Say a pair of raccoons had messed with your two small dogs in the early morning, and you needed to take at least one of them out. I'll be shooting from a second story down about 20 yards with a .25 cal Ultimate Sporter. Head shot I assume? or through the chest? My aim is to keep the varmint from climbing a 6 foot fence and dying in the neighbor's yard. Thanks
If you needed to take out a raccoon . . .
- Thread starter stewie
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The brain shot is the only proper way with a small caliber air rifle in my experience. I typically use a .22 between 25 - 35fpe for greasing them between 40 - 50yds. In .25 cal, a vitals shot would be lethal but the probability of him making it some distance first is quite high.
The lowest I’ve gone is 20fpe at 30yds and most consider it marginal given the potential for the slope of the head deflecting the pellet. This guy forgot his armor plate however.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5fCrMGs_yg
The lowest I’ve gone is 20fpe at 30yds and most consider it marginal given the potential for the slope of the head deflecting the pellet. This guy forgot his armor plate however.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5fCrMGs_yg
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I killed a raccoon with a 30 ft-lb R10. I was setup 20 yards away and was able to get a shot right behind the eye. Shot placement is key
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Use heavy hard dome non-expanding pellet. Even with a clean brain shot they will wiggle violently for about 30 secs and have some movement sometimes more than 1 min. Mostly the back legs are thrashing around. If the front legs move under muscle control then that wasn't an ideal shot placement. If you see the front legs moving use a followup shot into the lungs.
Be prepared for lots of blood to clean up.
Be prepared for lots of blood to clean up.
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Shoot him in his brain. A brain shot will result in instant parallizetion and death a head shot will yield an animal in pain and slower death.
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Hello as every one has said use a head shot, but before taking that shot when time is on your side set a target in the area you are plaining to take your shot so you will have your correct hold over/ hold under. Eric
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No traps or poisen for me. They don’t discrimminate, and I’m not going to take a chance on catching/injuring someone’s dog or cat.
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Hello as every one has said use a head shot, but before taking that shot when time is on your side set a target in the area you are plaining to take your shot so you will have your correct hold over/ hold under. Eric
Very good advise!
I've taken dozens of raccoons with an 18fpe Benjamin Trail NP2. ALL of them from above and all but one with a head shot. FIRST thing I did was to place targets at the different areas they were messing with and make sure I knew the hold over/under. After that it was easy picking from the upstairs window. Even if they heard me open it, they only looked at the french door, never up. .22 Metalmag between the ears on the top of the skull never failed.
A little more advise. Don't shoot one on your cedar deck after you spent the day cleaning and prepping it for stain. The blood will never come out!
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I do the same thing, even scattering feed right in front of my targets. I do have them responding to the window opening, though. So on one window I get below it and make sure my hand isn't showing as I slide it sideways, then slowly sneak in from the side after giving them a few seconds to refocus away from me. On the other side of the house, I put some loose camo cloth, the kind with holes in it, over the window and do the same thing, since they seem extra sensitive there. Going slow and quiet helps.
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Im talking about live trapping.. not what Odolye posted.
I use it to catch feral cats in my yard, sometimes I get a raccoon. Doesn't hurt them at all, and if you catch the wrong species you just let them go. Easy. Just bait it and cover it with a towel.
I use it to catch feral cats in my yard, sometimes I get a raccoon. Doesn't hurt them at all, and if you catch the wrong species you just let them go. Easy. Just bait it and cover it with a towel.
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you could also use a Raccoon trap to make sure he is not going anywhere until you choose to release his dead body. These are dog proof and you can bait the bottom of the tube with anything from peanut butter or most anything else as Raccoons will consume anything slower than them, lol. The price is right and usually around $10 or so.
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Most any trap that will catch a raccoon will also catch skunks. Disposing of skunks is a real pain in the ass.
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The price is right and usually around $10 or so.
The average JSB pellet cost around .03 to .04 cents each.
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Thanks for the advice, everyone. I won't be using traps or poison for the reasons mentioned. I have a cage trap, but am reluctant to use it given that there are skunks in the area. It may be that spraying the pair with bb's after the tussle has driven them off for a while. But I've got the Sporter at the ready just in case.
Both dogs are fine, by the way. In fact, the Dachshund-Terrier mix, who was in a Raccoon's death grip before I beat the varmint about the head with a boot, was straining to get back after the intruder only five seconds later. Emerged with barely a scratch. Only weighs 15 lbs soaking wet.
Both dogs are fine, by the way. In fact, the Dachshund-Terrier mix, who was in a Raccoon's death grip before I beat the varmint about the head with a boot, was straining to get back after the intruder only five seconds later. Emerged with barely a scratch. Only weighs 15 lbs soaking wet.
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