OP
Racoon fun
- Thread starter RobertBrown
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the old grind
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'Coons will tear up leg-hold sets worse than canines, when caught. They get into coyote snares at mid body vs by neck during January thaws. A bit more difficult to dispatch as they don't stay very still then either, and sometimes ruining the pelt.
In my nabe/yard they dine seasonally at black/mallard/wood duck, goose, and turkey nests, raid garbage cans the rest of the year, poop in barns every Spring after clearing shelves to nest-up on and ...
I like 'em skinned and stretched. (..also in demand as such, but not so for a handful of years.
)
In my nabe/yard they dine seasonally at black/mallard/wood duck, goose, and turkey nests, raid garbage cans the rest of the year, poop in barns every Spring after clearing shelves to nest-up on and ...
I like 'em skinned and stretched. (..also in demand as such, but not so for a handful of years.
)
k0ua
Epic Contributor
OP
RobertBrown
Elite Member
'Coons will tear up leg-hold sets worse than canines, when caught. They get into coyote snares at mid body vs by neck during January thaws. A bit more difficult to dispatch as they don't stay very still then either, and sometimes ruining the pelt.
In my nabe/yard they dine seasonally at black/mallard/wood duck, goose, and turkey nests, raid garbage cans the rest of the year, poop in barns every Spring after clearing shelves to nest-up on and ...
I like 'em skinned and stretched. (..also in demand as such, but not so for a handful of years.
How much can you get for a coon pelt?
Seems to me the last time I checked you needed a license to sell fur.
I have sold many coons, pelt-free, leaving a foot on to prove it's not a cat. They can get large here... 25-30 lbs.
I would get 10-20$ each.
OP
RobertBrown
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It works!.. It is a Festivus Miracle!
Thanks K
the old grind
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RB, 5 yrs ago nice 'coons could go for $30-40 stretched, dried, and rolled up as we'd bring them in, and "so-so's" could get $10-20. Prices would typically peak in Jan sometime, with usually at least 2 buyers within an hour's drive for us.
When the global economy sagged and Russian & Chinese folks' disposable incomes tightened the mostly o/seas demand nosedived with them. The last two Winters, and esp by/after the new year, there were $6 and $12 'coons, and instead of $40-50 fox & 'yote even the best might get only $15-20 and a "we have our 'quota'" explanation.
One of three fox still stretched/hanging in our shed got ~50% de-furred by mice, and we're pretty ho-hum about it. That said, we kinda miss setting during the fur season vs just nuisance trapping otherwise and are gearing up to get serious after deer camp. We set typically leg-holds for 'coon Nov thru' Dec, canine snares Jan thru' Feb, tho both seasons overlap in January, which can be fun or not (keeping them from freezing until skinned/fletched/stretched)
This week I'm cleaning up rusty Duffers' and 'Coon Cuffs', trying some push-pull trigger mods on the latter, and gathering bait-mixing bits. They're remarkably 'coon-specific, very effective, and sets need no dress/prep or disguise. I can place several on shore to monitor from afar. (from the window ... and if empty re-bait my line in the afternoon when it's warmer.)
Once Winter sets in 'solid', coons will only be out on warm (thawed) nights. Long cold snaps were the bane of 'coon activity the last two winters and Spring road kills were abundant this year when they got out and started roaming.
IMO, sparing a 'pest' animal because it has cute babies only gets you more cute babies that you'll never see and more pests that you'll find out came around whether you saw them or not. "You never stand so tall as when you stoop to stomp a varmint."
Oh, and RB, nice vid/post, as always. :thumbsup: Thanks for sharing that light even tho' some of us see/indulge a darker side of nature's wonder.
When the global economy sagged and Russian & Chinese folks' disposable incomes tightened the mostly o/seas demand nosedived with them. The last two Winters, and esp by/after the new year, there were $6 and $12 'coons, and instead of $40-50 fox & 'yote even the best might get only $15-20 and a "we have our 'quota'" explanation.
One of three fox still stretched/hanging in our shed got ~50% de-furred by mice, and we're pretty ho-hum about it. That said, we kinda miss setting during the fur season vs just nuisance trapping otherwise and are gearing up to get serious after deer camp. We set typically leg-holds for 'coon Nov thru' Dec, canine snares Jan thru' Feb, tho both seasons overlap in January, which can be fun or not (keeping them from freezing until skinned/fletched/stretched)
This week I'm cleaning up rusty Duffers' and 'Coon Cuffs', trying some push-pull trigger mods on the latter, and gathering bait-mixing bits. They're remarkably 'coon-specific, very effective, and sets need no dress/prep or disguise. I can place several on shore to monitor from afar. (from the window ... and if empty re-bait my line in the afternoon when it's warmer.
) Once Winter sets in 'solid', coons will only be out on warm (thawed) nights. Long cold snaps were the bane of 'coon activity the last two winters and Spring road kills were abundant this year when they got out and started roaming.
IMO, sparing a 'pest' animal because it has cute babies only gets you more cute babies that you'll never see and more pests that you'll find out came around whether you saw them or not. "You never stand so tall as when you stoop to stomp a varmint."
Oh, and RB, nice vid/post, as always. :thumbsup: Thanks for sharing that light even tho' some of us see/indulge a darker side of nature's wonder.
mapper
Veteran Member
Found a litter of coon kits at the base of my mailbox post on the county road some years ago, when I parted the tall grass to look at them they hissed and snarled at me even though they weren't much bigger than my hand. I wouldn't have touched unless I was wearing a rhino hide glove!!
A couple of years ago I heard a commotion in the woods across my driveway, when I checked out what was going on there were two coons fighting about fifty feet up a Douglas fir tree. One backed the other out a limb to the point it fell, it bounced a tumbled all the way to the ground, got up and ran off. The winner of the dispute came down the tree head first growling and snarling the whole way. Tough critters!!
I don't seem to have too much problem with them around here, but I don't have poultry and feed the cat inside. I would not hesitate to shoot them if they become a problem though.
A couple of years ago I heard a commotion in the woods across my driveway, when I checked out what was going on there were two coons fighting about fifty feet up a Douglas fir tree. One backed the other out a limb to the point it fell, it bounced a tumbled all the way to the ground, got up and ran off. The winner of the dispute came down the tree head first growling and snarling the whole way. Tough critters!!
I don't seem to have too much problem with them around here, but I don't have poultry and feed the cat inside. I would not hesitate to shoot them if they become a problem though.