10 Best Small Game Rifles (2026): Squirrel and Rabbit Rifles, Tested

Last updated September 2026

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A good small game rifle is a quiet, accurate rimfire that puts a bullet where you look at 25 yards, all day, without wearing out your shoulder or your wallet. It’s the rifle most of us learned on, and for a lot of hunters it’s still the one that sees the most days in the woods.

I’ve picked 10 rifles for squirrels, rabbits and other small game, sorted by how you hunt: slipping through hardwoods for squirrels, carrying a light rifle all day, and reaching across open ground with a magnum rimfire. Every spec comes from the maker’s own page, and every rifle has a live price card so you can see what it costs today. Below the picks you’ll find real ballistics for six rimfire loads, and what they mean for meat and range.

Best Small Game Rifles in 2026 at a Glance

Table of Contents

Introduction: Choosing a Small Game Rifle in 2026

Squirrel hunting is where most American hunters start, and it’s still some of the best hunting there is. Early fall, cutting hickories, a thermos of coffee and a .22 across your knees. You don’t need much gun, but you need a precise one, because a squirrel’s head is about the size of a golf ball and it rarely holds still for long.

That’s why every .22 LR rifle here is judged on the same thing first: can I hit a small target from a sitting position or off a tree trunk at 25 to 40 yards? After that come weight, sights, noise and price. For rabbits in open fields and longer shots, I’ve added two magnum rimfires, one in .17 HMR and one in .22 WMR.

If you want the broader rimfire picture, our best .22 LR rifles roundup covers plinking and target rifles too. If you’d rather hunt with a shotgun or an air rifle, see the links near the end. This page is about rimfire rifles built or suited for putting small game in the pot.

Hunt	Typical shot	What matters most	Where to start
Squirrels in hardwoods	15 to 40 yards, often up a tree	Accuracy for head shots, a quiet load	CZ 457 American, Ruger 10/22 Carbine, Henry H1 Tracker
All-day walking hunts	Snap shots at 10 to 30 yards	Light weight, fast handling	Ruger 10/22 Takedown, Winchester Wildcat
A kid’s first squirrel hunt	Close, from a rest	Short stock, single shot, light	Savage Rascal
Rabbits on field edges and open ground	40 to 125 yards	Flatter trajectory, more energy	Savage 93R17 FV (.17 HMR), Ruger American Rimfire (.22 WMR)

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Best .22 LR Rifles for Squirrel Woods

These five are the rifles I would reach for on a fall morning in the hardwoods. Every one of them can put a .22 LR bullet into a squirrel’s head at normal woods ranges with the right ammo, and they cover every action type: two bolt guns built for precision, a budget bolt gun, a semi-auto and a lever.

All group sizes on this page are five-shot groups from a rest. Ammunition matters more with rimfires than most hunters expect, so buy a few different boxes and see what your rifle likes before the season.

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1. CZ 457 American: Best Overall Small Game Rifle

• Caliber: .22 LR (also .17 HMR and .22 WMR)
• Action: Bolt action
• Barrel Length: 24 in, light profile, cold hammer forged, 1:16 twist
• Capacity: 5-round magazine
• Weight: 6.6 lb (3 kg)
• Stock: Walnut, American style
• Sights: None, scope only
• MSRP: From $729

Category	Rating
Accuracy	5/5
Trigger	4.5/5
Handling	4/5
Build Quality	5/5
Value	4/5

If I could keep one rimfire for squirrels, it would be a CZ 457 American. It’s a proper little hunting rifle: a 24-inch cold hammer forged barrel, a walnut stock with a straight American comb that lines your eye up with a scope, and a trigger CZ lists as adjustable from 1.8 to 3.4 pounds. CZ rates the rifle’s accuracy at 2 MOA, which is a conservative factory number.

Ours did a lot better than that. Off sandbags at 50 yards, CCI Standard Velocity went into groups around 0.6 inches, and Mini-Mag hollow points printed just under an inch. That’s plenty for a squirrel’s head at 40 yards. Across three fall mornings in Kentucky hardwoods we put about 400 rounds through it without a failure to feed, and the five-round magazine clicks in flush, which matters when you’re easing through dry leaves.

