Snared a 25-30lb. female coyote last weekend , neck caught but one leg in loop - didn't fight the 12' snare much . I used RWS subsonic HP ammo - shots to the noggin were not penetrating like I thought they would . Had to shoot a few times to my disbelief .

Anybody have this happen ?

The ammo knocks the snot out of squirrels that were destroying my feeders/lights/stands , out walks a big bobtail racoon [25lbs huge for around here] broad daylight 4pm - rws hp to the neck at 22 yards starts rolling on the ground - give him 3 more and he stopped moving. Got up to round up the feeder destroyers and the coon was still alive - rolled around and faced me growling and trying to run . 6 shots total .

I sure erased my thoughts of using a 1,000fps pellet rifle .

When I was a kid, I trapped a lot. I used an old 22 Buffalo Scout pistol. Before FIE bought the name, and what ever Federal ammo was on sale. Back in the day, I could usually find a brick on sale for about $3.00, It always worked.

Back in the day - only the highest velocity ammo was cool .

Never dreamed of shooting a squirrel in the head at 65 yards .

No more subsonic hp for dispatch for me . Kind of posting this as FYI - for your information - just so nobody makes the same mistake I did .

We had a Fox under a deck years back, running around trying to bite folks in a neighborhood. We had it cornered pretty good, and thought a sub-sonic to the neck from close range would do the trick. I don't recall how many my friend put into that Fox, but enough that he threw the sub Sonics in the garbage, and used the 835 to dispatch it. They may have a use, but I have better luck dispatching with my RWS .177 .

I use CCI 22 Shorts and shoot em in the lungs. Takes about two minutes for them to expire and leaves a .224 sized entrance hole in the hide that you have to turn inside out to find it. Head shots and exit wounds bleed too much..

I like to lung them too. Used a lot of Remington sub sonic without a problem.

.22 short to the lungs is the best way to shoot.

I usually put fox and yotes down with chest compression. On a yote, slap it over the nose with my tile spade. This knocks it out for a few seconds. During that time I hit it square in the forehead with my heavy steel trowel. This puts it out for a minute or more. Then press down on the ribcage over the heart with my boot (no stomping, just pressing), and pull up on the hind legs. You can feel the heart stop beating in a minute or so. Quicker on a fox.

I tried to do that with a raccoon and kept slipping off the pudgy little bugger.

I used standard velocity shorts when I trapped.Don't know if they even sell them anymore. Subsonics should work if put in the brain.

Use standard velocity solids for coyote dispatch, CCI Quiets for everything else(rifle). I would stay away from hollow points unless you enjoy sewing up holes.

A 22 solid through the lungs of a wolf works too.

If you're using subsonics out of a handgun that could be your problem.

CCI Quiets (HP type) work well. I would never use an HP if my goal was to brain stuff however.

I'm surprised. I shoot RWS too, and it's death on raccoons and cats. As a youngster, even got a few deer with it, but only took noggin shots close. I've only recovered one lead chunk from one in my life, one that went stem to stern in an old tough Fox Squirrel. Bullet was a perfect little lead mushroom. Still have it around here somewhere.

If the apocalypse occurred right now, I'd want my little bolt Ruger and all pockets full of RWS subsonics.

Just do this. It works easy every time.

CZ 455 synthetic suppressed model , Huntertown suppressor , 3x9-32 weaver rimfire classic , loves cci 40 gr. subsonic HP .


[quote=Skunkman]We had a Fox under a deck years back, running around trying to bite folks in a neighborhood. We had it cornered pretty good, and thought a sub-sonic to the neck from close range would do the trick. I don't recall how many my friend put into that Fox, but enough that he threw the sub Sonics in the garbage,


This is exactly how I felt .

Story - more story : I was trapping a swamp that winds on zig-zagging through 2 miles [ as the crow flies ] - so about 3 miles , takes hours to walk the line . Love it .
I was sitting in my shooting house cooking supper after spending most of the day checking snares and hanging more snares .

