Mission Drives the Gear Train: Raccoon CQB

[Jay Cunningham]

Mission: anti-raccoon, low-light, suburban AO

Base Weapon: Model M&P15-22 - A1 Style Comp

Hypothetically - help configure a winning load-out to support the above mission.

[orionz06]

Remember your offset when shooting out of your dining room window...

http://media.midwayusa.com/productimages/large/295/295321.jpg
Will need to cycle manually but are pretty quiet. Adequate penetration on smaller creatures.

http://media.midwayusa.com/productimages/large/135/135961.jpg
The 7.62 of sub-sonic .22lr rounds.

[ToddG]

Will a forty mike-mike attach to the .22?

Barring that, you could always go old school:
http://usera.imagecave.com/adrenaline78/large_Caddyshack_Karl_Spackler.jpg

And before anyone loses his mind, yes, I know that's supposed to be a gopher and not a raccoon.

[jslaker]

Clearly you need an ACOG TA-31 on that top rail. It'll allow you to pinpoint important racoon vitals with laser precision. Plus it's what Marine Force Recon XXXtreme uses, so it will ensure that you never miss.

Remember, two to the chest, one to the head every time. Those bandit eyed rodents will never know what hit them.

[Ga Shooter]

Remember your offset when shooting out of your dining room window...


http://media.midwayusa.com/productimages/large/135/135961.jpg
The 7.62 of sub-sonic .22lr rounds.

Same problem. Used above out of Marlin Rifle. No problem. No neighbors knocking on the door. Another option bait below with tuna but then you have live critter to deal with.

http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/havahartezsetracoon.jpg

[Blayglock]

Go find a mean ass junkyard tom cat like Jack Bauer from Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Have him launch a wicked torpedo of truth.

Winning
http://tapatalk.com/mu/c6e4c38d-b13e-529e.jpg

[DonovanM]

Have you got the cash for a suppressor? :D

[JV_]

Have you got the cash for a suppressor? :D+1 That was my thought as well.

[John Ralston]

The 22 shorts are going to be pretty damn quiet, but won't likely cycle. You could always change platforms to say a Gamo Whisper Pellet Rifle (very quiet) or get a bolt gun:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/savagefiles/firearms/markiitrrsr.png

It has a threaded muzzle for the future use of a Can, isn't going to be ammo sensitive (no action to cycle) and is relatively inexpensive (as compared to a Can). You could shoot all those low velocity target rounds without making too much noise.

I know you didn't ask about changing platforms, but the only other option, if noise is an issue, is a Can.

[VolGrad]

Nice looking plinker John.

I second the suggestion of getting a can or finding a buddy that has one to come take care of your issue for you. He will appreciate the opportunity. I know I would. The only pests I have around my house is deer ...... and that's a whole 'nother story.

[Shellback]

I don't think this is out quite yet but it looks pretty slick.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck9FWqhekJk&feature=player_embedded

[Chuck Haggard]

Racoons can get kind of big, and I wouldn't want to count on a CB cap or .22 short killing one cleanly.

Just sayin.

[3-7-77]

Racoons can get kind of big, and I wouldn't want to count on a CB cap or .22 short killing one cleanly.

Just sayin.

Agreed. You likely won't be able to get close enough to shoot it in the eye, which is what it'll take to kill a coon with a .22 short/etc. You'd be better served with suppressing a .22 Mag, raccoons are tuff little buggers

[SLG]

Couldn't agree more with the above sentiment. Same for skunks, foxes etc...
I started with a .40 cal, went to a .45, and ended up with a 5.56. The .40 did the job (base of the skull shot), but the .45 went right through the vitals and out the other side (broadside standing shot). The critter flipped over, but then righted itself and kept on eating till it died. 5.56 has been pretty definitive:-)

I've seen little red squirrels shrug off .22's before.

[Ga Shooter]

I have killed dozens of Racoons with a .22. I usually place the shot right behind one of the ears or at night in the eye. Remember just like all things shot placement is king.:D

[JodyH]

10.5" 5.56 AR with an AK brake.
Damn the neighbors, if I gotta be up shootin coons they're gonna be awake with me.

[TCinVA]

I've had good success killing stationary critters with a Ruger MK-II using head shots...primarily possums and woodchucks. At longer ranges a Marlin .22 magnum bolt gun has been very effective on everything I've ever shot with it.

As for ammo, I tend to use CCI rimfire ammo. Stingers in the .22 rifle, standard bulk stuff in the pistols.

[Jay Cunningham]

Should I aim for the pelvis?

[ToddG]

but the .45 went right through the vitals and out the other side (broadside standing shot).

The .45 is clearly more suitable for denser muscled animals. Like owls.

