Raccoon- Benjamin Trail NP XL

[Pesterblaster3000]

I’m new to air rifles but not new to shooting/hunting however raccoons are giving me a hell of a problem. I got the Benjamin trail np xl in 25 cal at the suggestion of air gun depot and am shooting jsb exact king heavy pellets at 33gr. I’ve cleanly dropped 2 possums with vital shots but raccoons are giving me some trouble. The first coon I took a clean shot to its lungs from about 20 yds and it dropped instantly, after about 5 seconds it got life back in it and scooted away faster than I could reload and take a follow on shot. I’m confident it’s dead but I’d prefer a clean kill… so I decided head shots only from now on. I had a coon tonight inside of 20 yds, put a clean shot at the top of its head (shooting down on it) and it didn’t even drop, just grunted and scurried into a bamboo thicket. Is there a sweet spot to hit on raccoons OR should I look to swap out pellets or to a different rifle?

 

[JaceSpace1369]

H&N Hornets at 22 grain did the trick. Accuracy has never been an issue while plinking and wasn’t when it needed to count. I haven’t gone past 40 yds with plinking and don’t really have the need to as the spotlight I’m using give me visibility to MAYBE 40 yds. Now that I’ve found the right pellet the pest population should dwindle…

View attachment 449493

Damn, didn't see that you solved the problem before I made my comment lol. The H&N hornets arent that accurate past 40ish yards but they sure punch through whatever it gets into.

 

[Nomadic Pirate 66]

The suggestion you should in between the eyes isn't always valid and in many times isn't. Many times the coons head is facing downwards so a shot between the eye will miss the brain completely. If the Coon is facing directly at you with a nose held high in the air that shot would be perfect. Other than it may graze off the slope of the skull. If the coons head is pointed downwards and it's facing right towards you you should shoot maybe an inch above the eyes. Actually that's a very good shot location as the shot will be more perpendicular to the skull.

Finally someone gets it,...if it's facing down and gives you a square shot make an X from ears to eyes and aim there, that is what I do with Hogs

 

[lutrev]

How do you get them to stand still to draw the X ?

 

[BlackICE]

Just use your imagination, draw quickly in your mind...

Let the force be with you.