Any coon hunters out there?
Small Game
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Opening day of Coon season in MO today, wondering how many of you guys had hounds and what breed you guys were running. Redbone for me!
I catch them when cat season is closed, or conditions are crappy. I run Stephens cur dogs for everything. Pic of the other night.
Its ben 20 yrs sence I went, used to love it. ever try calling them in , they come a running at the call like a bear .
I am more of a raccoon terminator.
My new property is infested with coons. I don't run dogs but I'm going to start learning how to eliminate them. I'm planning on trapping, but the calling sounds interesting.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/hunting/trapping-supplies/traps-snares%7C/pc/104791680/c/292649580/sc/288163080/bridger-dogproof-raccoon-trap/1651218.uts?destination=%2Fcategory%2FTraps-Snares%2F288163080.uts%3FWT.srch%3D1%26WT.tsrc%3DPPC%26rid%3D20%26WT.mc_id%3DMICROSOFT%257CHun_Predator_Trapping-General%252BRaccoon%257CUSA%26WT.z_mc_id1%3D43700006026146978%26gclid%3DCLHS-fSklckCFUcuNwoduC8Ofg%26gclsrc%3Dds
bait with fruit flavored mini marshmallows in warm weather and sardine chunks in cold.
hang a cotton scent rag from a twig over the set.
place the spike in the ground firmly with the trap at a 45 degree angle from vertical, and place near or under cover, rocks, logs, near den trees, shed, barns etc.
they will occasionally snag a possum but dogs, cats and other pets can't get in them.
I have a bluetick run him with my cousins red bones.
I have a Ladner Black Mouth Cur that I run more on coon than squirrel, now. Fun dog and he checks in every 10 or 15 minutes. Curs are like smart bombs whereas hounds are like carpet bombs.
Deer leases tie up the properties around here so I usually have to wait until the aforementioned runs its course. Usually against club rules and morays to run off game during the season of the "Sacred Cow." lol
Fuzzy........ My daughter calls me the exterminator since I bought a few of these.
Coon hunted for a long time now focusing on bobcats with hounds
When I was a kid my dad had red ticks. I would go occasionally, but my dad would go every night. That was 30 some years ago and the coons were worth something. We just trap them now. Haven't even set any traps this year. We are told they only worth 3 or 4 dollars. Now you have to take the dogs out to enjoy them not to make money. I know my dad just loved to here them.
My last hound was one that the kids got for me on Christmas of '12. He disappeared last August one evening when I let him out of the pen for a spell. He was actually a pretty worthless bluetick but his papers are still right here by this computer and I miss him.
What a pile, Clutch! I'm looking forward to season this year, prices are down but numbers are through the roof. Have a Kansas license as well so i'm probably gonna hop up there for a couple of nights as well.
I agree bobcats are a blast!
I'm just getting started on the bobcat journey. Got some dry ground lion dogs out of Arizona
Went coon hunting once when I was a teenager. I spent most of my time then running rabbits with beagles. Always loved to hear a pack of hounds hollering, though it's been a long time.
I lost a pretty close friend to coon hunting back then. Him and another fella were crossing the river late at night following the dogs and their jon boat turned over. It was dark, raining, and they were both wearing lots of gear. Apparently the weight of the gear pulled them straight down.
He was 18.
Good luck with your hunts and stay safe.
When I was in High School back in the 70's I had a pack of Redbone's that my Dad and I hunted with. I bought a puppy from Mr. Dorman Clouse out of the KC area and his dog Tall Timber Talker. When he was three I sent him a pic of my dog with some coons that we had treed that night and he sent that picture off to the American Coon Hound Magazine. About three weeks after that issue came out a man came to my parents door and tried to buy him from me and offered me $3000. My parents thought I was crazy when I turned him down. Later that year I bought a 2 year old Dodge Charger for $3300 with money that I had been saving from selling hides. Back then you could get $50 for a large coon. How times have changed, back then you could walk out the back door any winter night and hear a pack of dogs running a coon and now all you hear are coyotes.
