Air Gun for Dispatching Raccoons?

Small Farm:

Unless you specifically want to try the air rifle (as a novelty?), I'd suggest you stick with the .22 rifle. You can get a single shot pink Cricket for a little over $100. Really good, accurate air rifles will cost 3X to 4X that, plus the scope. Anything shooting less than 500 fps is going to be marginally effective on anything much larger than a sparrow. Most rifles in that range are intended to be youth plinkers. Great fun on bottle caps, etc, but not something I'd want to hunt with. I have a Beeman R7, which is the gold standard of small plinkers.....nearly capable of putting 5 shots through the same hole at 10 meters.....but even it exceeds the 500 fps limit. To be lethal at that velocity means a large caliber.....like .22 or even .25.......and you won't have much range due to the large drop from the low velocity. Maybe 50 feet? If they capped you at 500 fps, they didn't intend for you to do anything serious with it.

Until a person is exposed to the fascinating world of air rifles, most would not believe what is out there. And most would not believe how much the good ones cost. Like $500 and up.

Or go really large........

http://www.quackenbushairguns.com/

BY dispatching I assume you are shooting at extreme close range at a target that is also restrained.

I don't think that 500fps will be effective to dispatch animals of any size. You want a minimum of 900fps. Wait until you get your license for either a .22 air rifle or .22 rimfire.

itsasmallfarm said:

instead of creating a new thread am just going to ask the question here.

recently they changed the laws, letting us dispatch fur bearing animals with air guns (where i live) also letting us use them on upland game birds and animals such as rabbits. (before i know guys used a .22LR for all those species know we can use lighter air guns)

now i got my trapping licence so i can sell the pelts of the animals i have to dispatch (mostly raccoons) and i also use rat traps for weasels when there in season. all in all i enjoyed the history of trapping and got into it.

now am looking for an air gun, to use to dispatch animals such as raccoons (there the biggest animal am going after this year.) as a .22 can cause a bit of damage to the pelt. but am also looking for a good air rifle that i can use to hunt upland game birds and rabbits with. (and maybe some muskrats)

so what would some good recommendations be? i should note i live in Canada meaning air guns over 500FPS need a fire arms licences to require (i should be getting mine with in the next few months i hope) also looking for one that will not break the bank.

thanks itsasmallfarm out.

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Don't waste your time with an air rifle. As another member said 500fps and under are paper punchers. Can you kill with it? yes, but the game your are wanting to hunt are too large for that small of a weapon. The first rule of hunting is to be ethical, meaning a clean kill with out undue suffering of the animal. A 500fps air rifle will not do that on the size of animals you are wanting to go after. You mentioned that you are getting your firearm license shortly. As a life long hunter and outdoorsman I urge you to wait until you have that and then purchase a proper rifle. I would go with a .22LR, but if you have your heart set on an air rifle, get something in .22 cal with 1,200 or above FPS rating. Many even come with suppressors already mounted to the rifle so they are quiet. Unless you score a deal, you will be looking at around $250-300.00 US for a quality one.
Hope this helps.

Wow, 500 fps cap is sad. I had a pump action Daisy 880 when a boy. It had more power than that and only good for squirrels. At least you can purchase a better airgun after obtaining a license. Most of Europe has a 12 ft-lbs limit which is what a pump Daisy or Crossman can do. Some countries even have a ban on .257 caliber. You can have a .25 pellet rifle then you can have .35 cal and up big bores. No .257 or 30 cal big bores as they perform too well. It's healthy for government to be afraid of it's population, unhealthy to control it.

A good hunting airgun for up to raccoon size if shot in 100 ft is Hatsan 95. You can pick up an air ram (vortex) Hatsan for less than $200. .22 or .25 caliber will do the trick. It's 20 ft-lbs break barrel gun. That will put a 13-15 grain .22 pellet around 750 ft per second. If your dispatching coons in a trap that's all you need.

Egghead_Jr said:

Wow, 500 fps cap is sad. I had a pump action Daisy 880 when a boy. It had more power than that and only good for squirrels. At least you can purchase a better airgun after obtaining a license. Most of Europe has a 12 ft-lbs limit which is what a pump Daisy or Crossman can do. Some countries even have a ban on .257 caliber. You can have a .25 pellet rifle then you can have .35 cal and up big bores. No .257 or 30 cal big bores as they perform too well. It's healthy for government to be afraid of it's population, unhealthy to control it.

A good hunting airgun for up to raccoon size if shot in 100 ft is Hatsan 95. You can pick up an air ram (vortex) Hatsan for less than $200. .22 or .25 caliber will do the trick. It's 20 ft-lbs break barrel gun. That will put a 13-15 grain .22 pellet around 750 ft per second. If your dispatching coons in a trap that's all you need.

