Ed (Shadow) has posted some great information about shot placement and anatomy of raccoons. He is to mid sized game, what manny is to pig hunting, on this forum. You ought to do a search in shadow's hunting gate. He has killed more raccoons than probably anyone I know, and he uses a springer. As little as 13 fpe i believe, up to the gamo socom extreme/hunter extreme, in .22 and .177. It is 100% about shot placement and accuracy within this range of power. Check it out...
Frontal shots have always worked perfectly for me. Here are some I have taken. If they are facing me at an angle, then I just imagine the path of the pellet going diagonally through the brain and pick the Point of Impact (POI) that would provide this trajectory. My preferred shots are to the front or top of the skull.These are different racoons. The bottom ones were shot an an angle or between eye and ear. I always like to shoot in front of the ear OR in a "clear" area of the skull, and not in the ear. That's just me.
Here is a pic showing what the structure is when bisected long wise...https://southsideskulls.deviantart.com/art/Bisected-raccoon-skull-mummified-433839371for outside views just google raccoon skull to see all sorts of different veiws...
And by the way, I don’t take Travis’s comments about frontal shots as an indictment against them. He has elaborated on the topic in previous discussions, explaining that his scope cam footage made him aware that he inadvertently tends to aim lower, right between the eyes. And despite being cognizant of this tendency, he still accidentally does it sometimes so he decided it would be best to not take this type of shot. I think that’s a very responsible decision and I respect him for it, but it is a very specific personal decision that has nothing to do with any inherent issue with frontal shots.
I dispatch many Trash Pandas.Atleast 3 a week.I try placing left overs 1/2 mile down the property to keep them away from the house.....no such luck.They flip our trash cans and reek havoc here.Bungee cords do not stop them.They killed out pet rabbits even when I though it was predator proof.Anyway I took out many with headshots with a 15fpe .22 springer out to 50 yards.between the eye and ear or direct between the eyes will do it.It may roll around a lil but its dead......just don't know it yet.I know have a 51fpe .25 cal and a 32fpe .22 cal.100 yards away both guns still humanly take them out.Don't quote me nut I think the .25 retains 28fpe and the .22 about 15 fpe at 100 yards.If im close rangeband its head is hiding behind a branch I'll heart and lung the critter.
They do seem to be some of the best dancers in the animal world. Ground squirrels come in a very close second.