Coon hunting here has always been fun. At night in the woods with a single shot .22, a head light and a dog, while riding a mule. It’s been years since i did it, but still have fond memories of many hunts. Why the mule? So when you got lost the mule would always find its way home.
As a side note: According to La. WLF rules you had to use a single shot .22 and a dog. No special dog, just a dog. It could have been a french poodle, but you had to have a dog of some kind.
Being a country kid I always had some kind of wild varmint as a pet. Squirrel, possum, coon, nutria, otter and so on. Coons were the worst. When young they are like cats with hands. Very inquisitive, they get into everything. I got more than one ass whipping over a coon. Great pets when young, that generally changes.
As they mature most get a bit vicious and will bite you at the drop of a hat. With teeth that cut to the bone, that’s no fun. A grown one can make most dogs say uncle and run back under the porch after a bite to the nose.
They’re pretty good eating, but you have to know how to clean one. There’s a bunch of scent glands that you have to remove, otherwise you have a smelly mess.
Hand traps are probably the best to use for coons. They keep you from catching cats, dogs and other varmints. The trap is enclosed in a small box so that when Mr. Coon reaches in it catches him by the foot. The other varmints don’t have hands like a coon so are not caught, at least most of the time.