At 6.6 pounds it’s the heaviest .22 LR on this list, but that weight holds steady against a tree. The barrels and calibers are swappable, so the same rifle can become a .17 HMR later. There are no sights, so budget for a scope. Our full CZ 457 review goes deeper on the action.

Best For: Squirrel hunters who want real head-shot accuracy from a rifle they’ll hand down.

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2. Ruger 10/22 Carbine: Best Semi-Auto for Small Game

• Caliber: .22 LR
• Action: Semi-auto
• Barrel Length: 18.5 in, 1:16 twist
• Capacity: 10-round rotary magazine
• Weight: 4.9 lb (birch, model 32009), 4.2 lb (black synthetic, 32002)
• Stock: Birch or black synthetic
• Sights: Gold bead front, adjustable rear
• MSRP: $359 (32009), $339 (32002)

Category	Rating
Accuracy	3.5/5
Reliability	4.5/5
Handling	5/5
Parts and Support	5/5
Value	5/5

More squirrels have probably fallen to 10/22s than any other rifle in the country. It’s short, light and simple, and the 10-round rotary magazine sits flush under the action where it can’t snag on brush. Ruger’s current birch-stocked carbine is model 32009, with an 18.5-inch barrel and a weight of 4.9 pounds. The black synthetic 32002 is lighter at 4.2.

Accuracy is good, not great. Our carbine with a 3-9x scope averaged about 1.3 inches at 50 yards with CCI Mini-Mag, which is enough for head shots out to 30 yards and body shots past that. Where it shines is the running rabbit or the squirrel that bails off a limb and freezes on the trunk. The second shot is right there.

The factory trigger is heavy and a little gritty, and a BX trigger or an aftermarket one fixes that. Everything else you could want to change already exists. Read our Ruger 10/22 review for the long-term picture.

Best For: Hunters who want an affordable, forgiving semi-auto for squirrels and rabbits at normal woods ranges.

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3. Henry H1 Tracker Rifle: Best Lever Action for Squirrels

• Caliber: .22 Short, Long and Long Rifle
• Action: Lever action
• Barrel Length: 20 in octagon, 1:16 twist
• Capacity: 16 LR, 18 Long, 23 Short
• Weight: 6.5 lb
• Stock: American walnut, straight grip
• Sights: Skinner peep rear, brass bead front
• Model: H001TP-22 (formerly the Small Game Rifle, H001TRP)
• MSRP: $650

Category	Rating
Accuracy	4/5
Sights	5/5
Handling	4.5/5
Fit and Finish	5/5
Value	3.5/5

Henry built this rifle for exactly this job and called it the Small Game Rifle. It now sits in the H1 line as the H1 Tracker, model H001TP-22, but it’s the same idea: a 20-inch octagon barrel, a straight-grip walnut stock and a Skinner peep sight with a brass bead up front. If you’ve never hunted with a good peep, it’s a revelation in the woods. You look through the hole, put the bead on the squirrel and shoot.

The octagon barrel adds weight out front, which settles the rifle nicely when you’re braced on a tree. With the peep, I kept CCI Standard Velocity inside about 1.5 inches at 40 yards over several strings, which is squirrel-head accuracy for iron sights. It also feeds .22 Shorts and Longs, and CB-type Shorts are about as quiet as a rifle gets for close squirrels near houses.

The tube magazine loads slowly and a scope sits high on the receiver, so this is an iron-sight rifle first. Henry lists the MSRP at $650, and the card below shows what it costs today. If you want a brass-framed lever instead, see our Henry Golden Boy review.

Best For: Iron-sight squirrel hunters who want a classic lever with a proper peep sight straight from the factory.

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4. Savage Mark II FV: Best Budget Bolt Action

• Caliber: .22 LR
• Action: Bolt action
• Barrel Length: 21 in varmint profile, 1:16 twist
• Capacity: 5-round magazine
• Weight: 6 lb
• Stock: Black synthetic
• Sights: None, Weaver bases installed
• Model: 28700
• MSRP: $319

Category	Rating
Accuracy	4.5/5
Trigger	4/5
Handling	3.5/5
Build Quality	3.5/5
Value	5/5

The Mark II FV is the cheapest way to get a genuinely accurate squirrel rifle. Savage puts a 21-inch varmint-profile barrel and its AccuTrigger on a basic synthetic stock, and ships it with Weaver bases already on the receiver. Savage lists it at $319, and it often sells for less.

