Raccoon Games

“Boy, I wish I could’ve caught him doing it. I’d have given anything to catch that %!@#* doing it. It’d been worth him doing it just so I could’ve caught him doing it.” – Vincent Vega, Pulp Fiction, on someone keying his Malibu.

I purchased a Wildgame Innovations 6.5 Gallon Bucket feeder from the Wal-Mart in Sebring a month ago. I typically prefer bump feeders for ease-of-use. No battery changing or wires coming loose, and if anyone steals it, well, I'm out a bucket, essentially. But this one was on clearance, and we have a new lease in need of a few corn slingers. So I hung it in a stand of blackjack oaks to let it dust the forest floor with that magic gold, hoping deer or turkey or hogs would find it.

When I went to check it a couple weeks back, I found it hanging in the tree gutted like Drew Barrymore in the first Scream movie. The battery compartment door had been pried open, the alligator clips and all points of plastic chewed through. I knew the culprit already, but the wads of wiry white and brown fur wedged in the chain suspending the rig above the ground told the whole story.

Raccoons are a menace.

Most properties in the state I’ve hunted have a healthy raccoon population, but this lease is Ground Zero for ringtail activity. The land is bordered on two sides by orange groves and a swamp on a third. The trail cameras have worked overtime catching them at night sifting through corn piles – which makes me wonder why the Hell they’d destroy a feeder when I’m feeding them! These coons are well-organized and mobilized. And we fired the first shot.

Back in January, PJ and I set out for an evening of predator calling. PJ has a FoxPro digital call. With no luck on the coyotes or bobcats, we snuck down to the swamp right before dark and switched his call to a Fighting Raccoon noise. Basically, the sound is what you’d expect to hear if you dropped a plugged-in boombox into a bathtub, a cacophony of whistles and pops and grunts – everything but the white smoke.

I laughed when I first heard it, but it did work. Within a minute a coon rushed out of the myrtles and stood on his hind legs before PJ dusted him with a 12-gauge. Since then the Raccoon Army has grown vengeful.

I noticed it first in mid-February. I’d left my Covert Cam deployed for two weeks without checking it and couldn’t have been more excited to review the SD card to see what had arrived at my blue bump feeder. Over the course of some 800 pictures, the raccoons had managed to turn my camera 360-degrees around the small oak it hung on. A photo would reveal a tuft of whiskers, and the next would be pivoted 30-45 degrees in a counterclockwise position. No joke, this continued until they had completely spun it around the tree, tufts of fur caught between the bark and the straps of the camera. As you might guess, this ruined any useful pictures, though I did get a nice butt shot of a deer in the upper right corner of a photo that was framed around a vine twirling up an oak branch.

Thankfully they did not destroy the camera though I’m pretty sure they used it as a urinal on more than one occasion.

We fired the next salvo. PJ obtained live traps and set them near the feeders. He promptly caught and dispatched 3 coons. But then ethics took hold. There was a period of time when none of us would be able to visit the lease, and no one wanted to catch a coon and have it suffer in a trap for a week or so. Like England’s failure to control Hitler at the start of the war, we missed an opportunity to stave off further destruction. It was my new feeder that paid the price.

The thing is, raccoons are not only destructive to feeders, they are pretty rough on turkey and quail populations, as well. Notorious egg thieves, raccoons can really devastate upland bird numbers, especially in areas without healthy populations of these game birds. This land doesn’t have many roost trees and isn’t ideal turkey hunting property, but the nesting potential here is high. We’d like to improve that, as much as four guys on 150-acres are able to do. Predator control is one way to accomplish this.

We’ll probably get back into trapping them this summer when everybody is back in town from far-flung turkey exploits and can reliably check the cages. I’d like to use that predator caller and my .17 HMR and make a real hunt of it. Either way, it’s doubtful we’ll make any huge impact. As I’ve said, there are a ton of them, and raccoons are pretty sharp creatures that adjust in a hurry.

