Washington Coonhunting (Pic)

[BuckNAze]

Well went out tonight and right off the bat I spotted one off the road. Its right next to this culvert that the coons LOVE to go back and forth in. So I made the mistake of dropping my dog on the opposite side of the culvert thinking that the coon was heading that way, because I saw him with my headlamp and he was heading towards the culvert, or so it seemed. Well finally I got my dog straightened out, she figured out that it wasnt on that side of the culvert and came to the right side and eventually hit the track going the right way up the creek. It took about 45 mins but we finally made it to the tree. This coon must of picked the biggest tree in the area, it didnt look as big as through my scope when I was about to shoot it but damn if that thing didnt hit the ground growling like a damn bear! So I ran over there and my female was already on its tail (it only ran maybe 20yds again) and she was all over it. My video camera was dead, completely dead! After my female came my 5 month old pup and my 2yr old male. My male and female tore into that coon really good but after a minute my pup joined in and was bawling away. This was his first coon, and at 5 months he did a decent job trailing with my female. After he got his first bite he was loving it! I shot this coon twice so when I ran into there I figured he would be dead and didnt bring the gun but he wasnt, he died shortly after. I will post a pic of the coon and my dogs tomorrow just to show it, this is my first coon by myself without going with one of my buddies. I have only chased one other by myself and lost it in a culvert too. My dogs are most bigger game dogs but I like to coon hunt during these hot days when the bear chasing gets harder. Thanks for reading, just wanted to post, and also I thank the people who told me to put my pup up for a couple of months, he has matured A LOT and has got A LOT bigger, he is about 6-8" taller at the shoulders then almost all his litter mates and is going to be BIG! Ill post a pic tomorrow like I said, thanks for reading! Just a happy dad thats all

[BuckNAze]

Ok I cant find the cable for my phone to upload the pictures at the moment so oh well I guess, maybe next time. It was a pretty big coon though, not the biggest but a decent healthy coon. Just glad to get my pup on some live game, along with my 2yr old, he has only been hunted on bear, goes crazy over a caged coon but is a better bear dog thats for sure

[dcvarmethunter57]

Never underestimate the brains of a coon

[BuckNAze]

They are damn smart thats for sure! They use that culvert all the time. The funny thing is on the other side of the culvert my friends have a coon trap set and the coon went right by it as you can tell by the water on the log on the other side of the culvert. He just went right by it and I happen to spot him right away at a few spots I check and acted like he was going to go back through it but must of heard my dog and went the other way, but after about 45 mins we caught him.

[BuckNAze]

Well no coon tonight, just a den. Went to the same spot I usually go to and checked the log by the culvert to see if there was any tracks or if the log was wet (the coons in my area love to go back and forth through it), found out it was wet and turned my dog loose. Turns out the track was coming back into the culvert, which makes sense since I put my bait out and I found out later on, after crawling/walking in the culvert that the side is rusted and the water runs down the middle of the culvert but the side is rusted out and the coons have made a den on one side of the culvert which almost goes the whole length of the culvert, she couldnt figure it out for the longest time then she finally started going crazy in there so thats when I had to go check it out. Also got some training on a porcupine, just happened to see one when I was turning around on this road, after that last damn night of my female getting into it I shot that bastard and let them know that they werent suppose to be chasing them, they got the hand of god, so to speak. All in all an ok night considering all the thunderstorms around me and the bad wind. Nice to just get the dogs out and be out there I guess

[hounddawger]

Hey Buck where you from? I was thinking you might be from washington dc, cause coon season isn't even open here in Washington State yet.

[BuckNAze]

I live on the reservation, open all year round, but we dont have that many as it is where I live, have to drive over the mountain to get into some good hunting. No one except a couple buddies of mine hunt coon on the reservation, and myself of course. They are pretty damn thick in a lot of areas just not where Im located, have to at least drive 20-30mins to get to some good areas

[montananative]

[BuckNAze]

Its definetly a blessing, Im gonna agree there! Also our bear season is all year round, yes all year round, but no one really hunts them here either, some are starting but most dont hunt them at all, also I believe our cougar season is all year round, along with bobcat. There isnt many dry ground hunters up here at all, if any so they only get hunted in the winter. There is probably 5-8 guys that actually run hounds, some guys have them but never run them. Im gonna stop there because I know some people get bitter about it and thats not what I want to act like Im bragging, wish we could still allow other houndsmen to come bring their hounds to run with us but they stopped that a long time ago. Probably because people were letting other people who were non-members shoot them. I havent been hound hunting long enough to even go cat hunting yet, at least with my own hounds so this winter should be fun. If I could bring peole there are a lot of people I would let come with me or teach me some things and let them run with me but I cant and thats how it is.

[robbyson99]

Coonhunting year round! What a great idea. We can only hunt from oct 1st to dec 31st here in maine. Well training season starts july 1st right straight through. No matter how many times you go out at night to run coons there's always good stories with good friends. Great stories buck! Seems this year here in maine the coons are everywhere. We've treed probably 15 coons. Been out 4 or 5 nights. Lots of strikes. Do you guys rig for coons at all or just hunt from the ground?

[BuckNAze]

We just hunt from the ground, were not that in to coon hunting. I like it a lot but my buddies arent that into it. I figure its just another thing I can hunt when it gets too damn hot in the summer and I can go out at night. I usually end up going by myself so that kind of sucks, but what can ya do? At least I get to spend quality time with my dogs and I think it builds a better relationship with them and gets them to trust you more and when you start helping your pups figure out a track its pretty cool to listen/watch.

[hounddawger]

Where exactly are you from Buck?

[BuckNAze]

Colville Indian Reservation

[robbyson99]

Spending the night and time with the hounds is why we do what we do. They say there mans best friend for a reason. I only have one hound right now and it works out well for me. Usually rides in my passenger seat when I head for bear camp or looking for cat tracks. He didn't like coons very much so I have kept him home on coon hunting nights. Good luck with your cooning adventures. Love to see some pictures!

[hounddawger]

Maybe sometime we can hook up and go hunting. Every Thanksgiving we go up to Keller Ferry and spend the weekend up there on the boat houses. Maybe we could go hunting a couple nights while I'm up there.