Matthewfox_45
Well-Known Member
Season closes at the end of February. I’m a trapper and I hate these contests. The fur isn’t prime so essentially worthless, just killing to kill and dumping them in a landfill. Great fuel for the antis.
Matthewfox_45
Well-Known Member
I’m aware of that. My point is why not have it during the actual fur bearer season when the pelts have the highest monetary value. Guarantee these are going to the landfill which is a gigantic waste of a resource and more fuel for anti hunters and trappers.
CurtisWalker
Well-Known Member
I’ve always wondered about the legality aspect of these tournaments and when people say they shot a bunch and left them lay or just threw them in a dead hole.
The reason the tournament is being held in March is the same reason the season was opened year round. Coons aren’t bringing enough money to sustain a harvest that keeps their population in check.
Shooting coons in March and April is the best time to affect nesting success.
You want to talk about wanton waste it says “Iowa laws apply” nowhere on there does it say “leave them lay “
I wish coons were worth $20 on the carcass and these tournaments wouldn’t exist. But they aren’t so this is the solution for now. Every acre of coon damage is just more fuel for the farm bureau to add doe tags and extra antlerless seasons because they’re too dense to understand the difference between deer damage and coon damage.
I did chat with the COs at the DNR booth at the classic about this topic specifically. The two that were at the booth at the time realize the dilemma but the law is fairly clear. Any animal (furbearer) that is harvested has to come out with you and not left in the field. That being said the carcass can be disposed of on private land. As I mentioned on another thread I am sure there is A LOT of variability in interpretation between COs. If I am reading this contest correctly, it is a week long. The number of raccoons harvested by the winning teams will be huge!!
Yep , and since it’s a contest for the most coons shot it would be fairly counterproductive to shoot them and not pick them up. So I don’t see that being an issue, the checkin at the end will be virtual so each contestant will be responsible for their own coons.
I love this!!!!!! Few reasons why…
1) we don’t have to do what SD does & spends $500k on a bounty
2) I have begged people for years to shoot and trap. 10+ counties. Same with thermals. No one shows up to do it. Instead- I get hundreds every year that I shoot or trap myself & becomes a little job.
3) every turkey, pheasant or bird lover should love this as it’s perfectly timed for nesting.
4) this goes to one of the best causes for our state
5) we are beyond overpopulated & unlike deer… there’s folks that will open access to land
6)why we turned coons into 365 hunting legally about 3 years ago.
7) sat with turkey, etc biologist at ISC banquet. Talked about how highly overpopulated they have become & how affective getting them now is on all the predation & farm problems we have.
8) fun as heck. Great for kids. Like 10 wins here. Every guy doing this is gonna have a literal blast!!! Love this!!!
1) we don’t have to do what SD does & spends $500k on a bounty
2) I have begged people for years to shoot and trap. 10+ counties. Same with thermals. No one shows up to do it. Instead- I get hundreds every year that I shoot or trap myself & becomes a little job.
3) every turkey, pheasant or bird lover should love this as it’s perfectly timed for nesting.
4) this goes to one of the best causes for our state
5) we are beyond overpopulated & unlike deer… there’s folks that will open access to land
6)why we turned coons into 365 hunting legally about 3 years ago.
7) sat with turkey, etc biologist at ISC banquet. Talked about how highly overpopulated they have become & how affective getting them now is on all the predation & farm problems we have.
8) fun as heck. Great for kids. Like 10 wins here. Every guy doing this is gonna have a literal blast!!! Love this!!!
Matthewfox_45
Well-Known Member
Crazy how thermals are a huge problem and now we’re encouraging them. Hopefully a pile of shed bucks get shot during this contest….sorry I couldn’t help myself!
Daver
PMA Member
If someone needs a place to get some coons in SE Iowa...lemme know.
LoessHillsArcher
PMA Member
Not sure what part of the state you're from but if you want to trap coons in Harrison county message me! I'd think there's endless access and population that you'd never run out of places to catch hundreds?
I actually saw some irony here too!!! At a few places!!!!
I’m the one that wants some sort of limitations or changes on the use of thermals during deer season - yet I’m the one spending the most time & $ using these thermals blasting all these critters.
other one…. The panic button sets in if anyone has to give anything up for thermals or whatever but yet I can’t hardly get guys to thermal hunt & I bet I had 10,000 acres worth of folks ask me if I knew of anyone that would trap or hunt (trustworthy, etc). I have a farm in Guthrie co I told 6+ groups they could coyote or coon hunt. No one has shown up one single time. Think of that & think if u offered up deer hunting to any group of people - how fast & how many would be there instantly!!!
We can’t restrict thermals AT ALL but we do want to restrict guys hunting legally for coons that are wildly over-populated…. Right before nesting season …. On farms that no one can get people to trap or hunt?!?!? FOR A GREAT CAUSE!!! That doesn’t add up.
I have already shot all my shed bucks during the late shed buck season - 2 weeks with rifles - they are already dead so the joke is on you!!!
Good stuff & well played. I know we disagree on this topic but thanks for being a good sport. U & CW need to form a team for this!!!
Matthewfox_45
Well-Known Member
Well played to you too Skip. We can disagree but still have some fun!
Thinkin Rut
PMA Member
I used to feel this way. I've come to the conclusion that you can not appease liberals/anti's/tree huggers. They can kill babies, intentionally let the nastiest criminals across the borders to rape and kill Americans and encourage an ideology to set up shop in our country that hate America and that plan to do the same to our loved ones! F*C* that! Make sure you take kill pics, they had no problem with the videos of the beheadings of Americans. People forget...don't forget.
Matthewfox_45
Well-Known Member
Not sure if that’s directed at me. But if so, trappers have fought negative perception for years…and have consistently lost opportunities across the country.
I believe that these contests don’t do trappers or sportsmen any favors. Wasting thousands of dollars of coons is just that, wasteful and tacky. Again, just my opinion. And you’re welcome to yours. I understand I’m in the minority here. Just trying to offer a different perspective.
Muddyrem
Well-Known Member
It was most definitely directed at you. This isn’t 1980s. Negative perception is a weak rebuttal here. You’ve had 2-3 land owners on this thread alone inviting you to come trap their properties; tell me another scenario where that happens? Fur prices are at an all time low, hence why recruitment is down. If you want traditions to continue then there must be recruitment. This is one way to get new “furbearer” involved in the sport. The trump of it all , it’s killing nest raiding predators who are directly affecting Iowa’s turkey population. The state of Iowa has extended seasons dates for private land owners; why would that be if only harvesting coon during time periods their pelts are prime was recommended ? You’ve made this theory up in your head as if your way of trapping and the outcome is the outcome for all involved.
Don’t believe they do sportsmen any favors?
Turkeys, pheasants, quail, ducks , geese… all benefit so the sportsmen that hunt them benefit.
Not to mention the damage getting blamed on deer, thus affecting deer hunters.
What did you sell your coons for this year on average? And how many did you sell? Since it’s such a valuable resource I can bring you all of mine this fall.
Matthewfox_45
Well-Known Member
This tournament isn’t going to recruit any new trappers. Trappers are fur harvesters. I know guys that have a market for the carcasses and other parts of the animals.
My “theory” is my opinion and nothing more. Just because I don’t want to blindly support the ISC doesn’t mean I’m wrong or right.