I have a couple of pesky racoons tearing up my place. When I sit out next to the fire they just about come right up to me, within 10 yards. I was wondering if my little .22 would work on them at that range or do I really need to go to something bigger? I really would like to make as little mess as possible when I dispatch them. Slim

Slim, sure a .22 will kill them. But the only way to do it humanely would be with a brain shot. Otherwise you can expect a mess and most likely a lengthy suffering death for the coon.

I grew to kind of like the little guys when I lived in the country and tended to look at them more as naughty childeren. I don't know what they are "tearing up" for you...but they usually just tear up stuff looking for food. I hate to kill stuff just because it's there and I've got the guns. If your guys are this bold, you possibly can turn them into virtual campfire "pets." But never make the mistake of trying to grab or pet one!

Possibly you can eliminate the problem by removing the temptation, fixing it where they can't get into it, or providing them with something more interesting.

I had a lot of fun watching the ones around my place and matching wits with them. They are crafty little devils. However, they can be a threat to undefended newborn animals.

Your call on whether they really need to be eliminated or not.

[ 11-14-2002, 10:05: Message edited by: Pecos45 ]

Slim,
I hunted coon for years with hounds and the 22 was the weapon of choice. I live in an area that is not really "crawling" w/ coon, but we have our far share. I usually took 10 or so a year, not very many. I did have the pleasure of hunting in southern IN, with a Bluetick breeder and the it seems everyone there, the "big boys" anyway, use a 22lr. We took 24 in an evening between three people and 6 hounds. Most amazing coon hunt I have ever been on.
"Thanks Rob!"

The other choice is to find a local hound hunter and let them come in and run em. Many people choose this route as they need not deal with it themselves and they get to see the hounds work. Pretty neat sight (and sound). I think WA coon season is going right now.

Reagards,
JAG

Killed one in my backyard by smacking it over the head with a chunk of firewood. The .22 is probably a much better option. Guy

You know I really guess this was an information only type question. I still haven't been able to shoot something I ain't going to eat. The only thing they really get into is the dog food we put out for the Camp Robber Jays. I guess I might just have to feed the birds when I get up to pee in the early morning and let the raccoons have their food at night. Slim

I hunt coon for money in the winter. I use a Browning Buckmark 22, and it works fine. But, many times more than one round is needed. You need to put one right between the eyes, or right behind the ear. That will do it. Check on prices in your area, maybe this nuisance will make you a few bucks...

a 10-22 sits by my back porch all summer probably have killed 100 of them over the years with it. Itll do the job

bowhunter - your coons probably aren't any tougher. After all, you wound up killing it the same way I did, smacking it with a big stick!

My dog got in a fight with the coon in our backyard at night. I went out to see what the heck was going on. When I saw the coon snapping and snarling I just grabbed that chunk of firewood and smacked it a couple of times. That quited it down completely. The dog was real proud, guess she thought she'd killed it... Regards, Guy

Bowhuntr... its not always so surprising to "flip" up or off the skull on similar sized animals, especaly with HPs. Oftan I have had this happen and animals were still mobil.
Raccons, like badgers, are not the most ideal shapped animals for threading a round through common vitals... as they are fairly flat. I have had good luck with win power points, but mostly shoot them with a 22 mag. Alot of night shooting has been done with 22 short 27 gr HPs or solids.
Racoons in many areas carry alot of illness, if they are a threat to your dogs, put em down.

I have shot hundreds of coons with a 22 short mostly in traps if you hit them properly they die fast if you muff the shot they don't. As with any animal once they are wounded it seems they are all a little harder to kill.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SlimL:
I have a couple of pesky racoons tearing up my place. When I sit out next to the fire they just about come right up to me, within 10 yards. I was wondering if my little .22 would work on them at that range or do I really need to go to something bigger? I really would like to make as little mess as possible when I dispatch them. Slim[/QUOTE

I shot one square between the eyes one night with a 22lr from a rifle. The dang thing ran off and around in circles for 10 min in the dark. If I had to do it again I would use a Larger gun to make the kill humane.
Think I will keep the 22 Rimfire for the squirrels.
maybge a 22Magnum??

