So my sil and her husband have asked me to rid them of some coons that are tearing up their garden. This will be my first time trapping coon (I just started trapping this year). I've got 6 DP's, some Cavens Moonshine, Kaatz Bros Midnight something or other and I think some Marsyada Coon Bait.

I put stake swivels on the DP's and have some 18 and 24 inch stakes (regular and "T").

Does it sound like I'm good to go, am I missing anything?

The other question I have is, besides practicing my skinning what the neck do I do with em after I catch and dispatch em?

Sounds like your pretty good to me I'd use the 24 inch stakes if it were me preferably not the t stakes but those ought to work in a pinch.
Right now the coon hides aren't really worth anything. It would probably be best just to dispatch them and toss them somewhere noone will smell them. And just be sure to set the traps far enough apart that a caught coon can't reach another trap because you'll have a coon in two traps in the morning if you do. Good luck!

Check your mail box.

Skinning some now will be good practice, so when boo-boos occur, you don’t ruin a good pelt. Then you’ll be better prepared for this winter.
Also you can gland them for lure makers and also extract the boar urine for me and barter for gear off our website below.

Oh and when our famous Prune man ran dog proofs around a 10,000 acre lake he bought nine
dozen t-stakes from me to secure them.

Sounds like you're on your way, I run a hot wire around my garden, and keep the deer fed in the off season so I can catch the coons when I can sell them. Skinning is a big hurdle to overcome, so if you can get practice now, that's ok. If you do, keep the hide, maybe you can use it for visual bait during season...best of luck!

The chain will get wrapped up on T stakes. Regular stakes will keep the swivels working.

Remember that a caught raccoon can and will destroy a area as large as it can reach so if they have a power cord to a pump for watering the garden or a hose within reach it can be chewed up and destroyed before you know it ha ha

A DP isn't to bad it'll be polished up nice and pretty for you a live trap caught raccoon can and will pull the above mentioned thing's in the trap with it personally experience there the landowner drug a power cord and garden hose to close to the trap then left it over night he learned quickly that wasn't a good idea ha ha

Dispose of the dead raccoons properly bag them up and put them in the garbage for the landfill .

What Allan said...good luck.

Also make sure the raccoon doesnt have anything to grab ahold of as you will have an empty sprung trap with a nice catch circle and no coon in the morning if you do

Allen is spot on. I made a coyote set to close to a electric fence last winter. I knew better but was in a hurry. Next morning boar coon rolled up about 50 yards of it for me. After 30 years ya think I’d know better. Stupid is as stupid does. Good luck

I’m glad I’ve never ran into these issues. I must have stupid coons, lol. I use about a 4ft piece of cable with a loop on each end. One end through the swivel and then around the tree and the entire DP through that. Never lost a coon or had one pull out. Had them up tree a little and wrapped around a tree until they couldn’t move, but none lost.

Thanks for all of the great advice. Unfortunately, no coon(s) yet.

Yahoo, caught my first coon last night. Unfortunately my sil's husband got up early and "took care of it" for me before I got out there.

Reset!

Check the Archives and READ!

Just to add to this response, never put your traps near a house that isn't brick, had a not so smart uncle put some next to his house and came home to some messed up vinyl siding and a coon in the wall

Good point Huntall76, I’ll remember that. I thought I was in a safe spot but that rascal took out 2 okra plants. Thankfully the in-laws were more happy to be rid of the coon than upset over losing the okra plants.

I have now added another critter to my lengthy (6 mos) trapping career and another piece of property to trap. Can hardly wait until December.