:cool:

[SecondsCount]

Mossberg 590A1 12 gauge, #6 shot. I can tell you that it is a great combo out to at least 50 feet on a large stray cat that was in my yard, attacking my cat. Dropped like a sack of potatoes.

[Jay Cunningham]

Discretion is essential in this mission. I'm thinking suppressor and possibly subsonic ammunition. I know for a fact subsonic will only cycle about 50% of the time in my M&P, but a suppressor might increase the reliability.

One trait of the threat is a tendency to return to a known position in a predictable fashion... hence my plan is a sniper hide. A bipod and 10 round magazine is probably appropriate on the rifle for this mission.

Raccoons own the night, and therefore I must resovle to take the night back from them. Suggestions?

[Kyle Reese]

:cool: This is the perfect task to invest in a Title II item, Jay. Get a can. :)

[Jay Cunningham]

G5-22? (http://www.gem-tech.com/store/pc/G5-22-13p78.htm)

[MDS]

Shot cam, please! I wanna see this.

[orionz06]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2794/5745336396_32eb93f0ba_b.jpg

I get positive results when shooting them in the face.

[Jay Cunningham]

Nice platform!

[JodyH]

Discretion is essential in this mission. I'm thinking suppressor and possibly subsonic ammunition. I know for a fact subsonic will only cycle about 50% of the time in my M&P, but a suppressor might increase the reliability.

One trait of the threat is a tendency to return to a known position in a predictable fashion... hence my plan is a sniper hide. A bipod and 10 round magazine is probably appropriate on the rifle for this mission.

Raccoons own the night, and therefore I must resovle to take the night back from them. Suggestions?
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p82/JodyHuggins/IMAG0012.jpg

[John Ralston]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2794/5745336396_32eb93f0ba_b.jpg

I get positive results when shooting them in the face.

Have you had any issues with the 22 top half? I just ordered one for my P229.

[orionz06]

Have you had any issues with the 22 top half? I just ordered one for my P229.

That is a Sig Mosquito from the very first batch that came out. And no real issues to speak of for what it is. Decent bulk ammo works fine, the Aguila SSS will cycle in it as well.

[Mitchell, Esq.]

Anti-freeze soaked tuna/hamburger on a nice plate.

Bye-bye, little problem...:)

[orionz06]

A friend of a friend of a friend who lives in some state where the shooting of raccoons is 100% legal and encouraged told me that he had the first survivor of a shot to the face with the Aguila Super Colibri last night. The distance was ~5 meters, straight line from an elevated position.

[John Ralston]

Just tell him to put a little "X" on the nose of the bullet with a box cutter/utility knife. Kind of a poor mans Barnes X from pure lead. Doesn't do much for accuracy, but at that range I don't think it would matter.

[Ga Shooter]

Just tell him to put a little "X" on the nose of the bullet with a box cutter/utility knife. Kind of a poor mans Barnes X from pure lead. Doesn't do much for accuracy, but at that range I don't think it would matter.

This. It really does work.

[Jay Cunningham]

I discovered that a strobing LED light is very disorienting to the average raccoon and causes them to retreat.

[Tamara]

NB: Before shooting Aguila .22 Super Sniper Subsonic through your can, be sure that the barrel on your deuce-deuce has a fast enough rate of twist to stabilize the 62gr bullet properly. A lot of factory .22 tubes won't, and baffle strikes can be 'spensive.

[orionz06]

NB: Before shooting Aguila .22 Super Sniper Subsonic through your can, be sure that the barrel on your deuce-deuce has a fast enough rate of twist to stabilize the 62gr bullet properly. A lot of factory .22 tubes won't, and baffle strikes can be 'spensive.

This.


The bullets will keyhole at ~10-12 yards out of a pistol and ~25 with a rifle.

[butler coach]

Looks like a job for the old bow and arrow. Good broad head and he will not make it far. Bit all this talk makes me glad I live in a place where I can step out with a shotgun at night and nobody cares


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[littlejerry]

FYI, Winchester 40gr sub sonic HP rounds are fantastic on small game. Reliably expand early in thin skinned animals. They are also surprisingly quiet out of a 24" bolt action. Quiet enough to be fired indoors and not disturb neighbors.

Of course if you really wana go all ninja I suggest:http://www.blowgun.com/shop/category.aspx?catid=16

Practice is required... And if you pull a bad shot you will have an angry critter bleeding all over your house...

[Tamara]

Looks like a job for the old bow and arrow. Good broad head and he will not make it far. Bit all this talk makes me glad I live in a place where I can step out with a shotgun at night and nobody cares

*looks at date of thread*

Dude, even if he didn't shoot it, the raccoon's prob'ly dead of old age by now, anyway. ;)

[LOKNLOD]

I think it's tapatalks weird "feed" setup that results in sudden replies to these old threads.

