Got 6 today...Long

Q-Wagoner

New member
Coons that is. LOL

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Well I didn’t go coyote hunting but I did manage to collect some fur. A friend of mine had a young patterdale terrier that was unproven so we got together today to give it the test. I wish I had my camera with me because this dog is a true specimen of the breed. He was a rock, black as the bottom of an inkwell with a white splash in the center of his chest. I would guess he was 14 inches at the shoulders but he did weigh 22lbs. Twenty-two pounds is really too big for a pure den terrier but for the size of coons we have around here it is just about right if you ask me.

The first place we hunted was a wash as the farmer had tore out a series of pipes and head gates and replaced his old irrigation system with a center pivot. The next place we tried we hit the jackpot. I have always had good luck their and was looking forwarded to a good hunt. I wasn’t disappointed.

Booger was the young dogs name and we had brought his mother along as well for a little back up. The spot we were hunting was an old farmstead with a run down house that was always full of coon especially this time of year. When it gets super cold the coon will sometimes leave there den trees and seek better cover such as old houses, barns, haystacks and abandon beaver dens.

The dogs headed right for the house and started working it hard. I knew the way they were acting that it wouldn’t be long before the $hit hit the fan. Booger was passing the floor in one spot next to the wall and was wining and scratching. His mother (sorry I forgot her name) was an old hand at hunting and soon found a hole and was under the floor. She couldn’t have been in there 2 minutes and she had a coon caught. Booger was going crazy trying to get in. We pulled up a couple of floorboards and he was in like a shot. When he got a hold of the coon it had no chance. After a couple of minutes they got it close enough to the hole that I got a hold of the coon, pulled it up and shot it. The dogs woolded it for a little while and then went back under the floor.

Again all hell broke loose and the fight was on. This coon was quite a bit bigger than the first and was an escape artist as well. Every time we thought the dogs had him caught they would loose it. It took about an hour and a half to finally get that coon but it was worth it. He was a large male that tipped the scales at 31lbs. I felt confident that there was at least one more coon under the old house but the dogs were exhausted so we called the hunt right there and took them home.

Luckily the dogs were not hurt at all. Just a little swelling around there muzzles and the female had a small tear on her right rear foot. I am glad we quit when we did because when you hunt tired dogs on fresh coons they can get them selves in trouble and hurt. No one wants to get their dogs hurt if they can help it so we quit while we were ahead.

I dropped off my friend and started for home. We were both pleased at how Booger handled himself and are very eager to see how he does in the future. This was his firs real test and he showed us a good nose and very little back up.

When I got home there was still plenty of daylight left and I was eager to test my own patterdale “Hannibal.” Now Hannibal has been on several coon and other critters but they have all been on top of the ground. Working game above ground is a whole different ballgame than working underground and/or in a natural earth. B Hoerler my best friend and avid hunting partner was home and ready to hunt as always so I grabbed up Hannibal and my JRT bitch Sweety-pea and back to the house we went.

Normally I wouldn’t have hit the house again but I was just sure there was at least one more coon under the floor. Also with all the commotion, fighting and shooting earlier that day the coon or coons may abandon there dens under the floor so I may not get another shot at them.

We reached the house and the dogs took off on a mad dash towards it. They were frantic. Within seconds they were under the floor and Sweaty was baying hard. Bryan saw a coon shoot across an open spot underneath the floor but the dogs seamed more interested in another area of the house. Soon I saw a coon in the same open spot with sweety beside it barking like crazy. The coon looked at her and then at Bryan and I as if it were trying to decide what to do next. Before it dawned on us to shoot the dang thing somewhere out of the darkness of the floor shot Hannibal. He hit the coon head on like a Mack truck grabbing it by the head and shaking furiously. Sweety then dove in and grabbed a hind leg. In a couple of chopping bytes Hannibal had it soundly by the throat. Not wanting to see any animal suffer needlessly I jumped down and grabbed up the coon by its tale and hoisted it out of the floor with Hannibal still latched on to its throat. It took some doing but Bryan finally got the dog to let go so I could shoot the coon.

