Registered: Jul 2021
Location: Tenn.
Posts: 272

Anyone know if otters kill coons?Baby coons esspecially.?I havnt seen a tree with a family of 4 or 5 kittens in a tree in years and i use to. .2 or three maybe in a tree and one of those is probably the mother .The coon population has gone down the last few years where i hunt.

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Registered: Apr 2015
Location: church hill tn
Posts: 5738

I suspect the decline in the coon population is more connected to the raccoon killing season in Tennessee than any other reason. I can not understand why Tennessee would have a kill season from July 1st until March 15 expect to reduce or eliminate the coon population. I live in upper East th and the season is from Sept 15 until March 15 still way to long and hard on the coon population. East Tenn hunters had to fight to get the kill season postponed until Sept instead of July 1st as we knew that our populations would be wiped out with that kind of season. There are many factions of the hunting community that hate coons and desire to see the population wiped out. Killing coons In July is crazy, babies starve without a mother. Having almost 9 months of coon killing season will eventually wipe out the coon population that took many years for us coonhunters to get in our areas. The state caters to big game hunters like turkey and deer hunters that despise coons, claiming that coons destroy the turkey eggs and eat the deer hunters corn, which they place to attract deer. If the coonhunters DO NOT Stand together and get the coon kill season reduced to Fall, winter season we will soon find coon population reduced to nothing. Dave

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Dave Richards Treeing Walkers Reg American Saddlebred and Registered Rocky Mt. Show Horses

Last edited by Dave Richards on 09-19-2023 at 04:12 PM

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Registered: Jul 2021
Location: Tenn.
Posts: 272

A place ive hunted for 15 years has really gone down since i started hunting there.Esspecially the last two years.I learned a long time ago killing every coon is not necessary to maintain a good coonhound but sadly alot slay them.They have the attitude that if i dont kill him someone else will and on public hunting grounds that could be true.Reason i ask about otters is i saw two the other night and have never seen them before.You can google it and it says they are a ferosious killer and eat mostly fish but will kill a smaller mammal than themselves and these were bigger than most coon.They could easily kill kitten coon.. something else ive noticed the last few years is i dont see trees with four or five coon in it anymore.Three at the most and one of those is probably the sow.No doubt that Tn twra wants to kill the coon pop.And if hunters are dumb enuff to go along with it it will happen.If otters do kill coon twra probably released them there.

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Registered: Jul 2021
Location: Tenn.
Posts: 272

I can remember a time east Tn didnt even have a coon kill season to help get the population up.Now they want to kill em all over turkeys.There not worried about hawks, owls,bobcats etc.Animals that kill more turkeys than coon.

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Registered: Apr 2015
Location: church hill tn
Posts: 5738

I too remember the old days and coon being as scarce as hens teeth in my part of the state. Coon clubs and individuals were responsible for stocking coons in my area ( ILLEGAL OF COURSE ) without any help from the State of Tenn. We experience a big increase in the populations due to the stockings and short kill season. The State in their misguided reasoning implemented the kill season to start in July 1st on private lands and Sept on all lands public and private. These young hunters do not remember the days when coons were few and far between and are the ones that will most like harvest coons all through these extended seasons. Personally, I would like to see a 3month kill season at most 4 months only in late Fall and Winter months . Dave

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Dave Richards Treeing Walkers Reg American Saddlebred and Registered Rocky Mt. Show Horses

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Registered: Jan 2013
Location: ATHENS,TN.
Posts: 354

Most every thing successful starts out small and builds into something big. Tennessee's deer and turkey programs are no different. Small game hunters (coon, rabbit, squirrel, quail, etc) paid license fees and funded TWRA for years and actually funded the very successful deer and turkey programs. Now small game hunting has been pushed to the back burner and Tennessee has new "hunter recruiting" programs trying to get young people to hunt. Avid small game hunters got more young people into hunting 25 years ago than any program the TWRA could ever come up with but deer and turkey hunting has choked small game hunting out. Kids like action, like hunting with dogs, way more than sitting in a deer stand 5 hours when it is 20 degrees. Small game hunting gets young people into hunting and keeps them hunting and thats where you get career hunters that buy license, lifetime sportsman license etc. to fund all hunting for years to come. When you kill the unseen roots the whole tree will die not long after. Just my opinion.

