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Coon hunters?

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Lockjaw View Drop Down
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    Posted: January/15/2017 at 16:45
Just curious if anyone has experienced any? We have some in our hunting club, and they coon hunt during deer season. Seems to me that would screw up our hunting to a certain degree. 

Even if the dogs don't chase deer, it just seems like the extra human presence at night, and the extra pressure on the deer is not a good thing. 

Thoughts?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/15/2017 at 17:06

I would think coon hunting during deer season would be extremely adverse to deer hunting.  It may be legal in Alabama, there is no "closed season" but I know of no hunting club in Alabama that allows coon hunting during deer season, could be some, but the bylaws I've seen all specifically exclude it.  Some only allow it during spring and summer.  The noise, the lights, humans and dogs running through the underbrush...

Where exactly in Alabama are you?

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JLud Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/15/2017 at 18:42
Coon hunted a lot in Iowa about 25 years ago.....never kicked up a deer in the timber that I heard or saw.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Steelbenz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/15/2017 at 19:05
I only hog hunt and only at night, I don't even ask for a permit to hunt at night during Deer season.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lockjaw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/15/2017 at 21:11
South of Birmingham, AL . 

I did some looking online, and most of that says it doesn't seem to impact it, but that just seems hard for me to get. 

Makes me think I need to find a different club. It makes our dues cheaper. That is main reason why they allow it. I was surprised to find out this was going on. 


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/18/2017 at 06:40
I certainly have not hit all the clubs in Alabama up for info, but none I've looked at allow coon hunting during deer season.  I'm going to check around some more now.  Interesting concept.  Since all those I've approached or belonged to don't allow it, I just didn't think that there might be some that did. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lockjaw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/18/2017 at 08:24
I asked my best friend about it this am. He has run clubs, managed them for big deer as a business expense for clients. He has so many big deer heads mounted in his basement. He is one of those people who just seems to attract big bucks.

He said the same thing. He never allowed it, and thought it would keep the deer stirred up. 

I like my club and the property. We have some big deer on it, but I don't know. I wish I knew where they hunted, or that they kept them confined to a certain part of the property. 

I need to check my other camera's and see if I have anything on them. This might explain why I have some pic's of deer running in the middle of the night. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote urbaneruralite Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/19/2017 at 08:02
SCDNR did a study on this topic. You can probably find the summary on their web site. Upshot was there is no measurable effect. 

I don't think a trained hound or cur that avoids deer bothers them any. If there is any effect, it is from the scent of the hunters. Considering the kinds of places you tree coon and the kinds of places you put deer stands, the areas that the human scent affects and the places you hunt do not always coincide. That is why you might suspect there is a detrimental effect even though it is so small as to be immeasurable.

I put the detrimental effect of coon hunting at less than riding ATVs to the stand or not keeping clothes and boots washed and practically scent free. 






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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/20/2017 at 04:57

You run into the probabilities of "unintended consequences".  Tell someone they are participating in a study, and they very often change their normal way of doing business (like "we're doing a study to see if coon hunting during deer season is detrimental to deer hunting"... "gee, if this looks good, may open up more land during deer season for coon hunters").  Coon hunters are a dedicated bunch... they love the hunt and LOVE the dogs... each to his own.  I don't put much stock in studies like that.  Even if people were not directly told about the study, word gets out.  I read the study... what would have been interesting would be hunter success in raccoon hunted areas vs non-raccoon hunted areas, a measure of the "skittishness" of deer before and after a coon hunt, what happens when deer are actually "jumped" by hunters/dogs. 

An anecdotal story, a "one of", but had a significant impact on me.  In 1998 I was scouting right before deer season in a well established and highly successful hunting club... being new to the area and the club, I was probably clearly less attentive than I should have been.  I was walking around, not really paying attention, just enjoying the early morning and the bird and squirrel activity.  I walked right into a deer bedding area...  6 deer in it, that I saw.  They jumped up, scared the heck out of me, and they took off.  I hunted that club for 5 years and as far as I can tell, visiting the area fairly regularly in and out of deer season, they never returned to that bedding area, at least not to bed down.  Perhaps Alabama deer are smarter.  Taught me a lesson.  I've never made that mistake since.  I've found a number of bedding areas, but never jumped the deer or entered the area.   But I know which trails to monitor and when.  Very seldom use a game cam... kind of like using an ultrasound to find out the sex of a child before it is born.  Guess I'm a romantic at heart. 

Personally, I won't belong to a hunting club that allows coon hunting during deer season.  That's just me, my belief system and it works for me.  Doesn't bother me that there are clubs out there that do... I just won't be a member.  However, if there is an adjoining club that doesn't allow coon hunting during deer season, I might join that one...

Pressure is pressure, doesn't matter to the deer if it is unintentional.  I'm not saying that every deer, or even most, will run away and not come back, just that they may be a little more difficult for us smelly, clumsy, noisy humans to get the jump on when hunting deer... we need all the help we can get.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lockjaw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/24/2017 at 15:02
The ATV guys kill me too. We have some in our club who drive the ATV right up to the field they want to hunt, or their truck for that matter. I am like, you can't walk 50 to 100 yards? 

The reason I think it doesn't work well is because I have been hunting and seen all number of deer being chased by dogs. In my last club, 3 house dogs came out where I was sitting. I was so mad, and I actually thought about shooting them. But didn't. They headed down the road I came in on, and in about 3 minutes here come 2 doe's hauling the mail. Dogs didn't follow them either. 

I think its added pressure. Doesn't matter what kind it is. And if they stand around shooting the breeze, smoking or drinking, then that is worse. 

I have an ATV, and I used it during bow season, but I haven't taken it out during gun. Not many bow hunters. We have one guy who lives out by our club I want kicked out. He rides his ATV everywhere. Right up to his stand. And his coming and going is disturbing deer from other hunters. 

I wish we had a rule ATV's can be used for retrieving deer only. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote urbaneruralite Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/24/2017 at 18:45
Trained dogs don't chase deer. It is hard to believe but a deer will lay and watch until the dog almost steps on him before running off. The dog will either ignore the deer or run away from the deer. Some dogs will quit hunting and hang around the hunters or dog box if too many deer are about. If you don't believe that, let me put some TriTronics on you. 

The topic of dealing with dogs chasing deer is not one for public discussion.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/25/2017 at 04:33
Originally posted by urbaneruralite urbaneruralite wrote:

Trained dogs don't chase deer. It is hard to believe but a deer will lay and watch until the dog almost steps on him before running off. The dog will either ignore the deer or run away from the deer. Some dogs will quit hunting and hang around the hunters or dog box if too many deer are about. If you don't believe that, let me put some TriTronics on you. 

The topic of dealing with dogs chasing deer is not one for public discussion.

I agree... well trained coon, squirrel, other dogs don't/won't chase deer.  I have observed what you describe... they will just head to the hunters location (unless they chance upon a coon in the process)They still make noise, leave scent, cause "excitement".  It doesn't even matter that deer often don't run away when the dogs are about, it heightens their(deer) alertness.  Deer already have every advantage available over humans... sight, hearing, smell, craftiness, stealth, alertness, speed... it is good they do not have opposable thumbs...


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