Raccoons

[Stocker]

What do you guys do with them when nobody will even buy them? I usually wouldn’t trap them with fur buyers not even interested, but we are absolutely overrun with them. I’m not solely blaming them for our turkey population plummeting, but they don’t help.

My son is 9 and enjoys trapping like I did as a kid, so I’m gonna try to thin them out. I just hate killing critters that there is no purpose for. I did get an offer of $1 for sny XXL or bigger raccoon skulls. Burn $10 in propane to get $1. Sounds s out as profitable as most my business ventures.


I’ve never seen raccoons like this. When I was in HS I ran a trap line before school of about 20 traps. I’d catch 6-8 every night. Back then I’d get $5-$15 for them so I was doing pretty good. I bet if we ran 10 traps now we’d catch 9-10 a night for a solid month.


My wife wanted a new sheet/comforter set for our bed. I told her I could skin all the coons out, tan them and sew them together.


That idea got shot down pretty quickly. She’s no mountain woman.


So other than skinning them and keeping them in a freezer for eternity in hopes future prices go up, or throwing them in a ditch what do you guys do with them?

 

[seeth07]

I'd love to know too because we have the same problem here. 5 years ago when prices were good, trappers in the area were out in full force and doing a great job keeping them in check. With no one trapping these last few years, the population is crazy and it's noticeable in the amount of pheasants and turkeys running around. I have three hen turkey groups on my property all with either just 1 or 2 little ones left. Normally by fall it's 4 to 8

 

[pabearhunter]

I have not set a trap for 4 years because of prices. City people will start complaining about them getting into everything befor long.

 

[Stocker]

I have not set a trap for 4 years because of prices. City people will start complaining about them getting into everything befor long.

As soon as fur prices rebound they’ll get distemper and they’ll all be dead.

 

[seeth07]

As far as ideas, there still is a market for tanned hides. So if you are willing to do the tan and do a good job, you can still get good money for it. I haven't heard of a price on them since the start of the year but it was 30 to 40 bucks

Obviously you can't move 100 of them quick that way

 

[Stocker]

As far as ideas, there still is a market for tanned hides. So if you are willing to do the tan and do a good job, you can still get good money for it. I haven't heard of a price on them since the start of the year but it was 30 to 40 bucks

Obviously you can't move 100 of them quick that way

If I go to all that work, I’m not selling them. I’ll make coon skin caps, coats, and pants for my family.

#makefurgreatagain

 

[NoWiser]

I’m in the exact same boat. I’ve got 160 acres going into CREP here and am looking forward to having pheasants again, but we are overrun with coons. I could catch as many as I wanted but I’m not going through the work of skinning and fleshing them for free and it feels wrong to just throw them. If I could give them away I’d be more than happy. I’m not optimistic about fur prices going up anytime in the near or distant future.

 

[Stocker]

I’m in the exact same boat. I’ve got 160 acres going into CREP here and am looking forward to having pheasants again, but we are overrun with coons. I could catch as many as I wanted but I’m not going through the work of skinning and fleshing them for free and it feels wrong to just throw them. If I could give them away I’d be more than happy. I’m not optimistic about fur prices going up anytime in the near or distant future.

The only thing I can think of is to puke them in the middle of an open field I have, and shoot the coyotes coming to eat them. Save fawns and chicks at the same time.

 

[coleslaw]

You could butcher a couple and have them made into sausage. They taste fine (bear family) so it's just another idea.

 

[Scott85]

What do a lot of people do with groundhogs when they kill them? Sometime a nuisance is just a nuisance.

 

[Letthemgrow]

If I go to all that work, I’m not selling them. I’ll make coon skin caps, coats, and pants for my family.

#makefurgreatagain

. . . so how much for a set of pants???

 

[Stocker]

. . . so how much for a set of pants???

Skinny’s or relaxed fit?

 

[Letthemgrow]

LMAO . . . skinny's make me look like I'm smuggling two golf balls and a cheetoh.

 

[JT88]

 

[wolfpup]

Every once in a while I see requests for dog owners that feed raw meat to there super large dogs like mastiffs, etc. They are asking for freezer burned meats, wild game, etc. You have a nuisance, they need meat... Might work out for both of you.

 

[Stocker]

Every once in a while I see requests for dog owners that feed raw meat to there super large dogs like mastiffs, etc. They are asking for freezer burned meats, wild game, etc. You have a nuisance, they need meat... Might work out for both of you.

Too bad I’m not in Montana I could bait in some husky pups to fill my woof tag.

 

[npaden]

Quote from NAFTA forecast.

The market for raccoon pelts is terrible. A very abundant item with low demand and high processing costs has created a situation where it’s going to be difficult if not impossible to sell many raccoon skins at any price. The best quality pelts – the largest sizes that are fully prime and undamaged – will have demand and may sell for $10-15, but the rest may not sell at all, or if they do, average in the low single digits. There is a ton of supply backlog in this market. It’ll be a while before we see improvement.

There is no doubt that an overpopulation of raccoons is not a good thing for anyone including the raccoons. I need to thin some out on my place but I also have been waiting to see if prices might go up but it doesn't sound like it is going to happen anytime soon.

I've heard of some southern cities where people will buy whole skinned raccoons for human consumption but not sure exactly how that works legally. You would think they would be at least as good as a squirrel if you wanted to try and eat them. I've never attempted it though.

 

[Elkoholic]

They are a nuisance here, unlimited supply it seems, they get trapped, then since I want them as 'clean' as possible they get bathed/rinsed in my lake, skinned and every bit of the critter gets utilized.

 

[BackofBeyond]

Get some chickens and feed them a steady diet of raccoon. Those things will eat anything!

 

[buckbull]

My dad would sell the coons to the guys at work. He always left a paw attached so the guys knew they were getting coons and not possums. I think most of the guys barbequed them.