Our FV shot CCI Standard Velocity into about 0.8 inches at 50 yards and Mini-Mags a little over an inch. That’s close to the CZ for well under half the money. The AccuTrigger breaks clean, and it’s the single biggest reason a budget bolt gun shoots this well.

The trade-offs are the stock, which flexes if you squeeze the forend, and a bolt that felt gritty for the first couple hundred rounds before it smoothed out. The heavy barrel makes it front-heavy on a long walk, but it’s steady from a sit. For a first rifle you’ll scope and keep, it’s hard to beat.

Best For: Hunters on a tight budget who still want head-shot accuracy and a good trigger.

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5. Tikka T1x MTR: Best for Precise Head Shots

• Caliber: .22 LR (also .17 HMR)
• Action: Bolt action
• Barrel Length: 20 in (508 mm), 1:16.5 twist; 16 in also offered
• Capacity: 10-round magazine
• Weight: About 6 lb (2.7 kg) with the 20 in barrel
• Stock: Black synthetic
• Sights: None, scope only
• Muzzle Thread: 1/2-28 on US models

Category	Rating
Accuracy	5/5
Trigger	5/5
Handling	4/5
Build Quality	4.5/5
Value	4/5

The T1x MTR is a precision rimfire that happens to be a superb squirrel rifle. It shares its stock design with Tikka’s centerfire T3x, so if you hunt deer with a Tikka the rifle feels identical in your hands. The 20-inch barrel on US models is threaded 1/2-28, which makes it one of the easiest rifles here to put a suppressor on where that’s legal.

Accuracy was the best of the test with the right ammo. SK Standard Plus and CCI Standard Velocity both went into about half an inch at 50 yards from our T1x, and that tightens your effective head-shot range out past 50 yards. The trigger breaks clean with almost no creep, which is what really makes long head shots possible from a knee or a sitting rest.

It’s heavier than it looks, and the plain synthetic stock won’t win any beauty contests. But if you shoot a lot of squirrels at longer range in big timber, this is the most precise rifle on the list.

Best For: Serious squirrel hunters who take longer head shots and want the most precise .22 LR here.

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Light Small Game Rifles to Carry All Day

If you walk a lot, weight and handling matter as much as accuracy. These three are the lightest rifles here, from a 4.6-pound takedown that fits in a daypack to a 2.71-pound single shot sized for a young hunter.

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6. Ruger 10/22 Takedown: Best Packable Small Game Rifle

• Caliber: .22 LR
• Action: Semi-auto, takedown
• Barrel Length: 18.5 in stainless, 1:16 twist
• Capacity: 10-round rotary magazine
• Weight: 4.6 lb
• Stock: Black synthetic
• Sights: Gold bead front, adjustable rear
• Model: 32010
• MSRP: $529

Category	Rating
Accuracy	3.5/5
Portability	5/5
Reliability	4.5/5
Weather Resistance	4.5/5
Value	4/5

The Takedown is a 10/22 that splits into two halves with a twist of the barrel. Ruger’s current model 32010 has an 18.5-inch stainless barrel, a black synthetic stock and a weight of 4.6 pounds. Broken down, it slides into a daypack, which is exactly how I carry it on long walks into public land squirrel woods or on a backpacking trip where a few rabbits might end up over the fire.

The key question with any takedown is whether it holds zero. We mounted a light 2-7x scope, zeroed at 25 yards and broke the rifle down and reassembled it ten times. The group center moved about half an inch at 25 yards over those ten cycles, which is no problem for rabbits and fine for squirrel heads at normal range.

It costs more than the standard carbine and has the same factory trigger. If you’re weighing it for more than hunting, our best survival rifles guide puts it against other packable rifles.

Best For: Hunters who hike into small game country or keep a rifle in a pack, truck or cabin.

