Coon Hunting

[TLRMADE]

As usual the regs don't make since to me about raccoon hunting. Since it is legal hunt coons at night is it legal to use a spotlight to hunt them?

[DaveS]

I think by the regs saying that it is unlawful to locate or harvest game with artificial light or light amplifying devices, I am to personaly assume that racoon hunting with a spot light would be "oopso"! Good question though....I think I would ask before I did it!

[ShaunM]

I believe you can use a headlamp and flashlight. Also coon season doesnt open until middle of November. You must use rimfire or shotguns I believe.

[TLRMADE]

I believe you can use a headlamp and flashlight. Also coon season doesnt open until middle of November. You must use rimfire or shotguns I believe.

Raccoon season opens Sept 16.....

http://www.tn.gov/twra/smallgamehunt.html

[ShaunM]

My bad looked at the wrong one. Tells you how long its been since I have been.

[TLRMADE]

My bad looked at the wrong one. Tells you how long its been since I have been.

Haha it's cool, I just wish I could find something in there about using lights.

[ShaunM]

Im looking at the great book of make no sense to see. We used lights dont think the regs have changed.

[ShaunM]

Well I'm just gonna call them later.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I dunno nothin about hunting, but just for curiosity-- Is the vast majority of coon hunting with dogs, or is it also common for guys to wander around in the brush at night trying to locate and shoot coons without doggie assistance?

[roverboy]

Well most people myself included have used or use dogs but, I've heard of hunters calling coons. They are predators sometimes and will sometimes come to calls. Coons are nocturnal and I would think you would need a light any way you hunted them.

[Mdunntn]

Never heard of anybody coonhunting without a light. If you couldn't use a light you pretty much couldn't hunt them.

[oldogy]

I've spent more than a few nights chasing around in the woods listening for the dogs when they trail the old masked ring tail. The first place old mr coon is heading when the dogs get hot onto him is to the top of a high old tree. I have no idea how you could hunt coons without a good strong light 'cause mr coon is not always going to look down.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Another dumb curiosity question-- If a person just wanted to let the dawgs chase coons, with no intention of harvesting any treed coon-- Is that illegal except in hunting season? Or could you let a hound chase a coon any time of year?

[roverboy]

I think(not completely sure)you can run and train your dogs in the off season. I have a lot of times let'em tree and didn't shoot anything out. Some coon hunters don't like to do it much though.

[DaveS]

I don't know what the law is exactly....it does note off season dog training.

[Guest nmil]

Do people eat racoon?

[TLRMADE]

Do people eat racoon?

You can eat just about any animal if you really want to or had to!

[Guest Lester Weevils]

It is not likely I'd ever get it together to train the dawgs and take them hunting. Any more likely that I'd get it together to go hunting without the dawgs.

But it almost feels like animal neglect not to take my dawgs hunting. It would be fun to watch em get to do their thing. Adopted one young coon hound from a neighbor "by accident" because the hound was too hyperactive for the neighbor to handle and he was getting ready to take the pup to the pound. That pup turned out a fabulous crazy hyperactive dog and so I looked around and got him a buddy from a coon hound rescue org. The old dog is the one in my avatar pic.

The dogs have an acre of fenced suburban woods to run in but I can't let em run back there at night because they would disturb the neighbors. Noisy fellows.

The old man was probably lost on a hunt, from the circumstances of him being found wandering the woods having missed enough meals to get skinny. When I am cleaning a rifle, the old man comes over and sits right beside me until the gun goes back in the safe. He apparently figures if anybody is going hunting then he doesn't want to get left out.

If they tree a squirrel or cat and are barking up the tree, the old man keeps looking at me expectedly, "Hey, I treed the critter. Its time for you to shoot it!"

Sounds like a lot of work to find some place to let em run at night that wouldn't disturb neighbors, and training them and putting GPS trackers on em so I could get them back. After all, the old man not coming back is apparently the way he came into my possession. Maybe would need to take several days vacation so I could let em run one night and then spend several days getting them back.

They wouldn't much care whether they were chasing a coon, rabbit or possum. They probably think a good cat hunt would be as much fun as anything else. The back woods have a 5 foot fence which they never try to climb under ordinary circumstances, but if a coon ever comes thru the back woods all bets are off. The old man has been known to go over the front 4 foot fence section if there was a tasty-looking cat on the other side. I think the main reason they don't daily climb the fence is because they usually are not motivated to climb the fence. But given an attractive-enough small furry critter on the other side, I think all bets would be off about them staying inside the fence. Chasing small furry critters they take serious as a heart attack. They are pretty fast. Even in the back woods have chased down cats and rabbits.

Getting to run big woods at night would be a big thrill for the guys.

[oldogy]

Yes, people do eat coons. Tough, dark stringy greasy meat if I remember. It has been many many years. One of those things you do when you're young and are on an extended primitive camping expedition. It seemed like a great idea at the time.

oldogy

Edited October 7, 2011 by oldogy

[oldogy]

Another dumb curiosity question-- If a person just wanted to let the dawgs chase coons, with no intention of harvesting any treed coon-- Is that illegal except in hunting season? Or could you let a hound chase a coon any time of year?

I do believe I read in the 2011 Tennessee Hunting and Trapping guide that you can train coon dogs any time of the year. Do not take this as final word though.

oldogy

[ShaunM]

Taken from TWRA website.

[h=3]Raccoon Dog Training (No Taking)[/h] Western and Eastern Units - Year-round except where regulated by Private Acts. The following counties are regulated by private acts: Morgan is open for training from July 1 until opening day of the hunting season; DeKalb is open for year-round training except in the portion lying south and west of State Hwy. 96 and U.S. Hwy. 70, where the training season will open 30 days prior to the hunting season. Refer to specific WMA listings for WMA raccoon dog training seasons.

[ShaunM]

Page 18

http://www.tn.gov/twra/pdfs/huntguide.pdf

[DaveS]

Good info 101!!

[Just2Honor]

Homeowner question: Can I shoot racoons that are damaging things on my land? I have 4 acres, 90% wooded located outside a city limits.