What Kills Raccoons?
Joe
a Raccoon? You hunters probably have a very good idea. Joe
Curry@nospam.cfl.rr.com Jack Curry
shot in right the eye might to do the job but anything less and I doubt
you'll kill the beast...and certainly not with a body shot. An eye shot is
difficult at best since the target is about the size of a dime. I've seen
coons haul ass after having been well shot with a .22 long rifle.
Personally, I wouldn't shoot a coon with a pellet gun. Chances for a
cruelly wounded animal are way too great.
"Joe" <joed...@charter.net> wrote in message
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Joe
them in the head and not killed them, at least not right away. They are
nasty animals, but there is no excuse for cruelty. Just wondering what the
experience of others has been. That's what a news group is for.Thanks for
the input. Joe
"Jack Curry" <Jack Cu...@nospam.cfl.rr.com> wrote in message
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Penal Blister
Crosman 'American Classic model#1377' by the back door thinking it would at
least have some effect on the critters that wander around these parts.
The guy next door saw it and asked if it was my sons gun (my son is 5). When
I told him why I kept it there he laughed, he said that the 'critters'
around here get much bigger than they do in the city and that thing would do
nothing more than scare the birds away because of the noise. He recommended
a .38 or a 20 gauge shotgun (they have had 70 pound raccoons out here, yikes
that's bigger than my Golden Retriever!)
"Joe" <joed...@charter.net> wrote in message
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Joseph Oberlander
If you are in a rural area, then your choices are better, obviously.
Residental or semi-rural areas are usually limited to rimfire rounds.
An arigun will not give you a clean kill.
1: .22LR - cheap, effective, and pretty accurate. Lousy range and not
a lot more powerful than a high-power airgun. Raccoons are about it.
Ammo is available that ranges from air-pistol power to pre-charged
magnum airgun and everything inbetween. Very versitile and what I use
for most pest control. CB rounds drop rats dead, every time, and
subsonic rounds do the same for squirrels. This is with a body-shot,
and not a head-shot.
2: .17HMR - new round - imagine a 200yd .22LR with fragmenting ammo.
for a pest/varmit round, it is superb. Raccoons are about it for
power, as well. Incredibly accurate.
3: .22Mag - Loud. Effective up to Coyotes. Accuracy is okay. Inexpensive
and effective.
4: .22 Hornet - excellent cenerfire round. Low noise, 2/3 as powerful
as .223, low recoil in the K version. Sweet round - just fantastic on
pests, varmits, you name it up to ~40lbs with the right loads.
Loadable to 3500fps @30gr(max), and up to any .22 bullet you want to
stuff in it. One loading I am fond of is 2800fps and 50 grains(K ver).
That's impressive. It also is quite inexpensive to reload as well
as to buy pre-loaded/factory ammo.
One of the nicest small game rounds out there. The K denotes a modified
version that gets about 300fps or so more speed and still will fire
std ammo. Oh, lastly - the 40gr and lower ammo explodes - *fooom* -
inside the animal like a very tiny grenade. :)
5: .223 - This is a good choice as ammo, rifles, and accessories are cheap.
The U.S. Armed Forces use this for many purposes including competitions,
so match ammo is also available due to its popularity.
(These are mostly listed in power levels and also range - .223 is easily a
300-400 yard round, while the K-Hornet is more like 250yds.
.17HMR is ~200 yds, and the .22Mag and .22LR are roughly 150 and 100
yds respectively.
There you go. I'd consider the .17 or .22Hornet/K-Hornet if you don't
currently have a firearm and keep the airgun for rats and squirrels.
A .22 is fine for a first gun, IMO, but you already have a low-power
close-range gun and there would be too much overlap.
Joe
firearms are legal to discharge. Airguns, and quiet ones at that, are my
only options. I would use a Career but it is an ugly tool. What about some
of the other pcps, say in the 40 fp range? Regards. Joe
"Joseph Oberlander" <josephob...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
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Joseph Oberlander
>
> Joe: your advice sound right to me. My problem is I am not in a place where
> firearms are legal to discharge. Airguns, and quiet ones at that, are my
> only options. I would use a Career but it is an ugly tool. What about some
> of the other pcps, say in the 40 fp range? Regards. Joe
Ah. Okay, pre-cherged guns are about as loud as a compressed air paintball
gun, or almost as loud as CO2. They are often a LOT louder than a spring
piston rifle.
