Trying to get rid of some racoons, will a pellet gun work. Don't own any type of gun but plan to get one. what type of gun, what type of pelllet, and what type of speed (feet per second). Thanks for the help in advance.

 

A pellet gun is more apt to maim than kill a coon. A 22 would be a better choice, 410 if you don't have good aim

You might want to check local regulations to make sure it is legal to shoot wildlife - even if they are a nuisance.

 

i agree the .22 would be best but there are some pellet guns that would do the trick. i have a gamo that is 1100 fps, i imagine it would do the trick (but it would have to be a well placed shot). just get a .22 or .17HMR or mach 2 and be done with it.

 

live traps work very well for coons. check with your local animal control officer as well. in some areas it's illegal to transport wild animals in order to release them. there's no need to shoot an animal that is not threatening anyone.

 

It would be more humane to kill it with a 22 rather than a pellet gun. Unless you head shot it with the pellet gun the coon will have a slow painful death after it runs off with a pellet in him that went through his organs. A 22 opens up a larger area for a quick kill over a pellet.

Then again if you live in suburbs stick with the pellet. If you live in country area I would do a 22 but if i lived on a farm I would probably get a 9mm or 40cal with hollow points to have more fun. also get a scope to and practice setting it up. Nothing wrong with using a scope on a pellet gun

 

If you live in town buy or borrow a have-a-heart trap and trap them, drive them out a few miles and turn them loose. Shooting them with a pellet gun will most likely piss them off. If you feel you have no choice and need to get rid of them by shooting them don't mess around, either kill them with something you have confidence in or have someone else do it, but do it humanly. And remember you just can't kill wildlife any ole time of the year................

 

a .22 CB is almost silent when fired from a rifle. For a coon a head shot is needed with this low power ammo.

If you want a dead coon and want to avoid noise, use the hav-a-hart trap, then drop the whole trap with animal into a water filled trash can.

Coons will respond to cat food used as bait. But,,,,so do skunks. A live trapped skunk has significant pucker factor.

Happy Hunting!!!!

410a

 

Live traping and transporting a couple of miles is useless in the case of coons. They are highly territorial and apparantly have built in navigation systems that allow them to get home over 10 to 12 mile distances. To make sure you get rid of the offender you would have to transport over 20 miles or so (at $2.85 per gal. + your time). Hmmmm, fifteen cents or six bucks plus 45 minutes of my time. What to do, what to do?

Here in Tennessee, the occurance of rabbies in coons is so high that TWRA says to dispatch them to the great nest in the sky rather than spreading the rabbies by transporting. Skunks have the similar rabbies problem and as 410a said, "A live trapped skunk has significant pucker factor" Inside city limits call animal control (or use a .22 Colibri powderless 20 gr. round {I am not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV and I would never advise anyone to violate the laws of their municipality ;-) } but be sure of your target and what is behind it). Out in the country a standard .22 40 gr. will do just fine. Don't waste 'em though. After shooting them at least use the pelts or give it to someone that will.

 

If you live in a residential area, discharging a fire arm is against the law. Relocating is prohibited in many areas, so you will need to check with your local authorities. If you live in Huntington Beach, CA, you can call Huntington Beach Animal Control & Pest Wildlife Removal.

 

I live in suburbs near San Francisco. A pack of misbeaving racoons would come into my patio and destroy it everynight. One night the came in an killed my dog!! I had enough. Trapped them and transported them >15 miles away but that got OLD after 5 traps in 2 nights. I called animal control and they told me it was Illegal to transport them but then told me to KILL THEM. I asked "what if I get caught" and she said "here is a license to kill them ..."!! I asked her how and then she told me about dunking them in water. Sounded too messy so I put the entire trap (along wtih trapped racoon) into a large garbage can along with a a rag soaked with Chloroform. The racoon fell asleep after 1 minute. Then I put in a dish of dry ice (CO2) and they would be dead within a few minutes. For a long time I had no more racoons!!

 

a pellet to the head at 1000ft/sc will kill a raccoon! the new type pellets with a bb in the end really do the job its quick. and a lot less complicated than chlorophyll and dry ice?
a pan of anti freeze will do it however you cant control what might drink it they like the sweet taste.