How to tell when coon are prime

[dcoonkiller]

I'm planning on starting trapping coon the week of thanksgiving trapping season opens here in MS. on Nov. 1st and I talked to my buyer and he said the big boar coon should be getting prime around then. But I don't want to start to early and waste my time and money so how exactly can you tell I know thickness of the fur but is there another way of telling? Thanks

[The Poet]

               Dcoonkiller,

       If the season has started the fur is alright.

       One year down here in Texas it was so dry,
 { I  had just gotten out of the hospital after a 5 month stay,
and was determined to run a line.}
I knew I could either run the line or check it.
When I start baiting and checking traps it is harder to extend the line.
I was so weak,  it was exercise for not only my body but for my soul.
So, I ran out the old line as best as I could,
and it was the 10th of December before I opened any of the traps and baited the sets.
{Season here is dec-jan.}

     The legal seasons are a guide to when the fur will be prime.
In a real cold wet year it may be sooner and in a dry hot year it may be later,
But a couple of weeks either way.


                                                    J. Knife
                              {and his 'sure fire' coon hound,  Sandymay}

                                    { Sandy got her a bath today y'all }

                                                 { woo woo... }

                                   
                                           jacksknifeshop.tripod.com








     

     

[RdFx]

Fur is  prime in differant furbearers differant times of the year.  Primeness is a factor of (main) the length of the light coming into furbearers eyes and then  the health , available food and good living conditions all  add up to a prime pelt.  MOST  furbearer seasons are designed to  harvest the animal and not always to the primeness of fur.   The time is (around) the primeness time but  with all the factors  involved it  is up to trapper to judge when to take furs.  In Wisconsin the fur primeness can vary  by a week or two just by  100  miles north or south of a line in state.   Ask local trappers  and of course your  furbuyers.  This can at least help you pick a middle of the road time. Remember  you  can harvest unprime animals  even way into the top primeness time of the furbearer you are trapping.    With mink ive  taken  99% prime mink in December and have 1%  blue or unprime.  Go figure???   Hope this helps you some.  After 55 years of trapping  ive learned some here and there but dont know it all and am open to learning, which hopefully you will also in your trapping years.  Good Luck.

[trappnman]

prime is one of the biggest trapping myths out there. Prime is like an apple being "ripe"

at "ripe"- it then goes down hill- so you have a picking season of a month lets say- both before "ripe" and after.

Prime is the same. Prime is a bell curve- and the animals often have more value not prime, then prime.

canines for example- have brighter fur, no rubs, etc before prime, then they do in Dec and Jan when they are "prime".

What you are looking for- is fully furred up.

Specifically to coon- look for 2 key points- the neck and the belly. The neck gets that "full" feel- hard to descibe, but when the neck feels thick (on a skinned coon), hes about furred up. The second key is is the belly- full and curly- those thin st haired bellies, give you them    most early deduction. And these 2 areas are also key on the other end- late season. The belly and neck deteriorate first....trappnman