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You will be hard pressed to beat a Nikon PROSTAFF scope for low light performance. Nikon's new P-Tactical Rimfire would serve your needs very well. The 2-7x32 will let you see your target and make a shot that counts. This past weekeknd I took 2 corn thiefs with mine about 15 min after sunset and with a suppressor didn't even scare deer that were 150 yards away. Another nice option would be Nikon's full size PROSTAFF 3-9x40 scope. Even better light transmission and it is on sale right now for $30 off.
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In the past I really bashed the pro staffs and even the buckmasters. I do like the monarchs though. I had a buckmaster that wouldn't hold zero and sent it to Nikon. they told me it wasn't worth repairing and they would send me a new prostaff. I wasn't happy at all because I had a couple and there low light performance was dismal at best. Well I got the new one and saw it was a totally different scope. Its hands down better then the older prostaffs and buckmasters. In my opinion its every bit the scope my older monarch are. Even the adjustments are more crisp and accurate.
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You're on the right track, just be aware of parallax issues. Big-belled scopes designed for shooting 200+ yards aren't so great for shooting inside 40.
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Sheesh: I have the exact gun you need for this quest.
It is a Ruger 10/22 with a Bushnell TRS-25 Red Dot on it, and a Streamlight TLR 1 Weapons Light. And the ammo is CCI CB Longs at 710fps. These are similar to the .22 Long of days past except loaded to a lower Subsonic Velocity. They have more than enough power to kill any Raccoon .
The gun will feed these from the magazine but the gun won't cycle so you operate the bolt manually.
The reason I said Red Dot is because you won't get much of a chance at a standing shot with Raccoons that are more than a year or so old. The older ones are the ones that do most of the damage and they didn't get old by being stupid. I have yet to get a shot at one unless it is treed. The Red Dot sight is much faster for Target Acquisition and just as accurate as a 4X scope out to the effective range of a .22 LR. which is <100 yards. 50 yards with the CCI CB Longs.
On a side note: I have found that trapping them and deporting them to other places "Up Wind" from your house is the best way, and I have trapped 44 of them in the last 10 years.
The only one that I haven't been able to trap is the one tearing our yards apart right now. She had 4 Kits and saw two of them get caught and deported by me. She came back that night and literally "Excavated" half of my back lawn. The last time I put the trap out she went in the trap, got the cat food can, ate it, and left the can at the mouth of the trap. we see her footprints around the house anytime the ground is wet and she washes her hands in my Wife's fountains.
I have never gotten a shot at that Coon, and probably never will.
I did however manage to kill a Skunk about two weeks ago with my R1 Pellet Gun. One shot right thru the head box and it was done. It had been stinking the place up for about 2 weeks before it finally came out before dark and I was able to get a shot in it.. I had to use the pellet gun as anything else would have woke up the neighbor behind us who wouldn't hesitate ratting me out.
A Powerful Spring Powered Air Rifle is a real viable option if you are in town. For comparison the pellets I was using are 21.5 gr at 760 fps and the CCI CB longs have a 29 gr bullet at 710 fps so the power is very comparable.
Here's a pic of my 10/22 before the Light attachment.
Randy
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W.R.Buchanan - I've used 22 Long CB caps "forever", they'd kill a Raccoon but not in a DRT manner. 10-22 is a good solution, I might use CCI Stingers or the like though, lots harder on pests - Low for Coyotes but it'll eventually kill them with 2-3 good hits I'd think?
Trying to balance between noise and power. And not sure what'll be showing up once I move...
I'm considering trying a Camp Carbine in .45ACP with cat sneeze loads, maybe; Say PC'ed 200 grain TC boolets at about 500FPS? That'd ruin their day. Probably wouldn't cycle the action but that's OK. Red dot is what I was starting to think of, if I don't have 200 yard shots to make; I won't know till I move! If I do I'd swap back to glass with crosshairs probably. Streamlight are definitely a good weapons light!
I've had pretty good luck with shooting moving coyotes / raccoons, for some reason I can lead beasties with a rifle but not shotgun very well - Go figure! Practice, probably.
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I've killed 5 in the last 2 nights. All caught in a dog proof coon traps baited with honey nut cheerios.
None DRT all kick and run but they are still in the trap. 1 shot top of the head out of my S&W 422 with a Gemtec outback can. Pltt! all that's heard. 10 seconds done put in bag and transport to dump. If prices were up they would get stretched and sold but not at what they are worth today.
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Those traps do sound like they'll help :)