Coon hunting

Coon 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.

In addition to meat or fur hunts, there are also competition hunts to demonstrate the speed and skill of the dog. In these the raccoons are not killed, but are treed and released. Some of the largest competition hunts 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, there is a cemetery specifically for the burial of coon dogs.

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".

Modern coon hunting is practiced with the use of a trained dog or pigs. 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.

A major difference in hunting performance is whether a dog is hot-nosed, meaning it will skip an older scent to follow a fresher one, or cold-nosed, meaning it will follow an older scent. Of the six coonhound breeds, the hot-nosed Treeing Walker Coonhound is the most popular. Some hunters also use Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dogs, although this breed is not a hound but a cur.

The dog or dogs are released at night in an area where raccoons are likely to be, such as a forest, crop field or swamp, and allowed to find a raccoon scent. Most dogs will emit a long, distinct bay upon striking a trail, and will continue to bay the entire time they are tracking the raccoon. The dog's voice may change timbre depending on how fresh or "hot" a scent is. Unlike some breeds of hunting dog that use sight to locate their prey, coonhounds use their sense of smell alone. The hunt typically ends when the raccoon climbs a tree. Upon reaching the tree, the dog or dogs will stop baying and begin the "tree" bark, also referred to as the chop bark for its short, sharp sound. This change in vocalization lets the hunter know when a raccoon is treed. Some dogs have emitted as many as 150 chop barks per minute when on a tree. The dog is thus said to be treeing, and the raccoon is considered treed.

The human hunter may either follow the dog as it hunts, or remain in one place and only go after the dog once it has treed. Tracking collars with built-in global positioning systems may be used to help locate the dog, though historically the dog's voice was used as a locator. Following the dog to the tree is often done on foot, although some hunters use mules or horses, and some utilize all-terrain vehicles. Horses and mules used for coon hunting typically are able to jump fences "flat-footed" or from a standstill. The hunter dismounts for this procedure, unlike traditional British fox hunting in which part of the sport involves jumping fences at speed. This method has led to a mule show competition called coon jumping.