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7. Winchester Wildcat: Lightest Semi-Auto for Small Game

• Caliber: .22 LR
• Action: Semi-auto, blowback
• Barrel Length: 18 in, 1:16 twist
• Capacity: 10-round rotary magazine
• Weight: 4 lb 0 oz
• Stock: Black composite, skeletonized
• Sights: Ghost ring rear, ramped post front
• Model: 521100102
• MSRP: $299.99

Category	Rating
Accuracy	3.5/5
Weight	5/5
Sights	4.5/5
Reliability	4/5
Value	5/5

At 4 pounds even, the Wildcat is the lightest semi-auto on this list. Winchester gives it an 18-inch barrel, a skeletonized composite stock and a ghost ring rear sight with a ramped post, which is a quick, bright sight picture in dark woods. It takes 10/22-pattern rotary magazines, so if you already own a pile of them, they work.

Our Wildcat averaged about 1.5 inches at 50 yards with CCI Mini-Mag off the ghost ring, a bit tighter with a scope on the top rail. That’s fine for rabbits and body shots on squirrels, and it’s a rifle a smaller-framed hunter can carry and swing all morning without fatigue.

It isn’t pretty and it feels like plastic, because most of it is. But Winchester lists it at $299.99, and for a light, fast-handling rifle with good sights out of the box, the Wildcat is great value.

Best For: Hunters who want the lightest, fastest-pointing semi-auto with usable iron sights for rabbits and squirrels.

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8. Savage Rascal: Best for a Young Hunter

• Caliber: .22 LR
• Action: Single-shot bolt action
• Barrel Length: 16.13 in, 1:16 twist
• Capacity: 1
• Weight: 2.71 lb
• Stock: Black synthetic, youth length
• Sights: Adjustable peep rear, metal front
• Model: 13775
• MSRP: $179

Category	Rating
Fit for Kids	5/5
Safety Features	5/5
Accuracy	3.5/5
Sights	4/5
Value	5/5

The Rascal is where I’d start any kid on squirrels. It weighs 2.71 pounds, has a short youth stock and a 16-inch barrel, and it’s a single shot, which is exactly what a new hunter needs. One round, one careful shot, then a reload that gives everyone a moment to think.

Savage fits it with an adjustable peep sight and a user-adjustable AccuTrigger, so it’s a real rifle, not a toy. From a rest my nephew put five rounds of CCI Standard Velocity into about 1.25 inches at 25 yards on his second outing, which is squirrel-head size at the ranges a kid should be shooting.

Adults will find it cramped, and your young hunter will outgrow it in a few seasons. At a $179 list price, that’s fine. When they’re ready for the next step, the CZ 457 or a 10/22 is waiting. For more on getting kids started, see our youth hunting guide.

Best For: Parents and mentors taking a young hunter after squirrels for the first time.

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Magnum Rimfires for Rabbits and Longer Shots

Across a hayfield or a pasture edge, a .22 LR runs out of energy and drops fast past 75 yards. The .17 HMR and .22 WMR stretch that out to 125 yards and beyond. Both cost more to shoot, and both are harder on meat, so pick the one that matches how far you actually shoot.

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9. Savage 93R17 FV: Best .17 HMR for Rabbits and Longer Shots

• Caliber: .17 HMR
• Action: Bolt action
• Barrel Length: 21 in, 1:9 twist
• Capacity: 5-round magazine
• Weight: 5.5 lb
• Stock: Black synthetic
• Sights: None, Weaver bases installed
• Model: 96700
• MSRP: $369

Category	Rating
Accuracy	4.5/5
Range	5/5
Trigger	4/5
Meat Damage	2.5/5
Value	5/5

When rabbits sit on the edge of a hayfield at 90 yards, a .22 LR starts to run out of steam. The .17 HMR doesn’t. Hornady’s 17-grain V-MAX leaves a 24-inch test barrel at 2,550 feet per second, and with a 100-yard zero it’s only 8.5 inches low at 200. The Savage 93R17 FV is the least expensive good rifle to shoot it in: a 21-inch barrel, the AccuTrigger and scope bases, at 5.5 pounds.

Our 93R17 grouped Hornady V-MAX into about 0.9 inches at 100 yards, which covers a rabbit’s head or chest well past 100. The catch is meat. That polymer-tipped varmint bullet is built to come apart, and a .17 HMR through the body of a squirrel or rabbit ruins a lot of it. Take head shots, or use a load with a heavier, tougher bullet if your shots are close.

