choosing a s&w revolver for dealing with racoons

[mg357]

Dear Smith and Wesson Forum i am an amateur writer and im working a writing project about a young land owner who has his garden invaded by rabid racoons. an i need a Smith and Wesson revolver to arm him with the character is a young man in a wheelchair and he will carry the revolver in a shoulder holster rig. any and help with this would be greatly appreciated sincerely and respectfully mg357 a proud member of the Smith and Wesson Forum.

 

[lagavulin62]

what do you mean by invading property? never lived in the country. you mean destroying garden? killing pets? raiding barn? I guess a 22 would do if he is a decent shot. will be lay in ambush or cut em off with his motorized scooter and shout "freeze or I'll blow your head off"!!

 

[diamonback68]

I'd recommend a K22 Masterpiece, model 17 6". Ammo, CCI Stingers.

 

[buck460XVR]

im working a writing project about a young land owner who has his property invaded by rabid racoons. an i need a Smith and Wesson revolver to arm him with the character is a young man in a wheelchair and he will carry the revolver in a shoulder holster rig.

...are they Zombie rabid Raccoons or just plain everyday Friday the Thirteenth rabid ringtails? I suggest maybe a PC Compensated Hunter in .460 or .500 S&W Mag with a sling for dramatic effects. Besides, them Zombie 'coons take a lotta lead.

I ain't generally a grammar/spelling Nazi on internet forums, but noticed a lot of grammatical and spelling errors, plus run on sentences in your opening post.....but then, I ain't much better. Best of luck with your writing career.

 

[Eagl1]

As someone who has recently had a face to face encounter with one of these very aggressive and I presume rabid animals, I can assure you that a .22 would not be my weapon of choice. For your character, I would recommend a S&W Model 10 with 4" barrel. It's a popular weapon with manageable recoil and a reputation for accuracy and reliability.

 

[stumper]

38 spl would probably be the best round if they are agressive - unless you are into paint ball splats, then you can move up to a magnum

 

[stantheman86]

I shot a groundhog with a .357 Ruger GP100, a 158 gr. HP, this summer while I was riding my lawn tractor....I carry the .357 for protection against black bears but a groundhog popped out of the woods, and they are pests that dig up my yard......man, I was scraping that thing up with two shovels afterward

A .500 would be OK if you didn't want to clean the raccoon bodies up, just spray down the red spot with a hose!

 

[MSgt G]

I shot an opossum three weeks ago with my M&P 340, loaded with .38's. Body shots didn't work well; finally got a good head shot. Man, what teeth they have!

 

[hunterfisher808]

I'd recommend a K22 Masterpiece, model 17 6". Ammo, CCI Stingers.

+1 , This is a very formidable combo; the K-22 has a super trigger that makes for some very accurate shooting. A .22 will make follow up shots a lot quicker as there is almost nil recoil.
Stingers are an hyper velocity round that has a very explosive reaction on flesh at pistol range velocities. This combo will serve very well.

 

[ken158]

Model 17 or 18 - with the combination of wheelchair and shoulder holster, I would lean toward the model 18. Could be the mate to a model 15 one of his relatives had and gave him for such duty.

 

[Hunt200]

Have any of those that recommend a 22 ever shot a rabid raccoon with one? Well I did and unless you take out its heart or a brain shot he isn't going down very fast. Screw the 22 use a 38 special.

 

[ogilvyspecial]

Having considerable experience with damaging critters, especially 'Coons, my current weapon of choice is either a Ruger SP101, Charter Arms Patriot, or, which applies here, a S&W Model 632, all in .327 Federal Mag. My round of choice, at least the first two out, are .32 S&W Long Wadcutters, with the last four "full zoot" .327's.

I've found that taking out Raccoons is a heck of a lot easier than 'Possums, which are far more resilient when it comes to taking hits. I can usually dispatch a 'Coon with the .32's but, more often than not, the .327's are needed to finish off a 'Possum.

A couple years back I shot the biggest Raccoon I've ever seen in my life off our roof, and I used to trap them back in the 70's, with a Glock 26, but I did take the precaution of using MagSafe Ammo just to help a little with the "Hope I don't put a hole in the roof" issue. One shot did the trick, with no hole in the roof I might add..........

Things have quieted down here for a couple of weeks after I took out two 'Coons in one night, both were together and the second one provided some "quick action." The next night it was a 'Possum on the back porch..........

