raccoon issues

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bgrav321

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Suppose I needed to dispose of one at close range. I'm planning on using a .22 pistol for quietness, but if there's an issue (the pistol isn't that reliable), would a 12ga with No. 7 shot do the job? we're talking less than 10 feet
 
I've killed jackrabbits with 12 gage 7 shot at twice that distance when dove hunting, so yeh it will work. As for the .22 pistol, it ain't exactly quiet. You got a .22 rifle? That's the ticket.
 
I do have a 22 rifle, but the stock is broken, slipped out of the rifle bag at the range last time :(

I'm not using hot rounds, and it's an old H and R revolver thats pretty quiet...The shotgun is just in case something goes wrong with the pistol and I need to nail the thing...thanks for the help!
 
I've shot since I was about 5, but I've never shot an animal. With the 22 (it will be still and close to me), should I aim for the head? or the vitals?
 
If you are a good shot & have confidence in your gun at that distance, I would put one behind the animals ear. Are the coons giving you trouble? Do you live in the boonies enough to not get in trouble for the discharge?

They are actually pretty tough critters. I shot one 14 times once; just stood there while I wholloped it with a full tube from a henry golden boy. I could hear every shot thump as the hit vitals, and the animal just sat there like I was missing it. I am sure it was mortally done for, but I still grabbed the SKS and that was that.
 
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AKElroy said:
Nah -- Just lots of little holes.
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You only get little holes when the shot pattern has the ability to spread out.....ain't gonna happen at 10 feet.
 
FYI coons bleed A LOT when shot in the head with a 22lr. Things will stay much cleaner with a chest shot.
 
You only get little holes when the shot pattern has the ability to spread out.....ain't gonna happen at 10 feet.
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Exactly! It's going to be one hole in the ground and zero raccoon heads.
 
.22 shorts rule when used in a rifle.
Shoot it in the head.
Reasonably quiet and very lethal on Coons.
I cleaned out a family of Skunks a couple of years ago at the deer camp just this way.
 
I shot a big coon one night with a 12 ga. And 00 buck. Took three rounds to finish him,mostly because of the angle of the shot and the spread. Coons are tough critters and I would recommend #4s from a 12 gauge. Or, a 22 between his eyes!
 
I smashed a raccoon across the head once with a 2x4.....it was DRT. It actually broke the 2x4 in half. It was going after my buddies dog in the middle of the day, so it had to go.
 
I'm planning on using a .22 pistol for quietness,
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.22 pistols are usually louder than .22 rifles unless you are using a suppressor, sometimes MUCH louder.

I found that even the a NAA mini revolver with a 1 1/8" barrel that Aguila Super Colibri ammo needed hearing protection because the report was so loud, though the round itself was powderless, firing via only the primer detonation.

The problem is that shooting rifle cartridges from pistols is that a lot of the detonation occurs outside of the barrel.
 
"when we get raccoons on the back porch mama just chases them away with a broom"

Seriously though, I'd use a 22 short from a rifle if it was me.
 
I have tons of raccoon in my swampy woods. They are all over my trail cam photos, sometimes as many as eight. I'm thinking of going out at night with a flashlight and a couple cans of cat food. I'd shoot from a deer stand, using a Browning SA-22. It's legal in Maryland.
 
AKElroy,

Biciferated? Strawberry yogurt filled pinata? I've read some dandy novels in my time son, but your words of description take the friggin' cake! LOl you did good son, you did good.:cool:
 
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