.223 ammo for coons

Maverick 52

New member
Well this is my first post, so hello, but I've been reading this forum off and on for the last couple of years.

I've been wanting to get into coyote and raccoon hunting but I hadn't found someone to sell furs to until recently, so now I'm really getting excited to try it out.

I'm curious what you guys think is the best ammo choice in .223 for coons. I'd like something that is going to put em down quick, but not completely destroy the fur. I was thinking something like a 55gr, maybe 40gr V-Max. I figure it will either enter, fragment, dump all the energy into the vitals, and not exit, or it will exit and destroy the fur. My other thought was a soft point of some kind to keep the entry/exit holes small, but I'd think this wouldn't put them down as quickly.

The reason I'm worried about anchoring them quickly is because I've killed a few with a .22lr that basically shrugged the first couple of rounds off, and still ran far enough into the brush I never did find most of them. Some of those were body shots, some were head shots, same results with either shot placement.

If you have any other caliber suggestions go ahead, but I only have a .22lr, .223 AR-15, a 12 gauge, and a .410 available to me(and from reading through the WI small game handbook I'm not sure if I can use buckshot on coons or not...). I'm hoping to make something work with what I have, but if something else works really good I'd check into it.
 
.223 is iMO to big for coon if saving fur. And besides it's gonna be a close quarter's shot. .22 Mag or 17hmr or 12ga for me! And hit them in the Head!
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Out of all your choices the only one that is fur friendly is the 22lr.
A hollow point out of the 22lr put in the brain is a dead right there coon. If you shoot one in the head and it runs then you made a bad shot (did not hit brain) and it has nothing to do with the 22lr.

I use a 22mag now but I have shot a lot of coons with a 22lr and even a 17mach2 and each and every coon that was shot in the brains immediately was dead. They may kick around on the ground right where they fall but they are already dead and never ran a step.

So use that 22lr with a hollow point and make sure to hit the brains.
 
You can get the 22 mag for so cheap in a savage or marlin I see no reason not to get one.

If you reload you can download .223 way down to .22lr or 22mag, or 22 hornet velocity and then use a 40 gr bullet. I have a feeling soft points won't even open at 22mag velocity as they are designed to go so much faster. A 22mag bullet is designed to expand at a lower velocity I would assume. There is lots of info on these reduced power loads if you use the search.
 
I have never used anythiing bigger than a .22lr on coons. Like already said, hit em in the brain. I have even shot em with a high power air rifle in the head and they were DRT. A bit twitchy, doing the dance of death, but never ran.
 
Originally Posted By: Pro_huntOut of all your choices the only one that is fur friendly is the 22lr.
A hollow point out of the 22lr put in the brain is a dead right there coon. If you shoot one in the head and it runs then you made a bad shot (did not hit brain) and it has nothing to do with the 22lr.

I use a 22mag now but I have shot a lot of coons with a 22lr and even a 17mach2 and each and every coon that was shot in the brains immediately was dead. They may kick around on the ground right where they fall but they are already dead and never ran a step.

So use that 22lr with a hollow point and make sure to hit the brains.

Well that's what I thought too! For reference, I can shoot the walnuts out of a walnut tree with my .22lr. That doesn't make me an amazing shot, but it does show I can hit a smallish target up in a tree. The coon that I shot in the head was in a tree. After I shot it, it ran into it's den in that same tree, popped it's head back out to growl at me and my friend, so I shot it again. Then it started coming out of the den growling and we both decided it was time to just open up with the 10/22 on that coon. The coon never did make it completely out of it's den, and I didn't feel like climbing the tree to check it over and see what the heck happened with it. I did check the tree trunk next to it's den with my binoculars and didn't see a single bullet hole in it.

I don't know if that was just one crazy exception, if the coon was rabid or something, or I really did miss both head shots which I doubt considering how the coon reacted. I always have wondered a bit if it was the ammo used also. I don't remember exactly what it was, but it was hollow point, but it definitely wasn't a "premium" .22lr bullet like a Mini Mag or Stinger. I'm not exactly proud of that story since I didn't like leaving our kill in the tree, and because of how the amount of gunshots it took to kill that coon(I'd rather do it quickly) but it is the main reason I'm wanting to use the .223 versus the .22lr.

That does bring up some more questions though, if you're going to use the .22lr, is there any specific load that might work best? If I were to only take head shots with the .223 would you expect a lot of fur damage still? Would damage in the head area of the fur matter much for selling price?
 
Sounds like you just did not hit the brain area on that coon. Not saying you missed completely but just didn't get it in the brain area.

I can tell you from experience that a hollow point in the brain area flat out scrambles the brains!! I use winchester 40gr hollow points when shooting the 22lr. Frankly whatever hollow point shoots accurately out of your gun is fine.

The 223 unless you really download like mentioned above will tear a coons head all to pieces. Kinda like a 22lr hollow point does to a squirrels head.
While they may not actually use the head fur in the garment industry; the fur buyers will knock off for it.
 
Id use some stingers in 22lr. Iv shot a few coons with .223 with a 40gr v max. One i called in and took a lung shot it never exited and didnt damage any fur. But I bet they could do some fur damage. few others were shot out of trees with little hide damage.
 
I'm not sure where you are hunting, but I don't believe shooting any center fire into the trees and air is a good idea. Every shot will not have a backstop.

Your issue sounds like shot placement. It may not be all you, though.

I would recommend hitting your local ammo retailer with about fifty bucks and buying a box of every 22 ammo they carry. Then get on a real bench and do some shooting. Find out which ammo your rifle likes. Then, dial your scope accordingly. Use the rest for practicing shots in field positions.

Stepping up in caliber shouldn't be the solution to poor shot placement, however, it may not be all your fault, either. Find the load your gun likes, sight it in with a quality scope/ring combo, and have a ball!

I use a .17 HMR primarily for coon hunting. At 50 yards, it groups 4/10 of an inch with its preferred ammo. If I miss, I know it's me. However, it also carries a bit more punch as well.

The .12g with a tight choke and varmint shells will also light's out them every time. We typically have a shotgunner for coons that charge the call, and the rifle for the lookers. Bring a friend! It will make it much more fun.

Most importantly, be safe and GOOD LUCK! Make sure to report back with pictures!
 
if u have a single-shot or bolt action you could use 30gr or 35 gr bullets with trailboss, speed varies but slow enough to hammer a coon.
 
Well I picked up some mini mags for my 10/22, I gotta try em out to see how they group but hopefully they will work better than the ammo I used before.

I also talked to a guy I work and shoot with, he has a reloading press and offered to help me download some .223 to see how that works also.
 
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