First raccoon and some questions

[BlackICE]

The shot might be a little low depending on your shot angle. Brain shots are the way to go with a heavy dome pellet perpendicular to the skull. Almost 100% of the time even with a perfect brain shot they will do the death dance for over 1 min. at times. I've seen 45 sec to 1.5 mins. You can tell if the death dance is a good or bad shot by what is wiggling. If front legs don't trash around only the rear legs then it is a good fatal shot. Also they drop motionless for about 1 sec before the nerves go nuts and that start to dance. I've seen blood within less than 2 sec of a good shot come pouring out of the nose! Clearly fatal but yet still danced for over 1 min.

 

[jearly]

A racoon doing the death dance startles everyone the first time, like others have said. I’ve also had a couple coons run off after a face shot. They are mini-bears and tough.

 

[N2 Shooter]

The raccoon break dance gets everyone the first time they see it. I think your shot placement was spot on. I've taken that shot a dozen times with a .25 cal, but it was shooting slugs pushing 45 fpe.

Although head shots are super ethical, an inch either way, and now you got a badly wounded predator. That's why I strictly go for the heart/lung shot and I've upped my caliber and energy delivery up to .30/.357 and 90/180 fpe respectively.

Don't get me wrong, you can certainly take out raccoons with a .25 cal, I'd just prefer the round was flying faster so the impact doesn't deviate from where you were aiming too much.

If you wanna see how raccoons take slugs from the Bulldog, take a look at these videos I made:

 

[rangur1]

Your shot was a bit low. their brain is relatively flat disc shaped. Draw a line from top of eye to other eye or ear and that line is brain territory.

 

[BlackICE]

The raccoon break dance gets everyone the first time they see it. I think your shot placement was spot on. I've taken that shot a dozen times with a .25 cal, but it was shooting slugs pushing 45 fpe.

Although head shots are super ethical, an inch either way, and now you got a badly wounded predator. That's why I strictly go for the heart/lung shot and I've upped my caliber and energy delivery up to .30/.357 and 90/180 fpe respectively.

Don't get me wrong, you can certainly take out raccoons with a .25 cal, I'd just prefer the round was flying faster so the impact doesn't deviate from where you were aiming too much.

If you wanna see how raccoons take slugs from the Bulldog, take a look at these videos I made:

That was a great shot. The other stuff on the ground is probably warm blood picked up by the thermo. A dome 0.25 dome pellet with at least 30 fpe at the brain target hitting the skull at 90 degrees will kill them just as quickly as a 12g slug, body shots are best left for bigger calibers if you don't want the coon to walk off or suffer.

 

[JustindianaJones]

Gonna post the video. After reading all the input, and watching a few more videos, I think I was being too tough on myself - thanks for all the feed back

Anymore feedback with the video is also much appreciated

Edit: this was a lone coon that’s been tormenting our adopted feral cat and ate a koi out of my pond - it was a matter of time until it decided it wanted another one of my koi, so regardless, it really had to go

 

[Glenroiland]

Watching it live helps. Your shot placement in real time was good. I wouldn't feel bad about that. I had one do more than that and I even did 2 follow up head shots and it was still dancing

 

[Sqwirl57]

Agreed that was a very clean/ethical shot. That guy was out before his head hit the dirt. Great shot bud

 

[BlackICE]

That was a perfect shot a .22 or even a .177 with enough FPE would have kill it the same as a 44 mag at that location. The front legs aren't moving only the rears. As Glenroiland said even more followup shots to the head won't stop the death dance. Nerves have a "mind" of their own.

 

[TheCarFather]

Agreed with the others, PERFECT shot! That was just the typical "death dance" you witnessed. That was instant death, excellent shooting!

 

[N2 Shooter]

Gonna post the video. After reading all the input, and watching a few more videos, I think I was being too tough on myself - thanks for all the feed back

Anymore feedback with the video is also much appreciated

Edit: this was a lone coon that’s been tormenting our adopted feral cat and ate a koi out of my pond - it was a matter of time until it decided it wanted another one of my koi, so regardless, it really had to go

That shot was textbook! Like @Sqwirlfugger57 said, he was dead before his face hit the dirt!

 

[Hal4son]

FANTASTIC!!!! Glad you decided to post the video. Happy to publicly admit I was wrong in my first post. Great shot!