I’ve thought about just sitting in a stand by one of the feeders. Oh, it’d be so worth it for them to destroy another feeder...if I can only catch them doing it.

The Almost Blew It Bobcat

I almost blew it. I know better than to leave my rifle leaning against a tree when I’m in the woods, even for the briefest of moments. That’s when they take advantage of you.

I had finished my final calling session of the evening, eager to leave the mosquitoes and hit the showers for a birthday party I had committed to Friday night. Once again, predator calling skunked me, and I was over it anyhow.

On the way to grab the flipping and flopping MOJO Critter, two previously unseen gray foxes bounded into the swamp. Didn’t really matter – can’t shoot them anyway. I proceeded to the decoy and glanced down the road. Half-crouched, eyes transfixed on the MOJO, a bobcat was keeping watch.

Frozen in the open, with no weapon - there’s no way he didn’t catch me! Why he didn’t bolt like the foxes is beyond me.

How amateurish. From both our angles.

I had set up at the end of a truck trail along the fence that divides our lease in half and cuts perpendicular through a cypress swamp that strings north to south. On the east side of the swamp is a pasture consisting of scattered pines and scrub oaks, with just enough palmettos in between that clear shots would be short. Nick fired at a coyote here in the summer, and a month ago Krunk and I dialed up a bobcat that slinked away before a decent opportunity.

Walking in that evening, I noticed a healthy set of cat tracks in the deep black muck of a pothole in the road. Also found scat and claw marks where a feline had clearly relieved him or herself and tried to hide it from the world. So bobcats were certainly in the vicinity.

I unwound the thin black cord from the base of the Johnny Stewart Digital Call and hung the megaphone in the crotch of a pine branch about seven feet off the ground to give it that Reach Out and Touch Someone effect. The MOJO was placed at such a distance relative to the call and my haunt that I would be the fulcrum point of an isosceles triangle.

The tricky part was deciphering from where intended game would emerge. The breeze was flat dead, but I still wanted to have downwind covered as coyotes tend to swing around to that side. Smart money was to focus on the road along the fence, though. That’s where the sign was and predators tend to use well-worn paths on their approach. If anything wandered down the trail, it would easily catch sight of the motorized decoy. Then they'd come bounding in, I'd raise the rifle and shoot, and friends and family would host a Hero's Welcome upon my return.

I settled against an oak, shifted my rifle to cover the decoy, and the hunt was on. I selected the Cottontail in Distress offering and played four series, waiting 5 minutes in between each sequence.

Thinking strongly of coyotes, I was discouraged. They’d be here by now, I thought. Plus, my wife was assuredly anxious for me to return home to go to this party. Time to call it – they beat me again. The Canyon of Heroes would have to wait for another day.

That’s when I stood and leaned the Savage against the tree and advanced towards the MOJO.

The foxes.

The leering bobcat.

If only I could slip back...

I slowly sidled out of the cat’s view, quickening my pace to a trot when obscured by the swamp. I snatched my rifle, tossed it to the shoulder and crab-walked like a Navy Seal point man about to pop around a wall and blast a terrorist. In this case, a Turkey Terrorist.

Miraculously, the bobcat was still there. I guess it's true about the curiosity and the cats. Or maybe that MOJO works better than I surmised. More miraculously, what with all the hurry and anxiety, I connected on the 30 yard shot.

Gorgeous animal - the first I had ever called in and shot. The party would have to wait a while as I hiked to the truck, drove back, and set up the camera and tripod for the Grinning Idiot Hero pictures.

A Trapper's Guide for New Predator Hunters

Predator hunting has not taken off in my parts the way it has in other regions of the country. It should. In the South and East - where in the last 20 years has experienced a coyote explosion - the terrain is varied, from old timber to thick swamps where sound does not flow as freely. This makes predator calling challenging. Woodsmanship is more important than calling skill or strategy.

Knowing this, I asked CJ Williams of the blog Trapping Supplies Review to give us a trapper’s insight on how new predator hunters can get closer to the game they seek.