My high school “coon memory,” about 1960, in NE Missouri is of a local coon hunters club. Every year the club held a one-night contest with prizes awarded for the most coons and biggest coon. After finishing their hunt the hunters gathered at my father’s slaughter house for the judging, awarding of prizes, imbibing, bragging and good natured ribbing about the inadequacy of each other’s hounds. Coons were skinned and gutted at the slaughter house that night. Hunters took the skins and carcasses leaving the entrails on the cement floor. Dad told them to lock up when they were finished, and he would dispose of the entrails in the morning. Next morning when he entered the slaughter house to clean up the pile of viscera he found a floor covered, absolutely carpeted, with live worms that had escaped from the innards. Guess who got to do the clean-up? You’re right and what a god-awful job it was. Can’t stand the smell of Clorox to this day and no, I’ve never had a desire to dine on coon.
Going out tomorrow bringing the 17, going to be putting some fur up.
Keep the stories comin' guys! My dad has hundreds upon hundreds of stories of coyote hounds, him and 4 or 5 guys in his hometown always ran coyote dogs and one day they had a coyote run under an old abandoned home and the dogs went right in after it, up through the floor and into the bathroom before the dogs caught it. Went in there and there was 10 dogs and some coyote fur setting in a freshly painted red bathroom haha! The old woman that owned the abandoned home came down the road about that time and they (expecting to get yelled at) were pretty happy when the woman said "Kill all of 'em boys I hate the things!" Most they caught were 87 one winter. Once the 3 or 4 acre plots came in that put an end to it, 4 or 5 shot dogs for crossing a 3 acre plot was the end of the coyote runnin. I've been listening to the stories for 16 years and I'm sure there are still a few that he wont/can't share haha.
What coon pelts worth this year?
I've bow hunted them in suburban connecticut and I plan on putting some effort in to trapping them this year. Fur market report is that pelts aren't worth much, and only the best are worth bringing to market. The meat however, one of my favorite meals!
Prices wont be good, Russia is in a war with Ukraine and that pretty much destroyed the fur prices.
Bbqsquirrel when you said that it is one of your favorite meals it reminded me of selling the coon carcus for $3. We used to take 15-20 to the more ethnic part of Columbia and ask the first older person that you saw if he knew anybody that wanted to buy a coon. Pretty soon it was like we were the ice-cream truck with people coming out of every house. I wouldn't drive down those same streets today if you paid me too.
The only thing I know about coons is that I pretty much leave them alone unless they come around my house. Then they are dead meat.
Back in the 80s. Hunted a English redtick beech river buck. A world champion hound placed 6th in the world hunt. Averaged 250 coin per season up in Wisc!! Great memories
I currently have some double bred Skuna River Walkers I'm running
Been running walkers all my life, unfortunately dont have much time ti hunt at night right now so a good friend keeps my hounds in shape for me year round.
My story involves training a big black and tan named Bumper. So named cause when he was a pup his tail got slammed in tailgate and he had a big bump in his tail. Well we had treed a big female coon and my cousin said he would climb the tree and shake her out, when she hit the ground I was to let bumper off his leash which we had wrapped around a tree. There was a couple wood chuck holes nearby and we stuffed one with a rotted log and one with an old clorax bottle. The problem was I was 9 years old and maybe 75#s soaking wet and Bumper had about 15-20#s on me. Well that dog was going nuts and when that coon hit the ground I tried to unhook that leash but he was just to strong for me and I ended up holding on for dear life as he snapped that leash and dragged me on my belly and face for a good 30ft. My cousin was laughing so hard he about fell out of the tree. As I got older and bumper got better, we killed about 40-50 coons a year over him and thats when coons bought 35-50 bucks a piece. Shawn
What's the best brightest coon head light these days?
30 years ago I had a Koehler wheat light but it's long since gone. I'd imagine the newer LED lights of today are far superior?
The new LEDs are the way to go, I have a light made by a company called "Crystal Light" and it outshines every other light I've hunted with. The fact that you don't have a 5 pound battery weighing you down is another plus to them. :)
Yeah the new led lights are great. I'm still using a 21 volt 5100 wheat style and while its bright on high and still lets me see coon, i am envious of my buddies with their leds.
Hunted them back in the 70's when I was in High school, pelts were worth a lot of money then. I had Walkers and Black and Tans.