When do Michigan coon prime up? Friend of mine is going to Michigan on a coon hunt. He's promised to bring a few back for me. I'm just wondering if they are prime yet.

You are farther North than me but just guessing… the older adult boars are getting there now and the rest will be prime by November 15 or so

Here in central WI, our big boars are just starting to prime up. By November 5 or so, most of the coon will be prime. Females with late litters and YOY may not prime up til Dec, if at all.

It depends on where he's going,Michigan is a huge state,the south borders Ohio and Indiana while the north borders Lake Superior with Canada on the other side

A doctor we know wants us to take the coon out of his mixed crop lands after deer season but has opted to let us go in before deer season. Super El Niño might not give us any snow but mud makes driving equally as bad so we’re going in before deer season. I expect big coon (XXXL) to be prime (30%). XXL (30%) will be a good unprime. But 40% will be smaller and not worth taking. Except he wants them gone.

This year’s market MIGHT be forgiving. And early coon MIGHT be valued. That’s a lot of hoping. Fortunately, I have another 20 properties I’ll hit Nov 1st when 60% of the XXXL coon will have harvestable value and the percentage of $5 coon will be manageable.

Depending on how far away this doctor's crop lands are from your home you could always charge him a fee for your trapping services. Why take a chance on an unpredictable market and end up paying for the privilege of resolving his or her crop damage. Would this doctor provide you with free services?

I cannot fathom trapping for unprimed or near primed fur that the market MIGHT want. All you are doing is putting low grade products on the market and hurting the market and everybody involved in it. Fur harvesting, just like doing ADC work, are commercial industries, not a recreational activity like hunting deer, rabbits or ducks.

Just my opinion.

Gabby, my partner and I are the only people outside his family that are allowed on the property. He’s opened it up to us to trap fishers, beavers and everything else during the respective seasons. I don’t mind taking a few coon off for him.

And it looks like we may have someone interested in buying small, early coon for the arts and craft industry, so nothing should bring the fur market down.

The bigger coon prime up faster than the young ones. I am going to start trapping this next week. I start now because they start going to den here shortly. The bigger ones are always better. November they really start to look good if you can get them.

Thanks for all the replies. I'd like to put up some northern coon once just to see the difference between north and south.

Here's a WI fatty. Grain finished, LOL. The fat on the tail was over an inch thick.

What a hoss!

That big fella would eat one of out Tennessee coon for breakfast. I'd really like to stretch one like that over a board.

He went 6XL, something like 43 inches to the skirt, on an adjustable coyote board. I caught a lot of 25# coon last year, this one went 30#. It made the others look small.

Here he is next to a 25 pounder

I would say trapping coon at a loss was worth access to a property you would otherwise not have a chance of getting on.

No idea about prime because even if these Texas coon are prime they probably would be hard to sell

Those big coons are like skinning a bear. Get pales full of fat after a few.