Raccoon season opens this weekend in TN and I am going to give it a try.  The Raccoons are doing a number on our deer feeders so I figure it's time to thin them out a bit.  I am studying up on daytime calling.  Seems pretty straight forward anyone got any advice?

I figure I am going to use my BPS 12 gauge loaded with manage recoil buckshot, seems like a good choice for shooting them both on the ground and out of trees.

Any of you guys try daytime raccoon hunting?

OST.  This thread is relevant to my interests.

I should also say that I will be using an old Western Rivers caller.  It has a few different raccoon calls on it.  Young raccoon in distress, Raccoon fighting, Raccoons socializing.  Figure I would start with that and then switch to other distress calls (like rabbit and fawn) if the coon specific calls don't get any response.  Might get a coyote to come in too.

tagging

What county will you be in?

Tag to see what others say about it.

I know that blasting coons is fun but you'd probably have more success putting out dog proof coon traps baited with cereal.

I am starting to agree.  That was a long fruitless day yesterday.  I did several sets near trees I though might be good den trees.  Some sets I used squalling raccoons and others where I used young raccoons or raccoon distress calls and no luck.  I even tried some other distress calls like rabbit and fawn and go zero response from anything but a few crows.  We do trap them in the winter using connie bear traps in buckets mounted up so we can't get anything else (but the occasional possum) but that season does not come in until November and hunting started this weekend so I thought I would try.  They are hitting our deer feeders pretty hard and would love to thin them out so more of the food goes to the deer.  If I try it again it will either be earlier in the morning or wait until much later in the day.

In January I do really well with foxpro's fight sound. If they aren't out of the tree in five minutes it is time to move on. We've killed a dozen in an afternoon.

I use a mojo critter in tandem with the foxpro, and have pretty consistent success.  That said, I've only hunted them in January when almost everything other than ice fishing is no longer doable.

I never get the old, tail-less, huge coons that I catch in traps though.

Here is normally how I hunt them:
1. winter - I have no idea how things change in warmer weather
2. middle of the day
3. #4 buck - turkey choke
4. primarily fight sounds
5. deploy a mojo critter near the caller
6. 5-7 minutes at a stand then move at least 300 yards
7. start call quiet, then work up

Thanks yammerschooner.  I did similar.  Got down in the bottoma and would setup near to some large rotten out beech trees that look like potential den trees and would call.  I will have to see if I can get some fight sounds for my caller.  I was using buckshot also but with just Improved Modified chock.  Maybe it was just to hot and humid for them to come out and play.

this is what i use/do.... i'm no expert.

22LR suppressed SBR (IR laser if hunting at night)
FoxPro Shockwave w/ custom calls.  i have over 200 on it, i think.
Mojo Critter decoy

this is what i use regardless of season/time of year/day.  sometimes i spice it up, but its pretty much the same...

start quiet with a baby raccoon call or baby raccoon distress.
after a few minutes go to adult raccoon distress.
after a few minutes go to raccoon fight.
after a few minutes go to hardcore raccoon fight.

sometimes i will raise/lower the volume or pause a minute or two in between calls, but sometimes i won't.  just depends on how i feel.  a stand will last up to 20 minutes.  its usually shorter than that.

you gotta stay still and have a decoy.  place the decoy on the opposite side of the tree, away from the den.  don't move!  if they see you, you're done.  i have called den trees and have one sneak up behind me.  its crazy sometimes.  sometimes coons aren't interested, sometimes they aren't home.  i think it all depends on their mood, time of day/year and other stuff i don't even know about.

good luck.  its fun, especially at night.

Have you listened to Episode 21 of the Predator Hunting Talkcast?

I'm gonna try this over the winter.  

Not a big predator hunter.  Mostly hunt things I like to eat.  I love some coon.  And since I got rid of my chickens my freezer is barren.