Pictorial of .17 WSM and coons

spiderman

spiderman

New member
Here is a series of pics I took the last time out of a good sized male coon from first shot , then skinned , then exposed internals to show devastation of the round and fur friendlyness . Shot was 30 yards , coon up on tree branch looking /quartering away , shot behind front leg , most of blast stopped inside front shoulders . No blood on outside of coon and no exit. Typical result for this shot . Here is the coon and O'l Coontail , no blood.

Here is the coon skinned down below impact.

Here is the chest opened a little with knife to show damage....lungs and heart shredded.


And pic of off side of coon. No exit.

And a couple of hide to show no damage.


With 25 grain bullets, there would be some copper frag coming through the off side but not through the pelt. If this was a small coon , that is probably how it would look also. Direct hits always stop inside and marginal hits can make nasty cuts due to the bullet speed and close range. Longer shots 60-80 yards (for us) have pretty much the same result. They are like little bombs , put them inside and this is what you get and only catch an inch and it will look like a bomb when off an inch under the hide. Get on target , then one ,two , three and make a good hit. Jim
 
This is very informative, and a great pictorial! I've seen some of the same type of performance on coyotes and bobcat.

Thanks!

Eric
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I don't have one but it's a great round. A buddy of mine has one that I've got to shoot quite a bit. In early December I shot a coyote at right around 100 yards and believe it or not I actually got a pass through. I didn't hit the shoulder because I wasn't sure if that little bullet would do anything other than wound it at that distance so I went for the ribs instead. It was quartered away slightly and all I can figure was I slipped the bullet between the ribs and never hit bone. You could barely see the entrance wound but there was an exit wound on the other side.
 
I think at the longer distances it would tend to do more penetration and less exploding . Longest shots I have made are crows at 150 (puff) and a coon at around 80 between the eyes (lights out ) Swollen head. All with 20 grainers . Jim
 
Originally Posted By: spidermanI think at the longer distances it would tend to do more penetration and less exploding . Longest shots I have made are crows at 150 (puff) and a coon at around 80 between the eyes (lights out ) Swollen head. All with 20 grainers . Jim I was really surprised on that coyote. I was shooting the Winchester 20gr. V-Max. But I don't get how that small bullet made it through a coyote but stopped inside a grey fox at 60 some yards. That was strange to me but you could be right about that. I'd have never dreamed it would blow through a critter. It was kind of a strange deal I thought.
 
I think that tiny pointed bullet that explodes at high speeds will really penetrate easily at certain , lower speeds. My son shot a running coon at around 70 yards with his HMR in the butt and it went all the way through its body and out the shoulder !! Jim
 
Originally Posted By: spiderman Longest shots I have made are crows at 150 (puff) and a coon at around 80 between the eyes (lights out ) Swollen head. All with 20 grainers . Jim

I shot an English Sparrow, that had killed the Bluebird babies, in one of my houses, at 85 yards, with a 20 gr. 17 WSM bullet. I found a couple of tail and wing feathers, and that was it...Talk about PUFF! I hit a cottontail rabbit, about 100 yards out, right where the neck meets the shoulders, and found the back 2/3rds of the rabbit, and the ears held together with a patch of fur. Pretty nasty round for a rimfire! About the only kick against this round is I tried it in WY, for P-dogs, and any wind, the bullet got pushed around a bit too much for my liking. My expectations may have been a bit too optimistic, and tainted by the performance of the 204 Ruger.

Squeeze
 
We shoot a lot of sage rats in the spring and my 17 HMR was a pretty significant step up from shooting them with 22's. Now that I've shot some with my 17 WSM I'd say it's about the same step up from the HMR as the HMR was from the 22lr.
 
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