Other Hunting
My first coon hunt
By his count, Chris Jones and his friends have introduced more than 30 young hunters to the fine art of coon hunting. Now, he can add one 65-year-old to the list.
Other Hunting
News Breaker
Lettsworth man arrested for allegedly killing a Louisiana black bear
Enforcement agents with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries arrested a 28-year-old Lettsworth man on Jan. 8 for allegedly shooting and killing a Louisiana black bear last fall in Concordia Parish.
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Treed’s a crowd
The late Jerry Clower may be the only person that coon hunting ever made famous, or vice versa. The “Mouth of Mississippi” won a bushel of country comedy awards and never recorded an album or put on a performance without telling a good coon hunting story.
News Breaker
Non-toxic shot required on WMA dove fields this season
If you’re planning on hunting doves on a Louisiana wildlife management area, don’t bring along any lead shot this year.
News Breaker
Facebook video documenting gator shootings leads to citations
A Facebook video led to citations for three Jennings men on June 3 accused of alligator and frog citations in Jefferson Davis Parish, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
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Musking is important
Raccoon is a mystery meat to most game cooks. Much of it has to do with the mumbo jumbo associated with removing the musk glands from the animal.
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How to cook raccoon
George Ricks has many talents, but he said coon cooking is not at the top of the list.
For that, he turned to friend Al Travis, who he met in college when they both majored in biology.
Other Hunting
The coon dog man
The people in the little hamlet of Tangipahoa call George Ricks “The Dog Man.” Everywhere he goes, Claire Bell, his retired-from-hunting treeing walker hound, rides with him.
Other Hunting
Why freeze hides?
George Ricks freezes most of his hides during the winter hunting season, saving them to tan during the summer when the weather is better.
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11 steps to tan hides
George Ricks doesn’t end his coon-hunting experience when the dogs are put away. He continues by tanning the hides.
“Tanning gives me a chance to get closer to wildlife,” Ricks explained. “I get satisfaction from not wasting any part of the animal. When I was a kid, I was interested in trapping. I wanted to learn tanning, but instead sold my furs (untanned) to a buyer. I started tanning hides two years ago. I went on the internet and found a lot of versions of tanning.
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How to skin a coon
George Ricks skins his coons by the open-case method, which produces a flat hide, split down the belly.
Fur buyers, he noted, only purchase closed-case skinned coons. With this method, the animal is cut from one rear leg ankle to the anus, and from there out to the ankle of the other leg. The hide is then pulled off from the rear of the animal toward its front, like a person removing a T-shirt.
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What’s the best coonhounds?
Although he now calls himself a “pleasure hunter,” George Ricks is something of an expert on coonhounds.
He participated in competition coon hunting for 10 years and also judged competitive events.
“It got to be too much, with all my other irons in the fire,” Ricks admitted.
He said that there are six dog breeds in coon-hunting circles: treeing walkers, blueticks, black and tans, Plotts, American English and redbones.
“There are good coonhounds in all breeds, but my preference is for treeing walkers,” Ricks said. “They hunt harder, they are faster and I like their looks.