[Savage Shooter]

Coon season opens nov 5 here just curious to see whos going dispite the pelt prices. I plan on going out I imagine I'd go out if they were worthless it's just so darn fun. It sort of gets in your blood once you start you can't stop. I don't even have dogs but i managed to put up a 103 last year my goal for this year is 150. so what's everybody else doing

[bejay]

you got 103 coons without dogs? did you trap them?

[bswiv]

You need to come down here to NE FL!! My wife has been on a 20 year running battle with the coons that come up and get at her animals. We live along the St. Johns River so there are plenty of the darn things all the time.

Mostly traps them but now but back before the the "better quality" folks moved in we used to just shoot them...........

[CajunBass]

"Back in the day" when I was a teenager, our Sunday night church group decided to go coon hunting as a group get together. I mean the whole group. This was of course to be running coons with dogs.

I was surprised when one of the elderly ladies, a classic "chuch lady" signed up to go along. I'll bet she'd never been in the woods in her life but considering it was probably 40 years ago, and she was a LOT older than I was then, I might be wrong about that. Well, she was a great sport, kept up with everybody, even fell in the creek at one point. She said she'd never had so much fun in her life.

Don't think she ever went again though.

Neither have I now that I think about it.

[Marlin 45 carbine]

I'm planning on going I don't have to go far to get one around my home. my fiest trees them, I'll get a few.

[472x1A/B]

You'r sure persistant Savage Shooter. The only thing I have to do now is charge up the Nite Light batteries. That's a farily easy goal for our area here in Ill. Last season I didn't push myself and ended with 89 coons. Didn't do very good at N.A.F.A. either. Best lot (of 4) was $31.00 each. Alot of $3.00-4.00-5.00 ones. Oh well, hope fur prices get better and gas prices go down.

[Savage Shooter]

you got 103 coons without dogs? did you trap them?
I trapped a couple less than 20 just never had time to run a full line and coon hunt. I could get more hunting so. I just stuck to nuisance calls from neighbors and friends.

You'r sure persistant Savage Shooter.
yup went out most every night and went till the very last night. nothing better to do than sit on the couch and get t.v.:D
The only thing I have to do now is charge up the Nite Light batteries.
I really hope fur goes up because my nitelight craped out on me and I have to buy another one. I'm going with a cajun or a western rivers. I'm not doing buisiness with nitelight again I e-mailed them 3 times about getting a replacement battery for my aparently discontinued model even though it was a year old, and they wouldn't give me the time of day so i said :cuss: i'm done with them.

That's a farily easy goal for our area here in Ill. Last season I didn't push myself and ended with 89 coons. Didn't do very good at N.A.F.A. either. Best lot (of 4) was $31.00 each. Alot of $3.00-4.00-5.00 ones. Oh well, hope fur prices get better and gas prices go down.

My best was 17.00 but I don't sell to nafa I do green to groenewold fur and wool co. that was my AVERAGE the year before.:banghead: I averaged just 6.00 last season.

[tcrocker]

Let me tell what I did one Cristmas. I us to work for these real rich people alittle on the snody side I'm sure you know the type. But enyway at the Cristmas party it was more for there rich friends than us I made up a crock pot full of my Tennessee backed beans thats what I put on the crock pot. And if eny one asked I tell them that it's the way my dear old Granny made them. There was Bushes' backed , bacon, mustard, brown sugar, and ,,,,,,,,,let me see I do belive the last thing would be ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ho I rember one fat coon:evil:. They ate like the good little piggys they were I didn't even have eny to take back home.

[Crazy Carl]

Love me some good coon. That's some good eatin' right there. Nobody down here in NC will touch it.

[tcrocker]

Try this one coon onion put in a crock pot and cook all day get all the meat off the bones add a good bbq put back in the crock pot let every thing heat up and let all the flavors bend together. Serve on rolls hamberger bun white bread whatever and just tell the it's bbq.:evil: Did that to city folks don't know how to eat.

