A Nice Quiet .38 Special Load

[Hrfunk]

Hi all! I am having a battle with a raccoon that keeps invading my wife's flowers. Two nights ago, I woke up at 0230 and heard him digging through her potted plants on our back patio. like the former Sniper I am, I stealthily crept from my bed and low crawled to my hide (actually, I stumbled, staggered, and bumped into a doorway or two). I grabbed my trusty Marlin Model 39A for this mission, and since I didn't want to wake up the entire neighborhood, I loaded it with a couple .22 shorts (shorts, by the way, were also the only thing I was wearing at the time of this engagement).


So creeping out onto my back deck, I spotted Ricky on top of a table about 10 yards away. This was the first time I actually laid eyes on my adversary, and I have to say I'm not sure how the small table was supporting a creature roughly the size of a polar bear (OK, maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration. Make him the size of a Shetland Pony). In any case, a sneer curled my lips as I thought how easy this shot was going to be.

Thus, I shouldered my rifle (literally, since there was nothing between my bare shoulder and the butt plate), and BLAAAM! (actually, more like "pip."). I doubt the anemic .22 short bullet actually bounced off Coonzilla, but neither did it vaporize him on the spot. His reaction was to jump down off the table and amble to a spot behind the bench at the far side of our patio. From that point, he proceeded to make faces at me through the slats of the bench. So once more I leveled the barrel of my blued steel beauty, and again I let him have it with another THUNDERING "pip." (This really was a pretty good shot. Low-light, at about 40 feet between the slats of the bench.). Ricky shrugged off the second shot, gave me the finger and strolled off into the woods.

I've had enough raccoon encounters over the years to know they are very hard to kill, and since these engagements usually take place late at night, I'm thinking a nice, quiet .38 Special load launched from my Marlin 1894 might be a better option for dispatching these rodent banditos. Anyone have any such loads you've developed?

Howard

[BrokenolMarine]

Crossbow.

[Hrfunk]

Crossbow.

Ha, ha! I doubt I could hit the ground while shooting straight down with one of those things!

Howard

[JEBar]

.... no wait, a raccoon invasion ain't funny, its serious .. .. as to a quiet 38 special load, oddly enough, I have .... my wife's favorite concealed carry is a J-frame, light weight 38 .... unfortunately, due to arthritis in her hands, recoil from her Smith has become more painful than she can tolerate .... in response I've come up with a very light load using 2.7 gr of Bullseye pushing a 110 gr Hornady XTP .... we went shooting yesterday and she really enjoyed it for the first time in a good while .... a side benefit from that load is its bark isn't is reduced to where it isn't painful to fire without hearing protection ... its not a long range round but I'd bet it your coon would laugh it off ..

[BrokenolMarine]

A buddy bought one because he couldn't shoot a firearm in his neighborhood years ago, laser sight and blunt lead head bolts for head shots. Fatal with no mess on his deck. I don't remember the brand. Pick up the bolts and reuse.

[PT7]

The night patrol was most interesting and vividly described.

I don't reload .38 special bullets for my LCRx; I mostly do as much research as I'm able at ammo manufacturer sites. This Hornady .38 Special CD Lite ammo @ 90gr may be too loud at 0230, or at anytime.
https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/hand ... fense-lite#!/

I've not tried it. But certain it would dispatch the backyard night invaders with no problem. Especially as I've watched your qual videos when you used revolvers.

Final comment, probably an irrelevant alternative. With practice, a Shuriken would do the job, and is totally quiet. But your results might be similar to what you said about shooting a crossbow.

PT7

[clovishound]

I find that target load .38s out my BBS are rather quiet at the range. I would suggest something like a 158 grain cast or coated with Trail Boss in a low to middle of the road powder load. How quiet that would be at night, I have no idea. A 148 grain wadcutter would be my first choice, but they will not load in a lever gun. They are ridiculously low recoil from a model 10 4" barrel revolver. Start load for the WC is 2.0 grains of Trailboss.

Remember, that with the exception of wadcutters, the higher the bullet weight, the lower the powder load.

[Mistered]

I've had enough raccoon encounters over the years to know they are very hard to kill,

This is very true however and while I prefer a quick kill if those .22 shorts connected you won't be seeing that raccoon again.
I too have shot some .38 target loads out of my .357 BBB but due to the low velocity a head shot would be about the only spot a sure kill could be guaranteed. At these low speeds a hit anywhere else would simply not impart enough shock for a sure kill. 'Coons are a lot tougher than most understand.
While fairly quiet during the day and in the woods I think in the quiet of night and depending on your proximity to other neighbors even a target load might still be loud enough to cause concern if heard.
This is of course if it is even legal to discharge a firearm in your area.