We had to take the coon out side and throw it up in the crouch of a tree to keep the dogs away from it. The soon realized they couldn’t climb the tree so they went back to the house and again almost instantly had another coon caught. As the fight was raging on somewhere under the floorboards I heard Bryan say, “There it goes!!” I looked up and said “what do you mean?” The dogs have one right here I can see it through a crack.

What happened was while I was looking under the floor a second coon pooped up right next to my head on the other side of a support beam, ran across the floor and then dropped into another hole. I said keep an eye on the holes because he will want to make a run for it. Shortly after I stuck my head back in the hole to see what was happening I here gun fire and looked up to see Bryan chasing a coon out the front door with his single-six blazing away. LOL Billy the kid ain’t got nothi’n on him. LOL

I am working franticly to try and get a hold of the coon to pull him out when Bryan pokes his head in the window holding up his prize with a big $hit eating grin on his face. LOL he was as happy as a kid with his first sparrow. LOL I sad “great” now give me a hid with this fellow. LOL After about 10 or 15minuts Hannibal finally got him worked around where I could get it safely shot.

What a hunt. We collected one more coon on the way out that was in a head gate but it was rather un-event full compared to the three-ringed circus we had previously. Sweety had no injuries at all but Hannibal didn’t fair as well. He got his lips chewed up a bit and a pretty good gash across his nose. You couldn’t tell that it bothers him at all. He and Sweety are running around the house playing as I type this.

Running terriers is a blast and always exciting. Whenever the mercury drops and the winds are blowing to hard to call coyotes I am working my terriers. If I remember right I think I killed 40 or more coons with the aid of my terriers. Hannibal was still to young last year to be of much help but he has really come a long ways and I am expecting great things of this dog. He only weighs 15lbs and the smallest coon went 22lbs. He handled them well for his size. For now though the only thing I am worried about is tending to his wounds and keeping him in top shape. He should be good to go in a week or two.

Good hunting.

Q,
 
Q,
That was a great story and boy those are some good looking coons. My grandfather was a great coonhunter and houndsman and I hunted with him a lot, he had black and tans and treeing walkers. When I was about 14 or 15 I got a little feist mix named Piper, me and that little dog caught so many coons it was crazy mainly around old out buildings and barns. I would bring them home to skin and my grandfather would just shake his head about my little dog. Good hunting, Chris
 
Right now the coons are as good as they are going to get. I hope I get a bunch this winter because I look for prices to go up. Terriers are remarkable little dogs. They are bright loving and hard hunters. I enjoy hunting with them nearly as much as I do calling coyotes. At night when I call coyotes, I usually always take one of my dogs with me to locate my kills.

Here is a link to another story I wrote that I think you will enjoy.

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=000779

Good hunting.

Q,
 
Hey Q,

Great Story! That hunt sounds like it was a ton of fun.

Yesterday, I took the boy hunting and shot a rooster that fell right into the middle of a giant plum thicket. I searched for about a 1/2 hr. to 45 min. for that dang bird. There was an (apparently) abandoned mutt running around there. He was quite friendly and I have seen him before chasing rabbits thru that same thicket. So I called him over to help me find the bird. With-in minutes he had found the pheasant and was off running like a bandit. I caught the dog a few min. later. He was properly thanked and then deprived his next meaal. "Sorry puppy!" But did I ever get excited about owning a dog again. I am a bit tired of being the dog myseelf. Flusher, pointer, retriever, killer...etc. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Great Hunting!!!!!
 
Billy The Kid ain't got nothin on you Quint, I saw you shoot a rabbit running like Barry Sanders from the hip in one shot with your single six. I also saw you shoot a coyote in the same fashion a few years ago (you remember?), only that took a few more shots. I did have a blast though. BTW, I am the good looking SOB in that pic.
Bryan.
 
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