Raccoon Hunting

[Critrgtr]

A buddy and I are starting to get the itch for calling in and shooting some Raccoons, and I am just wondering if you guys have any pointers for me on it. When is the best time of the year to call them in. Any Pointers you guys may have on calling them I would love to hear them. Thanks in advance.

[bucksnbears]

i've not done it it myself but have seen a couple video's on it and sure seems like a pile of fun. they can really come in aggresive

[lyonch]

There area a couple of different ways to call coon. I am no expert, but if you want to put up high numbers i would suggest buying a raccoon calling dvd that was put out a few years ago that does not look at the adrenaline side of it, but high numbers. If you are looking for on the ground action and close encounters with coon, i would hit up youtube and check out some videos. Coon will respond best in the spring with baby coon cries, and coons squalls. Fox pro has a lot of good coon sounds out there. I am only familiar with fox pro's sounds and never investigated any other sounds by other call manufactures. In the fall coon fights and baby coon cries still work, but it seems the big boars respond to a fight sound with aggression. Again i am not expert and an extreme rookie at this, but it is fun. I will have to go home and look at the video a couple of old timers put out that really put the hurt on coon and have a awesome straight forward approach to how they do it.

[Critrgtr]

Thanks I will check out youtube and see what they are doing on there. We are using the foxpro with all the Raccoon sounds but I didnt know if there was a certain time of the year to use certain sounds. I will also check for some dvds on it.
I know when we went out the other night sitting there in the dark making them sounds it was WAY more intense then sitting in the dark calling for coyotes. Guess its probably cause didnt know what to expect and had no idea on what would come in and from what direction they would come. I have heard that a Coon will just come charging in and not pay any attention to the wind direction or anything.
Well I appreciate all the info keep it coming if you have any more. Now I am going to go check out youtube right now. Thanks guys.

[lyonch]

If you are calling at night, i would go with the raccon fight or mad coon sounds. Have a good light if you can use one, and be ready. A coon will come in fast if they are on the ground charging you and wont care what they smell hear or anything its an all out pissed off approach. Low numbers are harvested this way. the video i have that shoot them out of the trees with a .22 duing the day. Thats what i am trying to get into is the daytime calling with a .22 mag.

[Prairie Ghost]

I've been saying i was going to try it for years but still haven't and now i'm in an area with real low coon numbers. I've heard that you better have the shotgun in the shooting position when you turn on the caller. The guys that i've seen do real good get fairly close to denning trees before they start the caller up.

[Critrgtr]

Ya we were trying it at night and we had a shotgun but it was laying on the ground. Next time I think I will do as you say and have the shotgun ready the min. the call starts and be ready and have the .17 laying on the ground. Sounds like I may want to throw a spare set of underware in my pack to if they come in like that.
Are you talking a good red light or does it matter. We had our red lights for the scopes and one for on our heads. But wasnt sure if we could use the white light or not.
I searched on youtube and they were doing most of them during the day to. I thought the same thing that it would be cool during the day.

[Tim Anderson]

For day time coon it works best around old buildings and if you can find the den trees..
For calling around a den tree some guys place the caller on the back side so that they can get them to come out of the hole and around the tree for a shot.. I like to place my caller on the same side of the hole and off to one side and then set up on the oppisite side of the caller still being able to watch the den hole. I let them get out far enough so when i shoot they will drop to the ground.. For sounds i use most of the coon vocals and use them on the same stand I may start with coon puppies and work up to more aggressive sounds like coon fight or coon party.. If the coon is going to respond it will do so in less than 10 minutes, if a no show after that time then i move onto the next den hole.. i try to find enough dens in one area and also scout as i go so i have enough places to call.. They don't show every time but when they do its like a chain reaction if you have enough spots to call you should have a busy day when they bite..
Some coon will pop out of a hole and just look to see whats makeing all the noise and some willbe hard charges and head straight for the e-caller so make sure you don't get caught in between..LOL You should keep track of the weather conditions when they do respond to youre caller and after some time there willbe a pattern you can follow to have more productive stands.. good luck..

[Critrgtr]

Thanks for the info Tim. I will put it all to good use, and hopefully come up with some dead raccoons. What time of the year is usually the best for getting results of them coming in. And dont want to sound like an idiot here but what does a Raccoon den look like. Are you talking just a hollowed out tree or what?

[Tim Anderson]

Right now if you went into the woods you would look for paths leading to a tree, the leaves and what not willbe packed down and pretty noticeable. Also look for coon scat which can be found at the base of a tree or on a branch or on top of a nearby log.. Once you find some trees with coon sign around you have to walk around the tree and look for holes going into a tree or hollowed out branch. When you spot a hole it should be rubbed pretty good around the edges from the coon going in and out alot, but not always.. A big dead tree broken off about half way down maybe hollowed out and the coon would then climb in from the top.. The main thing is find the trails and scat and then just set up and call the tree. The trails willbe leading from water or a nearby field going back to a tree and some times you will find some trails going from tree to tree, these i believe are made by the coon dureing mateing season and looking for a mate. For calling times any time canbe good the main thing to watch is the temps, if its below 32 degrees the coon willbe less active and in a deep sleep. keep youre ears open when calling sometimes you will hear another coon from a different tree grawl back at you.. For time of year anytime is good but best in the late winter (mateing) spring and early fall. Summer would be good except to many bugs around then and the fur would be worthless.
Here are some pic. with a few coon dens and what not.