Placing the Treed Shot
Assumes the Hunting Primer. New here? Start there first.
Your objective
By the end, you'll be able to decide where to place the shot on a treed raccoon based on the animal's angle and height, and identify when to pass.
The hound is chopping, the raccoon is there — and your light catches it clinging to the side of the trunk, twenty-five feet up, facing almost straight toward you. Where do you hold? The answer is not the same as a broadside shot on the ground. Angle, height, and the tree itself all shift the aim point. This lesson makes the call automatic before the gun ever comes up.
Quick recall
Quick recall from .22 or Shotgun? — for pelt preservation on a stationary, clear shot, what is the preferred aim area?
Lead with the correct model: aim for the brain
There is no guess-then-reveal on shot placement. Here is the right model, stated plainly before anything else:
On a treed raccoon, the primary aim point is the brain. From a frontal angle, that means the center of the forehead — splitting the eyes horizontally, roughly one inch above the line between them. From a side angle, it means just behind the ear canal. The brain on an adult raccoon is about the size of a large walnut. A solid hit there stops the animal instantly, preserves the pelt, and prevents any fall-and-fight situation with the dogs.
The why Where exactly is the brain on a raccoon?
The raccoon’s skull is roughly wedge-shaped viewed from the side, widest at the back of the cranium. The brain occupies the upper rear portion of the skull — NOT the snout area. From a frontal presentation, the aim point is between and slightly above the eyes, roughly centered on the forehead. From the side, aim just behind the base of the ear — this targets the temporal region of the brain. The face (snout, below the eyes) is bone and tissue with no vital brain tissue; a shot there produces a jaw-shattered, living animal. Aim between and above the eyes, or behind the ear.
The backup aim point: heart and lungs
When the head is not accessible — the animal is facing directly away, tucked into a crotch, or hidden behind a limb — the backup is the heart and lung zone: the upper chest, roughly behind the front legs. This zone is smaller than it looks on a whitetail deer (roughly baseball-sized on a full-grown raccoon), but it is the correct alternative.
A heart/lung hit from a .22 solid will kill the animal, but not always instantly. The raccoon may bail the tree alive and hit the ground running or fighting — which is why the head shot is preferred when available.
How angle and height change the hold
This is where most new coon hunters make mistakes. Three scenarios cover most of what you will see:
1. Low fork, broadside (15–25 feet up) The raccoon is angled side-on. The head is clearly visible. This is the cleanest situation: side-on head shot (just behind the ear) or front-on head shot if it turns toward you. The angle is manageable and the trunk is behind the animal if you are slightly off to one side.
2. High in the tree, front-on (35–60+ feet) The raccoon is looking down at you, chest facing toward the light. The frontal head shot — center of the forehead between the eyes — is available but requires a steep upward angle. At steep angles, the muzzle of a .22 is nearly vertical, making it harder to hold steady. The shot also exits upward through the skull with no backstop below the canopy.
3. Tight to the trunk, facing away The coon is hugging the bark, facing up the tree, rump toward you. The head is angled away. A .22 at the base of the skull (back of the head, where skull meets spine) is the call if you can get an angle. If you cannot, hold fire until the animal repositions, or assess the chest if it presents a side angle. Never take a body-only shot from directly below — the bullet exits upward with no backstop.
The angle that uses the tree as a backstop
The safest geometry: position yourself so the shot travels into the animal and then into the trunk. When the raccoon is on the far side of the trunk from where you stand, a shot that hits the animal then hits solid wood. The tree absorbs the bullet. This is much better than shooting from directly below on a near-vertical angle into open canopy.
If you can move a few steps to get the tree trunk behind the animal in your line of sight, do it before raising the gun.
The shot at the tree
Decision
The raccoon is 25 feet up on the side of a big oak, front-on toward you, head visible between two limbs. Your .22 is up. Where do you hold?
Decision
The coon is tight to the trunk 30 feet up, facing AWAY from you, rump toward you, head not visible from your current position. What do you do?
Where would you hold?
Knowledge check
A raccoon is facing directly toward you from a fork 20 feet up. Its head is clearly visible. You have the .22. Where is the primary aim point?
Knowledge check
The raccoon is clinging to the side of the trunk, facing up the tree, rump angled toward you with no clear head shot from where you stand. What is the correct next action?
Knowledge check
Which shooting geometry is SAFEST for the shot that misses or passes through the animal?
Take it to the woods
Before the season, build a mental habit — not just a rule to read.
At the tree: shot-placement decision sequence
Sources
- Berry Patch Farms — “Where to Shoot a Raccoon” (brain and vital-zone anatomy for hunters): https://www.berrypatchfarms.net/where-to-shoot-a-raccoon/
- PestControlWeekly — “Where to Shoot a Raccoon — Humane Control Techniques” (chest and head zone descriptions): https://pestcontrolweekly.net/where-to-shoot-a-raccoon/
- Alaska Department of Fish & Game — Shot Placement on Game (general vital-zone principles): https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=hunting.shot
- SCDNR Hunting Regulations (verify current season/weapon rules): https://www.dnr.sc.gov/regs/hunting.html
- Pyramyd Air — Safe backstop principles and upward angle trajectory risk: https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2015/06/safe-backstops/
If you remember nothing else
- The primary aim point on a treed raccoon is the head — specifically the brain, targeting between the eyes from the front or just behind the ear from the side.
- The backup aim point is the heart/lung zone low in the chest, roughly behind the front legs — use this when a head shot is not available.
- Height up the tree changes your angle: straight up is the most dangerous (no backstop, worst muzzle control); a steep quartering angle is better.
- An angle that puts the shot through the animal and into the trunk is the safest — the tree stops the bullet.
- Never fire at an eye-shine or a silhouette alone — confirm the raccoon and its full position before the gun comes up.
How ready do you feel?
How ready are you to look up at a treed raccoon, assess its angle and position, pick the correct aim point, and either take the shot or pass?
Before you go — a quick look back
Distributed practice: one fast recall from an earlier lesson keeps it from fading.
Quick recall
From .22 or Shotgun? — what single question about the backstop must you answer before either trigger moves?
Done with this lesson?
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