Hunting raccoon hounds come in two forms. The first is hunting for pleasure, this is when you go out with friends and hunt just for fun. The second type is competitive raccoon hunting. Today I am going to talk about the second type.
The competitive raccoon hunt is a structured hunt where you compete for prizes. They go out to hunt in groups, called “casts”, made up of four dogs. Each dog will have a handler (that’s you). In addition, in each distribution, there will be someone who is designated as a “guide”. The guide is responsible for providing a place to hunt raccoons. He will also give you information on the layout of the terrain, such as streams, hills, etc.
There will also be a cast member who will be designated as a “judge.” The judge is responsible for keeping track of the scores of all the raccoon hounds on the score card. Judges also help resolve any disputes that may arise. Sometimes the judge and the guide will be the same person. In larger hunts, such as the World Hunt, judges and guides may be “non-hunter guides” or “non-hunter judges”. This means that your only point of interest is the designated job. This helps keep the big competition raccoon hunts fair.
Now that you know how competitive raccoon hunts are organized, let’s talk about how the scoring system works. Dogs are scored in two categories. These categories are “strike” and “tree”. The first dog to hit a track with a yell and be called by his handler would receive the “first hit” and the most points. This is repeated in all 4 points. Each position receives a little less than the previous one. The next category is “tree”. This is handled in the same process, but this time when the raccoon hound lets out a signal and switches to the faster “tree bark”. For most raccoon hounds, tree bark is a “chop”, however, there are also some tree dogs with mouths that scream.
The number of points awarded for each category is different for each record. Most coon hound registries award 100, 75, 50 and 25 points respectively for each position in both categories. However, the United Kennel Club awards 125, 75, 50 and 25 points in the “tree” category. The Professional Kennel Club has a time limit for tree points where each position is closed after a reported period of time. Also, the raccoon hound must remain treed for 5 minutes before the cast can enter and mark the tree.
Ok, now that you know how the throws and the scoring system work, I’m going to talk about how you score the trees. Once you enter the tree, all the raccoon hounds are on a leash. Once all the raccoon hounds are tied to the tree, a clock is started and all cast members will start looking for a raccoon in the tree. Most registries allow 8-10 minutes to search for a raccoon in the tree. If a raccoon is found, the tree is graded “plus”. This is what you want, obviously. If it is obvious that there is no raccoon, the tree is rated “less”, as you would expect, this is not good. If no raccoon is found, but there is a possibility that there is one, the tree is scored as “circle”. Circle points only count when it comes to a tiebreaker. Examples of circular trees would be hollow trees or leafy trees. You will see many circular trees during the summer hunting season.
Now, you should be off to a good start in understanding competitive raccoon hunts. Now, grab your favorite raccoon hound and head to the nearest competition hunt and try your luck.