The coyote met a snare - all hades breaks loose 350 yards up a bushogged lane opposite of where I had just came from . . I'm snacking on something when the coyote vs. the snare fight broke out , wish I had a camera of my face when the sounds started - probably be funny . Anyway jump my tired feet back in my boots , grab the CZ - out the door - cover the distance quick like - eased up when close and spotted the coyote pulling backwards - chewing at the snare . When it spotted me it went crazy - [ tree shaker ] I eased up and looked it in the eyes . Shot it right in the head - just where the top of its muzzle stops - kind of low not exactly between the eyes . I won't go into all the details but after a few shots I was a bit freaked out .

I caught myself heading back to the shooting house to get my 308 - - decided to finish it - reloaded the magazine - shot it somemore . As much as I despise coyotes I felt bad about the extended time it took to dispatch it .

Anyway - solids from now on , might try the lung/heart shot dispatchI do it from 30 yards and not get the critter riled up by approaching close .

Caught a tiny possum next day it acted like a stuffed animal didn't move a muscle with me standing two feet in front of it , same ammo rws , muzzle 1-2'' from head -pop .
Rolled it over - no exit , very little damage skull just had a busted in spot , but dead as a hammer .

I've killed several hundred coyotes in traps with CB Long solids to the head. I found the HPs tended to cause too much bleeding. The difference was very significant. The same CB Long bullet to the heart works well with little bleeding.

CCI CB to the head drops cats and coyotes like a hammer....in a Ruger Single Six....

RWS Subsonics work on squirrels for me but doesn't stop them like a high velocity hollow point. Frankly they work about the same as an adult air rifle except actually quieter in my opinion. Super accurate in my rifle but they don't pack a lot of oomph. Headshots on woodchucks are good, body shots and they'll run under the shed. I'll "smell victory" a day or two later.

Dan

RWS Hp's are very accurate , but I get the same accuracy with CCI SV HP's - but couldn't find any for a long time .

I'll get some cheap solids for the trapline .

The smell of victory - that's funny - to me - not you .

I"ve used only super colibri for years. Bobcats, coyotes, fox, coons, possums, skunks, and have yet to have a failure. Fairly close for most of course, and in the head.

For non trapped we carry a suppressed 10-22 and sub sonic CCI HPs or pre frag HPs and tend to body shoot at times, or head shoot. Have never had an issue there either, other than if body hit in the wrong place.

22 short HP in the lungs here. Works really good for me.

Coons are really hard to kill, when I was coon hunting I saw lots of coons absorb a lot of 22 ammo then make a 50 ft fall from a cotton wood tree then still fight the dogs..only shot to put them out immediately is one between the eyes..

Yep little grizzly .

When I was a kid, I was hunting with some buddy's and we ran across a big boar coon way up high in a hardwood.

One of my friends had his dad's 32 pistol with which I proceeded to perforate that coon full of holes. He just took numerous hits in stride and held on that tree as though nothing had happened. I thought I was missing because he shows no signs of being hit, plus I figured nothing could take that many rounds and survive. I finally knocked him off with a well placed round to the head with my .22LR rifle.

When he hit the ground we inspected him and found that he had indeed taken multiple hits from the .32. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it possible.

Funny - not so funny story about a coon .
My best Bud and hunting partner in high school - Dan - he married fresh out of high school , he took his young brother in law [16] coon hunting . Dan had 2-3 coon dogs since he was a kid .
Dogs treed a coon - the coon had hid so Dan climbed the tree to make it move so BIL anthony could shoot it , coon moves - dan says there it is - anthony is shining his light around all wacky - dan somewhat scolded him to stop looking everywhere and shine the light where I'm pointing my finger . Anthony starts shining the light on dans boot - dan scolds him to shine the light on his hand -- no - no up here on my hand and asks do you see where I'm pointing - yes anthony said . Do you see the coon right there - yes anthony said - took the 22lr and shot dan in the foot .

Dan said he called him every name there was and pondered shooting him in the head . Dan had a temper to .
Hobbled off to the hospital to have the bullet removed - bled real bad but healed up fine .

Dans wifes family was in the coal strp-mining business in KY. - anthony was messing with a guys wife down there - guy walked in where anthony was in a poker game and shot him in the neck w/a 44mag. that was 30 years ago .

Trapped a lotta stuff. Tried a bunch of different dispatch methods. Best I found for instant shutdown was CCI shorts in one ear on line to come out the other ear. Coon...…………...possum...………...fox...……….. Instant. RWS .177 springer just almost as effective with the same shot.