He turned on this and belted it out of the park!

Trappers and hunters are the closest of kinfolk - trappers being the finest of woodsmen, in my opinion - and I appreciate him sharing his knowledge. Be sure to visit his blog regularly.

*****PLEASE NOTE*****Check local game laws on seasons and bag limits. In Florida, coyote may be hunted year-round; bobcats from December 1st – March 1st, and there is NO open season for red or gray fox.

I'm among a dwindling few who find trapping to be the greatest outdoor challenge. Trapping forces you to be a student of your prey, to intimately know their habits and habitat and, ultimately, to get that animal to put its foot where you want him to put it.

The best woodsmen I know are trappers. Heck, the best woodsmen ever - the Mountain Men - were trappers. If you ask this modern Mountain Man Wanna-Be the best way to hang a coyote's pelt in your fur shed, I'd recommend the foothold trap as the tool of choice.

However, trapping is not ideal in all circumstances. Severe weather conditions can give the best trapper a headache, and setting traps in areas where there may be domestic animals is just asking for a headache. This is why I got into predator hunting a few years back. I started out just using my knowledge gained from the trapline and learned a few other basic things along the way. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I've had enough success to pass on a few basic words of advice.

Predator hunting has exploded in popularity over the last few years, and with that explosion has come an army of experts writing on the subject in countless books and magazines. Some have it down to a science, taking into account every variable, every circumstance and every scenario. As for me, I like to keep things simple. I'm a firm believer in the KISS principle....Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Rule #1 is get out there and do it. Seriously. If you try to learn every trick in the book, and think you will be unsuccessful unless you do, you'll never really enjoy this sport. Even if you just have a gun, a caller, some camo and what little you'll learn in this article it's enough to get started. Invest some time. One of my very first hunts (alone and with little knowledge) was rewarded with a beautiful gray fox. That experience taught me that it's not quite as hard to do as some make it out to be.

Secondly, I'd suggest you put in some good time scouting for sign. Just take long walks during the day looking for trails, scat and tracks. Use Google Earth to look for natural travel routes and pinch points in the terrain you plan to hunt. Take note of outstanding features, especially the high points of the landscape, and keep them in mind for places to set up and call. A commanding view is always desirable.

I like to hunt right at sunrise and just before sunset with natural light. I've had the most success in the early morning hours, so I like to be at my first stand while it is still dark. Plan your route ahead of time and get in as quickly and quietly as you can.

One thing to remember is that most predators will approach your call from downwind. Pay attention to wind direction, and if you are hunting alone keep the wind at your back and your eyes peeled downwind. If you have an electronic caller with a remote control, place your caller downwind. If you hunt with a partner, station the caller upwind and the primary shooter downwind. That way when they circle around they'll circle right into the shooter's lap. The downwind approach is just a general rule. I've seen a few predators approach at high speed on the shortest path possible! It depends how hungry they are and how much hunting pressure they've been subject to.

The areas I hunt in Southwestern PA have pretty dense cover, so I use a shotgun most often. For more open areas I use a .17 HMR or .22 Mag. You will hear many guys say this is not enough gun to anchor a coyote, but I disagree wholeheartedly. The larger centerfires some guys use may be needed out West for 500 yard shots, but not in my neck of the woods. The bigger calibers cause too much pelt damage.

Full camo and strict movement discipline are a must, especially when hunting in close quarters in wooded areas. Try to break up your outline with the surrounding cover, and control your scent as much as possible. I've used cover scents such as coyote urine and skunk essence, and I believe there is some benefit to this tactic. I know from the trapline that predators are very curious when they smell skunk essence, and I use it as a long distance call lure with success while trapping when the weather is coldest.

Speaking of weather, my experience has been consistent. The colder and nastier the weather, the better it is for predator hunting. I believe in the coldest stretches of January and February they are hungry and just a little more desperate. I generally stay on a stand for about a half hour before moving on.

