Looking for tips on calling coon in the daylight. I've called them at night with good success but want to expand my options. Also wondering what caliber rifle to buy now for said adventure since my 17 hmr is no longer allowed for hunting in wi.

22 head shot or behind the legs with solid nose

.22 mag JHP 40gr. is as good as it gets for coon calling.

and make sure they are more than 2/3 out of the hole before pulling the trigger

Cole-Just wanted to let you know that the question of the .17 being legal for hunting or not has not been totally decided yet, so you may still be able to use it. There was very ambiguous language in the Game Regulations that have a good chance of being changed. The regulations say something along the lines of anything under .22 caliber may not be reasonable for hunting game, but the intent of that was not to eliminate the use of .17's, 5mm, etc.

So my advice would be to not dump your .17 yet as you may be able to use it.

Moosetrot

You use any bullet you can find in today’s environment. 22LR any where on body if you are trying to sale pelt for $4.00. 30.06 bullet in the head if you are trying sale pelt for $2.00. MD

So you guys think the 22 hornet would be a little too hot?

Yes unless handloaded down and consider bullet type . But as Martyd said use what you got consider shot placement...prices are cheap now.

.22 mag in a semi auto would be my first. I have also used a 17 wsm and that killed quickly. 22 LR didnt seem to have the thump needed to kill basically on impact. Like gcp said, they need to be out of the hole a ways-is want them all the way out with a .22. Id be a little hesitant shooting the big centerfire stuff in the air.

^^ This. And I would add I sometimes use 12 ga. with 2 3/4" 00buckshot when calling old buildings or brushpiles. Have to be careful with shot placement but rarely do I get any bad damage.

A 22lr is not enough gun for coon calling. It'll work some of the time but you have too many running shots to expect a perfect hit everytime and the coons IMO need to be completely out of holes before shooting. A dead coon in a tree makes that tree worthless for a long time.

Here is a write up I did for a couple other forums I belong to after being asked a lot of questions about calling coons during the day.

Here it is; I hope it helps........................

Finding some good dens is the hardest part. When looking for dens look for big old trees with holes in them(coon poop around them is a sure sign), BIG brush piles are another good place, old abandoned buildings, big holes in the banks of ponds will have coons den in them and culverts. Basically anywhere they can get in and hide they will use.

The following is pretty much how I set up.

It is best if you can get the caller on the opposite side of the tree from the hole. That way it kinda forces them out of the hole to see what is going on.
I put the caller pretty close to the tree; around 5-10 yards. Depends on the terrain as I try and have my decoy around some cover so it is not totally out in the open. I think this helps to get the coon out of the hole to try and get a good look at what is going on.
We have seen coons come out of other trees then the ones we are calling to as far away as almost 100 yards and come running to the call. That is not common but does happen.

I usually sit within 10-25 yards from the tree. Again it depends on the terrain. You obviously want to try and be hid the best you can but not have to try and shoot through a bunch of stuff. There are a lot of times we are no farther away than the call but just off to the sides a few yards. We usually try and have both sides of the tree/trees covered if possible so all shot opportunities are covered. If I am by myself I will sit so I can see the hole if at all possible and still put the caller on the opposite side of the hole.

It seems like if you have not seen a coon by the 5-6 minute mark then it is time to move on. If you have one peeking out but not coming all the way out I will stay and keep trying different calls to get it to come out. I will stay as long as it is still popping its head in and out of the hole as that means it is still interested. I usually leave if it goes back in and I can't get it to look out for a couple minutes.
It is a good idea to come back to that tree a little while later (1/2-1 hour) and try calling again but make sure the caller and decoy is not where he can see it unless he comes all the way out.

No real need to worry about the wind or scent control. Try to be quiet on the way in and keep talking to a minimum. The talking is probably the most important so when you do have to talk make sure to whisper quietly.

This is my basic calling sequence......

I run the caller on high right from the start. I start out with 'coon fight' for about 2 minutes. If none have come out I will switch to 'young coon distress' and play it for 1 1/2--2 minutes. If still nothing I will try one of my other coon sounds(distress and aggressive sounds) for a minute and then move on to the next den.
If one shows himself during any of the sounds I decide what to do by wether it acts like it is just peeking or actually coming out.
If it looks like it is going to go ahead and come out I will just let what ever sound is playing keep playing.
If it looks like he is just peeking out to take a look I will give the sound playing just a little bit and then switch to another sound and see if that gets the coon to go ahead and come out. Don't be afraid to switch up the sounds to see what will get them all the way out of the hole.

You kinda get a feel for it after calling them a few times; but like with anything some times it is just a guessing game and hope for the best. LOL

I use a decoy a lot of the time but I have had just about as good of luck with just the caller.