[Crazy Carl]

That's how I've always had it. Uncle's Rod & Gun Club used to have a wild game dinner, 'tween Thanksgiving & Christmas every year. Turkey, bear, coon, pig, venison, tree rat, you name it. Mmm mmm mmm.

[tcrocker]

I do love me some tree rat to .I thought I was the only one that called them that.

[Crazy Carl]

Mmm mmm mmm. Fried squirrel, dumplings with mushroom gravy. YUM. Only thing better was fresh frog legs & fried morel 'shrooms.

[472x1A/B]

OK you two, stop it or I'll have to go get out the dutch oven and be late for work tomarrow. Both of you guys already know how to eat good and live well off this land.Thank goodness my wife came from a hunting family, the last two didn't have a clue.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck with Nitelite Savage Shooter. I've been getting " stuff " from them for about 16 years now. Guess I been lucky up to now. Sure hope we at least make our gas money back on fur prices this year. Have heard it's going to be even worse for fur this year too.

[Savage Shooter]

3 of the older guys I know that have had them in the past have had trouble with them and there crappy customer service. gas just keeps going up around here I think it was 2.63 in town here and in the nearest big town 2.59
:banghead: me and my addiction to hunting.:D

[tcrocker]

472x1A/B beak out he dutch oven and try some lasagna cooked out side mmmmmmmmmmmm good better tasting than cooked in the oven.:neener:

[Crazy Carl]

Used to make peach cobbler in a dutch oven all the time. MMM. That was one of the best parts of being a Boy Scout- camping & field cooking.

[Savage Shooter]

mmm peach cobbler now I'm hungry thanks a lot.:scrutiny:

[472x1A/B]

That sounds good, lasagna in a dutch oven there, tcrocker. Have never tryed it before, so we will when harvest is over. I filled up my truck with gas tonite in Galesburg, was $2.75 a gal.. A guy is gonna have to hunt alot of coons to pay for gas that high. We all know too well about the addiction huh Savage Shooter. A cold, still, moon light nite, man you can almost smell them coons out running around.

[redneckdan]

Heres the biggest one so far this season

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b77/redneckdan/IMGP3913.jpg

[General Tso]

I don't consider "spotlighters" real hunters. I despise fur hunters. To hunt coon without dogs is not very sporting.

[redneckdan]

little uppity down there in ohio ain't ya? :neener:

[General Tso]

little uppity down there in ohio ain't ya? :neener:
No. I was just raised that you eat what you shoot. My Dad always hated finding skinned carcases in the woods. I have no problem with fur hunters if they eat or give away the meat, or at least use dogs to track and tree. I also don't think walking through a woods and randomly shining a light in a leafless tree is being a good sportsman.

[redneckdan]

No. I was just raised that you eat what you shoot. My Dad always hated finding skinned carcases in the woods. I have no problem with fur hunters if they eat or give away the meat, or at least use dogs to track and tree. I also don't think walking through a woods and randomly shining a light in a leafless tree is being a good sportsman.

So its okay to shoot a coon treed by a dog and leave the stripped carcass but if I take one in a trap I better use the whole critter? :confused:

[General Tso]

So its okay to shoot a coon treed by a dog and leave the stripped carcass but if I take one in a trap I better use the whole critter? :confused:
No, I mean if your gonna kill it, i think you should eat it. If you absolutely must kill it for fur, at least give it a sporting chance. I throw every trap I come across in the woods when hunting. I'm no fan of trapping, unless trapping for food.

[redneckdan]

No, I mean if your gonna kill it, i think you should eat it. If you absolutely must kill it for fur, at least give it a sporting chance. I throw every trap I come across in the woods when hunting. I'm no fan of trapping, unless trapping for food.

You relize you just admitted to hunter harassment don't you? Your actions make you no better than the PETA activists that will take to the woods on opening day of deer season with bullhorns and firecrackers. When you 'throw every trap I come across in the woods' how do you know the trapper is not going to fully utilize the animal?

