First time night hunting for coons.

[coyote101]

A friend and I went out last night for our first attempt at hunting coons at night. We had no luck getting them to respond to the caller, but that didn't really seem to matter that much. We saw four just by scanning the trees with our lights while setting up the caller. One of them was off the property, so he got a pass, but the others were not so lucky.

We took these three from the same tree:


We also spotted four possums, but I wasn't sure of the rules on hunting them at night, so we let them go. Now I know it's legal, so next time they are fair game too. I'm trying to get rid of the turkey egg eating predators.

Pat

[bambam]

 I've hunted coons at night all my life. Thought that was the only way. 

[coyote101]

I've hunted coons at night all my life. Thought that was the only way.

I just started coon hunting this year, and it was only calling during the day. I've had some success and a lot of fun. I thought the calling would be more effective at night, but that wasn't the case last night. I knew that coons were hunted primarily at night, but I always thought that was by guys using dogs, who shot the coon after the dog had treed it. From what I saw last night, it can be done day or night without dogs. I'd like to hunt with dogs sometime, but I don't know anyone who has coon dogs.

Pat

[Okanagan]

Wow!  Who needs hounds?  That is amazing to me that you saw coons in the trees just by looking.  In my whole life I only saw coons in one  tree, other than those treed by hounds at night.  That was a huge cedar with coons sleeping in its branches all day.  They did that for about four years and since then we have never seen another coon in that tree.    It is rare for me to see a coon  day or night, and the night ones are occasionally in headlights.  You must have a lot of them.

I grew up hunting coons with hounds, at night.  Am just getting geared up to call them in the daytime. 

[Hawks Feather]

Pat,
    Thanks for this post because it brings back so many memories. As a kid I would go out night hunting with friends who had hounds and learned a lot – not the least of which was to always be prepared to fall after stepping in a hole or having a vine or branch grab me. It was hard to be looking at trees, listening for the hounds, and also keep a light on where I was walking. In the early 80's the price of coon hides was going fairly high, and a friend and I would float the rivers and streams (at night) spotting coon and shooting them. Nothing quite as exciting as about rolling an aluminum canoe when trying to cross a log blocking the stream with a half inch of ice. 😳 Then DNR passed that you could no longer night hunt from rivers and streams and that put an end to the fun. Fast forward to today and I am about ready to start trapping coon again. I have one that has crawled across my white fence (about four feet high) with extremely muddy feet – several times. I have looked in the backyard and can't find any sign of him digging or even any footprints, but the fence knows that he has visited.
Jerry

[remrogers]

Not hunting coon, but a fellow in Iowa is taking his share of coon by trapping. Young man has a lot of ambition. Check his video. Yes, he said 1095 coon so far this season. Makes me tired just watching him pile them up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVGIFgveGpc&ab_channel=NextGenTrapper

[nastygunz]

when I was a young buck growing up we had all kinds of coonhounds, leopard curs, treeing walkers, black and tan, plott hounds, blue ticks, red bones. back then when the price of fur was high it was a significant source of food and money for our family.

[FinsnFur]

Nice night for sure.
Theres a few groups here that stalk the night, coon hunting the same way.
Homegrown fun

[nastygunz]

In Vermont you can only hunt and shoot a coon at night after it has been treed by  hounds. In NH you can shine and shoot without hounds. Have to stay up on those game laws!

[Todd Rahm]

I miss that kind of action. Might have to get back into it.

Best I did using your method was 63, in 3 night when I was 17. Sounds cool and fun until the skinning starts. 

[coyote101]

Best I did using your method was 63, in 3 night when I was 17. Sounds cool and fun until the skinning starts. 

I give them to an old guy who lives on the farm I hunt. He eats them. I don't think he could handle 63.

Pat