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My
First Coon It was November 15th
first day of trapping season here in Kansas. I was pumped, all I could
think about during school was how badly I wanted to trap. All I had was
three duke 1.5 coils and I was going to get my first raccoon this
season. I wanted one of the masked bandits badly. This was in the
2001-2002 trapping season. I was 14 at the time and I wanted to trap
raccoons real bad. I thought they were real neat. I recall how,
when I decided I wanted to trap, everyone told me how mean raccoons are
and how they would tear me up. All I had for a dispatching device was my
Benj. 22 caliber pellet rifle. Needless to say, I am a kid and I don’t
heed warnings LOL. As soon as I got out of
school that day, I ran to the barn noticing how warm it was for the
start of the trapping season....T-shirt weather. I got my traps, which
were already packed, into a backpack and ready to go. I started walking
to the creek and was happy to be alive. I soon found myself looking for
coon tracks down by the water. I stopped by an old
beaver dam and saw quite a few tracks, so I went right next to it and
set one of my duke coil-springs. I made a pocket set (which did not take
much skill to make) and then I Today at school, as you
would figure, I wasn’t paying attention at all! All I could think
about was if I had a raccoon waiting on me. The weather on this
particular day was rather dreary. It was raining off and on all day long
and fairly cold. As soon as I was off the bus, I grabbed my gun and my
boots, then headed to the creek. When I arrived at the creek, I noticed
the water was up quite a bit. Nearly a foot! I walked overland, because
my boots were not waterproof and since the water was so high, I figured
I would get soaking wet. As I got to the bend, I looked up and saw a big
ball of fur sitting where my set was! I honestly thought it was a beaver
for a few minutes. Then I walked closer and saw the black on the face
and, what I feeling I got! It was a rush of emotions; I had joy,
excitement, and a feeling that I accomplished quite a feat! Finally after I calmed
down a bit, I walked over to it, and saw it was sitting on a log, and
that’s why it was out of the water. I used the butt of my gun to push
to log under water and the coon started swimming around. So I decided I
would not shoot it after all, and that I would drown it with my foot. I
did this and amazingly nothing bad happened and I had my first coon to
take home! Since this occasion I
have learned not to attempt this ever again, due to the fact that I had
one attack me on a morning trap check. It had been caught and pulled the
stake and I did not see it and proceeded to walk past it. Then it
pounced on my leg and needless to say, my waders are no more. I still remember this
day, It was like it was just today, or, as most people would say,
yesterday. It’s still the
most memorable day trapping I have ever had. I still go after the masked
bandits and enjoy every minute of it. Steve Timmons Steve
Timmons is a young trapper (15) from Kansas. |
poured a carefully measured capful of
Mojo coon lure. I planted my trap firmly into the creek bottom about
1” under the surface. I was excited, but it was getting dark so I
decided to head for home.