One thing I learned the hard way: always be ready for action. You may only have a second to shoot. If you let your guard down for a moment, that's exactly when a predator will come into view. Murphy's Law applies in the woods more than anywhere else.

As for calls, I use the simple Johnny Stewart electronic caller and find it perfectly adequate. It costs about $100 and has a wide selection of sounds available for it. It is not remote, but it has enough cord to set it up at a respectable distance from your stand location. Mouth calls are handy, and I use them on occasion, but I find the electronic caller is much better if you are not well practiced with the mouth calls. There are other high-tech, expensive, remote callers on the market, such as FoxPro, but I never felt compelled to drop $600 on one when my humble Johnny Stewart works quite well.

Lastly, never get discouraged. You will connect with a coyote soon enough if they are in the area and you are persistent. Predators have phenomenal senses but they aren't super geniuses. You are smarter than they are.....but even if you're not, it works just as well to be too dumb to quit. Keep at it. Pretty soon you'll be hooked.

This is one simple trapper's approach to predator calling. I don't like to complicate things. It doesn't take a ton of gear or endless hours of research to be successful. What it does take is attention to a few simple details and time spent in the field, the more the better. Scout, call, scout and call, then scout and call some more. Keep it simple, and you'll have some pelts in no time.

Hunting Bobcats, By the Way

As a game animal, the bobcat is worthy quarry. Smart, sneaky, and sly, wildcats are challenging hunts. If you’re into that sort of thing.

My general disdain for cats notwithstanding, I tend to leave bobcats alone. When I happen across them, I’m earnestly chasing deer or hogs. Sometimes turkey. Not about to spoil a hunt like this on a random passerby. I’ve heard they’re good to eat, but...eh. I won’t be selling fur any time soon, and as far as I know, no banks – in my part of the world, at least – accept cat pelts as legal tender.

This is not to say I’ve not whacked a few – I just need a different set of reasons to pursue them than other mentioned game and have let far more go about their business than I would a coyote or other such vermin.

This includes predator hunting. I called one in while hunting South Carolina about a decade ago. I was after song dogs, but this old cat snuck up an irrigation ditch right beside my stand without as much a rustle of a leaf. I just happened to look down and saw those striking eyes staring up at me. I shifted the rifle for a shot. Just didn’t hit me right. After about 10 minutes, he ambled off.

A month ago, Krunk and I were suffering through the the final series of that God-awful dying rabbit squeal on the Johnny Stewart. From the corner of my eye, just the tiniest flick of white in the tall grass. I whispered to Krunk to hold still.

The cat sat peering in the broom sedge, not moving a muscle. My MOJO predator decoy kicked its batteries the previous setup and hung limp in the field. Surveying the situation, the bobcat finally grew bored and slinked away. I would have whacked him first clear chance.

What’s the difference? Who knows?

In Florida, the legal season for bobcat starts December 1st and ends March 1st. This time of the year, toms are on the prowl sorting through receptive females. The weather is nice, deer season is about over, and small game seasons are in effect on a lot of public land. It's primetime for a cat hunt.

Calling bobcats is but one strategy. On average, they come to call at a slower pace than coyotes or fox. That’s their wrinkle. While the canines possess superior smell that makes them difficult to hunt, the bobcat has the ultimate patience. Though some will barge on in like a stumbling college drunk, typically budget 30-40 minutes per set-up.

Wounded rabbit calls work. So do wounded birds. I have the Johnny Stewart Electronic call with interchangeable digital cards. Amongst these is the frightened chicken and distressed woodpecker. Most of the time, though, a mouse squeak or rabbit squealer will do.

Pick your calling locations around easy thoroughfares next to cover. Firebreaks, cowtrails, bike paths, paved roads – it doesn’t really matter. Edges of fields are always money. Any place you find prey animals such as agriculture areas or corn feeders. Stay absolutely still and let loose a series of calls once every 7-10 minutes or so. A decoy can help take those staring eyes off you. Trust me - calling in a bobcat is startlingly good fun, even if you don’t shoot.