That is pretty much how I do it. If you have any other questions just ask and I will try and answer them the best I can.

A lot of people have been asking what I use in the way of guns and caller/decoy; so here is that info also. I have used a 22lr, 17mach2 and 22mag. I am probably going to be taking the 22mag most of the time now. Not saying the 22lr or mach2 are not good enough because they are if only taking head shots. The 22mag just does a little better job on the rare times a person has to take a body shot.
I use a fox-pro 'FX-5' caller and a fox-pro 'jack in the box' decoy with a coon topper.

Hope this helps and let us know how you do.

Since writing this up I have upgraded to a FoxPro Shockwave caller. To answer your question about bullets; I would go with a hollow point 22mag.

Great primer for calling coins Hunter 53! Thanks!

Moosetrot

I agree with ADC on the 22 mag as he described.

I did have my old regular 22 semi auto with amber lighted scope one night while calling at night.I was set up calling pretty much out in the wide open on a truck 2 track that went straight back to a big barn that was close to 100 yards back off a country road.Once I turned the old cassette caller on it was just a few minutes when a good sized coon came running as fast as it looked like it could down that dirt/grass lane.It was no time at all and it was between 5 to 10 yards in front of me.I had him in my cross hairs right between his eyes and all lit up in amber light.I thought he was about to run straight up to me or slam into my caller which I've had them do in the past.It happened so quick and so just right it was like unreal and hard to beleive.When he was probably only 15 feet from me I had his glowing eyes perfect in my cross hairs I squeezed a round off and it rolled him.He kicked out for a minute or probably longer.It happened in such a cool way with him coming at me full blast from such a good long ways off to begin with that it is one of those awesome memories that I will never forget !!!

My weapon that night was my old Marlin 22 semi auto that I bought brand new when I was 14 years of age.I had a cheap Tasco 4 power scope on it topped of with a Burnam Bros. scope light with amber lense.I normally shot one of 3 types of bullets.One was the CCI with the silver color case and the copper hollow point bullet.One was called the 22 Viper - and I think it was made by either CCI or Remington.Or I shot a bullet called Quick Shock.The Quick Shok bullet split into 3 parts upon or after impact.

But as others have said I would much rather use a 22 mag and that is what I would recommend.I would also wait for sure until any coon is fully out of the den as others have suggested and explained.Coon calling is usually some fast action.But like most anything else if you follow basic common sense and good ethics then your outcomes will be better.I just wrote about the one good experience with my old regular 22 because it ended with a much better result than normal with that particular size caliber.

One other thing I thought may be worth mentioning is the 2 DVD's on DAYTIME COON CALLING put out by Mike Sells and David Sells are both really good.I liked the one called PURE FUN Daytime Raccoon Calling just a tad better.But they both are very good.They both show all daytime coon calling shooting with rifles.

many people download 22 hornet to 22mag velocities

not that 22hornet would be bad

223 makes them stop like right now , but not fur friendly or good to shoot up into trees

grayish area currently. ask the ladies in the service center no you can not use 17 it is not 22

ask my local warden why he could not issue a inadequate equipment ticket to a guy here in green county that shot a buck with a 17hmr , ah cause it dropped in it's tracks making it adequate.

the vague language suggests 22 or larger but states only that it be adequate for the purpose

for some a 300win mag is inadequate to get the job done others 17hmr is a DRT

if your in Green , shooting raccoon with a 17hmr is not going to be considered inadequate given my conversation with the warden as long as it doesn't walk away after you shoot it with what would be considered a decent shot.

thanks to the WI legislature you can carry any size of shot any time you want now , maybe we can get them to fix this poor wording the same way.

the DNR had the ability to print a correction , their refusal to do so now means you can carry buck shot , and bird shot at any time as long as you do not shoot lead shot into waterfowl or on a WMA for waterfowl. for decades you could not carry bird shot while slug hunting now as long as you don't shoot the deer with shot your good .

Ammunition
It is illegal to:
• Use, possess, or have under control of any of the
following while hunting:
• Shot shells containing shot larger than T,
except when hunting for furbearing animals.this was changed by the legislature

• Hunt game birds or wild turkey with lead or
other toxic shot while on federal Waterfowl
Production Areas (WPAs)

.
Reasonable equipment
It is illegal to hunt with any weapon or
ammunition that is of inherent design, or used
in such a manner, as to not be reasonably capable
of reducing a target wild animal to possession.
The following are presumed reasonable
equipment:
• A firearm with a caliber of at least .22.
• A bow with a minimum draw weight of
30 pounds.
• A crossbow with a minimum draw weight
of 100 pounds.
• A raptor, as defined in s. NR 18.01 (10).
• Commercially manufactured or similar
hand-loaded or re-loaded ammunition

Thanks for all of the advice guys