Peanut bandits eating my squirrel food/bait but wasn't sure this was enough power at 20-22 yards for a clean kill. Couldn't risk a wounded one jumping the fence to neighbors yard then croaking...
thanks! I had clear headshots but didn't pull the trigger for exactly the reasons you mention if you don't anchor them...dont need the cops on my doorstep again..,,lolI have taken raccoons out with that pellet going 725 fps @ the muzzle. Shots were 20 yds and all head shots. One night I took 5 out of one tree in about a 5 min window. You have to take proper head shots to anchor them and not end up with a wounded one from deflection. Even at higher power a body shot is iffy for anchoring one on the spot. I had one run 35 yds from a .30 cal using 44 gr. JSB pellets. I had one run 15 yds with a couple 22 lr hits to the chest. So stick to good head shots and wait if the coon isnt facing perfect or sitting perfectly still for a confident head shot. Dont rush a shot if you cant allow a possible wounded runner. Its better to let it pass for another day.
Also be ready for some noise after the shot. All the coons I have hit with a head shot really dance and they dance for a decent amount of time. A large male coon can make quite the racket flopping around if theres anything to bang into. Also theres gonna be a lot of blood and blood thats getting flung around. The only coon that didnt do the dance was one I took with my .25 tuned for 35 fpe. I dont know if the difference in caliber had anything to do with it or if the pellets path just happened to stop the dance. It wasnt high power for a .25 but that one coon dropped and did a very short few kicks and was done.
I too give them a pass unless they are messing with the house in some way - if so, they get put down. But if they are just doing stuff in the yard or foraging around the bird feeder then they get a pass. Groundhogs don't get the same pass, as they will dig near the foundation at some point if left alone . . .Yep, I had a one run away with what I thought was a lethal shot. The pellet bounced off the top of his head. Another time I shot a female and the next day baby raccoons were looking for their Mom.
Felt terrible so now they get a pass. I back up to a thick woods, so lots off wildlife.
LDP has good advice.
wow....my opportunity was dead between the eyes. Good to know that might not have been a good shot. Glad I didn't take it.Correct shot placement. Do your homework. Direct headshots from the front won't do.
Correct. Head position dictates if the shot is good or not with dense and or angled skull critters. Side profile putting it between the eye and ear is a money shot. Facing away where you can put it at the base of the skull taking out the brain stem or top of the spinal cord is another good shot for instant incapacitation. If they are facing your direction but nose down so the very top plate of the skull is exposed you can take that shot as well but dont aim to close to the eyes and just hit the nasal cavity. You would want to put the pellet midway between the eyes and ears or slightly closer to the ears. Again that would be for a racoon looking down exposing the very top of his head.and I was shooting down at it. I think that reduced the risk of the pellet glancing off. An upward shot would seem to increase that risk.
Another good point. Less experienced shooters forget they are dealing with a 3 dimensional object and dont realize they are aiming a tad to high if the position of the animal is above them. To ad even more variables if the angle is steep enough you have to aim higher to account for less drop. So any new shooters or pesters that have never dealt with extreme angles due to shooting up into a perched racoon or other pest make sure you use an angle compensating range finder so you dont over shoot or under shoot on angled shots.If you can wait, the side of the head between the eye and the ear seems to be the best shot to take. But you have to visualize the path the pellet will take. On a shot from below you may want to impact the raccoon a little lower so the pellet still passed into the brain rather than just skimming
If cops and neighbors are a concern I'd trap the raccoons to get rid of them. Saves having to stand guard to all hours of the night waiting for them to show up as well.thanks! I had clear headshots but didn't pull the trigger for exactly the reasons you mention if you don't anchor them...dont need the cops on my doorstep again..,,lol