[Dan_S]

I've shot my share of raccoons.


Here is what I would do, in this order:

Get a trap, bait it, and then deal with the trapped coon.

I've never cleanly killed a coon with a .22. When it's dark, and then you hit them with a light, they're gonna take off. I'm not that great a shot, so shooting a running coon while trying to avoid shooting neighbors, propane tanks, and parked cars.....too risky for me.

Get a good trap, and dig a hole about 4 inches deep, and 1 foot square. Put the trap in the hole, and stake it down with a piece of re-bar about three feet long with a hook in the top, so the trap can't slip off the re-bar. Put a piece of plywood over the top of the hole, with a 2 inch diameter hole in the top, centered over the trap, and bait the trap with a piece of crinkled up tin foil. Put some of the dirt you dug out of the hole back on top of the board, being careful to keep it from filling in the hole.

The raccoon will see this contraption, and be curious. It will look down the hole, and see the tin foil glinting in moonlight or light from streetlights, etc. It'll want to get the foil out to see what it is, and reach in to get it: bam, he's caught.

Much better than shooting them. I've never achieved a one-shot stop on a coon. They're tough critters. I've seen them soak up five, six, or more rounds before dying. All in all, much more humane to just trap them, and then shoot them in the morning with one shot in the head.

If you're gonna insist on shooting them, get a suppressor, mount a light on the gun, and use a red dot, sighted for the exact distance from where you'll be shooting to where they are so you don't have to mess with the offset.

[Tamara]

Just because I can't tell it too many times, my favorite raccoon and .22 story (http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/2007/04/its-not-finking-if-i-dont-name-names.html)...

[Dan_S]

Just because I can't tell it too many times, my favorite raccoon and .22 story (http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/2007/04/its-not-finking-if-i-dont-name-names.html)...


Not to try to one-up you or anything, but.....

The night I skewered a raccoon on a pitchfork will haunt me for the rest of my life.

[Totem Polar]

^^^You could flesh that out, if you'd like.

[Lester Polfus]

But what BRAND of pitchfork was it?

As an aside, the Super Colibri stuff has been hideously inaccurate in my Marlin bolt action .22. This rifle routinely shoots nice little ragged one hole, 5 shot groups at 25 yards with a wide variety of ammo. The Super Colibri gives me 6" groups. I also have some serious doubts that it would reliably penetrate a coon skull.

[GJM]

My raccoon story from 15 years ago, which seems appropriate given the time line of this thread. Buggers had figured out what day the trash cans were out for pickup, and been working them over regularly. Living in a rural area, we had a range of options that would not cause undo alarm. I put the Benelli with SF fore end out next to the bed the next night the cans were out. Around 3am, the Vizsla growled, and I quietly got up, just me in my underwear (boxers) with my Benelli. Quietly slid the screen door open, stepped out onto the porch of our bedroom, and had the raccoon dead to nuts. It ran off, and I tracked the raccoon, emptying an extended tube of buckshot into him as he ran off, feeling like I had good hits. The darn raccoon just slowed down, went about 30 yards into the bushes, screamed/groaned, and (apparently) died. I went back inside in disgust, now less impressed with the "power" of buckshot. Next morning, I dug the dead raccoon out of the bushes, and he was completely shot up. Still amazed he soaked up a tube of buckshot and was able to run off.

[JeffJ]

He would have been DRT if you'd lost the boxers and added a Viking helmet

[Tamara]

As an aside, the Super Colibri stuff has been hideously inaccurate in my Marlin bolt action .22. This rifle routinely shoots nice little ragged one hole, 5 shot groups at 25 yards with a wide variety of ammo. The Super Colibri gives me 6" groups. I also have some serious doubts that it would reliably penetrate a coon skull.

I've put down a 'possum with a Super Colibri, but it was a near muzzle-contact shot.

[RoyGBiv]

My raccoon story from 15 years ago, which seems appropriate given the time line of this thread. Buggers had figured out what day the trash cans were out for pickup, and been working them over regularly. Living in a rural area, we had a range of options that would not cause undo alarm. I put the Benelli with SF fore end out next to the bed the next night the cans were out. Around 3am, the Vizsla growled, and I quietly got up, just me in my underwear (boxers) with my Benelli. Quietly slid the screen door open, stepped out onto the porch of our bedroom, and had the raccoon dead to nuts. It ran off, and I tracked the raccoon, emptying an extended tube of buckshot into him as he ran off, feeling like I had good hits. The darn raccoon just slowed down, went about 30 yards into the bushes, screamed/groaned, and (apparently) died. I went back inside in disgust, now less impressed with the "power" of buckshot. Next morning, I dug the dead raccoon out of the bushes, and he was completely shot up. Still amazed he soaked up a tube of buckshot and was able to run off.
Not what I would have expected.

