Racoons everywhere! :/ Check your regs and get your fur license??

Shawk

Shawk

Member
Boy... there's just a flat out an unreal number of coon around Iowa these days. I'm assuming the rest of the states are seeing big numbers as well. I can't imagine that coon don't have a decent impact on the spring hatch (along with the growing number of possum & skunk)?? Anyway, I've been in the field 4 days this season now and my younger dog has already tangled with two coon. The first coon left a couple scratch marks around her left eye and a bite mark or two on her (I've read that the first thing coon do is try to scratch out a dog's eyes). While my GSP looked "vicious" and seemed to hold her own, these critters are just flat out tough and could easily do some serious damage and/or kill a pooch.

I was walking through heavy cover along a steep ditch when she locked up on point but not so birdy... but of course I'm still thinking bird when I walked in and stepped on the stink'n coon. Thankfully I had on my briar pants and long boots on. He immediately bit my leg and I ended up falling backwards down the ditch onto my hiney (I can smile now, but it wasn't funny then... :D). My pooch jumped into battle mode and then of course the job was to get her to back off to take care of it. These things have few, to no enemies and I see no reason why a few more bird hunters couldn't be thinning a few more of these out while hunting. I'm assuming several here already do... but it's well worth the few extra bucks for the fur stamp IMO if you're not already doing it.

Be safe out there... ;)
 
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Yep that is true about coons

coyotes kill and eat mesopredators like coons, possums and run foxes out of their territory they are in fact good for ground nesting birds

So I leave coyotes alone and give them a pass
 
They always seem to be in good number around here. Maybe up a bit this year. Fur prices are down so trappers haven't been removing/trapping coons like there were a few years back. That might have something to do with it us seeing more.

As far as coyotes keeping coon numbers down, I'm not sure I believe that so much anymore. Coons are tougher than most people think, plus the two species don't seem to mind each other all too much. I can't find the video right now, but there's one out there that shows coyotes and coons feeding together on a carcass. They seem to have a mutual understanding with each other:rolleyes:.

Here's a couple interesting videos of coons and coyotes interacting in different ways with each other.

The chase; https://youtu.be/1EVbnWubVjI

You can stop this video after 25-seconds into video. https://youtu.be/kWdGfr-6sCY

Coyote tried; https://youtu.be/5EVIV9Cv6ro
 
Last Sunday my pup started circling a piece of cover and barking weird. I though something was up, but a hen flushed out of the same patch of cover, so I was thinking more pheasant in there. She gets to a certain spot and started pouncing with her front feet, but nothing flew. I walked down and saw she was stomping on the butt of a coon that had it's head buried in cover. fortunately, it was a juvenile and wanted no part of the dogs. Lots of sing around every waterhole, no matter where I go, around here.
 
Racoons, skunks, possums, and especially porcupines don't get a pass from me. I have heard that line of thinking on the coyotes, but I feel the jury is still out on them. I need to see more evidence.

Jerry
 
Good to hear... all of the above critters have rarely gotten a pass from me as well (for quite a few years now). ;)

I've called in a few coyote and know guys that hunt them hard but I've never heard that (about coyote getting after coon regularly). Certainly interesting if true. I would tend to think a coyote would only get after a coon when either incredibly hungry or a coon is flat out in it's way some how. Coyote are pretty smart critters and I'm assuming they pick their battles pretty wisely. To me, a coon would just be to much of a battle to make it a regular kill for a coyote. But I've got nothing to back that thought up with...

Cool videos 1pheas4...
 
Sorry to hear that I am not the only one who ended up on their keister fighting off a coon from their dog... one less coon in any way dispatched is great in my book lol
 
I have been driving by the same dead raccoons on a desolate highway for a month now, not even the scavengers will salvage them.
 
Steelshot Loaded Gun said:
Sorry to hear that I am not the only one who ended up on their keister fighting off a coon from their dog... one less coon in any way dispatched is great in my book lol
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My buddy fell back on his rear-end too. A coon attempted to attack him, he fell backwards as the cattails caught his feet. As he was on his rear the raccoon was lunging towards him, barking and snarling as he moved in attempting to go for his body. His shotgun won that battle.
 
ranchodeluxe said:
I have been driving by the same dead raccoons on a desolate highway for a month now, not even the scavengers will salvage them.
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Yeah, you know that's something I don't understand either. They sit there and rot. Nothing seems to eat them. I've seen one coyote (just one) take a dead coon. That's it.:confused:
 
I don't see too many coons where I'm at (doesn't mean they're not around). Skunks seam considerably more prevalent. In my mind, skunks fit into the same category as mosquitoes - not a more worthless creature on earth. Don't know what God was thinking when He invented them. Now I know raptors, some of which have very poor olfactory abilities, will take skunks occasionally. Will they take coons?
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
I don't see too many coons where I'm at (doesn't mean they're not around). Skunks seam considerably more prevalent. In my mind, skunks fit into the same category as mosquitoes - not a more worthless creature on earth. Don't know what God was thinking when He invented them. Now I know raptors, some of which have very poor olfactory abilities, will take skunks occasionally. Will they take coons?
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I never see anything, winged or afoot that has anything to do with them. One time when I was in Daytona, took a wrong turn down MLK Blvd, typically not the safest place for someone white-as-rice. Anyway, rode into a blocked-off dead end at Mary McCloud Bethune and MLK Blvd where the black folks were having there own motorcycle party. I was on a Ferrari-yellow Ducati, wearing a helmet painted with flaming eyeballs. It's safe to say, I was noticed. I saw an old man with a BBQ grill on back of a 67 Chevy pickup, stopped and asked him "Hey Mister, will you feed a white boy"? He said "Son, I feed the Devil hisself, he got five dollar". Turns out that raccoon was on the menu, it really wasn't bad. Then again, some folks can make a tree stump taste good.
 
I smoke pot in my garage and used to crack the garage door open for ventilation. I had six young coons come into my garage and eat my dog food. DOWN WITH COONS!!!
 
homeboy said:
I smoke pot in my garage and used to crack the garage door open for ventilation. I had six young coons come into my garage and eat my dog food. DOWN WITH COONS!!!
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Well, at least they didn't eat your stash!
 
When I taught school I always encoiraged the students to call them raccoons.

I told them someday they might thank me.
 
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