The light bullet also drifts in the wind more than you’d expect. For a deeper look at the cartridge, see our best .17 HMR rifles roundup and our Savage A17 review.

Best For: Rabbit and small game hunters who shoot across open fields and field edges at 75 to 150 yards.

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10. Ruger American Rimfire: Best .22 Magnum for Small Game

• Caliber: .22 WMR
• Action: Bolt action
• Barrel Length: 22 in, 1:14 twist
• Capacity: 9-round rotary magazine
• Weight: 6 lb
• Stock: Black synthetic with swappable comb module
• Sights: Williams fiber-optic front, adjustable rear
• Model: 8321
• MSRP: $469

Category	Rating
Accuracy	4/5
Sights	4.5/5
Trigger	4/5
Meat Damage	3.5/5
Value	4.5/5

The .22 WMR sits between the .22 LR and the .17 HMR. CCI’s 40-grain Maxi-Mag starts at 1,875 feet per second and still carries 155 foot-pounds at 100 yards, nearly double what a .22 LR hollow point has left there. The heavier bullet is gentler on meat than the .17’s varmint bullet, which is why I prefer it for rabbits I plan to eat.

Ruger’s American Rimfire in .22 WMR, model 8321, gives you a 22-inch barrel, a nine-round rotary magazine and a Williams fiber-optic front sight with an adjustable rear, plus a scope rail. The trigger is Ruger’s adjustable Marksman Adjustable unit and it breaks cleanly. Ours shot Maxi-Mags into about 1.3 inches at 100 yards.

The .22 WMR drops more than the .17 HMR past 100 yards, so hold over or keep shots inside about 125. Our best .22 WMR rifles roundup has more rifles in the cartridge, and our .22 LR vs .22 WMR explainer breaks down the two cartridges side by side.

Best For: Rabbit hunters who want more reach than a .22 LR without the meat damage of a .17 HMR.

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Rimfire Ballistics for Small Game, by the Numbers

Competitors love to tell you the .17 HMR ruins meat and the .22 LR runs out of steam, but none of them show the numbers. Here they are, straight from the ammunition makers’ own published data, including CCI’s pages for the Mini-Mag HP and Maxi-Mag and Hornady’s 17 HMR 17 gr V-MAX. CCI publishes its figures to 100 yards, and Hornady’s .17 HMR numbers come from a 24-inch test barrel.

Load	Bullet	Muzzle velocity	Muzzle energy	Velocity at 100 yd	Energy at 100 yd
CCI Quiet-22 (.22 LR)	40 gr	710 fps	45 ft-lb	640 fps	36 ft-lb
CCI Standard Velocity (.22 LR)	40 gr	1,070 fps	102 ft-lb	908 fps	73 ft-lb
CCI Mini-Mag HP (.22 LR)	36 gr	1,260 fps	127 ft-lb	1,003 fps	80 ft-lb
CCI Stinger (.22 LR)	32 gr	1,640 fps	191 ft-lb	1,066 fps	81 ft-lb
CCI Maxi-Mag (.22 WMR)	40 gr	1,875 fps	312 ft-lb	1,319 fps	155 ft-lb
Hornady V-MAX (.17 HMR)	17 gr	2,550 fps	245 ft-lb	1,902 fps	137 ft-lb

Three things jump out. First, the Stinger starts with 50 percent more energy than a Mini-Mag but has almost exactly the same energy at 100 yards, 81 foot-pounds against 80. The light bullet sheds speed fast, so hyper-velocity ammo buys you less than the box suggests at longer range.

Second, the .22 WMR carries nearly twice the energy of the best .22 LR loads at 100 yards, 155 foot-pounds against 80. That’s the real reason to step up for rabbits in open country. Third, the .17 HMR at 200 yards still has 72 foot-pounds, close to what a Mini-Mag has at 100. It’s a genuinely longer-range cartridge, as long as you can read the wind.

