Syracuse.com - Video: Fabius man is passionate about raccoon hunting

[HuntingNY-News]

This video should give you a taste of what coon hunting is all about. Watch video

I went out Wednesday with Dake Esposito, of Fabius, to hunt raccoons at night with his two bluetick hounds on a nearby farm in Pompey.

He uses a single shot, bolt-action, .22 caliber rifle. He keeps the pelts and sells them.

It was a full moon, but the wind made hunting difficult -- particularly when it came to hearing the dogs bark. Both of his dogs had radio collars, which is the only way we could really keep track of which way they were going.

Our best bet came when the dogs went nuts around a particular hemlock tree. We shined our flashlights through the branches and couldn't see anything, Esposito even tried whacking the tree truck with a big stick to send vibrations up the tree, hoping it would cause the coon to move or look down at us.

No dice. There's no guarantees when it comes to hunting and we didn't get any that night, but this video should give you a taste of what coon hunting is all about.

For more, see my story on the Outdoors Page of Friday's edition of The Post-Standard.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog