Looking for opinions

For varmint hunting, coons, rabbits etc
Having an issue with lots of varmints on the land I hunt, time to eradicate some of them
Which would y'all suggest?
I am thinking about a 22lr, 22mag or 17hmr, all rifles

I don't want to use my AR, 556/223, 308 or 30-06, those cost to much for these things, plus a bit much power for varmints
Ammo for all three is not that easy to come by, like most other popular calibers
But I want to get rid of a few, plus have some fun at the same time

Love shooting my 17HMR. I even kill pigs with it. Can still find ammo too.

Nothing wrong with shooting coons with a .308!



I've about had a bellyful of coons this year. They are rampant!

Need to go shoot some more, but don't really like shooting around my hunting areas much til after the deer season's over.

.22lr will do what you want, BTW.

22lr cheap and relatively quiet

Thanks for the opinions guys!!!

That's what I also use on coons, coyotes, bobcats.

Have seen more .17 HMR on the shelf than any of the other rimfires combined. That would definitely sway my decision.

I use a Henry Lever action .22 loaded with .22 sub sonic shorts. Great quiet way of knocking them down.

22LR, head light or Q-beam (use a red lens), pop between the eyes ... find an area fur buyer (buy a trappers license) and pay yourself back too boot.

back in the day when fur was high (70s/80s), I would make several thousand dollars each fur season, and it was a lot of fun!

Are there even fur buyers anymore?

If you want to try something different and don't mind spending a little more, a quality PCP air rifle will also do the job.

Great idea!

They work!

Great pix! They really show the capability of modern air rifles in the hands of someone who knows how to hunt.

Thank you, Sir!

You just have to know the lethal range and shoot them well. I try for brain shots on most everything.

This ^^^^^^^^

I generally use my .17 HMR and snipe raccoons from a distance away. I like it because many times they are up on the feeder and the 17 will NOT exit on them, so no risk of damaging the feeder barrel or broadcaster.

Funny - I was moving some old feeder legs to the junk pile last week and saw one I had shot through with my .22 mag cuz a raccoon was hanging on it with his hand in the spinner. I like the bolt mag just because it is easy, cheap, and will drive nails. In this instance, I had brought it out hunting in case, and got irritated with the raccoon, so went ahead and popped him. I didn't realize til later it was through and through and through (the feeder leg).

At my back door, I have my 30-06 deer rifle, my 12 gauge shotgun and my .22 Most of the time I grab my deer rifle. I consider it good practice to use it as often as I can. Earlier this year I started using the 12 gauge when the chickens send off a warning that a coyote might be around the house. That's worked well, especially on running shots. My goal when I pick up a weapon is to kill what I'm after, so I'm going with what is going to do the job 100% of the time. My .22 is the most fun to shoot, costs the least, but it's very limited in range and I've shot a few coyotes with it that I never found after shooting them.