I'd pick large 'coons off the bird feeder with .22LR JHP's. ~15 yards or so from the side corner of the house.
Rarely took more than 2 rounds, never had one run off after the first hit. Almost always while wearing boxers. :D

[Bigguy]

I grew up coon hunting in southeast Arkansas. I've tumbled hundreds of them out of tree tops with .22 LR. FMJ. Rarely ever took more than one shot. I don't recall one ever getting away after I took the shot. We didn't run dogs. Oh we'd have one with us with a tag just to keep things legal, but he knew to stay at our feet and keep his yap shut. We used a style known as still hunting. Sometimes on foot, sometimes by boat. (And we weren't head-lighting deer.) That's just the way we enjoyed hunting. Now it is possible that the occasional swamp rabbit may have been mistaken for a coon and wound up in somebody's game bag. :rolleyes: But I have absolutely no problem with somebody head-lighting rabbits. I always figured the reason that it was illegal was because it would have been so easy to use that as cover for head-lighting deer.
Speaking of, many a deer has been taken down with a .22 slug between the eyes. It was the tool of choice for at least two poachers I knew. This was bad business in my book. There's no telling how many mortally wounded deer were never even collected by the poachers. And since you're shooting at eyes shining in a head-light, you have no idea whether it's a buck, doe, or fawn. And these guys weren't hunting to put meat on the table. They were just selling the carcases for beer money.
Guess I'm a little off topic, but the point I was trying to make is that a head shot on a coon with a .22 will put him down.

[GJM]

He would have been DRT if you'd lost the boxers and added a Viking helmet

Raccoon would have thought I was Bolke and surrendered.

[NEPAKevin]

Not a coon, but yesterday, the dog and I had an unpleasant encounter with a ground hog that first tried to get at the dog through a chain link fence then moved down the fence until it found a spot to get under and charged us. I pulled the dog out of the way with one hand and shot him with the other at maybe two yards. Was later told that there have been a couple of confirmed cases of rabies in the area which might explain its aggressiveness.

[GJM]

Not a coon, but yesterday, the dog and I had an unpleasant encounter with a ground hog that first tried to get at the dog through a chain link fence then moved down the fence until it found a spot to get under and charged us. I pulled the dog out of the way with one hand and shot him with the other at maybe two yards. Was later told that there have been a couple of confirmed cases of rabies in the area which might explain its aggressiveness.

For dog owners, I think one hand shooting skills are especially important.

[Lester Polfus]

For dog owners, I think one hand shooting skills are especially important.

Yes. If you have a big dog, you also can anticipate being jerked off balance when the gun goes off, unless you've done some serious pooch training.

And to be clear, I've no doubt a regular .22 to the noggin will put paid to Mr. Racoon. I'm sketchy on the Colibris though.

[butler coach]

Guess I should have checked the date. But I still like to stick creatures with an arrow.


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[Dan_S]

And to be clear, I've no doubt a regular .22 to the noggin will put paid to Mr. Racoon. I'm sketchy on the Colibris though.

I have not found that to be particularly true.

Then again, the experience occurred in real life and not the internet, so I'm sure internet raccoons die instantly when shot in the head.

[Tamara]

Then again, the experience occurred in real life and not the internet...

Don't worry. All of us here in your screen are imaginary.

[PPGMD]

I have not found that to be particularly true.

Then again, the experience occurred in real life and not the internet, so I'm sure internet raccoons die instantly when shot in the head.

And that is why I use a 20MM HE for all my hunting needs. From coons and prairie dogs to deer and elk.

It is a pity that there is rarely anything left of the animal.

[JDM]

Then again, the experience occurred in real life and not the internet, so I'm sure internet raccoons die instantly when shot in the head.

This post adds nothing to the discussion.

You've shot raccoons with .22s and they didn't die? Ok. Other people have had different results. That's one of the the ideas behind a discussion forum..to talk about different outcomes from similar inputs.

There's lots of reasons to hate the Internet and people on the Internet. Please don't be one of those reasons/people. Especially here.

Thank you.

[Jay Cunningham]

RECAP:

My personal situation was resolved with a high-intensity strobing flashlight, a relatively powerful green laser, and trash cans with hinged lids on them.

Your results may vary as well as your options on the force continuum.

[Tamara]

Less Lethal Raccoon CQB, then. :D

[UNK]

My neighbor had raccoons get into her chimney and infest the house with fleas. I set out a live animal trap and used canned cat food as the bait. I caught several feral cats and two raccoons. I took all of them to the humane society.
I was able to watch the trap from a window and saw them trying to knock the can out of the trap. I used tie wraps to secure the can to the cage.
With tuna all I caught was cats.