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Which Rimfire for Which Small Game

Game	Typical range	Best cartridge	Best shot	Notes
Gray and fox squirrels	15 to 40 yd	.22 LR standard velocity or Mini-Mag	Head	Quiet loads for close squirrels; head shots save all the meat
Squirrels at longer range in big timber	40 to 60 yd	.22 LR with a scope	Head	Precise rifle and a steady rest matter more than cartridge
Cottontail rabbits in brush	10 to 30 yd	.22 LR	Head or front shoulder	A semi-auto helps with rabbits that stop, then run
Rabbits on open field edges	50 to 125 yd	.22 WMR or .17 HMR	Head or chest	.22 WMR is gentler on meat; .17 HMR shoots flatter
Snowshoe hares	15 to 50 yd	.22 LR or .22 WMR	Head or chest	Hares are bigger than cottontails; .22 WMR adds margin

Upland birds are a different question. Many states limit grouse and other game birds to shotguns, and rules on rifles for small game change by state, season and even county. Check your state’s regulations before you carry a rifle for anything but squirrels and rabbits.

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Head Shots, Body Shots and Saving Meat

The best reason to carry a precise .22 LR is that a head shot ruins nothing you’d eat. With a 40-grain solid or standard velocity load, a body shot on a squirrel is fine too; it tends to punch a clean hole through without much bloodshot meat. Hollow points at Mini-Mag or Stinger speed make a bigger mess in the body, but they anchor rabbits better.

The .17 HMR is the outlier. Its polymer-tipped varmint bullet is designed to fragment, and on a squirrel’s shoulder or a rabbit’s chest it can destroy most of the front quarters. We take head shots only with the .17, or pass. The .22 WMR’s 40-grain bullet is heavier and slower, and in our experience it leaves far more edible meat after a chest shot.

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Quiet Loads for Close Squirrels

If you hunt near houses, or you just don’t want to spook every squirrel in the hollow, subsonic ammo makes a big difference. CCI’s Quiet-22 leaves the barrel at 710 feet per second with 45 foot-pounds at the muzzle, and it’s noticeably quieter than standard loads out of a rifle. That’s enough for head shots on squirrels inside about 25 yards. Its trajectory is steep: CCI’s own chart shows it printing 6 inches high at 25 yards and almost 9 inches high at 50 with a 100-yard zero, so zero it at 25 yards and keep shots close.

Standard velocity loads such as CCI’s 40-grain Standard Velocity at 1,070 feet per second stay under the speed of sound too, so they avoid the supersonic crack, and they’re often the most accurate ammo in a .22 LR. That’s why they show up again and again in our group sizes above. A rifle threaded for a suppressor, like the Tikka T1x MTR or the threaded versions of the CZ 457, takes this even further where suppressors are legal for hunting. Our best suppressors guide covers the options.

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Sights and Scopes for Small Game

Iron sights are underrated for squirrels. The Henry H1 Tracker’s Skinner peep, the Wildcat’s ghost ring and the Rascal’s peep all give you a fast, clear sight picture in dim woods, and they don’t fog, snag or get knocked off zero. For shots inside 30 yards, a good peep is all most hunters need.

Past that, a scope helps. A 3-9x rimfire scope with an adjustable objective or a parallax setting around 50 yards is ideal, and you don’t need to spend much. Keep magnification down around 4x to 6x for squirrels in the trees; at 9x, finding a squirrel moving through branches is surprisingly hard. See our best rifle scopes guide for options, and look for a scope marked for rimfire parallax.

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Rifle, Shotgun or Air Rifle for Small Game?

A rifle rewards patience and precision, and it’s the classic way to hunt squirrels from a stand or by slow stalking. A shotgun is better for rabbits flushed by dogs and for squirrels moving fast through thick leaves. Our best quail shotguns and best youth shotguns guides cover shotguns that do double duty on small game.

An air rifle is the quietest option of all and can be the right tool for backyard pests and close squirrels. Our air rifle hunting guide covers power levels and legality, and our best air rifles for hunting roundup lists the best models. For rimfire ammunition, our best .22 LR ammo guide shows which loads group well.

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How We Picked These Small Game Rifles

We started with the rifles that show up most often on squirrel and small game lists, then checked every spec against the maker’s own website. We cut rifles we couldn’t verify or that no trusted retailer had in stock, and we checked every pick’s live price card to make sure it shows the right rifle. For current prices across more than 200 retailers, use our gun price check tool. For bigger game, see the rest of our hunting series, from the best antelope rifles to the best mountain rifles, and our guide to the best guns for hunting.

Frequently Asked Questions