Fireball

I have to say I am pretty amazed by the lack of killing power you guys find in the .22lr. I have killed hundreds of coons with the 22lr, even killed several with a tball bat. There are a lot of raccons in my area of the country and it isn't uncommon to shoot 10 or more in a night. I have shot more than that just spotlighting corn feilds. I have only rarely had to shoot a coon more than once if a solid chest shot was taken out to 50 yards with standard HP bullets, I shot a lot of the federal bulk pack. I used a 22lr ruger single six with 9" barrel for hound hunting and trapping, and a Ruger 10/22mag for spotlighting work because I used it for coyotes/fox also. I would rather have used my 222 but in michigan you can only use rimfire at night. I found the 22wmr did kill them a lot better at longer ranges 50-100 yards but was a little harder on fur. I always shot either the winchester supreme 34gr HP or the standard winchester 40gr JSP. Both loads worked very well for coon/fox/coyote at reasonable ranges.

[ 01-01-2003, 03:12: Message edited by: Thebear_78 ]

It will work fine with a carefully placed shot. Although a .32 H&R or .38 spl./.357 mag. is better( if nose or neighbors are not a problem). I would advise against any of the hyper velocity hollow points though as they don't penetrate as well as round nose bullets. For the .22 the Hanned SGB tool takes the .22's killing power up a couple'a notches. For those not familiar with this device it allows a consistent flat point to be filed on the bullet tip. Transforms the little pills into a .22 LBT of sorts. Check it out.

http://www.hanned.com/22-sgb3v.html

I, too, am kinda surprised that so many have trouble killing Coons with the Long Rifle. My place is in town and am taking a bit of a chance using a .22 CB cap. That round kills most like a bolt of Lightening - delivered properly to the noggin.

I dream about how nice it would be to use Long Rifles........ But even better, my .223 with 35gr V-max! I've shot spent Coons with this round and found that it will not even exit with a chest shot. Very clean.

You can also go to most animal control officers and borrow a Hav-a-hart trap and simply move them far away. A bit of time but you don't have to kill them. I've even caught and moved skunks (safely!) with these handy traps.

Probably the biggest reason for anyone having trouble killing a raccoon with a 22 is improper shot placement. If you shoot them between the eyes, you did it wrong. While a between the eyes shot may work, frequently all it causes is a bloody nose and bad attitude. Visualize an X on the forehead crossing from ear to the opposite eye. X marks the spot and "lights out".

MFH

probably your best bet would be to get a couple of 220 conibears and two 5 gallon buckets. Cut grooves in the bucket for the springs of the 220 so that you can place the 220 about half way back into the bucket. Bait it with can of tuna, oreo cookies, marshmallows, pretty much anything a coon would like to eat. It works like a charm and works all night without you having to wait up. You might kill any cats or dogs that get into this set so its best if you have a fenced back yard or something to keep neighbors pets out.

Your 22 will work fine it's not bad idea to have something a little bigger a few years ago i had a rabid racoon problem on the farm shot prob about 30 that year most one shot to the head drops from my ruger single six only had one problem had one 40 pound racoon trapped under a barn and shot it 3 times in the head and it still keep coming ended up shooting him with a 32auto sent this one to our dec to see if rabid it was.the officer that called me said the 22's should of stopped him i think this was a junkie racoon all loaded up on drugs LOL

A 22 is all i have ever used on racoon and they are not bad BBQed

When shooting Coons from the side with a .22 - especially CB cap - draw a line twixt ear and eye. Put the bullet in the middle of the line.

If he's kinda quartering away from you but can still see the back of the head good, put your bullet near where his spine joins the skull. This shot works great!

SlimL:

Coons are edible. And some people like them quite a bit. I haven't tried one in years, like 40, but there are recipes out there. This is not a joke as in cooking cats. Although......