Registered: May 2016
Location: Palatka, FL
Posts: 5106

I think we sometimes get caught up in the results from our journeys so much that we overlook what makes the journey successful.

We can read post after post on here about the pup we are training, the coon hunt we are going to. The coon club your fixing grow into a stronger club. Everything we do evolves around one thing. The Raccoon! That one critter determines the success or failure of our adventures. I don't care how great your dog is, without a Coon in the area it isn't going to tree one.

Coon populations vary across the vast hunting lands of the US. Some people live in locations that coon seem to be everywhere while others struggle to find them. The coon populations can also change from year to year in an area. Weather conditions and sickness in the coon population has a lot to do with this.

All the young men and women wanting to get into coonhunting want to know which dog and how to train it. I suggest you spend some time learning about the coon in your area. What it feeds on during different times of the year. The most successful hunters of any game, know where the game is located at different times of the year. Learn about feed times and how the coon in your area travel.

Being older perhaps I have become more Thankful when things are going good and I have learned to appreciate the good times when they are happening. Right now we have an excellent coon population. We have a few spots that seeing 5 coon in an hour hunt is becoming the norm. I am starting to enjoy putting cast in coon and having a winner with several coon seen than actually having the winning dog.
Harvesting coon and the success of your coon population depends on where your at. Two nights ago Corey got invited to a bird plantation to hunt and they always want them harvested. Took 4 in an hour and got the pups a good workout. Thing is if the pictures were shown on social media, many would say your ruining the population. What is not shown is all the trapping these places do to remove coon. They run 20 to 50 traps pay someone to check them, so when we are invited to go out and harvest some of their coon we feel Blessed and only take a small portion of what is being harvested everyday.

Back to my point. The new comers to the sport. Learn about the coon in your area. Put conservation measures in place to grow your coon population if needed. Conservation measures may also mean harvesting at the right level. The total success of training a dog, having fun and having successful hunts depend on the coon population. Enjoy and respect the coon and be Thankful for the enjoyment they bring to us.

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Registered: Sep 2010
Location: New Paris, Indiana
Posts: 7076

Good post. We are lucky on this area and with the mild winter, survival rates should boom.

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Registered: Jan 2007
Location: monroeville OH
Posts: 2685

Good post Bruce!!

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Registered: Feb 2009
Location: Stuart, Va
Posts: 92

Here in this part of SW Virginia our population has been decent this year. What concerns me however, is that a lot of the young hunters in our area base how good a hunt was by the number of Coon they can line up on a tailgate and post the picture on Facebook!

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Registered: Apr 2014
Location: oakvale ms
Posts: 2007

.

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Registered: Aug 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 439

We've always had good numbers around here regardless of how many we took. Two years ago mother nature decided that distemper would show its ugly face. It's changed the way we harvest coons. The numbers will come back fast but it's been tough after a lot of years being spoiled with loads of coon.

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Registered: Dec 2013
Location:
Posts: 1514

Great Post. A dead coon leaves no track, never climbs a tree again. I hunt with several different mind set guys, one kill everyone you tree. Reasoning that makes better dogs. ????? One friend NEVER carries a gun. Me, I am pretty selective on which ones are knocked out, even in season. But I stand by what I have thought for 60 yrs. If I have to kill a lot to make them tree or to keep them treeing, you might be shooting the wrong animal. IMO Again Bruce good job.

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Registered: Mar 2004
Location: CT
Posts: 1010

if where lucky we can tree one every other night

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Registered: Nov 2016
Location: North georgia
Posts: 217

In my opinion here in north ga coons are as plentiful as I have seen..I catch one the first night every time I set a trap to relocate them where I can train my pup..but just like blueallmylife said..younger kids around here will kill as many as they can every night they go and post pictures showing them off..I am just now getting back into the sport from a break I decided to take and even when I was hunting every night I might shoot one out a month just to keep my dog fired up...good post..

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Registered: Feb 2017
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 122

In NE Pennsylvania the coon population is very low you would be lucky to have your dog on a chase or tree anything also trapping sucks here because we are overrun by so many dam deer there are no predators here to get them you almost never find coon tracks anywhere pa in my opinion sucks for coon hunting.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Oakdale, Pennsylvania
Posts: 3753

Come to sw Pa. we got lots of coon... We do have small wood lots that make it difficult if you have a dog with no reverse.

Bruce, thanks for your thread here. Well thought out and well written. I think selective harvest is best. If your hunting spots are full of coon, you should take some out to prevent starvation and possible spread of disease. (seen it,it ain't pretty) Mother nature is a cruel mother. If they are thin, tree em and leave em. Simple concept to help all concerned.

God Bless you all and best of luck with your hounds.

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Registered: May 2015
Location: IN
Posts: 2760

Ive been easy on my hunting for the last three years and the coon are thick maybe to thick starting to get some complaints for some land owners. The 10 years prior i killed a min of 80 a year probably killed less then 30 the last three

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: The Hawkeye State
Posts: 1317

Coon population in Iowa should be high,not a lot of trappers out,and with 3-4 dollar average who could blame them. About every three years I try to take a few more just to reset the population a bit.. The last time I did this I took 220 coon with in a four mile radius of my house... and didn't hurt the numbers at all...

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