Thermal and 22LR combo for treed coon and others?

[ChrisA]

My Australian shepherds tree a lot of raccoon and other other varmints on the farm at night. Usually they tree in big cedars that make it difficult to locate the varmints. Many times I've gone out with a silenced 22LR bolt rifle with scope and flash light but have to return to get my Pulsar Thermion xp50 mounted on an AR carbine in 223 to locate, then finish with flash light and 22LR; a total pain in the ass.

The carbine is not yet threaded for silencer, I don't want to make 223 noise at night, and I'd rather not shoot a 223 up into a tree even if its stoked with the frangible Hornady 50gr SXSP.

So I'm looking for options including:

-thread AR and made damn sure I hit treed target

-add another thermal and mount on silenced 22LR bolt gun. Its a lightweight cz457 that would feel cumbersome with a 2 lb thermal. Plus, the mounting of thermal is usually very high and doesn't offer good cheek weld. Unless I get a 30mm tube type thermal but was hoping for a more budget friendly thermal than another Thermion.

-buy a coon squaller and hope they look at you. Do coon squallers get possum and feral felines to look too?

First world problems...

 

[rookieforever33]

22 lr with thermal. Thermals have screens not glass so cheek weld isnt as important. Thermals are cumbersome no matter what they are on.

 

[ChrisA]

22 lr with thermal. Thermals have screens not glass so cheek weld isnt as important. Thermals are cumbersome no matter what they are on.

My buddy has a Christian Arms Ranger with Pulsar. Its a great lighter weight package, and the stock seems better suited but could use an adjustable cheek piece.

Any recommendations on lower priced thermal options for the task at hand?

 

[Lawnboi]

You need a 17hmr and a suppressor.

I always dreamed of a cheap thermal on mine but a gun light has to do for now.

With an eotech and the gun light it makes a good sub 100yd gun for coop protection.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

You need a 17hmr and a suppressor.

No he doesn't, He doesn't want to make 223 noise at night and suppressed 17s are still fairly load. A suppressed 22 like he mentioned is perfect for the job of shooting tree'd coons.

@ChrisA not sure what you consider "budget friendly" but you can get the AGM RattlerV2 TS19-259 for under $1000 that would do the trick. Image quality is not going to be anything to write home about but it would definitely work. And you could also add a nice strap on cheek rest for your cz457 like a leather Tourbon or there is a lot of cheaper options as well .

 

[rookieforever33]

My buddy has a Christian Arms Ranger with Pulsar. Its a great lighter weight package, and the stock seems better suited but could use an adjustable cheek piece.

Any recommendations on lower priced thermal options for the task at hand?

Thermal prices change so rapidly its hard to keep up. A few years ago I bought a FLIR for half of retail due to new models being introduced. For 22 lr a cheaper one without a ton of fancy options should work for you if thats the only functions you want. I dont use mine for over a hundred yards or so and works great for that.

 

[ChrisA]

No he doesn't, He doesn't want to make 223 noise at night and suppressed 17s are still fairly load. A suppressed 22 like he mentioned is perfect for the job of shooting tree'd coons.

@ChrisA not sure what you consider "budget friendly" but you can get the AGM RattlerV2 TS19-259 for under $1000 that would do the trick. Image quality is not going to be anything to write home about but it would definitely work. And you could also add a nice strap on cheek rest for your cz457 like a leather Tourbon or there is a lot of cheaper options as well .

Ya, I love my CZ452 in 17 HMR but it's not a treed raccoon gun; head shots are usually fine but I've had too many bullet splashes on body shots. I'm also loving the CCI 45 grain subsonic HP out of the suppressed 457 22LR, very quiet and plenty of penetration.

 

[Grainraiser]

I prefer a 22 mag for treed coons. I knocks them out of the trees better. Get a caller to get them to look your way. They are easy to see with thermals while in a tree.