Speaking of feeders, there’s another way you can come across a wildcat – sheer luck. Yesterday afternoon, I was holding sentry by a feeder awaiting a pig for the cooler. I knew the cat was coming by the squirrels. They make a huge ruckus when a predator walks by, much more so than they do with deer or anything else. This may be why the cats are largely nocturnal – the chorus of raucous tree rats has to make their diurnal stealth work nigh impossible.

Sure enough, the cat bolted out of the palmettos towards a feeding squirrel that jumped about 6 feet up the side of an oak. The cat threw his paws on the bark resembling my husky when she chases squirrels. Foiled, he moped around for a moment as I contemplated things.

On this ranch, bobcats are a serious enemy to the landowners' turkey efforts. It’s a shoot-on-sight policy that’s common on private lands that host spring gobbler. But I really wanted a hog and didn’t want to stir things up by cracking my .300.

The cat regained his composure and trotted off into the world accompanied by his squirrel soundtrack. He was only 15 pounds or so. I probably should have popped him, but besides the hog hunting, I had another reason for not lowering the hammer.

On the way to the ground blind earlier that evening, out in a clearing between a swamp and the scrub oaks, a big tom was posted up. This was a trophy cat. I’ve long wanted one for my trophy room. Of the peculiar quirks I use to justify shooting a bobcat, a mount is one of those. I’ve looked up and down many, many felines, and here was The One.

As I closed the 75 yard strike, I knew I had bagged my mission. The cat was 25-30 pounds with a gorgeous coat. At the shot, another bobcat scrambled off, probably a hot female. His paws were as big around as a 100-watt light bulb, with those sharp retractable turkey-killing claws. He’ll be on his way to the taxidermist next paycheck.

Again, bobcat hunting may not be for everyone; after this hunt, it probably won’t be for me for a while. Still, when the mood swells and opportunity arises, it’s as exciting as chasing any other wily animal in the woods.

The Other Hunting Seasons

Deer hunting has become such an industry it has blotted out the appeal of other outdoor pursuits. This is a shame, especially for outdoorspeople in Florida. By December a wide variety of hunting opportunities have opened. Some are as simple as lacing up a pair of boots and coursing the oak hammocks for squirrel or as tactic-driven as predator calling or fall turkey hunting.

So, I will just briefly peruse some of these other adventures that are hiding behind the sun.

(Click Here for Resident/Upland Game Season Dates!)

Wild Hogs

It is not really fair to lump wild hogs in with the rest of this list. They are probably pursued harder in FL than deer. But, as I’ve written before, my favorite time to hunt hogs is in the winter months. Hogs can be found statewide and numerous outfitters offer the chance to harvest at least a meat hog at reasonable prices.

This year’s acorn crop has been wicked. Combined with the dry the swine have all but abandoned my feeders for the deeper reaches of the arid swamps, and I’m hearing the same thing from buddies around the state. Still, the acorns should be gone soon, and the hogs will have a nice layer of fat. Should be just ripe for the BBQ.

Predators
Florida’s coyote population is going bananas. It really is the perfect state for them to thrive with the temperate weather and buffet of small critters and crops to eat. Hunting them here is a real challenge. I’ve tried numerous times but the best I can rely on is luck. I think the important thing is to hunt them where they can be killed. Hunt them along fire breaks and palmetto flats where your call can be heard. Hunting in the swamps drowns out the rabbit squealer and if they do come out, it will be in your lap.

Calling in bobcats is just plain fun. Sometimes they charge in immediately, sometimes they sneak in after 30-40 minutes of calling, though the latter is far more common. Either way, it’s chilling. The crouch. Those yellow eyes. The flick of the tail. Even if you don’t care about pulling the trigger, it’s a wonderfully wild spectacle.

