What is the fps to kill a raccoon and possum?

I was about to get a 1000 fps gun is that good or moreWhat is the fps to kill a raccoon and possum?
As C_F_45 indicated its about the ft-lbs of energy the gun delivers. Typically a larger small game animal like raccoon and possum require more power than the 5 ft-lbs of energy a rabbit takes. Exactly how much power is a matter of debate. (As you've already seen with the disagreement over whether an airgun can kill raccoons or whether you need a ';real'; gun like a .22 rimfire or high-power rifle to kill raccoons.) Based on the experiences of people who have done it, airguns are capable of killing raccoons at close ranges (20-30 yards with most hunting airguns) and with proper shot-placement (headshots).





If you want to hunt raccoons, you're better off getting an airgun that fires a heavier .22 or .25 caliber pellet. .177 caliber might be able to kill raccoons with perfect shot-placement, but its a small, light-weight pellet. You'll get more penetration and downrange energy with a heavier pellet. Those are issues if your shot-placement is not perfect and if you may have to shoot through bone. As far as power-levels, I'd look for a gun in the 15-30 ft-lbs range (with 20-30 ft-lbs preferred since it gives a greater margin of safety*). You can probably kill raccoons with less, but the chances of wounding the animal increase as the power levels drop.





*Margin of safety, in the sense I'm using it, means that the gun has more than the minimum power needed to kill something. The extra power gives you a bit of room for less than perfect shots and human error while still allowing you to humanely kill what you're shooting at.What is the fps to kill a raccoon and possum?
its all about bullet penetration, shot placement, and ft-lb energy.





without proper shot placement you can use a .223 round and still not kill a raccoon or possum right away.





without sufficient bullet penetration the bullet will not hit the vitals or and kill would take a long time, multiple shots may be needed.





and without enough ft-lb energy the bullet will not have enough power to penetrate far enough, have a good effective range, and ';knockdown'; power for the game you're shooting.





As for guns, a basic gun that works would be any .22 rimfire rifle. for pistols, at least a .22 short caliber pistol. The lowest power rounds you'd want to use would be CCI CB subsonic ammo, quiet but shot placement is absolutely critical. For something a little easier to shoot would be any high velocity cartridge, a varminting/small game round - like CCI Velocitor. With the weakest .22 short pistol, .22short hp ammo will work as long as its high velocity or standard velocity. Regular standard or high velocity .22LR ammo will be able to kill a raccoon or possum up to around 200 yards given that you are able to hit your target in the vital areas.





as for FPS, CCI CB long for rifles averages 710 FPS with a 29 grain LRN bullet, around 34 fpe energy at muzzle. the CCI CB Short average around the same thing.


a high velocity (most available) .22LR round like Federal Load 750 is around 1260 FPS with a 36 grain HP round, 125 fpe at muzzle.


The CCI varmint round (velocitor) gives you around 1400 FPS with a 40 grain Hp bullet, 181 FPE at muzzle.





The higher the power the less important shot placement is, since it has more take down power and significantly more penetration, so long as you hit the vitals or near the vitals.





as for airguns, their energies without spending hundreds of dollars on a powerful hunting airgun are very low, you must achieve head shots every time and shoot within 20 yards. Its very difficult to kill anything larger than a small bird or a rat with a pellet gun. For larger animals like raccoons, rabbits, possums, groundhog to save you fro many frustration and wasting lots of money, a .22LR rifle is recommended.
Yes, like the above post says, velocity is only one part of the equation, the other being weight.





Bear in mind that a pellet has so little weight that you're talking about a very low amount of muzzle energy, and therefore very poor penetration.





By comparison to the 14 foot-pounds of energy cited above, your typical rifle is 2500-3500 foot-pounds. A .40 or .45 pistol will give you 500 foot-pounds.





Even a lowly .22 is 130-150 foot-pounds of energy. It's not a ';real'; caliber, but it does give you at least some penetration, and is much more appropriate for taking out small critters efficiently and humanely.





Your pellet gun would be lucky to take out a bird, regardless of its ';fps'; claim.
It's about the FPE(ft-lbs, energy) and FPS is a part of that equation, but only a part, the other is the weight of the projectile.





Example


1,000fps with 6.5gr pellet = 14.4fpe


800fps with 14.5gr pellet = 20.6fpe





The second would be a much better choice, and more powerful rifle even though the muzzle velocity is lower. The above is just an ';example'; of how pellet weight effects muzzle energy, not a recommendation of an air rifle I would consider to be effective against racoon.





A friend of mine killed a racoon with his 14fpe rifle* last night. The racoon had been running his cat off and eating its food. It can be done, but, do I recommend such a thing, heck no, IMO his rifle is not nearly powerful enough to insure a clean, humane kill. I would prefer at a minimum a .22 caliber 25fpe rifle.





*He was using a 10.5gr pellet in his .177





Beware - Airgun manufacturers tend to ';exaggerate'; the fps by claiming ';up to'; or ';maximum'; velocity. Which are totally meaningless numbers unless they include the weight of the pellet used to achieve those numbers


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Later: %26lt;added%26gt; I would agree that a .22 lr round at 140-200fpe would be a much better choice, but there are those that don't have that option, for one reason or another.





As for the %26gt;%26gt;';Your pellet gun would be lucky to take out a bird, regardless of its fps claim';%26lt;%26lt;





Well, I don't hunt birds with one, but, even a 12fpe air rifle can be an effective small game hunter. I have been hunting rabbit with the same one** for over 30 years.





**Beeman/Feinwerkbau FWB 124D .177





Example - Jim Chapman, hunting with his favorite small game air rifle, the .177 caliber Beeman C1(850fps / 13.3fpe)


http://www.americanairgunhunter.com/webc鈥?/a>


Among other small game on this hunt, he takes a jackrabbit at 44 yards with a head shot..





BTW - I don't give TDs for having an opinion, you have to give harmful information or a very rude answer to get a TD from me.