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i know the cap is very sad, but when i do get my licences to own a fire arm (am only 18 at the moment the minimum age to apply) the thing is i still can use them (under supervision of some one with a PAL or license to own a fire arm) i mean i know i will just wait till i get my license and get a high powered air rifle, but the thing is am trapping them (or well going to be trapping them in dog proof coon traps) i will be with in what 5 feet of them.

Howard E said:

Small Farm:

Unless you specifically want to try the air rifle (as a novelty?), I'd suggest you stick with the .22 rifle. You can get a single shot pink Cricket for a little over $100. Really good, accurate air rifles will cost 3X to 4X that, plus the scope. Anything shooting less than 500 fps is going to be marginally effective on anything much larger than a sparrow. Most rifles in that range are intended to be youth plinkers. Great fun on bottle caps, etc, but not something I'd want to hunt with. I have a Beeman R7, which is the gold standard of small plinkers.....nearly capable of putting 5 shots through the same hole at 10 meters.....but even it exceeds the 500 fps limit. To be lethal at that velocity means a large caliber.....like .22 or even .25.......and you won't have much range due to the large drop from the low velocity. Maybe 50 feet? If they capped you at 500 fps, they didn't intend for you to do anything serious with it.

Until a person is exposed to the fascinating world of air rifles, most would not believe what is out there. And most would not believe how much the good ones cost. Like $500 and up.

Or go really large........

http://www.quackenbushairguns.com/

Click to expand...

thank you,
i think i will wait to get my fire arms license, but then would an air rifle work? like the high power ones. (am looking .22 cal 1000fps) or still just stick with the .22lr?

centrarchid said:

BY dispatching I assume you are shooting at extreme close range at a target that is also restrained.

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yes i would have them in a dog proof coon trap.

Tully Mars said:

Don't waste your time with an air rifle. As another member said 500fps and under are paper punchers. Can you kill with it? yes, but the game your are wanting to hunt are too large for that small of a weapon. The first rule of hunting is to be ethical, meaning a clean kill with out undue suffering of the animal. A 500fps air rifle will not do that on the size of animals you are wanting to go after. You mentioned that you are getting your firearm license shortly. As a life long hunter and outdoorsman I urge you to wait until you have that and then purchase a proper rifle. I would go with a .22LR, but if you have your heart set on an air rifle, get something in .22 cal with 1,200 or above FPS rating. Many even come with suppressors already mounted to the rifle so they are quiet. Unless you score a deal, you will be looking at around $250-300.00 US for a quality one.
Hope this helps.

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thank you, as a hunter my self i agree with you, i was more interested in the small 500 fps and under guns as curiosity of what others think. i think i will just go with either a high powered air rifle or just use a .22LR



now i should note once i do get my fire arms licence, i will be getting a .22LR right now, my grandpa owns it and once i get my licence i will be getting it from him, (its a marlin 795)

I have a magnum powered break barrel air rifle. It's a beast to carry and attempt to hold steady when shouldered. That's why I suggested the Hatsan 95 as it's inexpensive, has good power and easier to manage when free standing.

The only airgun I can think of that you could bring down the speed to 500 fps would be a 30 cal break barrel pellet shooter- Hatsan 135. That will push a 45 grain pellet 550 fps so with a heavier pellet it's possible to go 490-500 fps. Then again it's a magnum break barrel which are heavy and off balance. Yes that's lethal and basically a work around to a bad law. 500 fps doesn't mean much on power, weight of projectile and speed make ft-lbs of energy. 7 grain BB going 500 fps is less than 4 ft-lbs. That can kill small birds and punch paper. 45 grain pellet traveling 550 ft per second is 30 ft-lbs energy and more than capable of dropping a coon in it's tracks.

There is break barrel pistols too. Browning 800 and Hatsan 25. These are inexpensive at 130 bucks. In .22 and 12 grains pellet pushes 450 fps. That's only 6.2 foot pounds of energy. Is that enough to punch through a raccoon skull for a clean head shot dispatch in cage? Maybe. I'd wait for the ability to purchase 20 ft-lbs rifle in .22 cal. Inexpensive to shoot and if you keep the grains below 15 will perform better, always use lead pellets, HN FFT pellets are 14 grain and JSB makes a 13.5 grain pellet. Hatsan 95 with gas ram is under 200 bucks. Will dispatch coons, be a good hunting gun as it's lighter and easier to shoulder than the magnum beasts. And if zeroed at around 40 ft the pellet will go maybe 1/2 inch high arc and rezero at 100 ft. Will be inch low at 40 yards and over 2 inches low at 50 yards. From there it drops like a stone and would require mil dot scope for real distance.