Call for the wildcats on the edges of ag fields and swamps, especially if there are irrigation ditches or firebreaks for them to travel down. Be patient, of all things. Dedicate an hour or so to a set up.

Fall Turkey
Yes, Florida offers a fall turkey season. On many WMA’s one’s best chance at a gobbler or hen will be bow season which has largely passed – again, though, check local regulations.

Private land is at the discretion of the landholders. Some people prefer to wait on spring to harvest turkey, others not so much. Only toms may be taken on private land. There are two ways to success. Hope one ambles by your tree stand or sit and call.

I’ve been lucky with the stand situation, but it has been many years since I’ve tagged one in such a fashion. It’s been even longer since I’ve tried fall calling. It’s a slow process of calling softly and remaining seated. Gobblers flock up this time of year and seek out the thicker swamps. It's tough.

My lease is in Zone B and the fall turkey season runs through the end of January. I’ll be making a concerted effort at a tom this year. Chances at doing this are few and far between.

Small Game
I personally enjoy squirrel hunting. My Ruger 10/22 loves to dance with bushytails in January and February.

Same with rabbits. We do a rabbit hunt every December in Sarasota County. We glass down bush fencerows in the evenings with a 17 HMR. Good fun.

Most WMA’s have small game seasons. This is the time I usually visit WMA’s to scout for deer and turkey. Might as well tote a .22 with you and have some fun while you’re at it.

Quail

It has been years since I have taken a quail in FL. I’m not even sure where to go anymore. There are plenty of hunting preserves across the state. Duette Park in Manatee County has a thriving population and offers small game hunts. That would be my best advice. Outside of that, check with local biologists at your local WMA and give it a shot!

Winter gets to be a busy time here in Florida what with all the holidays and stuff. This is true for hunting season, too. I haven’t even touched some of the other possibilities today – waterfowl, snipe, dove, crows, furbearers, etc. It’s an exciting time.

Deer hunting is my favorite, for sure, but it sure is nice to get away from that for a while and give something else a try!

Asleep in the Stand - Hunting Links: The Coyote Edition

I'm not real sure what got me thinking about coyotes today. Heck, it's been a full three weeks since I've seen one. Maybe it was my dad who asked to borrow my predator caller, Mojo decoy, and .17HMR that bounced my mind this way. Perhaps it's the recognition that it's been one year since I've been off my Georgia lease where I'd listen to the yotes moan their misereres in the quiet cold of the December gloaming.

Whatever the reason, I have Song Dogs on the brain.

Dad's plans were thwarted, not by Wile E. himself, but someone who was supposed to meet him, but didn't, and yadda yadda.

I've killed a few - none that would have been any burden to man. Just those that happened by at the wrong moment. I've set out to intentionally kill more, but...well, they are about the smartest blasted animals I've run across. You need to be fully camoed, watch your scent, and cover some ground to unearth canines bedded in thickets. Hunting them in the South is supposedly a different sport than in the wide-open West. I've called a couple in. Killing them is a different task. Hopefully in February I'll get another crack at some.

Anyway, coyotes have been in the news a lot lately. Back in November I ran across this article about the dogs interfering with taxiing airline at Raleigh-Durham International. As if the airline industry doesn't have enough to worry about.

Coyote attacks on suburban house pets is also a fairly common evening news segment in Florida these days. One pack ruined the Thanksgiving holidays with it's taste for something other than turkey...guess Fido doesn't contain Tryptophan.

Florida and North Carolina aren't the only states suffering. Georgia, as I mentioned above, hosts a sizable population of coyotes. Officials there are trying to get the word out about the dangers of these animals, mostly rabies and attacking pets. As proud as Georgia fans are, I bet a hungry yote dog would give Ol' Uga a run for his money.

If you want to know more about these mini-wolves, the FWC has information here.

But really, all you need to know is well-written here by James Swan at ESPNOutdoors.com

If you're looking for a thrill this postseason, order up a rabbit sqealer and give coyote calling a try. If I'm ever successful, I'll share what worked for me!!!