 

[qball]

Text brook brain shot with text book breakdance afterwards! The last thing went through it’s head before it took a dirt nap is the pellet, definition of lights out and all nerve system afterwards.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@JustindianaJones Looks good on video. You aimed in the right area. The raccoon moved its head as you squeezed your shot. Still looks like you flipped its switch. Good shot.

 

[markT]

Wrong aim point. Shoot them in the brain. You should be up 3/4” and left 3/4”. Depending on the size of the coon. I just killed a pile of them. Learn where the brain in located. They will not twitch nearly as violently when impacted correctly.

 

[Glenroiland]

Wrong aim point. Shoot them in the brain. You should be up 3/4” and left 3/4”. Depending on the size of the coon. I just killed a pile of them. Learn where the brain in located. They will not twitch nearly as violently when impacted correctly.

Kind of disagree here. I've had violent twitching after confirmed brain shots. I've even had convulsing after follow up brain shots. They can dance quite a bit as their neurons fire randomly and they are already deceased.

 

[BlackICE]

I think it was a clean shot could have been better possibly but I believe it hit the brain and was brain dead very shortly. Raccoons are like chickens you can cut off a chicken's head and it'll still run around. Every raccoon I've seen shot in the brain does the death dance. However have not seen one get hit with a 12 gauge slug or a hollow point from a center of fire. If the brain is completely obliterated does the body still do the death dance? I don't know maybe someone else can answer that question.

Why do chickens run around when their heads are cut off?

Editor's note: Today’s "Ask a Scientist" discusses topics related to animal death that may be distressing for some people. Let’s talk a little bit about heads. Typically, an animal’s head contains …

www.columbiatribune.com

Curious Kids: how can chickens run around after their heads have been chopped off?

There was once a chicken called Miracle Mike who lived for 18 months without a head: it’s all to do with nerves.

theconversation.com

 

[BabySherman]

@JustindianaJones From 19 yards with that velocity and 25 grain domed pellets is fine. From what you stated you have enough fpe. A 33.95 grain diabolo pellet may be better suited. Whichever pellet you decide to use in the future, work on placing your pellets into their brains. Do this with target practice.

Between the eye and ear is good as suggested by @beerthief and @Emu Raccoons tend to bleed a lot and twitch when shot in the head with pellets. Killing pest animals and hunting can be enjoyable but it isn’t a game. If you continue to do it you will watch animals die when they fall within your field of view. Death under these circumstances is not pretty, nor does it tend to be instantaneous. Death is a process. The brain has to shut down for an animal to die, whether via destruction of neuro-pathways (brain shot) or via oxygen deprivation (body shot). If you search the hunting forums, you can find a good amount of information on raccoon hunting/pesting. I’ve read plenty of these types threads so I’m confident that they’re still available. You should be able to obtain realistic expectations from what others have written and the photos they have posted. It’s good that you’re asking questions.

Is there illneses from all animals decaying brain matter? Maybe some good body shots are better than taking a chance a pet or worse comes in contact with that stuff?

 

[Hal4son]

Is there illneses from all animals decaying brain matter? Maybe some good body shots are better than taking a chance a pet or worse comes in contact with that stuff?

Decay typically won't make a pet sick and if it does, they'll just puke on your carpet Distemper and rabies virus don't survive long outside of a living host. Raccoon roundworm found in feces is viable for much longer. A lot of good info can be found online regarding disease and parasites in your region.

Locally, we have a very high rate of distemper in raccoons. To an extent that there have been warnings posted at local veterinarian clinics. One local study had nearly 70% of raccoons testing positive for carrying the distemper virus. To minimize contact when bagging critters, I'll put my hands inside a garbage bag and grab the animal (through the plastic). Then pull the bag around the animal. Squeeze the air out, spin and tie in an overhand knot.

 

[Ezana4CE]

Is there illneses from all animals decaying brain matter? Maybe some good body shots are better than taking a chance a pet or worse comes in contact with that stuff?

I’ve had this concern with brucellosis, rabies , and I believe distemper before. I generally am not getting pass-throughs on head shots with smaller calibers shooting diabolo pellets 600-800s fps (distance to quarry matters). The offal doesn’t decay long here. Between humidity, heat, carrion beetles, and other organisms an animal’s remains don’t last long in these parts. If there’s a fear of some sort of ecological ramifications from killing a diseased animal it can be burned, buried, or reported to the wildlife office or a regional university agricultural extension for advice on how to dispose of the animal. That’s the best I can think of in that regard.