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Registered: Jul 2021
Location: Tenn.
Posts: 272

Tn has also raised the bag limit to 4.Ga and Al have a year long kill season now.Probably no bag limit.The wildlife agencys are at war with coons.If other Tn coonhunters are like me their hunting grounds are very limited.My hunting friends have all died or quit so that does away with hunting spots they could take you too.Thats the way it use to be.You had spots and your friends had spots and it gave you alot more hunting ground.Your just about out of luck getting permission to hunt anymore from someone that dont know you.Only friends let me hunt on their property and they are dieing off all the time.Some wont let you hunt during deer season.Public hunting is hammered.Its not smart to kill many coons.Sadly theres alot of coonhunters out there that will .

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Registered: Aug 2006
Location: Latta, SC
Posts: 1021

I don’t Turkey hunt but I attended 2 Meetings here in SC Recently to address The Supposedly South East Turkey Decline I heard all things From The Turkey hunters at that meeting But I was really surprised SCDNR somewhat Shot Down The Ideas to Eradicate The Coon population. I know for a fact OTHER HUNTERS KILL OR TRAP MORE COONS ILLEGAL THAN MOST COONHUNTERS KILL HONEST Someone wrote about The SmallGame Hunting I Agree Totally with that Subject I fight it Every Day here in SC. Deer Duck and Turkey hunting $$$$$ Has Almost Done away with The SmallGame Hunters Rights and Privileges in SC.

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Registered: Apr 2015
Location: church hill tn
Posts: 5738

Just a few short years age Tennessee had a 1 coon limit per hunting party and the kill season opened in November and we had plenty of coons. Now just a few short years later, the kill season opens in 2/3 of the state on July 1 private lands and Sept 15 both private and state lands. East Tenn season starts Sept 15 and ends March 15. The bag limits have been raised from 1 per party to 2 per person. Do the math and then decide if Tennessee wants to destroy the coon population. As one poster said the small game hunters helped to fund the deer and turkey stockings and now those deer and turkey hunters are trying to destroy the coon population with the State of Tennessee making this possible. I remember when us coon hunters never even had a open training season and this was HIGHLY enforced by the game wardens. Coon hunters in East Tn. had to fight with the State of Tenn Wildlife Commission to keep the kill season from opening in East Tn. until September instead of July 1st. I just hope that the real coon hunters will not kill coons until late Fall and Winter and will only kill one or 2 at most. The HARD WORK that the coon clubs and individuals alike that enabled us to FINALLY having a decent coon population can be wiped out in a couple of years if all coon hunters start killing coons from July to March and take the bag limit every night they hunt.Dave

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Dave Richards Treeing Walkers Reg American Saddlebred and Registered Rocky Mt. Show Horses

Last edited by Dave Richards on 09-21-2023 at 11:11 PM

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Registered: Jul 2021
Location: Tenn.
Posts: 272

It says in this years Tn hunting guide the bag limit is 4 daily during the regular coon season.I didnt see where its 2 in east Tn.Its 2 during the private land season july 1 thru sept 16.

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Registered: Jul 2004
Location: Jodaviess Co. N.W. IL.
Posts: 3597

THEY ARE A KILLING MACHINE. CAN AND DO KILL COONS. <v>

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Blue Dog 1

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Registered: Apr 2015
Location: church hill tn
Posts: 5738

quote:

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Originally posted by Georgeb
It says in this years Tn hunting guide the bag limit is 4 daily during the regular coon season.I didnt see where its 2 in east Tn.Its 2 during the private land season july 1 thru sept 16.

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Dave Richards Treeing Walkers Reg American Saddlebred and Registered Rocky Mt. Show Horses

Last edited by Dave Richards on 09-22-2023 at 10:34 PM

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Registered: Feb 2015
Location: NW Arkansas
Posts: 1179

When coon hides are worth nothing, I wish someone would tell me why anyone would kill more than one any night and more like one a month. My dog gets very few coon and I hunt 3-5 nights year round. Doesn't seem to bother him at all. I do understand that you need to kill a few when starting a young dog but this dog was treeing coon before he ever saw a dead one. Just my thoughts but I like being able to strike a coon about every drop, And yes we have year round season here.

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Tom Wood

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Registered: Apr 2015
Location: church hill tn
Posts: 5738

quote:

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Originally posted by Preacher Tom
When coon hides are worth nothing, I wish someone would tell me why anyone would kill more than one any night and more like one a month. My dog gets very few coon and I hunt 3-5 nights year round. Doesn't seem to bother him at all. I do understand that you need to kill a few when starting a young dog but this dog was treeing coon before he ever saw a dead one. Just my thoughts but I like being able to strike a coon about every drop, And yes we have year round season here.

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Dave Richards Treeing Walkers Reg American Saddlebred and Registered Rocky Mt. Show Horses

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