I shot quite a few 'coons as a kid around the farm, and while you could kill them drop dead with a 22, shot placement was paramount with those little masked marauders. My weapon of choise was almost always a .410. In fact, the neighbour on the farm where I grew up would use a .410 slug when it was time to slaughter a cow for the freezer. Dropped 'em stone dead on the spot everytime.
.410 for Raccoons?
- Thread starter cyclone
- Start date
Wow, you guys got some tough coon. (or zero experience with them)
I would estimate that millions of raccoons have been humanely killed with a single shot between the eyes with a .22lr short.
Ask any trapper, works every time.
I would estimate that millions of raccoons have been humanely killed with a single shot between the eyes with a .22lr short.
Ask any trapper, works every time.
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Unsure if this is the best place to ask this, but is a .410 "too little gun" for a raccoon? I've seen some of these mask-faced suckers looking about 35 lbs, and I got to thinking...
The recoil isn't that bad, I am sure you could train one a larger one to handle it. The stock would have to be shortened though.
I was using Winchester Dynapoint 40 grain. I agree that it was astonishing, I know I was astonished at the time! I think my problem was that I didn't aim high enough - I think I hit him in the jaw/neck area with the first three, the next four were "center of mass".
And I must say True-Temper makes a good "fighting" spade!
It's hard to find a box of ".22lr short" these days....
I'll admit to having zero experience (at the time) in dispatching raccoons, but I have friends who have shot them with shotguns and have found them hard to put down quickly. There is a considerable difference in shooting something that is held securely by a trap and an animal that is free to move around.
Since I'm not an expert on shooting raccoons , and I doubt I'll ever be one, I'm going to go with "overkill" the next time and take out the 20 ga.
mudgunner49
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Not to encourage an air of mystique about them or anything, but I have killed 'coons stone dead with one hit from a .22 and also had one run off with a 29" carbon-fiber arrow through it's mid-section (I had to chase it down and kill it with an axe...), though that one weighed a good 30 pounds.
I usually use a .22 WMR now since having to dispose of one that killed my neighbors fully grown German Shepherd. Any hit from just behind the shoulders to one in the grape seems to do the trick, and I generally use CCI 50 gr JHP as I have a bucket full of them. For some strange reason, out of all that I have shot I have never once used a .410...
blake
I usually use a .22 WMR now since having to dispose of one that killed my neighbors fully grown German Shepherd. Any hit from just behind the shoulders to one in the grape seems to do the trick, and I generally use CCI 50 gr JHP as I have a bucket full of them. For some strange reason, out of all that I have shot I have never once used a .410...
blake
- Location
- Vancouver, BC
12 guage--- 3" magnum slugs
one shot, one kill.
one shot, one kill.
Your my hero now! haha, what's the story behind that?
If you just killing coons to get rid of them, you might as well go big and make sure you get them the first time. Doesn't help anyone shooting a coon 3 or 4 times with a .22lr to finally kill it. But if you got the touch and can do it in one shot
mudgunner49
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Your my hero now! haha, what's the story behind that?
If you just killing coons to get rid of them, you might as well go big and make sure you get them the first time. Doesn't help anyone shooting a coon 3 or 4 times with a .22lr to finally kill it. But if you got the touch and can do it in one shot
I was living in town at the time and my neighbors were freedom-hating commies. These days I generally do the trick with either a 12 ga if I'm not worried about noise, or a cast FNGC 160 gr bullet over 7 gr of Universal Clays and a chunk of Dacron from the 6.5x55 - very quiet and kills like a ton of bricks...
blake
Smarta$$!
Okay, just a quick follow-up; where do you have to land the .410's output - is it just headshots?
.410 is enough to kill a raccoon. My grandpa told me he'd do it all the time. Never saw him do it, though. He was blind all my life. I remember being on his farm, shooting coons with a .22LR. First one was a tough son of a #####. Five shots. Great grandpa showed me where to aim, took the rest out with one shot. I know my grandpa wouldn't lie, and I remember seeing the .410 he shot them with. Not sure what shot he used, but yes, a .410 would be enough to kill a coon.
Smarta$$!
Okay, just a quick follow-up; where do you have to land the .410's output - is it just headshots?
The difference between an equally choked .410 with number 4 shot and a 12 gauge with number 4 shot is only in the number of pellets and the size of the pattern...
A .410 has less pellets and a shorter shot string... it "hits" just as hard...
Raccoons have a tough little body and are tough little critters ... I would think you shouldn't use a shotgun over about 20 yards... and use large pellets...
Hard to beat a 10/22 or similar semi with high velocity 22LR. You can put five rounds or more into the head of a raccoon in a couple of seconds, and also if it runs you've got the range you don't have with a shotgun. The key is shot placement and a perfectly sighted scope (if you use one). Most varmint coons killed around a farm are caught in traps or holed up/cornered by dogs, but I agree if you're shooting coon up a tree you want a shotgun in case of spent bullets flying away.