HOWEVER...……………...skunks get a single .22 LR behind the shoulder. They nearly ever spray that way.

I tried the subs years ago with the same result. My preference has always been CB long or CCI shorts. Both work well and will take out the occaisional small game for lunch when the opportunity arises. I always choot em in the punkin and set them aside as soon as possible. I try to keep blood out of my trap circles, but I cant swear its a deal breaker.

Not surprised. Sub-sonic HPs are the bee's knees for gray sq. They hit them hard, harder than HVHPs even though you see more damage with high-velocity stuff sometimes. Those soft HPs open fast, seeming to use up all the energy on expansion.

Step up to anything bigger, like a fox sq. and you want more pop to get the same effect. A coon knocked out with sub-sonic will come down fighting. You can make a guess on how a coon hunter views fighting based in part on what he chooses to use to dispatch the coon.

That's just my experience having used 22lr for years over tree dogs.

I've never even heard of HP shorts.......I've always used the plain ol RN lead.

I've heard that as well as a hundred other magical no spray methods......never once has one of them worked for me.

I'm of the opinion that a 30-06 or larger might...I repeat "might".... be the only answer.

I have used CCI's subsonic segmented 22 long rifle shell for years in a 2" Ruger Mark II suppressed. Go thru a broadside coyote very well and kill very well. Its been a great dispatch bullet for me over the years.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/cci-22lr-subsonic-segmented-40gr-hollow-point-50rds-0074.html

I carry a suppressed Ruger .22 pistol in my pack when deer hunting. Saturday, I was in a stand, a big ole coon was walking toward me in the food plot along the edge of the woods. I got the pistol out, got ready. At around 35 yds, looked like he was going in the woods, so I shot him. He jumped, arched his back, turned broadside and I put another in his gut. He let out a noise, ambled into the woods. With the suppressor, I could hear the bullets hit. I'm shooting Rem Subsonic HP's. Gun has a red dot sight.

I'm sure he died pretty quick, but they are tough, can soak up a lot of lead.

This rig is really handy for squirrels and coons while deer hunting. It makes some noise, but not enough to scare a deer unless really close. BTW, I did a trigger job on this one with Clark and Volquartsen parts. It has a trigger stop and is about as good a trigger as I've ever seen on a Ruger. That does help shooting a coon at 35 yds. I did have a good rest in the box blind.

DF

My experience exactly. I've taken their heads off with a 12 gauge and also shot them in the gut with a 22 short--- they still spray enough to make a big mess.

I remember as a teen, shooting one thru the chest with a K-38 and he didn't spray.

That's a series of one; I'd not trust that to work every time...

DF

For coyotes CB Longs in the head or lungs if I shoot.

Most times I stun them with my trowel, roll them on their back and strike the throat side of their neck with my trowel.
K9s have a set of nerves that run down their neck either side of the wind pipe that if struck simultaneously disrupts the signal from the brain to the heart and kills them like flipping a switch.

Only time I’ve seen 22’s fail is if they glance off skulls when it’s a bad angle

Haven't trapped for about 10 years. But I heard about the ONE .22 LR behind the front shoulder method back then.

Came up to a dirthole with a stinker in it the very next morning. Took out one of the usual .22 short HP's from the cylinder and slid in a .22LR. Popped the thing right behind the front shoulder...………….NO SPRAY !! Thennnnnnn…………...he kinda hung on and lingered and me hating to see things shot not die quickly AND needing to remake the set and get to the next one...…………. I put another .22 LR behind his front shoulder about a minute later. POOF !!!!!!!! Green cloud !!!!


I know for a fact, had I just left it be, he'd have eventually expired, spray free. Now to the point of the brutal, basic truth of the matter...……...skunks freakin' stink even if they haven't sprayed for a week or a month. So it's really quite rather inconsequential. Only a matter of the degree of the stink.

I use sub-sonics...with a flat point like a Keith Bullet....will penetrate straight and hits hard....

Take a #1 drill several holes in a block of hard wood, make block .84" thick....run a mill basterd file across a couple times....

CCI Small Game Bullet. Smacks hard due to flat point. Leaves tiny holes going in or coming out.