Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Raccoons Do they serve a purpose?

Hmm....so I guess your saying that they make up pretty much of a Democratic party base? Plan on trying to hunt them this year...I'm in to traditional muzzleloading and I would like to try and make a Daniel Boone coonskin cap. From what I've read in Fur-Fish-Game, there is an over abundance of coon skins from the past several years in cold storage, so nobody is targeting them trapping-wise. I will do MY personal best to protect and serve the upcoming gamebird and waterfowl nesting season!!!
The hunt with the dogs looks like it might be kinda fun....might have to put that one on the bucket list.

Yes sir, they are mine. Sorry for the delay and thanks a million for the nice compliments fellas!!! The little redbone is long gone. He was a nice one, out of a famous dog named "Brunswick Little Man. What I wouldn't give to have him again!!!
The Walker is House's Mr. Clean bred and the bluetick is out of Nashoba Valley Paizon. They aren't the best...but they are some pretty nice dogs that I am lucky to have. Thanks to all for your kind words gentlemen.

They're beauties....you should be proud....

Varmint Guy, I think you are talking about a Coon Cuff trap. I use them all the time and have 13 this year , 23 last yr and 18 the yr before. I trap them all season. They eat my strawberries, raspberries, and kill my chickens if they can. I hate them and wish we could improve the market for these rats. So many I shot 3 of them in the daytime this summer. Way too many when you see them in the daytime. I saw an improvement in the rabbit numbers too. Only bad thing is I have rats by the chicken coop and never had that before. Maybe they take care of the rats. Otherwise, they are useless.

A few years ago when I could get $20-$35 for a skin I though they served a purpose. I got into small time trapping for a motivation to get out in the woods more often and wasn't really trying to make money but it was a nice motivation and way to payoff your equipment. The last year or so when they are essentially worthless they seem to have a lot more downsides. I agree with their nasty disposition and tendency to use the most unfortunate places as their toilet.
The problem with low fur prices it really reduces the number of people harvesting them around here (not many hound hunters) so they will overpopulate and then you get the crash from distemper or other diseases.
I noticed the number of roadkills seem up this fall.

I talked to the local fur buyer and he said he doesn't want them until November and even then it would be $5.00 for skinned
Or a dollar unskinned.

My Dad and friends hunted them with dogs when i was young, One night the dogs killed a mother in a feed barn and they brought home 5 baby coons and we had 7 8week old bluetick pups. So the pups made great dogs, the times i got to go was hell Dad had to swim out in a tank to get one off the dogs head which he had done many times.The worse was one night we took trailer the best walker dad ever had and he had a coon so i took off and dad stopped me and said listen you could here a rattlesnake the coon was in a hole and the snake right beside dad went in and got trailer but he was bit twice in the jaw. He lived but watching the side of his face rot out was bad. Dad could always pick a great pup he kept it a secret for years what he would do is put a peice of jerky on a string and when he looking at the pups he would pull it out and drag it around i dont know if they were hungry are what but they always made good dogs.

Couple years ago I caught a prime 36 incher....biggest Coon I've ever seen let alone caught....the fur buyer offered me $8 skinned, fleshed. and dried....
I took it home and hung it up in my reloading room...
The funny part is...the buyer is the same guy that writes the fur report in FF&G magazine yet his prices aren't anywhere near as high as his predictions....
I only took it to him because he has a guy that does a great job cleaning skulls cheap so I was headed up there anyway and my regular fur buyer doesn't buy Coon...
Fortunately I don't target Coon and seldom catch one because between my low catch numbers and the cheap prices I couldn't even pay for the lure...

Coons are good to fug up your feeders and eat your corn.

I remember getting $20-25 for a large raccoon in the 1980s in PENN. Knew a few guys who made good money trapping them for profit, but most dont mess with them anymore because of very low fur prices. You sure dont want a family of raccoons moving into your attic, heard a few horror stories of their urine soaking through ceilings when they invade.

I know they can reap Holy Hell on pen raised pheasants, cost us a seasons worth one year........

Fur buyers around here won't even entertain buying any....

No problem with coons/squirrels around my hunting spots...My dogs get plenty of exercise after deer season.Grin

They serve no purpose. Shoot all of them

I agree.

I like to bait them with dogfood and then hit them with prairie dog loads from a .223.

I catch them at home. Take them to work. Let them loose in the parking lot

That sounds reasonable.

Bullet testing! .357 140 gr. JHP pistol bullets out of my 35 Whelen. 2500 fps is the sweet spot. No varmint has cost me more than the raccoon. Tore up my deer lease cabin too many times to count, stopped feeders just as often. I may try cooking one just for the revenge effect.

The basturds will destroy a wild turkey population. They get to the nests & break the eggs. We have 1000 pound creep feeders so deer & exotics can eat at will anytime but we were losing half the feed to coons. We got permission from our local game warden & in one deer season we eliminated over 70 coons. Our GW is the one who told us they will destroy the turkeys. We don't have a huge problem anymore.
Jim D