[General Tso]

I wouldn't call it "hunter harassment". I don't consider trappers to be hunters. I don't and won't support trapping. This is 2009, we're not fur trading with indians anymore. Sorry if we don't agree, that's just how I feel. My father and grandfather also were anti-trapper.

[redneckdan]

double tap

[Savage Shooter]

You realize you just admitted to hunter harassment don't you? Your actions make you no better than the PETA activists that will take to the woods on opening day of deer season with bullhorns and firecrackers. When you 'throw every trap I come across in the woods' how do you know the trapper is not going to fully utilize the animal?

My sentiments exactly!!! You better hope I don't run across you doing that to my traps in my neck of the woods or you’re going to be having some problems. Your kind is despised in my area.

I don't consider "spotlighters" real hunters. I despise fur hunters. To hunt coon without dogs is not very sporting.

So let me get this straight me with my little light walking through the woods trying to shine a target the size of two quarters through the leaves and on the ground and NOT be able to smell the coons, keep up with them through the brush as there running, swim rivers, and chase them for miles is unsporting. I would say I’m the one with the dis-advantage. Don't get me wrong dog hunters I LOVE hunting with my buddy and his dogs. I just can't afford to feed and care for the dogs year round or buy them. So until I can I will continue to do with out. You know the saying poor people have poor ways.

[redneckdan]

I wouldn't call it "hunter harassment". I don't consider trappers to be hunters. I don't and won't support trapping. This is 2009, we're not fur trading with indians anymore. Sorry if we don't agree, that's just how I feel. My father and grandfather also were anti-trapper.

Snipped from the MDNR website

Hunters and anglers in Michigan have the right to enjoy their sport free from deliberate interference. Individuals whose hunting is being obstructed should promptly report the violation to a local conservation officer, by calling the Report All Poaching (RAP) Hotline, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, at: 800-292-7800, or contact the the nearest DNR Operations Service Center, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Trapping falls right in with hunting as far as the DNR is concerned, I just talked with an a secretary at the Baraga office who clairified this for me.

You have the right to be as anti-trapping as you chose, but that right stops well before you start messing with another persons recreation. When you snap a trap and pitch it into the woods you are breaking the law.

We don't need to run game with dogs anymore either. But some people enjoy it and have the right to do as they please. Some people still trap fur and tan it themselves for garment uses. Ya they could go buy something similar in a store but the quality is lesser and the satisfaction of doing it yourself is lost.

Some trappers consume the meat as well as the fur, matter of fact I have 'coon quarters in the crock pot right now for a 'pulled coon sandwiches' dinner later tonight.

Trapping also is a management tool for predator control. Raccoons, coyotes and fox can be very hard on game birds, particularly those that nest on the ground.

Personally, I hate the sound of coon or bear dogs running through the woods, howling in the pursuit of game. But I don't go around slashing the tires of trucks that have dog boxes in the back. If a law came up for vote whereby houndsmen would be banned from the woods, I voted against it in a heart beat. We need to stick together and respect each others sport.

[tcrocker]

I'm with you as long as you eat it or use the meat I dont see eny thing wrong with it. It's not like you are out there killing every thing in sight. And trapping I don't see eny thing wrong with it ether but the same rules still apply if you kill it you eat it. I've found hole deers left in the woods with there heads gone now that makes me sick.:cuss:

[Savage Shooter]

Anyone use a cajun mini mag or no someone that does? I think that's the new coon light I may go with or the western rivers mavrick pro II. They're both around the same price the cajun is 330.00 and the western rivers is 290.00.

[472x1A/B]

Never heard of either of thoes lights Savage Shooter. Where are these from and who makes them ? Not to drift off topic but what is corn out of the field testing down there? Most averages up here are 30-34 %. Our dryer is only doing about 700-750 bu per hr. BOREING!!! On a good day 24-28% the old Brieco can push out 2500-2800 bu per hr. Have fun and don't get stuck, stay dry.

