Learning Path · Raccoon
Hunt the Piedmont, one ridge at a time.
Run hounds under a Piedmont moon — biology, the tree, the night-safety carve-out, and pelt to table.
All modules by tier
Stage 1 of 3
Foundations
Before the woods: the mindset, the law, staying safe, and the biology and senses that drive everything else.
3 modules · 13 lessons
- Module 1 Foundations
The Nocturnal Raccoon
Build a working model of the raccoon as a nocturnal Piedmont furbearer — its range, denning, diet, and activity cycle — so every later hunting and trapping decision is grounded in animal behavior.
5 lessons - Module 2 Foundations
Reading Raccoon Sign
Train the eye to find and interpret raccoon field sign — tracks, scat, and feeding evidence — to confirm presence and locate productive ground before a hunt.
3 lessons - Module 3 Foundations
Furbearer Law and Licensing
Establish the legal framework for pursuing raccoon in SC: the furbearer-vs-game distinction, season structure, license tiers, and the night-hunting and weapon restrictions that govern the whole track.
5 lessons
Stage 2 of 3
Core Skills
The field craft — reading sign, scouting, weapons and gear, the shot, recovery, and care of the animal.
3 modules · 14 lessons
- Module 4 Core
Hounds and the Tree
Learn the heart of the track — night hunting raccoon with treeing hounds: the breeds, the strike-and-tree sequence, working behind a hound, and reading the tree to the shot.
6 lessons - Module 5 Core
After-Dark Navigation and Safety
Master the night-safety carve-out: navigate Piedmont terrain after dark and manage the lethal-error risks — footing, cold exposure, target ID, and muzzle and light discipline — that define safe night hunting.
5 lessons - Module 6 Core
Taking the Treed Raccoon
Choose and place a legal, ethical shot on a treed raccoon — matching the .22 rimfire or legal shotgun load to the situation and prioritizing a clean recovery.
3 lessons
Stage 3 of 3
Advanced
Once the fundamentals hold: seasonal tactics and the long game of managing land, habitat, and population.
2 modules · 9 lessons
- Module 7 Advanced
Trapping Raccoon
Introduce legal, ethical raccoon trapping — dog-proof foothold sets, the legal trap menu, trap-check law, and humane dispatch — as a complement to hound hunting.
4 lessons - Module 8 Advanced
Pelt, Fur, and Table
Turn a harvested raccoon into a finished product — skinning, fleshing, stretching, and drying a marketable pelt, navigating the sale, and handling the meat and incidental opossum.
5 lessons