HideHunter, Big Muddy and/or all other coon hunters.

[Captain]

I lease a 1,800 acre tract of land to hunt on. There are 14 friends that hunt with me there. One thing everyone has been talking about this year is how many raccoons we have under our feeders! There are a total of about 75 auto feeders on the lease and probably about as many cameras. I went today and switched my SD cards. Every feeder location was loaded with Coons. My Mountain stand had over 1,000 pictures in two weeks of some deer, Turkey, hogs but by far the most were raccoons! Here's just a couple. I thing there is 7 or 8 coons in one of these pictures. No telling how many others there are out of frame. It's like this under everyone's stands and feeders. It looks to me they would over populate! If Coon hides ever get high again I should make a killing!

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[BarryBobPosthole]

Maybe you and Big Jim shouldn't have run off those kids who were coon hunting that night after all!

I'll come help ya.

BKB

[Niner]

Do I foresee a GoodHunting Coon Killin' Party????

[Big Muddy]

Cap, as with most animals, when coons get severely over-populated, Mother Nature will step in, and introduce a disease....with coons, it's usually a strain of canine or feline distemper, and it is deadly to coons within about a week.
After the disease has run it's course, in an area with a high coon over-population, you will find coon carcasses strewn throughout the property.

I think I told you about the distemper epidemic on my property about 8 years ago....I guesstimated finding 4-5 dead coon carcasses per acre....I could barely find a live coon for about two years....their numbers have since rebounded, but not to the point of being over-populated, yet....but, it WILL happen, again.

[quercus alba]

Parvo gives them fits too as well as the coyotes

[HideHunter]

Man you could have a riot there if they live in trees. ;) Are you guys allowed to hunt coons with artificial light down there? Here - we can only use light if coons are treed by dogs. Anyway - They tell me this calling thing *really* works at night. Guy in TX told me they store silage in huge piles down there. He and buddy set the caller and after a couple minutes turned on the lights. Said they lost count at 17. They killed 4 coming to the caller - then shined the surrounding trees with the "distress" going and killed 7 more.

Guys are right on disease. Hit us four years ago. Found dead coon *everywhere*. We're coming back, too.. still not back to "normal" numbers.

[Bwana]

Bring in the hounds Cappy.

[Captain]

Bring in the hounds Cappy.
I would LOVE too, AFTER deer season.