Last year, in 2023, the state of Iowa started allowing hunters to harvest raccoons year-round with no shooting hours on private land. On public lands, they can only be taken during the normal fur harvesting season. Landowners are also allowed to take skunks and opossums year-round on their own land without notifying the DNR. Today, there are talks of having a bounty placed on raccoons, a practice established in South Dakota last year. The South Dakota bounty program allows residents to harvest raccoons, skunks, badgers, opossums, and red foxes. A tail from any of these animals is worth $10 during the program timeframe, which runs from April 1st through July 1st. The state has set aside $500,000 for the program, and each household is allowed to claim up to $590. The South Dakota Department of Fish and Game states that the main goal of the program is to enhance the nesting success of waterfowl and pheasants.

The author uses the Axion 2 LRF XQ35 to scan for prey before engaging them.

I remember reading an article in a predator hunting magazine back in the mid-2000s that featured a study, which I believe was done by the University of Texas. The study primarily focused on waterfowl mortality rates and claimed that raccoons were responsible for upwards of 35% of the total mortality of waterfowl, primarily during the nesting season. To put it in perspective, the study also claimed that humans accounted for about 7% of the total mortality of waterfowl, making raccoons five times more deadly to waterfowl than humans.

Fast-forwarding to today, the population of these nest-raiding animals has increased significantly, while harvest rates have decreased. The fur market is the worst it has ever been. I've heard that a lot of fur goes to Russia, and with the ongoing war between them and Ukraine, sending fur over there has been significantly reduced, if not completely halted. At the same time, the popularity of faux fur continues to rise. All these factors have driven the price of furs below a dollar, reducing the number of hunters and trappers willing to put in the work to harvest these animals.

Besides pheasants and waterfowl, recent years have seen a downward trend in turkey populations. The reduction in turkey numbers, coupled with the ever-increasing population of nest raiders, has led some states and wildlife organizations to call for more changes to season dates and bag limits. Anything we can do to help these birds rebound and recover in the wild is crucial.

The Thermion Duo's versatile daytime/thermal modes make it perfect for all manner of hunting scenarios, including raccoon hunting.

When most people think of harvesting raccoons, they think of trapping. While that is a very effective method, I personally prefer calling them in. Now, you can call them in during the day, but they are way more active at night and more willing to come out of the trees they hide in during the day. I like to use the Pulsar Axion XQ30 Pro to scan the tree lines and creeks. Once I have them located, I use my Lucky Duck e-caller, playing a raccoon fight sound to bring them in close. From there, I can take them out with a thermal weapon sight like Pulsar's Thermion 2 XP50 Pro. It's a fun hunt that can be done year-round in some states and helps several different bird populations at the same time!

The Thermion 2 XP50 Pro is renowned for its sharp image quality.

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