[ESquared]

Great raccoon story, but I'm no more help than the fellers above. Lots of good advice there.

While part of me hopes that MrEd is right and that the pesky, outsized rodent you describe above has been dispatched, I also want the infestation to continue just so we can get another installment in the saga...

Either way, please keep us posted!

[Mistered]

Around me I don't have a big raccoon problem (the cougars keep them thinned out) but I'll see one occasionally.
A few years ago I was in the house in the evening and I heard my cats food bowl being thumped around on the deck - and the cat was inside.
I knew this wasn't a feral cat as they are very stealthy & quiet so like an idiot I opened the door and there was one of the largest raccoons I had ever seen! I actually thought at first it was a small bear cub - it was pretty big. Well it took off and not too quickly as it was a big, fat lumbering thing with no tail!
Well I jumped around looking for my .22 and some ammo but by the time I had both together it was gone.
I set a bowl of cat food at the base of a tree about 25 yards off my deck and strung a low wattage light nearby to illuminate the area and took up a position inside the house with a window open to fire from but after several nights of my 'Sniper operation' it never returned.

[Hrfunk]

I've had enough raccoon encounters over the years to know they are very hard to kill,

This is very true however and while I prefer a quick kill if those .22 shorts connected you won't be seeing that raccoon again.
I too have shot some .38 target loads out of my .357 BBB but due to the low velocity a head shot would be about the only spot a sure kill could be guaranteed. At these low speeds a hit anywhere else would simply not impart enough shock for a sure kill. 'Coons are a lot tougher than most understand.
While fairly quiet during the day and in the woods I think in the quiet of night and depending on your proximity to other neighbors even a target load might still be loud enough to cause concern if heard.
This is of course if it is even legal to discharge a firearm in your area.

So far he hasn't made a return trip. But I think he might have friends and relatives. I'm in the country and the sound of gunfire is not uncommon. Still, my neighbors are close enough that I don't want to wake them or startle them by cranking off a cannon.

Howard

[Mgderf]

Since I live in a city setting, and gunfire is highly frowned upon, my coon response method is not quite deadly, but most effective at deterring their return.
I use either .36cal or .44cal round balls for a muzzle loader and I launch them from a wrist rocket type sling-shot.
They don't penetrate, but they do pack a wallop and make the intruders think twice about returning.

If you can't find lead balls, a bag of kids marbles work just fine.
Don't discount a wrist rocket.
They can be VERY useful.

[Mags]

.
mine too. but then most of us have cannons and we startle each other now then anyway.

... my neighbors are close enough that I don't want to wake them or startle them by cranking off a cannon.
Howard

[roddy]

I don't know if this will be of any help, but I'll throw it out there... I don't reload, but I have tried a few factory .38 Spl loads in my .357 Timber Wolf. One in particular that jumps to mind as being on the quiet side is the Blazer Brass .38 Spl load. It has a 125 grain projectile rated at 865 fps from a 4" barrel. The barrel on the Timber Wolf is ~18", and I was happy to see it remains subsonic despite the longer barrel. Rather than the sharp BANG! of a .357, it is more of a POCK! Still may be a little loud at oh-dark-thirty.
I have had good success with 'coons at relatively close range with the CCI 'Quiet-22' Segmented round. Head shot and they stiffen up, flop over and kick for a few seconds, then it's done.

[BrokenolMarine]

Get a stamp for a suppressor.
I have been wanting to... Just never got off my butt.
Then the big decision is in which caliber.

[GaHenryFan]

I've got a 45 colt load that's as quiet as an air rifle. I guarantee you he won't shrug it off.

[Rifletom]

I've got a 45 colt load that's as quiet as an air rifle. I guarantee you he won't shrug it off.

Details please.
To the OP; 2.8gr "Clays" and a 158gr cast bullet should work out of your rifle.

[markiver54]

Shot placement is everything!
Last year we had a really pesky, ( large ) coon in the yard. Probably at least 20 pounds. It was dark, probably about 11:00 PM.
I went out with my trusty Sheridan Pump. Put about 7 pumps in it. Held my small but very bright flashlight under the forearm.
When he looked at me from a low branch in the Japanese maple, his eyes lit up like fibre optics. From about 25 yards away, Got him right between the eyes. Instant kill, as he was draped over the branch the next morning.
True story, no exageration.
I got lucky I guess because I know how tough they are. At least it was definitely a humane kill.

[GaHenryFan]

I've got a 45 colt load that's as quiet as an air rifle. I guarantee you he won't shrug it off.

Details please.

1 grain of bullseye held in place with a polypropylene wad and a lubed 140 grain pure lead round ball seated as deep as it will go in the case. It's hearing safe and smacks like a sledge hammer.

[Rifletom]

Thanks for the come back GaHenryFan. Interesting load you have there.