Have you considered single shot handguns? One of the most accurate guns I own is a T/C G2 Contender in 22 Hornet - 14"bbl. It will shoot inside a bottle cap a 100 yds if I do my part. 30 gr. Barnes bullets are very effective on ground squirrels out to however far you can hit them. With my older eyes I am good out to 150 yds or so. Rimfire cartridges in a handgun just don't deliver at longer ranges. The ground squirrels at the ranch I have access to are pretty savvy and it is hard to get inside 50 yds. Most shots are 50-150 yds. I use a Leupold 2.5-8x scope. The rig is easy to carry in an Uncle Mike's shoulder holster rig. I enjoy reloading the 22 Hornet and appreciate the history of both the cartridge and the T/C Contender platform. I realize that the Contender is generally unavailable since S&W bought out T/C, but I believe barrels are still available in a wide variety of calibers for the T/C Encore handgun platform. Not sure what your preferences are in the way of small game pistol hunting, but I find a day in the field with my T/C Hornet to be hard to beat! All the best which ever decision you go with.