Coon hunting

Coon hunting

Coon hunters in Virginia, circa 1907
Registered players	Yes
Characteristics
Mixed gender	Yes
Type	Hunting
Equipment	Coonhound
Venue	Grand American Autumn Oaks Leafy Oaks
Presence
Country or region	United States

Coon hunting or raccoon hunting is the practice of hunting raccoons, most often for their meat and fur. It is almost always done with specially bred dogs called coonhounds, of which there are six breeds, and is most commonly associated with rural life in the Southern United States. Coon hunting is also popular in the rural Midwest. Most coon hunts take place at night, with the dogs being turned loose, trailing and putting the raccoon up a tree without human assistance. Once the raccoon is in the tree, with the dog at the base, it is referred to as "treed", with "treeing" being the active verb form.

Besides practical hunting, there are also competition hunts to demonstrate the speed and skill of the dog: in these, no raccoons are actually killed, but are treed and then released. Some of the largest competitions are the Grand American, Autumn Oaks, and Leafy Oaks. Coon hunting has been recorded in such books as Where the Red Fern Grows and popularized in stories and songs recorded by Jerry Clower, Jimmy Martin and others. In Alabama, a cemetery is purposely used for the burials of coonhounds.

Coonhound puppies typically start their hunting training at less than six months of age. The dog's owner or trainer will begin by teaching it to follow the scent of a raccoon's pelt or commercial scent stick dragged across the ground.

After the young dog has mastered this, it is taken hunting, either by itself or with other dogs. Many dog trainers prefer hunting older dogs alongside a younger one, with the reasoning that they will set an example for the inexperienced dog. Experienced dog trainers note that the most difficult part is often not teaching the dog to hunt raccoons but teaching it to ignore other animals such as opossums, whitetail deer and rabbits, which are colloquially called "trash".

Inadvertent hunting or running of deer by coonhounds is particularly problematic for hunters, as hunting deer with dogs is illegal in most states.

Modern coon hunting is practiced with the use of a trained dog or dogs. While historically coon hunting dogs were of any breed, modern coon dogs are almost always members of the scenthound subgroup called coonhounds. There are six distinct breeds of coonhound developed specifically to hunt climbing game by scent; Black and Tan Coonhound, Redbone Coonhound, Bluetick Coonhound, English Coonhound, Treeing Walker Coonhound, and Plott Hound. The breeds vary somewhat in size, though color is the largest obvious difference. All but the Plott Hound descend from the English Coonhound.