Q: is it illegal for all firearms as well as airguns, or is rimfire
acceptable for pest control? Are airguns specifically allowed?
http://www.straightshooters.com/airarms/aa410e.html
That's *it* for quiet PCP. It has a moderator/silencer built into the
barrel, so it is legal to own in the U.S.(not removeable and actually
diffuses the sound rather than muffling it) .22 Cal, ovbiously, is the
choice. This is a very good airgun as well, and moreso since it only
is about as loud as the lowest-powered normal airguns(about 75-80db)
Other than that, a .22 will be quieter still with CB and short
pistol rounds. I have a nice old single-shot that I use for this
and I can load a CB that nobody hears to something a bit heavier
that sounds like an airgun. Aguila makes round that are 375fps
and olympic pistol match ammo is ~550-650fps. CDb are about this
fast as well, but less accurate. Then there's subsonic rounds.
Joe
of various problems and slow repair. Joenews:3D430651...@earthlink.net...
Joe
shot to the head, blood everywhere.So, maybe if you are under 20m any
accurate 700+ fps .22 will be adequate if you take a proper shot. Joe
"Penal Blister" <penalb...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:LWq09.146586$Wt3.110049@rwcrnsc53...
Joseph Oberlander
>
> Joe: Do you know people with experience of teh 410E? There have been rumors
> of various problems and slow repair. Joe
I've heard that the gun is good except that some leak a bit - but that's
really no different than most paintball guns. Try a couple out and find
one that is solid or, jsut get a simple .22 and use the proper loads.
Joe
god knows what other hassle with neighbors and the public authority, not to
mention the risk of killing a neighborhood kid a few blocks away, not even
knowing about it until I was clapped in irons.Although it is not
illustrative of the problems with rimfire, I will relate you an experience
of mine when in high school in Vermont (Putney). This was the era when
deer where hunted with rifles mainly, not shot guns. Our library was in a
beautiful wood building atop a high hill. I was studying there in the
afternoon. We heard a nasty crack and immediately were hustled out of the
building. A stray bullet had passed through a wall and out the ceiling.
Regards, Joe
"Joe" <joed...@charter.net> wrote in message
news:uk6qugd...@corp.supernews.com...
Joseph Oberlander
>
> Joe: I certainly would use a .22 if I didn't mind the risk of a big fine and
> god knows what other hassle with neighbors and the public authority, not to
> mention the risk of killing a neighborhood kid a few blocks away, not even
> knowing about it until I was clapped in irons.Although it is not
> illustrative of the problems with rimfire, I will relate you an experience
> of mine when in high school in Vermont (Putney). This was the era when
> deer where hunted with rifles mainly, not shot guns. Our library was in a
> beautiful wood building atop a high hill. I was studying there in the
> afternoon. We heard a nasty crack and immediately were hustled out of the
> building. A stray bullet had passed through a wall and out the ceiling.
> Regards, Joe
I'd check - some counties allow for airguns for pest control if they
are damaging crops/property, some allow only rimfire. Many allow neither
and you are just as screwed with either, so in that last case, your only
recourse if you DO decide to shoot the raccoons anyways is to get a gun
that looks very very low-impact or like a bb-gun, thereby not making
your neighbors go as anal on you. A massive pre-chgarged airgun with
a huge scope on it would attract more concern than a child's .22
single-shot with open sights. Another option would be to get a Beeman
P1 and get close. The advantage of a pistol is that if your neighbors
ask, it's a BB-gun and you're shooting rats.(it's a bit louder, though)
As for the laws, go to the local gun store and descretely ask - the
last thing you need is an anal police force being called by the city
hall after they hear about your "pest control" questions.
Your state though does have restrictions on not carrying within 1000
ft of a school, as well as not firing within 50ft of a road, as well
as a few other distance restrictions that I skimmed off the net.
Pretty standard stuff, but if you are in a dense urban area, you're
likely screwed and would need a trap instead. Most animal control
agencies have traps that they will loan you.