[Savage Shooter]

go to cajunlights.com and western-rivers-sales.com

I don't know what it's testing my buddy hasn't started picking yet. They don't get in too big of a hurry and they couldn't plant very early. It's still really wet down hear there's standing water in my yard and it's raining as I am typing. We've got a lot of rain this past week or two the better part of a foot I'd guess I wish it would stop were soaked to the gills. The guy across from my house did get his beans out though about two weeks ago when it was still dry but he planted early.

[472x1A/B]

Ag Day on T V is saying only 12% of Ill. corn is in now. Last year 52% this date was done. Going to be a very long harvest this year. What do you think this is going to do to our nite time sport ? If we keep getting more and more rain and cold temps the hides will prime up fast. Won't have to wait around till the middle of Nov. for prime fur. Thank you for light info sites. Later, have to go in at 4:00 am to dry corn. STOP THE RAIN

[Savage Shooter]

It's going to be a pain for me, cut corn fields are a big producer for me. If we keep getting more rain I'll have to hunt in a boat around here :banghead:. which I do plan on doing this year but i didn't want to do it for this reason.

[472x1A/B]

Hey I never concidered using a boat S S . That's a thought I'll keep in mind for later use. Oh,by the way it's raining agian here right now. ( up here near Galsburg )

Hmmm coon boat hunting.

[ArmedBear]

My Dad always hated finding skinned carcases in the woods.

I saw a deer skin, with head, on the side of the road the other day. The meat and bones (except for the head) were gone. It was spooky, a dead mule deer face staring at you from the side of the road.

What would your dad think of that? Someone leaving a perfectly good skin, but taking the meat?

(Yes, I do figure it just fell off a truck.)

[ArmedBear]

use dogs to track and tree.

How is that "sporting"?

If I used my dog to find pheasants in the brush, and just blasted them on the ground with a turkey gun from 5 feet away, would ANYONE consider that "sporting"?

How is shooting a raccoon trapped in a tree by hounds any different from shooting a pheasant on the ground in the brush? I mean, hell, the pheasant could possibly flush before it was shot. The coon doesn't even have the option of leaving the tree. How is that more sporting than shooting a hog in a pen for slaughter?

I'm not saying I care what coon hunters do. I don't. I've got other things to worry about. And I understand the joy of hunting with man's best friends.

I'm just a bit, well, amused at this definition of "sporting", from someone who has such a problem with others.

Who gets to decide what's "sporting"?

And who gets to decide just how much of an animal's meat is for eating, and what's for the coyotes and vultures? Would it be better to dump the carcasses in a landfill, rather than the woods?

We all dump animal guts. In some cultures, some or all of what we call "offal" might be considered to be food.

[sneedb82]

We have no season in Texas for Coons. They are considered varmint. They overpopulate, so there is no need for a season. They're nocturnal animals, and to control their population, "hunting" them is not an option. Treeing, trapping, and spotlighting is not the sport, it's the pest eradication method of choice.

All of you guys with a season, God bless you, because I'm sure that you guys have a TON of them. In addition, they probably have distemper issues, rabies and pseudorabies issues. This causes other animals, like squirrels, coyotes, rabbits and woodchucks to have the same type of issues.

I don't eat raccoon... some people do. Like I mentioned, they're varmints. Coyotes are the same thing. Some people eat that... no thank you! You can keep your vermin, and eat it all you want. I'll skin them out, and use them for bait other predators/varmints into the set. This keeps me in the game, and helps with eradicating their numbers. Vermin reproduce at such a rapid rate, that unless you stay on them consistently, regardless the methods, they'll overpopulate for their habitat, and start encroaching upon other habitats (i.e. humans).

And as far as someone dispatching my traps.... in the State of Texas, that carries a very serious crime, almost as much as an anti-hunter who yells and screams and shoots during archery season. You will go to jail, and quite frankly, if anyone were upsetting my hunting experience, and I'm on my own land, the Game Warden's the least of your worries at that moment.

