Is 30 FPE enough for BIG raccoons at 30 yards in .22cal? I’m also thinking about tuning my .177 gun to shoot the 16 grain exact beasts at 30 FPE. I feel like a .177 at 30 FPE should have enough penetration.
30 FPE enough for raccoons?
- Thread starter FastPellet212
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I kill coons @ sub 12 , .177 , brain shot , they dance and then i take a second shot up through the neck/ under jaw while they are dancing as a positive . coons are tough so i always do a gangland style shot #2 even using a PB .
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When they face me I typically go for the forehead. Quartering away, I aim between the ear and eye. I was using a 50 fpe gun before.
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Ive taken out raccoons with 22 cal 30 fpe guns , with head shots , the big ones Id want a bit more power to try a heart shot but like all said with good shot placement you will take him out 1 shot yes , as a kid we used to hunt them with crossman 760 which is probably 18fpe guns and they killed them but some i remember needed followup shots because .177 from crossman was lower powered gun
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That's enough, and check this out. Just a quick guide for fpe needed for different game. https://www.airgundepot.com/vault/articles/basic-airgun-hunting-guidelines/
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The smallest I've used for raccoon was a 45fpe .25cal at 27 yards shooting H&N Grizzlies slugs. Between the eye and ear it was one and done. I think 30fpe will be enough, just use JSB Exact, Heavies or Monsters, as you don't want any expanding rounds, as you need penetration. I prefer to lean to power on the excessive side. I currently use a 95fpe .30cal, because more is better, especially when dealing with 'baby bear' raccoons.
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I have a Diana 54 with a busted spring , i am going to see if a TX200 spring will fit , hopefully tame it down to a much more reasonable gun ,maybe 10 or 12 FPE . maybe cut a few turns off ?
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I killed a little 8 lb one with my ~32 fpe P35-22 but I used 3 shots. I placed the first shot somewhere in it's chest. It stopped running but was not down so I put another between it's eyes from above. I know it penetrated OK because I could see brain matter come out. But it still seemed to be breathing so I put one more in it's throat. Blood spurted several times. These shots all happened in less than a minute. If I had waited any of them would probably have killed the raccoon. I was using H&N Baracuda Match pellets which weigh about 21 grains.
After that experience, I will use my ~50 fpe P35-25. Better shot placement on the first shot would have shortened things but I think they are pretty large for a 30 fpe 22. If I take on a raccoon weighing three times as much or more I would expect to still need more than one shot unless I place them really well. I don't think they are terribly tough it's just that a gun that overwhelms a 1 lb squirrel isn't going to overwhelm a 20 lb raccoon. They can also get bigger than 20 lbs.
After that experience, I will use my ~50 fpe P35-25. Better shot placement on the first shot would have shortened things but I think they are pretty large for a 30 fpe 22. If I take on a raccoon weighing three times as much or more I would expect to still need more than one shot unless I place them really well. I don't think they are terribly tough it's just that a gun that overwhelms a 1 lb squirrel isn't going to overwhelm a 20 lb raccoon. They can also get bigger than 20 lbs.
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Racoons are tough animals. The more fpe, the better. You cant always get perfect shot placement.
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