Raccoon Pack Attack -- What Handgun?

Reminds me once when I was a kid, me and my cousin were squirrel hunting. I shot one out of a tree with a 12 gauge and it hit the ground and then climbed straight back into the trees and we lost him. We looked everywhere for him and then we saw this big nest about 25 ft off the ground way out on a pine limb. I talked my cousin into climbing the tree and crawling out on the limb and he starts jumping up and down trying to shake the squirrel out of the nest. I'd give a $100 bill to have a picture of the look on his face when about a 25 lb. possum who's all teeth jumps up out of that nest and comes straight down the limb at him. I shot him about 3 feet from his face or my cousin would of been toast. You'da just had to been there. I laughed for about an hour while my cousin cussed me.:D
 
Raccoon problem?

;) No sweat, I had to take one out last summer when a gang of three of them tried to attack my little Jack Russell puppy. The others got the hint when I put a Federal 50 gr. .22 mag H.P. in the big ones ear. Used my Marlin lever action rifle. Always keep it loaded and close by for emergencies other than human beings.
They didn't leave (like a normal wild animal would) when I yelled at them on my back porch... weird. Haven't had a problem since. By the way, they have huge cannine like teeth. Would not like to get bit by a raccoon....
Can be dangerous if they get close enough to take a bite. Not only that, they are known to carry rabies...:eek:
 
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Coons are not cute and cuddly. They will attack when cornered. They are also prone to rabies. A .22lr is usually sufficient to solve the problem, however, with decent placement (head, cns).
 
say blast em with whatever you have. Even if it's a .45 loaded with Buffalo Bore ammo or a .357 mag. loaded with corbons or golden sabers. :D
 
Opossums are mean lil things. Had a friend stick one with a bailing hook to get it out of the chicken coup. Thing started coming after him with the hook through it. Another time had one in a trap, walked up with a 22 revolver and pointed it at it. It gabbed the barrel in it's mouth. that didn't turn out well for the opossum. Saw one on the road one day cut in half. The front have still trying to crawl to the side of the road. They are tough mean big rats.
 
"Aren't possums docile? They look mean and ugly but have they ever been known to attack a person or pet?"

Possums can do an amazing amount of damage to someone stupid enough to tangle with them.

Years ago at college my ex and I saw a possum in a small tree. My ex, a good city girl, though she'd like to pet it. I told her no way, but she kept edging closer. When she got within about 5 feet, the possum, which couldn't really go any higher in the tree, showed its teeth and let out an incredibly evil sounding hiss. The ex practically jumped out of her shoes...

The good thing is they rarely carry rabies, unlike raccoons, which have a very high instance of rabies.
 
I live in a city but my yard backs up to some woods and a horse farm.Every time I use my barbque grill, the coons come up on the deck sniffing around it.
They'll get into trash cans and enter houses with pet doors. Best thing I've found to deal with critters like coons, possums, and skunks is my S&W Model-17 loaded with .22 shorts. I'd rather use Stingers but I try not to disturb my neighbors.
 
This will say alot about my rural upbringing...

"Aren't possums docile? They look mean and ugly but have they ever been known to attack a person or pet?"

I once stepped on a possum whilst drunk and barefoot in the middle of the night and the combination of the injuy I sustained, the rabies shots, and the alcohol induced vomiting later have instilled in me a life long hatred of possums. My family jokes about my mission to kill all possums i encounter. I'm just thankful my employer will never read this.:D
 
You can't go wrong with a 12 gauge shotgun with 00 buck. Just the noise ought to scare them away once you get off one blast.:D
just keep firing empty the chamber as they runaway.:D
 
Aren't possums docile? They look mean and ugly but have they ever been known to attack a person or pet?
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Ha! A possum will clean out a chicken house quicker than anything but a pack of dogs!
 
I once stepped on a possum whilst drunk and barefoot in the middle of the night
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LMAO!!!

Back when I was not as safe and sane... I pulled into my parking space at home in a pole barn where we stored our fire wood. This was after a night of High School shenanigans, so my faculties were severely impaired. I shut off the car and got out. As I shut the car door, this hideous hissing started from the wood pile. I could not get the door open fast enough!!!! I finally got myself securely in the car, flipped on the headlights and there was a big nasty possum on the wood pile hissing at me. It would not retreat! I finally had to back my car out so I had enough room to escape...
 
I usually have a cane or a walking stick when I am in the woods, they are a good way of getting attention and making it clear you will not be a victim.
Also remember a lot of raccoon populations are infested with rabies, hence if you see them it would probably be best to go the other way. Sounds like another caliber wars discussion and double tap vs. single tap.
 
OK, so it's O-dark thirty at night and I am up watching TV. House is quite but un known to me my son had failed to bring the 40 pound bag of dog nibble from the front porch. So over the gun fire on TV I hear, "rattle - rattle - tear" and this repeats for some time. Look over my shoulder and no, dogs snoring in the corner on her bed. Finally figure the sounds are coming from the front door so get up in a bath robe and open the door. Didn't for some reason turn on the light, but as I open the door I see a set of EVIL yellow eyes staring at me from the top of the bag of dog munch. Two more sets on the porch also now looking at me. Back up SLOWLY into the room and shut the door, turn on the light. Momma coon has torn the bag open and is throwing handfuls of kibble down for the two kids. Hmm. Open the door and say (not too loud wife and kids sleeping) SHOOOE (sp?) Momma about 40 lbs bears her teeth and hisses. K. Call the dog up and open the door. Dog (black lab 65 lbs) looks the situation over and backs up into the house. Found base ball bat opened door and made threats. Mom sniffed at me jumpped down, took kids in tow and wandered off. Still see them now and then. Peace treaty in effect but up for revision to arms if they don't keep it.
 
Let's see... How about a a couple cans of pepper spray and maybe a shotgun loaded with rock salt? ;)

Seriously, raccoons are clever, destructive little creatures and can definitely get violent if there are enough of them. But they're not bulletproof or pain proof. I bet a squirt of pepper spray in the faces of a pack of five would discourage them and send them looking for less uncongenial company. I'm pretty sure that, if that didn't work, my revolver would work while loaded with any ammunition I have, even the wimpy .38 sp roundnose target ammunition I usually practice with. Since I keep it loaded with .38 +p loads for self defense....

Keeping raccoons out of your trashcans, however, is a much more difficult task. :/ About twenty years ago I was sharing a house with a roommate. The house had a small creek next to it, and a family of raccoons moved into the bank. The babies were the cutest little things imaginable, but we ended up having to pile stones and bricks on and around the trashcans to keep the coons out of them.

One night, at about 2:30 AM, my roommate woke me with a loud, terrified scream. By the time I managed to wake up, grab a robe, and scramble up to her part of the house, she was standing by the cat's bowls, shaking and pointing at the cat door. The big daddy raccoon had come in and been chomping away at the cat food. She told me she'd gotten up to go to the bathroom, seen this *enormous* cat (hers was a delicate little Siamese), and then screamed. The coon showed its teeth, so she kicked it hard in the mouth. She said it made a noise something between a grunt and a sneeze and then *sauntered* out the cat door. But it did leave.

The following week, she had the city animal control come out, capture, and relocate them. :-)
 
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