[SWAMPUS]

Trapping is a very effective management toolThe drop in pelt price and general Bambism has allowed the to run rampant,destroying many species of birds-game+nongame.I've heard that some of the quail plantations in S georgia have intensive eradication programs,since the coon population is primarily responsible for the massive decline of said species.Coons around here(NW FLA)have nearly lost their fear of man.They'll sit on my deck and hiss at me until the .22 shuts them up!All my neighbor says is"Did ya get him?"General Tso has to realize game management is here to stay,mostly because of humans.Funny,we manage every animal there is except the one we need to manage the most--HUMANS.

[ArmedBear]

SWAMPUS, yeah. Set some human traps, and there's hell to pay. But you don't really get any extra points if you make sure your hunting methods are "sporting," either.;)

[472x1A/B]

So Savage Shooter did you think that your thread would go this far this time? Isn't this fun? Mr. SWAMPS sir you have hit the nail right on the head. The animal that needs management the most. Hmmm.

I like coon hunting with a spotlight. I at times enjoy trapping when fur prices are up. I do NOT like beaver trapping when farmer "Bill" is yelling and screaming at me to trap that nice little family of beavers that has 11-14 acers of soybeans sitting in 6-8 inches of creek water. At the end of August when trapping season doesn't start untill Nov.5!!!!!

So anti-trappers and anti-hunters maybe you nice people could go out and help farmer "Bill" with his problem in the future, someday. I would really like that alot. Yeah when you catch that 48 pound beaver and you have to drag it 3/4 of a mile to the truck don't call me for help, I'll be laughing in your face. Thank you all, have fun and be safe.

[Savage Shooter]

no 472x1A/B I never figured it would:D and I haven't even had the pleasure of talking to General TSO anymore :D darn.

And as far as someone dispatching my traps.... in the State of Texas, that carries a very serious crime, almost as much as an anti-hunter who yells and screams and shoots during archery season. You will go to jail, and quite frankly, if anyone were upsetting my hunting experience, and I'm on my own land, the Game Warden's the least of your worries at that moment.
I think I'd talk to that person until my arms got tired :evil: and then call the game warden.

[General Tso]

Savage, nothing personal. I just was raised that spotlighting isn't real hunting. That you hunt coon with walkers. It's just my belief. To each his own. I had a buddy get his beagle killed in a trap. The kind that goes around the neck. If people want to trap on their own property that no one else hunts on, fine. But if I see traps in woods that I have permission to hunt, or public areas, those traps may "somehow get lost".

[lukepriebe]

I just was raised that spotlighting isn't real hunting. That you hunt coon with walkers. It's just my belief. I had a buddy get his beagle killed in a trap. The kind that goes around the neck. If people want to trap on their own property that no one else hunts on, fine. But if I see traps in woods that I have permission to hunt, or public areas, those traps may "somehow get lost".

Funny. I've heard anti-hunters with the same logic. How is you stealing traps different from an anti destroying my deer stand?

To each his own.

You say this but you destroy the ability of others to do it.

[Savage Shooter]

I had a buddy get his beagle killed in a trap. The kind that goes around the neck.
That trap is what's known as a bodygrip when set properly it is the most humane method of trapping. I use them they are very effective when set properly. The first rule when setting these traps is DON'T set where pets are you have to be very careful because once you catch it there is no releasing it. What happend to your buddy's beagle is unfortuate. But it sometimes happens, 99.9% of the time do to the trapper not knowing there was a pet in the area. I would never set one where I knew there was a pet in the area that's why I check with landowners and neighbors. I can also set where there are pets, I have cage traps that allow the unwanted animals to be released completly unharmed no worse for the wear than when they entered the trap.

[General Tso]

Funny. I've heard anti-hunters with the same logic. How is you stealing traps different from an anti destroying my deer stand?



You say this but you destroy the ability of others to do it.
Deerstands don't kill dogs.

[Savage Shooter]

Deerstands don't kill dogs.
Neither does a responsible trapper:fire:
You make it sound like were all out to trap little boys and girls puppys and kittens like thats are goal in life:scrutiny:

[meadmkr]

Teneral Tso

Ohio regulations state that No person shall disturb a trap or snare or remove a furbearing animal from a trap or snare of another person without permission.

