I would probably never be able to properly pronounce the word “Opelika”, but oh well, I just had to look that up and this is what I found…
Opelika is a Creek word meaning “large swamp,” although there is no evidence of a swamp in the vicinity, and the name was probably meant to be descriptive of the river and lakes surrounding the area.
O puh LI kah.
You need to place the pellet just above the eyes in the center of the head. You also need a high quality pellet gun designed for competitive target shooting and hunting small game- that doesn’t tend to come cheap. Drowning them is much too cruel for me because it takes several minutes. Please spend the money for an adequate gun.
https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/spring-piston/rws-model-34/
What about suffocating them by placing them, trap and all, inside a sealed plastic bag? I did this with some trapped squirrels, and they seemed to die quite peacefully. You might need a pretty large bag for a raccoon trap.
I’ve used a plastic bag and CO2 and that works pretty quickly on squirrels; don’t know about raccoons.
After seeing evidence of dead waterfowl eaten by animals down by my pond, I suspect the avian flu knocked them out. No tracks out and about…
I agree. If people only had a little empathy for stuff like that. How would you like be drowned or suffocated?
One of my neighbors bought a syringe on a pole and idk what is in it but it’s supposed to put them to sleep or kill them idk I haven’t asked to see it but I guess it’s better than most ways.
One neighbor down the street had her low iq son trap a coon and left it out back in the sun until it died. In 110°+ weather on a deck. Said he forgot. What a degenerate human. If you got to dispatch a problem do it humanely and definitely get a gun.
I once forgot to close a live coon trap that was tied into a tree when leaving on vacation. It had been up there for a couple of weeks without being noticed, but when we left town one got trapped. I still feel bad about that.
That sounds like a mistake that could happen easy enough. Especially when you’re so busy and planning a trip. At least you felt bad and never did it again.
I am definitely going to take the 22 bullet path this year for my raccoons that I trap. Tired of relocation
I’m a little concerned on making sure I get a good shot. I have 22 rifles and several 22 single action revolvers one with a 6 inch barrel. I was thinking the single action22 revolver with the 6 inch barrel should be the weapon of choice. So any tips are just stick the barrel through the wire mesh and let her rip ?
A little tuna fish on the muzzle, perhaps?
I find the rifle a bit easier and more accurate.
I thought about it but if you are going to stick the barrel through the mesh to avoid hitting wires then pistol would be easier to handle I would think
I couldnt get an accurate shot with my pistol and my fingers were too close to the critter. Make sure you bring a full cylinder of ammo if you decide to use the pistol
Thanks for letting me know I’ll have my rifle and my pistol ready.If it doesn’t look like I can do it with the pistol. I’ll just grab the rifle. I do a lot of target shooting with my 22 so no shortage of rounds. Thanks again
If you shoot many raccoons in a cage trap, your going to hit the wire eventually. If you put the muzzle inside the trap, not on the entrance, but you can’t control the exit perfectly, and a raccoon won’t always stop a 22 bullet. I’ve broke a few wires with bullets & it’s not that big of a deal. The wires are relatively soft and weak, and don’t deflect the bullet meaningfully. I personally prefer dog proof style traps over cage traps myself though. Largely because they are cheaper and the coons don’t tear them up or break them the way they eventually tear up cage traps after you have caught a bunch in a trap.
I might just try the pellet rifle first. Pretty sure a hit in the head will dispatch them with out a lot of blood and no broken wires. I think it is just going to be trial and error to see what works best. Thanks for the info
I feed the critters… I kill… but I dont want to eat to my buzzards… they are always hungry and not picky eaters at all.
Take care of an armadillo in a couple days.
I have 30 acres… so can just toss them out in my field… and they are gone in no time.
They get lots of fish, deer and squirrel scraps (whats left after cleaning) toooo.
TNHunter
I throw the critters into my pond on the west end where the snappers are hanging out.
I’ve found that the strawberry-flavored marshmallows work better than the regular ones for raccoons. Any time I post about raccoons I always include a warning to be careful of raccoon roundworm, especially if you live in the Northwest. Google it and you’ll see why.