who_else

what is the best coon gun that is light and cheap that is a auto or bolt action, i dont want a fancy one, one tha i can beat when i am out coon hunting at night, it has to have a clip though, try to help my out guys, i dont have much money but i need a new gun so i dont hurt dads. who_else

mez

10/22 ruger synthetic stock stainless steel barrel

Nomercy

FIrst thing, quit calling it a clip, it' s a detachable magazine, the M-1 Garand had a clip, look at one at a shop sometime and you' ll realize the difference.

Secondly, why do you have to have a detachable magazine to coon hunt? I' ve been hunting them all my life with Marlin model 60' s (or 66' s, they quit making them last I checked, they' re just like the 60' s). They' re cheap, and accurate, and don' t mind shooting a bit dirty as long as you keep them clean in between hunts.

As for me, I take a Ruger MKII pistol, accurate as heck and I don' t have to fight a full length arm through the creek at night (I hunt some WOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLYYYYY territory). I also really enjoy taking a cricket, they' re pretty cheap, only problem is that they are single shots (one' s I' ve had at least) they are extremely compact though, so portaging is almost as good as my pistol, but they are more accurate and not quite as loud.

trapperDave

I use a 10/22 stainless/synthetic stock. Light weight,never rusts,can hit anything from 10ft to 100yds. I like the " clip" because I can load or unload instantly,never liked walking around a woods in the dark with a loaded weapon on my back.

Nomercy

One thing I did forget to mention, I used to use a Ruger 10/22 for coon hunting, and my advice is NEVER leave it without a magazine in. First of all, I hunt in country where we' ve been jumped on by bobcats (they bound out of trees onto lights if you even accidentally shine them) and we' ve had several close encounters of the mountain lion kind. In these instances, it' s just more reassuring to have a loaded arm handy.

Secondly, that' s one big hole for a WHOLE lot of crap to crawl into, so unless you gun-sock it during portage, don' t plan on it cycling very well after a couple creek crossings or one good fight. And that' s if you don' t fall down or have to crawl through brush, or have to jump down embankments etc.

Thirdly, even if you do insert an empty magazine, you might lose it. It only happened to me once, but buddies of mine with 10/22' s or other detach mag models have had a LOT of experience with finding their magazine gone upon arriving at the tree, somehow they bump their mag release, it got to the point with some of them that they all started strapping their mags in so they couldn' t eject. (It typically happened with slicked up models, work done on them that is, or when we were wearing the necessary large amounts of clothing, but that' s more the rule than the exception, so we ruled out detach mags.)

I suppose it would be ok to put in an empty magazine, but that' s just one more thing to have to concentrate on or forget about, is this the empty one or not??

Plus, having to unload a single bullet and try to put it back in a magazine isn' t really handy when you' re leading a pair of hounds, carrying four or five coons, and wearing gloves three inches thick because it' s 15 below outside and you' re in a foot or two of snow.

trapperDave

Coon don,t run when it' s 15 below w/ 2 foot of snow

t-roy

holy crap, i just noticed you are from iowa! i have one i' ll sell ya. marlin 795, blued synthetic stock, red-dot, 2 ten shot clips.

who_else

well somebody from above helped me out, this weekend at the pheasants forever banquet i won a savage .22 LR semi-auto, stainless, with black synthetic stock, do u think a red dot is the best way? thanks who_else

Nomercy

TD, They might not run fer a night er two, but they' ve got to eat and drink at some point. Last year at one point we had just under 2ft accumulated and it was well below freezing during the day, not to mention the night, and we went out on different areas for a week straight (since school was cancelled, so we didn' t have to get up and wake the kids in the mornings) we got a bit over 40 coons that week, brought home 43 if I recall correctly, not counting the " squirrels" we left behind. 43 in 9 days of hunting isn' t really a lot, but it isn' t that bad either, considering some of the guys that we talk to at the buyer claim that 4-5 a night is a God-send. Our philosophy has always been, if the dogs will load up, then we' re going to get some coons, if our dogs won' t jump in on their own, then you know it' s too dang nasty out to be hunting. Course actually hunting them is different than sitting at home in bed and waiting for them to come to you, maybe they don' t run the same lines just because it' s colder out, don' t know, don' t trap, don' t ever care to either.

trapperDave

I' ve coonhunted for over 30 years so I reckon I' ve learned a thing or two about coon behavior. Will they run on sow? Some,especially come breeding season or extended periods of snow cover. Will they be running in 15 below zero weather,not likely at all. Raccoons go into a semi-hibernating pattern during extreme cold. If it was 15 below and you got 43 coon, Id say youre taking them out of their dens.