Registered: Jan 2013
Location: Marietta
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Originally posted by Dave Richards
In my opinion killing coons is way more important to some hunters than it is to the dogs. I know some hunters who rarely kill a coon and I know some hunters that kill coons every night in season. I grew up in thin coon population and was concerned about saving breeding stock, so I am not an advocate of killing a lot of coons. Some of you guys grew up in thick coons and have no issue with killing a lot of coons. Fox hunters never kill the foxes, but that does not bother their dogs from running foxes, same with a lot of different sports, rabbit hunting, bird hunting, etc. The dogs perform regardless of whether you kill the game or not. I know my dogs still tree coons even when I do not shoot them out. I say let your game population decide how many you can kill without impacting the population. Hides are worthless and a dead coon is just that, it serves no good purpose and can never be treed again. Dave

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Registered: Aug 2004
Location: Chattanooga, Tn
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Dogs will still go hunting and tree coons whether you knock them out or not but a lot of hunters won't go hunting unless they can knock them out. After all It is called coon hunting, not coon treeing.

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Registered: Apr 2015
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OMG, You mean that I have just been coon treeing and not coon hunting ALL those times I did not kill the coons I treed. I appreciate you setting me straight, I really thought that I was coon hunting. Now that I know better, I will not be confused and call myself a coon hunter. Dave

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

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Registered: Dec 2003
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quote:

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Originally posted by Richard Lambert
Dogs will still go hunting and tree coons whether you knock them out or not but a lot of hunters won't go hunting unless they can knock them out. After all It is called coon hunting, not coon treeing.

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Registered: Jul 2004
Location: Nova Scotia
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Most young dogs will benefit from a few coons here and there throughout the process for many different reasons. It's like Tyler said its more about giving them the "right" coons. Unless I'm on a mission I don't normally even have a gun with me during season but if a young dog needs one they'll get one wether seasons open or not but if they need one very often I'm probably hunting the wrong dog. Kinda like shearing sheep....you can tree a coon over and over again but you can only skim em once.

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Friends don't let friends hunt blueticks

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quote:

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Originally posted by Donnie Stevens
Most young dogs will benefit from a few coons here and there throughout the process for many different reasons. It's like Tyler said its more about giving them the "right" coons. Unless I'm on a mission I don't normally even have a gun with me during season but if a young dog needs one they'll get one wether seasons open or not but if they need one very often I'm probably hunting the wrong dog. Kinda like shearing sheep....you can tree a coon over and over again but you can only skim em once.

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Registered: Jul 2004
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Not much to debate there

Some need it some dont. I aint got many places i like to hunt I'd just as soon leave em for tomorrow night. I can tell if they need one and they'll get it if they do. I go hunt with my buddy and shoot his lol

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If I seen 27 sitting up I might feel little different about it lol. In all honesty I've seen it cause as many problems as it can fix. At least short term.

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You notice that the ones with a thick coon population are usually the ones that generally shoot more coons out to their dogs. In thin coons you can really hurt the population by killing coons. I really do not care if I ever shoot another coon out as long as my dogs operate like a coon dog and tree coons on a regular basis. I like to see the coon and know the dog done it's job, but I sure do not have to kill the coon to have a good hunt. Dave

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

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Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:

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Originally posted by shadinc
If your dog trees possums how many possums do you have to shoot to keep your dog treeing possums?

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If It Climbs, It Ain't Trash

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I am Only getting to hunt on Saturday night and it’s hot and ( if ) I tree one it’s coming out and back to the air conditioner for me lol.


Tar

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quote:

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Originally posted by yadkintar
I am Only getting to hunt on Saturday night and it’s hot and ( if ) I tree one it’s coming out and back to the air conditioner for me lol.


Tar

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How many folks ACTUALLY know the difference it makes in their dogs shooting coons or not shooting coons out to them. I suspect it's all speculation in a hunters mind that their dogs need coons to operate. How many handlers actually try and see just how many times the dog can go without getting a coon shot out and still operate satisfactory? It's much easier for the handle just to assume that killing coons makes the dog operate better. Years ago when I summer hunted I never shot coons out and I could not tell that it made ANY DIFFERENCE to my dogs, they still hunted and treed coons every night. The only real difference that I ever saw was the dogs were easier to get off trees if you were not shooting coons out to them. I agree with you in that I will not keep a dog that HAS to have every coon they tree shot out. Dave

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

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quote:

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Originally posted by Donnie Stevens
If you made 100 trees without shooting any does your dog look any different? If you shoot 100 in a row does your dog look any different? Are you shooting them for the dogs benefit or yours ? I'll do whatever the dog needs but if it needs a coon anymore then every 50 trees I likely won't keep the dog.

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Cut the drama, a handler of your caliber definitely knows if their dog is operating at a high level. Just as Donnies question posed, you would have a pretty good idea if you treed x number of coons without shooting any coons out and your dog still performed or started to decline in performance. How many coons do you think the PKC guys shoot out to the dogs they are hunting hard in the hunts? Some of those dogs never get a coon shot out to them. I have had some handlers tell me that they could tell whose dogs were getting coons shot out to them because they started slacking off after a couple of trees in a hunt when no coons were shot out. A dog that quits giving it's best because it does not get coons killed is definitely NOT my kind of dog. Dave

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

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quote:

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Originally posted by yadkintar
How do you know if your dog needs one does he tell you ?


Tar

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If you don't shoot out any possums, will your dog just quit treeing them?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Richard Lambert
If you don't shoot out any possums, will your dog just quit treeing them?

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Regarding possums, only if you use a little correction when they tree one. I call it an attitude adjustment, don't know what the dog calls it. Lol. Dave

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

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Registered: Jun 2014
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quote:

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Originally posted by shadinc
If your dog trees possums how many possums do you have to shoot to keep your dog treeing possums?

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Donald Bergeron

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I hate to do it out of season but......with all of farmers in southern Wisconsin and eastern Iowa poisoning coons because in their eyes they're destroying their crops. Nothing gets done to stop it either. Land to hunt is getting harder to gain permission and helping out on the farm to gain that right gets turned down because the almighty trophy deer hunters (a whole different thread). Some of us are running out of options or the quantity of coons to just go pleasure hunting with a buddy anymore. Add the price of hides. It just gets frustrating.

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quote:

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Originally posted by shadinc
Since no one answered my question I'll answer myself. NONE! If you don't break him he'll tree 'em for the rest of his life. Would he be different with coons?

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Guess that answers Donald's question! I bet she would keep on treeing coons if you never shoot another one out to her. It's in their DNA, killing coons just appeases the handler. Dave

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

Last edited by Dave Richards on 08-02-2020 at 01:05 AM

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It’s not for everybody but it is tradition to me if it makes me happy and my dog happy that’s all that matters. Kinda like I was told if you pet your dog it will ruin them I pet mine every time I feed them ain’t ruined one yet.


Tar

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I am definitely not critical of you shooting out coons, You have a decent coon population and no doubt thinning them out keeps the diseases down. If we had the coon population you have, I would certainly kill more coons than I do now. It's all about where you live and how many coons you have that dictates how many you can kill without hurting the population. I use to go on hunting trips up North where there were lots of coons and no limits, we shot out a lot of coons on those trips. Have fun and stay safe, watch out for them buzz tails and ticks. Dave

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