Air Gun for Dispatching Raccoons?

[ChickenHopper]

I had one of my RIRs attacked on Halloween night. Bought this shortly afterwards. Took one coon out last night with this air rifle. Plenty strong to take out a raccoon. Very easy and super accurate with a scope and attachable game spotter. Takes out crows too. They drop like rocks. This gun fills with a scuba tank to 3000 psi. I shoot a 24 grain pellet at ~1150 fps with a muzzle energy greater than 40ft/lbs. It's noisy unmuzzled. Those of you saying it can't be done with an air rifle have no clue. These are not toys.
http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Hatsan_BT65_SB_Elite_Air_Rifle_Black_TH_Stock/2963

 

[Coop Deville]

I had one of my RIRs attacked on Halloween night. Bought this shortly afterwards. Took one coon out last night with this air rifle. Plenty strong to take out a raccoon. Very easy and super accurate with a scope and attachable game spotter. Takes out crows too. They drop like rocks. This gun fills with a scuba tank to 3000 psi. I shoot a 24 grain pellet at ~1150 fps with a muzzle energy greater than 40ft/lbs. It's noisy unmuzzled. Those of you saying it can't be done with an air rifle have no clue. These are not toys.
http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Hatsan_BT65_SB_Elite_Air_Rifle_Black_TH_Stock/2963

That

Is

Awesome

 

[Egghead_Jr]

They are not toys at all. My one pump Walther Talon pushes a 22 caliber pellet 1000 ft per second. Plenty of knock down power. You have to keep in mind that a .22 long rifle only pushes the lead 1400 ft per second. For shooting varmints in town limits nothing else compares.

 

[ku5e]

Gamo makes some respectable Airguns.

In this video they show a Hunter Extreme .177 dispatching a hog at 25 feet. I am sure it can handle a Raccoon at 2 ft. You do not need gun powder for such a simple task.

Gamo Hunter Extreme .177 - Muzzle velocity 1650 FPS with PBA (7.1 grain) or 1250 with lead (7.6 grain) (With the lead that is >16 ft-lbs at muzzle)
Average 22LR - Muzzle velocity 1000 (40 grain) - 1350 (36 grain) FPS (>130 ft-lbs)

But all that is needed to penetrate a skull is 13 ft-lbs (while morbid, human skull is the only data I found)

Of course, if you think you need more power and want to stay with air, a Gamo Hunter Extreme .22 can deliver a pellet at 1300 FPS (14.4 grain) (~24 ft-lbs at muzzle)

Today's airguns are not your Crossman 60's. They are truly dangerous and should be treated as such.

TLDR: Airguns can kill hogs, raccoons,and possums.

 

[REDNECK TRAPPER]

I've shot them with a gamo big cat .177 but it took 8 shots. Since your in the city I would get a few live traps and bait them with cat food and marshmallows. If you do catch one just place your shot right below the ear and should kill it with a few shots

 

[foamyownsyou]

I've come to find raccoons checking out my chicken coop at night over the last week, and I'm not too keen on that.  I live in the city of Memphis, and am unable to discharge a firearm.  Therefore, I would like to get an air gun that would be capable of taking out a raccoon at close range.  I have a trap, and am planning on dispatching any of the critters that decide to take up residence in said trap.

I've been told that an ~1100 fps .22 with a 27 grain pellet should take care of the raccoon, no problem, but I wanted to run that past the chicken folks over here.  Does anyone have experience taking out these masked demons with an air gun?  Does anyone have a recommendation for a specific brand or model?  Any input is much appreciated.


Thanks

Use a .25 cal pellet rifle and you need a hunting license

 

[epoch]

A .177 pellet gun would work. Like a Nitro Venom Dusk.

If you're looking for an instant kill, you'd have to be a good shot within 25 feet and a hit it in the head. It's pretty hard. You'll need a scope because at night it hard to make out the head. Flashlights ruin your night vision. You only get one shot, so forget quick shots. Coons are dumb enough to look at you. Line up the scope with their head. Call to them, speak gently, and when the cross hairs are between their eyes. Hit'em. If they figet around on the ground, job done. However, it they aren't figeting you've only wounded them, time to bum rush or you'll miss your chance. Most the times, it's not an instant kill but they will bleed out and die elsewhere. Eye's, lung, neck are serious injuries. Or you can wound them enough to slow them down and finish them off with a machete. Your choice.

If this is too much for you, just get some traps.

Pulling off a head shot is really tricky. You'll spend hours training to do it. You got to zero your rifle, most shots are at an angle, and if you've zero'd it a 20' and are standing at 19', hitting that head is a real pain. At night it's like shooting from the hip. I find it challenging and I like a challenge.

Really, I'd invest in a bow. Hit a raccoon with a bow and it's not going anywhere. Then you can take your pellet gun and point blank it in the head for an instant kill.

A bow is extremely silent and easy to use. At 20' it would be easier to hit a coon center mass with a bow than a head shot with a .177. They even sell cheap crossbows. Never used one but I bet it would work.

 

[Birdman12]

I headed up the maintenance dept. of a horse breeding farm and one of my duties was to rid the 200 acres of raccoons ( they carry a germ in their poop that can really screw up a horse) at the end of my first season I was up to146 of the little buggers, I tried every standard way of dispatching them, but the most effective and humane way I found was simple, no cost and very quick. it may sound bad but it works every time, when you approach a trapped coon they always face you and stare you right in the eyes. a baseball bat with a 1" piece of rebar in the first 8 " you club them right between the eyes square on the top of their head.........with a really good swing and they do the funky chicken right away, no blood or mess to clean up, no noise or use of firearms and as much as I disliked them I liked the fact they are killed instantly

 

[The Lazy L]

kill box sounds like a cheap, feasible alternative, to me.

Yep.

Or put the 3 foot live trap with the coon in a 4 foot garbage can full of water.

 

[RonP]

Garbage can full of water, works every time.