He did not come back but the chickens are gone. They knocked down the heat lamp and burned their house to the ground... almost got mine also.
Where are you at that your running a heat lamp this time of year?
Raccoons like possums are pretty tough critters. I would use a CCI Quite 40gr 22 lr from a bolt action with a MV of 710 fps and a ME 45 ft/lbs
This is as quiet as my Hatsan 85 QE .22 cal. dieseled with coconut oil at 972 fps with a 15 gr pellet and a ME of 31 ft/lbs
I have a RWS Diana 48 in 22, Crossman Valiant in 177, and a few others. I bought the Crossman because it has a gas piston so I can leave it cocked until the tree rats return. Take Crossman's ad " Silencing Barrel Device (SBD)-an innovative suppressor design that keeps its shots 3x quieter than other breakbarrels in its class." with a grain of salt. TO be blunt, it that is quiet; I'd hate to see noisy. OTOH, it is very accurate, sweet trigger etc. I have a Bug buster scope on it which adds to the fun.
I've shot raccoons with the Diana which has a Leaper's scope; however, it sure isn't a 22 RF and the kill is all about shot placement.
Edit: The problem I've experienced is they run off to die which in time, really smells bad.
Not ethical.
Since when is taking a life ethical unless one plans on eating what they killed or killing a threat?
Currently, we live in NE Georgia in the Chattahoochee NF; here I could shoot a chipmunk with a 300 winmag. In the past, I lived where shooting anything with more than a pellet rifle potentially had shot after's collateral effect risk.
To decide the ethics of another; one needs to know all the facts.
Might I ask if you've ever shot a deer and wounded it or shot a pheasant, quail or duck and never needed to grab its head and spin it to break its neck? Or noticed a hole in a deer's heart when you butchered it? A deer which ran father than one would believe with a hole in its heart.
If you never have experienced such things or everything you ever killed was a one shot; I stand in awe of your shooting skills. Or I'd bet you've put a lot of holes in paper.
I poison some animals I don’t like, I am sure that’s not a very fun death but it’s not really fun to have to rewire a vehicle they have chewed up either. If I had a more effective way to eliminate them I would.
That said, I have some pretty healthy raccoons, I’ve been feeding.
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There is only one FACT that matters.....No animal and I do not care what it is deserves to crawl off to a hole and die coughing up blood. End of story.
The post I quoted *I get the impression* that the poster shot raccoons with an RWS 48 (something I own) and that is not enough gun for an animal the size of a raccoon.....Can it kill a raccoon sure, just like a 22 can kill a water buffalo that does not mean it is the right tool for the job. Knowing that there is a ? The problem I've experienced is they run off to die which in time, really smells bad." tells me it has happened more then one time, thus the word *they*.....you keep doing it and that is flat unethical.....flat unethical in every way shape or from.
As to me, you bet I have screwed up and wounded an animal....missed a shot, and I always feel like _______ after I see it run away.....
Story alert***
we all know how 22 ammo is and you can get one that just will fly off into left field. Shot a skunk had a good front quartering shot right in the center mass....I shoot he jumps and runs off....hell how could I miss. (I was perhaps 50 yards away) I did not miss, there was some blood, a little fur....but not a lot....must have had a bad 22 round that just did not go to the right place. (This skunk was eating my chickens so he came back in a day or to...I know it was this skunk).....well another skunk shows up and this time a full on side shot at about the same distance and I drop him. (odd thing is he did not "explode" when I shot him...no smell, not sure if he was empty or not) so I go to get rid of him and he has a real fresh wound on his head.....looked like the bullet skipped off his skull.
That was the last one that I can think of off the top of my head.....just a bad shot. Never did ducks, or other water fowl....have an issue with things that pair up for life. But pest birds, starlings.....I hate (using the word HATE here to use a movie line) I have killed so many starlings....nasty air rats. I have wounded some shooting in the barn, broke a wing and had to put them down....and I feel bad for the animal, good hunters or pesters if you like that word better want clean kills....strive for clean kills.....will not take the shot if you think it is not going to give you a clean kill.....sounds like you do not and that moves you into a special place in my book, and I think a few others as well.
The key takeaway from all of this is I don't use something that I KNOW is marginal.
Animals doing animal things....yea it is destructive, yea it is expensive....the amount of feed I have lost over the years you could have fed Biafra for years....but the animal does not know what it does is wrong....it is just trying to live...people going nutz on mice, rats, pest birds because they destroyed X thousand of property yea I get you are pissed.....but don't set out to "punish" or make that animal "pay" it does not know what it is doing....remove the animal in a clean and ethical manner.
So as I seem to have hit a nerve with you on this subject I can only guess that you are one of those people that think those mice, those raccoons are eating your chickens because they want to make your life hard....and you need to get out there and make them suffer for the suffering they caused you.
I am sorry you are such a small person.
Doubt this thread will remain open and this post will exist for long.
I have a benjamin discovery in .22, with a suppressor and it works for this role, but shots need to be carefully chosen, and reloads are slow and finicky in the dark. Pellets this size and speed penetrate surprisingly well but make a narrow wound channel, you have to hit vitals, preferrably the brain. I would recommend getting a marauder for the extra power and faster follow ups, or stepping up to a more powerful gun in a different brand. I think a .25 would be better for raccoon but haven't tried one. The discovery is a pretty affordable way to get into a PCP, using a hand pump or a paintball CO2 tank. I use a hand pump.
For those that are transporting animals and releasing them, or suggesting that as an option, please check your local laws. In Ohio it is illegal to transport or relocate wildlife/nuisance animals. Personally I also find it irresponsible. If you pick up an animal that is in the early stages of rabies, or some similar disease and you drop it off 30 miles away you just introduced whatever it has to a new population of animals. Don't even get me started on dropping them off in populated areas where they just become someone else's problem.
Whatever you choose to do please make sure it is legal and ethical.
No, you haven't hit a nerve. As you don't know me, how can you judge me as a "small person?" Matthew 7:1-2 offers some advice on judging. Yeah, I'm one of them, a very well armed Christian with a lot of redneck in me..
No offense, but personally, I found your comment about wounding birds distasteful. We feed the birds and enjoy watching them or we are birder people. IMO, there is no difference between wounding an animal or a bird.
I'm retired and when I was hunting with a junior license, I wounded a deer. It was near St Marys, PA in the winter, very cold with snow on the ground. My father gave me a flashlight and said go find him; I found my deer dead about 50 yards from where I shot him. I learned at a very young age to kill or pass the shot. That being said, usually animals are more resilient than people.
Sportsmen want to kill the animal cleanly; OTOH, with some hunters, the mileage may vary.
With raccoons, the bird feeders are about 25' (if that) from the window. My M48 has a 3x12 Leapers mildot scope on it. Anyone who can stabilize a rifle and squeeze a trigger properly can hit a pebble at the range I mentioned. If they know which dot to use.... I do share as I'm curious how good of a shot they are...
In real estate they say location, location, and did I say location. With shooting, it is shot placement, shot placement, and did I say shot placement. Personally, I'm an accuracy addict.
I'm a service connected disabled Veteran, PH, hearing loss, etc. So I know how it feels and I would not subject an animal to the pain I so well remember.
Anyhow, there is no need to close this thread as I won't be posting in it again.
Redneck: Although, I've never seen the terminal ballistics, AKA ballistic gel, for a pellet; I'd bet your spot on with your description of the wound channel.. OTOH, I haven't had any run away wounded raccoons so far. I watch until they offer what I want.