Got a Question. (All Input Will Be Helpful)

[D Kluck]

...another good pellet gun is the Gamo Bone Collector... it shoots 1350 feet per second... it it will easily take out racoons..

 

[shmccarthy]

1350? Hah that's crazy, and I thought mine was fast

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: I've been shooting for over 50 years, and I've bounced pellets off possums skulls at 10 feet

Small caliber air rifles are not reliable killers of larger animals.
It's just a fact
Anyone can make a LUCKY shot once in a while.
Don't confuse that with "reliability"


In the OP's scenario, he has the option to use a REAL firearm, and a quieter load at little cost compared to an air gun

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

...another good pellet gun is the Gamo Bone Collector... it shoots 1350 feet per second... it it will easily take out racoons..

That's only if you use non lead pellets
With lead , its just 1000 fps
For the $300 it costs, you can get a nice 22

 

[shmccarthy]

Well I guess I make lucky shots all the time then. It doesn't matter to me how long you've shot, you can do something all your life and still not know as much about it as someone else. I've been shooting guns for 12 years, and shooting clays for 5 and I can out shoot 90% of people who have been shooting their whole life. I know how to do a well placed shot. I don't argue on something like this unless I know I'm right.
All I know is my gun, which is the gun I have in the link, will easily kill a raccoon or possum see I can make words in bold too.

 

[shmccarthy]

I'm sorry you haven't had as pleasant of an experience with the gun as I have. I see it as a very reliable gun, and an option for OP, which is why I shared it; because its quiet, easily affordable, and can kill anything as big as a raccoon. Since you seem to be the gun expert here, I'll let you have your way and we'll just see all the raccoons and possums I kill daily with it, as a fluke.

 

[D Kluck]

...... Walmart sells them for $190 ..... i use a Smith & Wesson M&P 27 AR-15 22 cal. for predators here on the farm..

 

[RJSchaefer]

As another poster said, check into your county ordinances. Most have a clause about killing nuisance animals, anything that "harasses" livestock. If your county has that, use an actual rifle that's reliable for a one-shot kill. If your neighbors pitch a fit, cite that ordinance. I'd even keep it printed out so it's handy.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote:

We sell a lot of .177 cal air rifles to customers who want the best of both worlds...they want down range accuracy for target shooting but also want the power to kill small pests.

Quote:
Any air rifle is a poor substitute for predators over a real firearm, and the 17 Cal is the weakest of them all.
It's just reality

 

[shmccarthy]

The fact that I can outshoot both my parents, both of whom have been shooting their entire life, and I still average higher than a lot of people who have been shooting their whole life. I've placed 1st in the state of Michigan multiple times at state level competitions and have been to nationals a few times as well. With the exception of a few very good shooters, I am a better shot than most people in my club, which has placed top in the state multiple times as well. I practice by shooting 300+ rounds a week, excluding local competitions. During the week of states and nationals, I shoot 600. My club, coaches and my parents are all extremely proud of me. I am very proud of myself and my skill at shooting guns. So I would say I'm a great shot, not only with shotguns but with rifles as well. I shot my first gun when I learned how to walk.
I never said a .22 isn't a good rifle to kill larger animals. I have 3 of them, which I also target practice with weekly. I used to use my .22 to kill raccoons but the neighbors kept complaining, because I was shooting at dark. I bought my air rifle so I wouldn't make as much noise. I've killed many squirrels, birds, raccoons and opossum with it. The fact being that I am a good shot. I have the ability to shoot the precise area where I want the bullet to hit. I'm sorry you have trouble "bouncing pellets off possum skulls" but there's this thing called 'human error'. I'm not saying I don't always make the perfect shot but 99 times out of 100 I do. It's not that hard to aim for a shot in the back of the neck.
This one time I was using my semi-auto .22 to kill a raccoon. I shot it 2 inches above the right eye, in the brain. It knocked the animal down but it got right back up and kept running and ran up a tree. I shot it again, out of the tree and it took a third shot to finally kill it. All 3 shots were in the head. If you were as experienced of a shooter as you claim, you would know that it's possible that once an animal is still shot in the head, they can still do normal, instinctual body functions because of the nerves being damaged and dying.
Out of the 3 deer I've gotten, the only one that ran was the doe I shot. I shot her through both shoulder blades and hit both of her lungs, and nicked the heart. She ran for almost 100 yards with broken shoulders and a bullet through her lungs. She was already dead but because of ther nerves dying, she ran. The two bucks I shot, I shot in the back of the neck, where it meets the spine. I did this on purpose so it would kill them instantly and they wouldn't run. So because you seem so apprehensive about that, that is my reasoning.
And yes, I am young. And being only 19, I still have a lot to learn. But it doesn't take a genius to figure out when someone needs to get off their high horse.
I was only suggesting a gun that I personally have had a lot of good experience with. It's up to the OP what they actually want to use, but I'm leaving this thread. It's not worth my valuable time to argue with someone that is arguing for no reason. I've seen your posts on other threads and personally I think you just enjoy arguing with others. I know what's true and I know my gun. Lighten up, life is too short to be bitter about small things.
Good luck finding your gun Xovan, and hopefully it takes care of your problem!