Air rifle for raccoon? Needs to be quiet

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Buck13

Buck13

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I'm tempted to take direct action to keep raccoons out of my yard. Getting a big dog is not an option! I'd very much prefer to keep the neighbors in the dark WRT to this project, so a quieter-than-average air rifle would be required, probably a .22. I guess head shots would also be required, since I'll bet a lung-shot raccoon is not going to go quietly. Range would only be 10 to 15 yards.

Any recommendations? My limited reading so far says a PCP would be quieter than other designs. Correct? I've never seen one fired.

I have a Beeman .177 springer, which is accurate enough (despite a VERY weird trigger) and I suspect would do the job with a proper brain shot, but its action makes quite a bit of noise.
 
I'm in the same boat; I don't want to bother sleeping neighbors, nor have the cops called, so I prefer quiet. My quietest is my Marauder with an extended the suppressor. All I hear now when fired is the hammer. Nobody will hear the shot from this gun but now I want to quiet the the hammer just to see how quiet I can get it overall. The suppressor extension cost me ~$35 in oem Crosman parts. You don't need to make it from oem parts but I wanted it to look oem, and thread on.
Up until now I've used my Marlin 925 22LR to shoot rats at night bc it was quieter than my airguns. It was quieter only bc I use Aguila Colibri ammo. This ammo is super cool and I bought the gun for the sole purpose of shooting them. The ammo needs a bolt or single action since it won't feed in autos, and it needs a long barrel or it'll be louder. The 925 was it. The Marlin 39 has a 2" longer barrel but it's also a lot more $. The ammo is very weak so if shooting coons I'd say only brain shots. Also, the ammo they sell now is a bit more powerful than my stash, so I can't say how quiet it is. So it's worth getting a box/50 to try, even if you don't use them on coons they're very interesting.
 
Before I suggest, is it worth going to jail over? You say neighbors, so I am guessing town many places air rifle= 50BMG. No difference in the eyes of the law.

That said, I agree PCP will give you the power that you need. Umerex is coming out with Gauntlet in .25 that might be the ticket. I have a 22 and it is a very accurate rifle, the 25 would give you a little more oomph....sounds like just what you need.

Practice, you want good ethical kills.
 
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Buck13 said:
I'm tempted to take direct action to keep raccoons out of my yard. Getting a big dog is not an option! I'd very much prefer to keep the neighbors in the dark WRT to this project, so a quieter-than-average air rifle would be required, probably a .22. I guess head shots would also be required, since I'll bet a lung-shot raccoon is not going to go quietly. Range would only be 10 to 15 yards.

Any recommendations? My limited reading so far says a PCP would be quieter than other designs. Correct? I've never seen one fired.

I have a Beeman .177 springer, which is accurate enough (despite a VERY weird trigger) and I suspect would do the job with a proper brain shot, but its action makes quite a bit of noise.
Click to expand...

Not sure what your budget is, but this little Edgun Leshiy( the gun on the bottom) is about as quiet as they get. The pellet smacking your prey will be louder than the discharge from the gun. At only 24" long it is a petite little gun, yet extremely powerful for its size. It's a 4500 PSI gun, but I run mine on 3000 psi and it throws 20g JSB's at 850fps for a very respectable 31fpe. Plenty enough to drop a coon with a head shot. And brain shots will be no problem because this gun is a tack driver. Not cheap though. Put a decent scope on it, and you'll be set back around $1,500. Take care of it, and it will hold most of its value. The most well-built air rifle I have ever laid my hands on.
 
Go with one of those big bore expensive ones if you go air rifle (not sure the brands, but I see the "big game rated" ones on youtube).

I vote crossbow. Or airbow.

Raccoons are hard to kill. I have a story about killing one with an air rifle and it was not pretty. I do not recommend doing it with anything under $500.
 
Kookla said:
What about getting a have-a-heart trap and trapping them? Find someplace where you can release them after.
Click to expand...

This is what I did, let him go on some federal land not far from my house....I have really had my fill of killing to tell the truth.

Just look at that face...and this little bastage had killed at least 3 chickens...good layers as well.

upload_2018-8-30_12-29-15.png
 
I have been a air rifle enthusiast for years. Raccoons require a lot of energy to take down. A spring powered rifle would have to be a magnum which are hard to shoot and loud. They would have to be at least a 22.cal min. preferably a 25.cal. And they are Beast to cock and shoot. At this point I would choose a PCP, but as the poster stated above, plan on investing quite a bit of money. I would use a trap. People shooting any animal with a undersized pellet gun as always bothered me. You hear stories of people shooting them with BB guns etc. All that is BS. Even a 177.cal for squirrel is not a good idea. Yes I have taken them down with a 177.cal, but you have to be really accurate and the chances of wounding one is high. I only use 22.cal for squirrels now.

Z92Nb1l.jpg

www.airgundepot.com/basic-airgun-hunting-guidelines-article.html

FYI here is a airgun calculator. www.airgunsofarizona.com/Calcs.html

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Well to me, a well-tuned springer is pretty quiet... usually all you hear is a "thunk"... which you actually feel more than you hear when shooting it.

I would have no problem shooting a raccoon with my Beeman R1... but I did customize it some, with a Maccari .22 TK (short) barrel and full power kit... and it just "thunks" out a pellet, very accurately with about 20 foot pounds of power.

The main problem in shooting a raccoon is that it's usually dark outside, and you need a light source.

It's also nice to be able to have follow-up shots.

I only have one PCP, a .20 Career II 707 carbine... lever action with a 9 round magazine... also added a way of attaching a bright flashlight to it.

I use a manual hand-pump to charge it... which is a pain, and the reason why I only have one PCP... I don't want the extra headaches of tanks and air compressors.

I used the 707 on a raccoon that destroyed my bird feeder... shot him out of a tree, but it took a few shots before he fell.

Best way to eliminate raccoons is to eliminate what is attracting them... like birdseed, and outdoor garbage containers.

I stopped feeding the birds because I got tired of dealing with the raccoons fighting and screeching under and on the birdfeeder... which was right below my bedroom window.

I don't really like killing things, but I will if they are nuisances.

I did the "have a heart" trap route and re-located them, but like others have said, they will come back, or you're just giving somebody else the problem.

Better off shooting or drowning them once you caught them.... then where do you hide the body ! :)
 
I’m in the .22 group a long barrel and the CCI Quiet makes less noise than most of my air rifles.


Add a suppressor and dryfiring makes more noise.



Check your local laws, shooting a pellet gun might be the same as a .22 anyway.
 
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