does anyone know if 7 1/2will be effective on squirrels

You probably want to go with #6 shot for squirrels.

Ummm, you do know that there is a specific squirrel season in MA and it is CLOSED now, right?

Remember Mike, he is from Massachusetts.
He may be going after liberals, and just calls them squirrels.

Season never ends on those types of squirrels.

Eric

Hey, you just insulted the noble squirrel (Using him to describe a liberal) Ha Ha!

Cary

Ely, I hadn't thought about that... Seems odd to call a nut a squirrel but I change my recommendation to #1 buck then!

It depends. I prefer high #5 shot in the tall timber. You can use #7 1/2 or #6 shot, but the effective range may be reduced a bit. All the best...
Gil

well the season for red never ends so i like to pursue them .i ain't sure whether my 7-1/2 will work beyond 20 yards with a full choke . by the way we don't have really big liberals in this state ,just californians!by the way i see you have some pictures ofb liberals from mass. here :

I've found that with 7 1/2s many pellets just penetrate the skin and stop - then fall out when the squirrel is skinned. I prefer 6s, but last year switched completely to a .22 for head shot and found it more challenging and didn't need to dig pellets and broken bones out of the meat. The disadvantage of a rifle is that running shots and treetop shots without a bullet stopping backstop (such as another tree) need to be passed up. Last year a flock of longbeards (fall turkey season was also open) showed up at about 80 yards while I was hunting squirrel with a .22 mag and I didn't need to pick pellets out of him either.

I've found that with 7 1/2s many pellets just penetrate the skin and stop - then fall out when the squirrel is skinned.

How does that squirrel die? I use 7 1/2 shot for pheasant, quail, chickens, doves, pigeons, etc., never had a problem. I load to trap shooting velocities and that seems to work very well out to about 40 yards.

I have used 9s for pheasant, huns (Hungarian Partridge), pigeons and doves. Never had a problem bringing them down. At home I use the same #9 shot load. Never had to use it but my bet is that at the longest range inside (about 27 feet) it will kill effectively.