re: Handgun for Coon Hunting

Let's look at 22LR velocities for different lengths of barrels using the 36 gr Remington "Golden Bullet" HP in each.
5" (your current barrel)=1009 fps
7"=1073 fps
10"=1150
16"=1185 fps
22 LR muzzle velocity by the inch

22 Mag w/ CCII 40 gr JHP
4" barrel (PMR 30 has 4.3")=1353 fps
22 Mag muzzle velocity by the inch

17 HMR Taurus (weighs 1.5# and has 6.5" barrel)
10"=2276 fps
17 HMR muzzle velocity by the inch

17 HMR and 22 Mag will have LOTS of noise and muzzle flash. W/ the 22 LR, you're not going to get much increase in velocity going from a 5" to 6.5" barrel. In the case of the 17 HMR and 22 Mag, your real world velocity when shot from a revolver is going to be even less than the #'s in the links. The velocities quoted above are from an Encore or Contender barrel that was incrementally cut down. Velocity will drop further in a revolver w/ a cylinder/barrel gap.

My thoughts: 1. You might consider a 10" semiautomatic handgun chambered in 22LR, the Ruger Charger. It's basically a 10/22 w/ a 10" barrel and a handgun stock. You'll get almost an extra 150 fps in velocity. Is that enough to make instant kills from headshot coons? I don't know. LOTS of fun!! All the 10/22 accessories are comppatible w/ it.
2. If you can find them and they shoot accurately in your gun, try some of the "hypervelocity" 22LR rounds, e.g. the Remington "Yellow Jacket". It gets 1214 fps, more than a 22 LR from a 16" rifle barrel. I never liked the hypervelocity rounds as none of them were shot accurately in my 22's.

PMR 30

Stainless

A Judge is the only answer.

You might want to look at this article from American Rifleman about .22 WMR ammo (I rarely put any stock in articles the NRA publishes, but this one seems to be objective.)
LINK

The article deals with using the .22 WMR for self-defense. That's still a bad idea, and not what you're looking for -- but the author tests a lot of ammo in 10% ballistic ordnance gel, and found that four (4) rounds that expand reliably from a short barreled handgun. So they should certainly expand from your new revolver.

Excerpts:
It was also clear from the results, with the exception of four loads; Hornady’s Critical Defense, Speer’s Gold Dot, Winchester’s PDX1 and the somewhat surprising CCI TNT load, no other .22 WMR load will expand from a handgun.

Here’s another consideration. The Hornady, Speer and Winchester loads utilize flash-retarding propellants. That means that if you have to shoot in near darkness, you won’t be blinded by the light—muzzle flash. Even though the CCI TNT load expanded well in every test, the muzzle flash from it and the other loads was like a fireball.

The article contained extensive tables showing the results of his testing, but I didn't see them in the online copy I linked. But I have the printed article (with the table of test results) here at home and can scan & email it to you if you're interested.

p.s. I recently found the Gold Dot and the Hornady ammo that the writer recommends at a site call ammomenllc.com I don't plan on using a WMR round for SD, but I do sometimes carry a revolver in the woods (along with a G19), and figured I might as well carry ammo that is reportedly better than the .40 grain CCI MaxiMag I've been carrying.

Just my $.02

quote:

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I wasn't expecting the muzzle flash to be as much as it is. It has as much or maybe more flash than 125gr self defense loads out of my 6.5" Blackhawk .357

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I don't know what the NRA rag's author had for a frame of reference, but he sure seemed to think the TNT rounds produced a huge muzzle flash. The young'uns in our family like the .22 WMR fireballs -- but it can't be great for maintaining your night vision.