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While I waited for my rifle (nearly a year), I ordered several hundred rounds of .22 Squirrel (Winchester) brass from Kevin. We also discussed using other brass – RWS, Sako, Remington and Sellier & Beloit. When the brass arrived, I discovered that it was very well prepared and segregated by weight in groups of 50 cartridges each. I discovered years ago that making and weighing brass, .17 Squirrel or otherwise, is a time-consuming task, especially if it is done by hand without power equipment.  I now had several batches of brass that needed to be annealed and then fire formed. The Series II annealing tip works very well. Later fire forming was easy and fun. While I waited for the rifle, I placed an order for 2,000 Berger bullets in 30-grain Match Varmint, collected Remington primers in 6½, and located several cans of Vihtavuori N-110 powder. A Kahles 3x9 scope with TDS reticule was sent to Cascade Arms where it was mounted with Talley rings that had been blued to match the rifle. Kevin was kind enough to share detailed reloading information. His testing showed that bullet weights in the 30- to 40-grain range worked best. I usually opted for the 30-grain Berger Match Varmint, but the 40-grain bullets in Hornady V-Max, Nosler BT, Sierra Blitz, Sierra HP and Berger as well as 25-grain JRP bullets will also work well. These are explosive varmint bullets. Powders that seemed to give excellent results are N-110 and Winchester 296. Velocities in the 2200 to 2400 f.p.s. range are mild, not scorching! No, it is not a 4000+ f.p.s. round, and it is not designed to be that fast. Would you really want to shoot edible small game with that speed???? The rifle was delivered on a late spring day. The metal work, the wood work, the checkering, the metal engraving and the finish were exactly what you would expect from a custom gun maker! The quality rivals some of the best British guns I have seen. I’ll just let the photographs speak for themselves. I loaded a box of ammo, tested it and was quickly disappointed. The groups were not as small as I expected. It made me realize that my eyes would work much better with a higher power magnification, and so the order was placed for a Swarovski 6x18 with TDS reticule.  It was back to the reloading bench where I knew that I needed to take the time to throw each powder charge and then weigh it. If the charge varied by 1/10 of a grain or more, it could affect accuracy. We are talking about six to eight grains per round depending on which bullet and/or powder are being used. I discovered that my first box of ammo was not carefully loaded with a very small range of variance in powder weight. With some practice I got better results with more consistent powder charges. I am using a Harrell Precision powder measure and an electronic scale for checking. It is amazing how accurate the Harrell measure is once you use it in a consistent manner. Whenever the charge shows a variance, I pour it back into the bottle. A handheld Sinclair priming tool was used to prime cases. A Redding die set was used to size and seat bullets. A Wilson primer punch and base were used to remove fired primers. With the more careful loading techniques, and the higher power scope, groups proved to be very small. Three-shot groups at 80 yards were often ¼ inch or less. The following loads were recommended to me. For hunting small edible game (squirrels, rabbits, etc.) use 6.9 grains of Vihtavuori N-110 powder and the Berger 30-grain Match Varmint bullet. This gives about 2250 f.p.s. For hunting woodchucks use 8.2 grains of Winchester 296 powder and the 40-grain V-Max bullet. This provides about 2350 f.p.s. All loads used moly-coated Berger bullets After firing several hundred rounds this past year, I have found that the cases will last if properly cared for by:
I tried RWS brass; however, the Alpine Cub’s chamber was too tight. The brass had been fire formed in a Rampro rifle. I had to use a great amount of force to close the bolt, and after firing I had to use a cleaning rod to push the fired case out of the chamber. Had we prepared the brass for the Alpine Cub and fire formed in that rifle, it would have worked. We found that the Winchester cases worked fine!  During range testing I discovered that hitting the three-inch steel gong at the 200-yard line was easy – just center the steel gong between the third and fourth TDS crosshair while shooting the 30-grain Berger with Winchester 296 powder. Ten shots and ten hits! Woodchuck hunting with the .22 Squirrel can be fun. Yes, there are other more capable cartridges. But once I hunted and harvested woodchucks with this cartridge I was convinced of its ability. The Match Varmint bullet works well at these velocities on woodchuck-sized animals. Several chucks were killed instantly when the head, neck or upper chest was hit and others dropped dead back into their burrows leaving a very large blood trail. The cartridge would be excellent for ground squirrels from 25 to 175 yards. And then there is squirrel (both fox and grey) hunting. The .22 Squirrel is the centerfire cartridge I had been looking for. Squirrels are easily harvested using the Vihtavuori N-110 loads and the 30-grain bullets. I try to avoid shots that send the bullet from head to butt (lengthwise), hit a back bone or the back hams to save a large wound and meat damage. A head shot or a lung shot works well. A 30-grain Berger Match bullet (not Match Varmint) might be a better edible small-game bullet but it is no longer available unless you special order it in quantities of 10,000 or more. Trajectories with 6.9 grains of Vihtavuori N-110 and 30-grain Berger Match Varmint:
When I’m hunting with the Cascade Alpine Squirrel, I find that I spend a fair amount of time looking at it and just enjoying the beauty of the rifle. The excellent metal-to-wood fit, the checkering on the bolt handle and stock, the inletted sling swivel studs, the Neidner steel butt, the Schnabel forend, the top-quality metal engraving, the box magazine that feeds smoothly and the beautiful walnut stock with a cheek piece. The weight of the rifle is lighter than most of my rifles. It has taken some time and practice to become accustomed to firing it accurately. The Cascade VEX (Varmint Extreme) is slightly larger and may fit me better. I plan to test a VEX in .22 Squirrel before summer. The VEX will have a 1-10 twist rate, the standard for Cascade Arms’ .22 Squirrel rifles. Kevin Harrington has spent much time perfecting his loading data for the .22 Squirrel and has generously shared his date with me. If you planned to use the .22 Squirrel exclusively for squirrel hunting, 20 RWS cases would be an excellent investment. The RWS cases are made of top-quality brass with drilled primer pockets. While these would need to be neck turned and fire formed in the intended rifle’s chamber, with proper care they will last a long time. Let me return to my original question. Why the .22 Squirrel? Here are several reasons why:
Todd Kindler The Woodchuck Den 11220 Hilltop Road Baltic, OH 43804 330.897.0614 Butch Weyand Cascade Arms 52261 Kelly Springs Road Maupin, OR 97037 541.328.6215 Kevin Harrington 561 Chestnut Ridge Road Dover Plains, NY 12522 845.877.6598 |
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