Calling Raccoons... What Guns do You Prefer?

K

Kentucky_Windage

New member
Thinking about tying my hand at some deliberate raccoon calling soon and wondering what guns are favored by those who target raccoons. My current predator arsenal is limited to a Prairie Panther that prefers heavier .223 fodder and a tack-driving Savage Model 10 Predator Hunter in .22-250. Haven't invested in a shotgun dedicated to predator hunting... yet.
 
Calling coons is a lot of fun. I prefer 22 mag for coons. Drops them quick. If you are going to skin and scrape your coon I would not use a shotgun. No one I sell skins to will buy shotgunned coon. A nice rimfire 22 wmr or 17 will kill coons for you. Good luck and post some pics if you get some.
 
When they are charging hard it helps to have a shotgun. Killed two Sunday as they charged me, one at 10 steps, one at ten yards. If I had been using a rifle, I highly doubt I would have got either one of them. Occasionally, I will bring both guns with me while calling coons. I almost always do when coyote hunting, so I'm used to it. Just my .02
 
I've thought about shotgun, but don't want to tear up the fur too bad, expecially if they're charging in close. I've heard others have had some issues killing them cleanly with the .17 HMR. If I make a habit of calling them, might be a good excuse to acquire a .22 Mag. Sold off the only one I ever had a long time ago. That particular rifle was never terribly accurate.

Any recommendatons on rifle/cartridge? I'm sure there's better stuff out there today than when I last played with a .22 mag... been a long time.
 
the couple insuccesfull calling coon trips ive taken ive had my old remington feildmaster pump action .22 hopefully soon ill call one in and let you know how it worked out for me.
 
I tried the 17 two years ago and it just didn't do what I wanted it to do. It just seemed like it took multiple shots to kill them. To each their own.

Kentucky, if you are looking for a nice 22 mag, I have good luck with the Marlin tube feds. Mine holds 12 shots and is scoped with a Nikon 4x. I keep wanting to rescope this and I will, but other new guns keep getting in the way! I have used this same setup on coons since 1992. I have never run it dry yet. 12 rounds is plenty for well placed head shots.

As far as ammo, I really like the 30 grain Hornady Vmax and am testing the CCI Gamepoint, 40 grains. Nice round. My old standyby is Federal 50 grain hollow points. The more I play with the 40's on coons and on paper, the more I like them. I wish I had bought some this summer so I could really wring them out.

One other thing I will add is don't put the caller right next to you. Bad things will happen. I like raccoons but I don't want them sitting in my lap and believe me they will get aggressive. They get pretty ticked sometimes!
 
Last 22 mag I had, many years ago, was a nice looking Marlin with a laminate stock and stainless barrel. It just would never group well, so it went on down the line.

Don't worry about me putting the caller right next to me. I've seen ticked off 'coons before, and don't want them anywhere near me when they've got their dander up!
 
Yea that is the Marlin I have, 883S. Mine was like that then I changed out the trigger and it was much better. I have a 983S now too which came with a much nicer factory trigger. They aren't match rifles but I like them for stuff like coons. Super short throw and the tube is nice. Kind of old school rifles.
 

Just curious, are certain months better than others for calling raccoons, ie, fall vs. winter, cool vs. warmer weather? Do you have to be near den trees to be successful?

I've never called raccoons, but it sounds like a barrel of fun and I'm always in learning mode.
 
I have shot all the rimfires and prefer the 22mag for coons. They will all kill coons just fine if you get a head shot. I think the 22mag does a little better job though if you have to take a body shot.
I use a Savage bolt gun with 34gr Winchester Supremes. I am going to try the 40gr Winchester Dyna-points and see how they do also. I have been plenty happy with the 34gr supremes though.
 
Originally Posted By: 6mm06
Just curious, are certain months better than others for calling raccoons, ie, fall vs. winter, cool vs. warmer weather? Do you have to be near den trees to be successful?

I've never called raccoons, but it sounds like a barrel of fun and I'm always in learning mode.


I start calling right after our deer season in mid November and hunt right up until it closes in February. I usually have my best luck on cloudy calm days but have had some good days when sunny also. The better sunny days seem to be after some really cold nasty weather that has had the coons in their dens for a few days in a row.

Being by a den is the most important thing when calling coons during the day.

I sent you a PM also.
 
I have used 223s, shotguns, 22LRs, 17HMRs, and 22 mags for coons over the years of calling them. Over all, I prefer the 22 mag. I have used only CCI 40gr HPs and they have wqorked like a champ. I too though am thinking about testing some 40gr CCI gamepoints. Once in a while, I will get a coyote that gets curious and comes in to check out the ruckus.

At least with my experience of calling while walking slowly, 90% of the coon I shoot are from tree tops. There have been a few "incidents" with charging coons that I wish I had a scatter gun though. I imagine that I looked rather comical running the opposite direction of the coon!. I remedy this though by not hugging the woodline so close. As said before, a ticked off charging coon that is less than 10yds from you is a disturbing sight!!
 
The shots will undoubtedly be relatively close, so I'd choose the 22 mag over the 17 HMR.

If you do use a 17, I'd suggest the 20 grain Hornady XTP. They pack a pretty decent punch.
 
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