I managed to get within 70yds of a gobbler still on the roost. When the hen flew-down, I followed her to the ground and watched her until she disappeared into the low brush. Something else caught my eye in that direction…..it was a small raccoon meandering toward me on the ground. The gobbler was still in the tree. He’d gobble and I’d try to spot him on his perch. Meanwhile, the coon is steadily closing on my position.
I continue calling to the gobbler, watching for the hen…….and keeping one eye on this coon. ('Got real busy for a few minutes, there.) Well, the gobbler finally bailed-out and hit the ground about 40yds out. I continue calling to him and watching the coon to see if he notices the noise. What a time to be playin' 'Chicken' with a coon.
When I’m convinced the Tom’s following the hen, now (away form me), I focused my attention to my little fuzzy buddy, as he waddled-up within 6 feet of me......and still comin'.
He acted like he hadn’t seen me yet, so I raised my striker hand to get his attention. That just made him all the more curious and he inched closer. I switched the striker to my left hand (the side he was coming from).
When he got within arm’s length, I raised the striker and was prepared to whack him across the nose if he took another step. He was already too close for comfort, but really didn’t seem like such a threat to me. I thought he may have been partially blind, and/or deaf. He'd obviously never come across one of these things, before. (Hmmm, ‘Sure is big…….and Ugly, too!) I wondered if he had distemper which was causing him to move so slowly......or maybe early stages of rabies. All sorts o' thoughts go thru your mind when a coon looks like he's fixin' to crawl up in your lap.
When he insisted on getting a whiff of me, I raised the striker to whack him on the nose. He just kinda rocked-back and looked at me like, “what the hell you wanna hit ME for?....I ain't gonna hurt you ('Southern' coon)……..but if that’s the way you gonna be, I’ll leave you the hell alone! Damn, you ain't NO fun!.......What a "BEARDED CLAM"!â€
He turned and took a couple o’ steps toward my left boot. Keep in mind I’m sitting on the ground with my legs out in front of me with my back to a tree. He looked at my rubber boot and took a step toward it as if to sniff, but I got nervous about this thing with needle-sharp teeth being that close. I twitched my boot. Again, he looked at me like, “You mighty damn jumpy, ain'tcha…….what’s yo problem, buddy?
He took a step backwards and turned around and walked away in the direction I was facing……….'sucker never looked back to see if I was gonna 'tag' him in the back……totally unconcerned! He never showed any aggression or fear......just disgust and indifference....don't ya'll think that's just a little TOO wierd?
You know, looking back on this, I feel like a woos…..I mean it’s just a little coon! As long as he doesn’t jump ON me, I’m probably alright, huh? Honestly though, I had to 'shoo' him off of me. I just wasn't real wild about the idea of havin' a coon in my lap.
Oh well, I feel like I was one with nature, today……practicing a peaceful coexistence with the little animals…….even though, the best thing I coulda done for the quail and turkey population woulda been to remove this egg-eating, rabies-carrying, distemper-spreading critter from the face of the earth. Naw, didn’t have it in me, today. He didn’t seem like he was out to hurt anyone……he’s just trying to avoid coon dogs, Ozella’s iron pot, and automobiles.
‘Hope I see him, again. Maybe we can have a conversation about cellphone technology, ‘Hummers’, the stock market and the Gulf War.
Gonna send you a couple of sound files, one is with a mouth call, the other is natural voice, you figure out which is which........