller target.
A fact that plays hand-in-hand with the first point is that a squirrel is constantly moving. Add this to the fact of a small target and you just decreased your chances of ethically harvesting a squirrel by drastic measures. Of course, there are times in which a squirrel does pause, whether it is to eat a nut or to glance at its surroundings. But these can be few and far between, and having the skill to immediately capitalize upon them is also a challenging task.
Secondly, the elements pose a definite problem to a squirrel hunter. For instance, if the day is windy, there will be bullet drift. Wind is hard to predict when it is coming straight at you; you really only can calculate the wind’s speed when it has reached you. Especially situations in which you are focusing on making the best shot, you will not be spending time gauging the wind. Although this may not seem like a good reason for aiming at the vitals only, remember that the brain is much smaller — and that the squirrel will be moving.
My last point is the inevitable fact of human failure. Even if every detail you cannot control was perfect for the situation, there is still the possibility that you will make a mistake. Perhaps the temperature is freezing, and you are cold. This will cause the task of squeezing the trigger to be slightly harder, for you do not have as much control over your finger as you do in a warm temperature. Or perhaps you are nervous; the squirrel is large, sporting the biggest tail you have ever seen. You might be shaking. Or perhaps you misjudged the range to be shorter than it really is. Any of these can happen even to the best of squirrel hunters.
And amidst all these reasons, remember that the squirrel’s brain is tiny compared to the vital area.
So is a vital area shot better? Let’s ask all those questions again. Small target? The vital area is much larger than the brain, making it easier for you to harvest the animal. Constantly moving? If the squirrel moves one last time right before the shot, chances are the bullet will still strike somewhere in the vital area. Wind? Unless you are hunting in high wind, bullet drift will not completely move the projectile out of the vital area. Human failure? Pulling the trigger should not cause you to miss the vitals. If the range is further than you first thought, you will only strike lower in the vital area, whereas aiming for the brain you will strike the squirrel in the jaw.
Brain shots definitely do have their advantages — if you do place the shot in the brain, it will immediately kill the squirrel (movement after the shot is simply reflexes; the squirrel is not alive), and it does not tear up the meat. But, in my opinion, harvesting a squirrel immediately most of the time does not outweigh the benefits of harvesting a squirrel quickly all of the time. Bagging squirrels as ethically as possible should be mandatory, and I believe that the vital area shot is the most ethical, considering all the facts.