 

[lagavulin62]

Have any of that recommend a 22 ever shot a rabid raccoon with one? Well I did and unless you take out its heart or a brain shot he isn't going down very fast. Screw the 22 use a 38 special.

all true and no I have never shot a coon with a 22. but he is writing a book and it ain't easy getting folks attention these days. he needs to make sales to support himself. also this handicapped dude is fictional so this makes it much more interesting, lets put him in some hairy situations. maybe in the last pages the young man in desperation opts for the 500 but until then I guess Cujo was a coon.

 

[ogilvyspecial]

To add a little more about my "system", we have a series of 12 Passive Ifra-Red Sensors around the property that I can move around to focus on problem areas if need be.

When they go off, which they do every night (I'm up from 11 pm to 7-8 am) I usually grab my Merlin Fanny Pack with the .327, slip my Streamlight Stinger HP LED in the ring on the pack's belt, put on my Ghillie Coat and finish up by slinging my Night Vision (Yukon Ranger). When things get interesting I'll call my cell phone from the house phone, which gets left on the Sensor Receivers, and use my Blue Tooth. This way I can hang around outside and hear the Sensors as they trip then focus on those areas, as opposed to destroying my night vision by looking through my Night Vision Monocular more than necessary.

The good thing about having so many Sensors is that I can get a "direction of travel" based on the sequence in which they are tripped...........

If I'm having trouble with a savvy critter I'll also sling my 20 gauge, Remington 870 Tactical that has a Streamlight TLR2s, which gives me more range.

The key to my success with the Revolver is the Crimson Trace Grips / Sights. Early on I learned two things, one, the Taurus Judge (3" Magnum) was pretty much useless unless I was within 10', which is why I sold it, and that all of my night training with a Flashlight didn't help me much. I'm pretty good as long as my target is standing still but as soon as things get dynamic, all bets are off. The Crimson Trace changed all that.

Here's an image of one of our Sensors, which don't come "camo'ed", that's something I do.............

For those interested in more information on the Sensors, you can find it here.

http://www.voicealert.com/

P.S. The reason I went into so much specific detail is because of who, and what, the OP is and does (writer looking for details)...............

 

[HEAD0001]

A lightweight 22 magnum should do the trick very well. Tom.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

I don't know anything about coons, and very little about wheelchairs, except that one sits in them. I know a little bit about shoulder holsters. One thing about a shoulder holster is that you aren't going to have much of a problem with adjustable sights or barrel length, surely not 6" or under. Therefore I would recommend either a 6" Model 14 or a 4" Model 15, or a "pre-14" or "pre-15." Of course, one of the .32 magnums would also be fine, but they are a little harder to find, especially in a novel. But they can be created fairly easily.

 

[dmar]

Not to be blasphemous here, but If it were me, I'd go with a Ruger Single Six, with the .22 mag cylinder... Make it a short barrel (4 5/8"), and stuff it with some CCI hollow points, and you'd be good to go. If you wanted to get real serious, I guess you could do the Model 15 thing, or heck, why not a 66... But me, I'd go with the .22 mag for those critters. If it wasn't rabid animal situation, I'd just go with the Model 617, 18, or 17.

 

[NiklasP]

Long ago I shot a lot of racoon-sized critters. Most were with 22rf from rifle. Hollowpoints into brain or spine were instant killers -- no other hits were. Would expect same results from 22RM from revolver.

Best results were with 32-20, especially true HV loads (80 grain jacketed HPs at about 2000 fps from rifle). Suspect that any 32 soft lead bullet at velocity of 1000 fps or more from revolver would do fine too. 38 special double ended wad cutters at 1000 fps or so from revolver should be deadly too.

22 Hornet was very effective also, so would presume same from 22 RM rifle would be too.

Niklas

 

[NE450No2]

I have shot a fair number of raccoons with a handgun. Most often with a 44 Mag or a 45 ACP because those are the guns I most often carry.

However, for your story I think a 4" or 6" K Frame, either a 38 Secial or a 357 Mag would be a good choice for a handgun in non bear areas.

For raccoons I would use 148gr wadcutters, or 158gr semi wadcutters with standard 38 special loads.

 

[Harrison]

Back in my misspent childhood I used to go coon hunting with my uncle Roscoe. Once the dogs treed a coon Unk. used a 38 special loaded with LSWC handloads to dispatch them. I cannot remember a coon ever needing more than one shot. I don't think they were particularly hot loads either.