Where/when I grew up one state over from you, had you ever been caught doing this you would likely have been turned in (or more than likely beaten or possibly shot). Trapping put food on the table and a little money in the pocket or to help pay bills when the union went on yet-another strike. I can't speak for Ohio but seem to recall that the first offense was loss of hunting privileges for 1 year and/or a $500 fine. So unless you own the land and know these traps were not placed without permissions; I humbly suggest you be careful or re-evaluate your 'practices'!

And yes, I trapped and hunted for many years. Don't anymore since the family doesn't care for game meat and have a decent paying job. Things were different growing up and even then nothing was wasted. There were bounties on muskrats and I knew several families that loved the meat. Woodchucks were also taken and the meat was eaten or donated. Same for the jackrabbits/cottontails we harvested in the orchards owned family friends and relatives of a fellow Marine. The bunnies were either processed and eaten by us, donated to a local food locker or (jackrabbit/badger) boiled & canned for use a dog food. The meat of ANY animal seldom went to waste with the exception of crows, pigeons, starlings or obviously diseased animals...

So just because you don't think much about it, please don't interfere with other's legal right to trap. Keep up what you are doing and you may end up being the one caught!

[General Tso]

Ohio regulations state that No person shall disturb a trap or snare or remove a furbearing animal from a trap or snare of another person without permission.
It also says don't drive over the speed limit. Come on, are you serious. I'm not worried about that, I haven't seen a trap in 2 years at least. This is 2009. I agree years ago things were different. There are, IMO, far less hunters and trappers today. All I see any more are deer "hunters". It's hard to even squirrel hunt anymore.

[Savage Shooter]

far less hunters and trappers today
There are still plenty of us out there we just have to keep are activities hidden so people like you don't mess with are traps and catch. :cuss:

[ArmedBear]

The first rule when setting these traps is DON'T set where pets are you have to be very careful because once you catch it there is no releasing it.

I hunt with a dog (birds). What makes you think you'll know where he'll be?

[Savage Shooter]

I am trapping on my uncles land if there is going to be hunters I snap them for the day it's very simple. So unless somebody is tresspassing they won't have a problem if they check with me or my uncle. It's not very good bird hunting there anyways it's all woods. The only coon hunters out there are me and my buddy so I don't have to worry about coon dogs either.

[ArmedBear]

Yeah, private land is a different story.

Apart, obviously, from big game animals and birds that move from place to place, I couldn't care less what someone does on private land, because I don't trespass on such.

[Savage Shooter]

I never am on public land thats hard to come by here in my area there is a spot about 10 miles from my house that is public land. But it is overrun with the horse riding crowd and in hunting season it's a mad house. to many prying eyes and people with sticky fingers if ya know what I mean.

[schlockinz]

Man, I haven't gotten to run fur bearers with a dog in years, last time I did it was for bobcats, nothing like hearing those blue ticks hit the trail and the reset of the pack joining in the chase while we hauled arse through the woods to try and keep up. We saw some coons but never got any cats, thy're tough to get no matter what.

Personally, I like to see trappers, and the ones that have trapped on our lease have always put up signs where they are trapping, and usually wait till after duck season (last season that we have our dogs out).

If I had more time to invest, I think i'd start running a trap line, I just don't see myself doing it if fur prices are down. Maybe I'll just get some tree rats to use on my flies for the summer.

[Savage Shooter]

Well I bought my light I went with a cajun sweet 16 I just hope it will get here before thursday so I can go hunting. I hope it will last longer than the nite light did for me.

[472x1A/B]

Well I really hope this light works good you. If it doesn't, let me know ok? I see by the time on your post that you must of snuk home on your lunch break.I just got home from work myself. We took in about 50,000 bu of corn today. Nite dryer guy is gonna be busy tonite. And I STILL don't care what anybody says or thinks, I like to use a spotlight to hunt coons at nite.