Hadley Twp.- It’s been several years since the cry of raccoon dogs on a night hunt has echoed across the fields and hills of the township.
On specified nights in the early 1980s, ‘casts? of dogs, hunters and spectators fanned out over the area countryside as part of the Hadley Hills Coon Hunters Association competition.
‘At one point, we had more than 150 members,? said township resident Elwyn Brandt, 67, a co-founder of the association. ‘Raccoon hunting was a big thing. It was a great group of people.?
Yet, despite the support from hundreds of area hunters, a lack of interest and an increase in population put an end to the club in the 1990s.
‘You just didn’t have anywhere to hunt anymore,? said Elwyn. ‘The dogs would run across on private property. We just can’t control where the dogs or the raccoon would run. Too many times the dogs would tree a raccoon in someone’s backyard and we’re out there at night. The police would be called and the next thing would be a hassle.?
Township resident and Elwyn’s uncle, Howard Brandt, 85, had been raccoon hunting in the Hadley Hills area for more than 75 years and today no longer even owns a dog.
‘Too many people,? said Howard, one of the Hadley Hills Coon Hunters Association founders. ‘Back 50 years ago, I could go out hunting anywhere I wanted to’no one really cared then. It’s part of my heritage gone.?
While the township association disbanded, the charter was continued in the western sections of Lapeer County.
About four years ago, Gary Plumb, a Dryden resident, long-time raccoon hunter and past member of the Hadley Hills Coon Hunters Association, restarted the club in Imlay City. With about 20 active members, Plumb said the new club took over the charter of the old Hadley Township club, revitalizing the association.
‘Our new club is a lot smaller,? said Plumb. ‘We’re lucky enough to hunt on large tracts of land around our homes in the Imlay City area. Back when we hunted in the Hadley Township area, we’d have more than 50 hunters out on a night coon hunt.?
The new club continues a 25-year tradition.
The original Hadley Hills Coon Hunters Association started when Elwyn and Howard opened the Brandt Country Store in downtown Hadley about 1980. In addition to animal feed. the store also sold raccoon hunting supplies such as collars, hard hat lights, leashes, dog equipment and ammunition.
‘Business was great,? said Elwyn. ‘We started asking our customers that came into the store if they had an interest in forming a raccoon hunters association in the Hadley Hills area. The response was overwhelming to the idea. I mailed out letters and had addresses.?
A raccoon hunters club house was constructed near Hadley Road and for about $20, members could participate in about four organized hunting competitions each year.
The raccoon hunters don’t actually harvest the animals and weapons were not allowed during the competition, said Elwyn. The nighttime competition, which requires a permit from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, starts when the dogs are ‘cast? or released onto property were permission has been granted by the owner and selected by the guide. The dogs are scored points on their actions of locating, running, and treeing raccoons. The hunting spots were at random and just by chance.
‘The first cry or ‘strike? receives a score, he said. ‘Sometime the ‘bragging up? of who had the best raccoon dog got pretty heated. But it was all in good fun,? said Elwyn.
‘Once the raccoon is treed, the competition is over and the cast of dogs along with the owners, return to the starting point,? said Elwyn. ‘We’d all meet up back at the clubhouse and a winner was decided. It was a lot of fun with some great competition. As many as 40 dogs would be out at one time across the area.?
Tony Ford, president of the Michigan State United Coon Hunters Association says that landowners? rights and hunters? rights conflict statewide.
‘Hunting property issues goes in streaks,? said Ford, who represents several thousand raccoon hunters statewide.
‘Urban sprawl is coupled with new property owners that are not accustomed to raccoon hunters and often have concerns. We also have questions from deer hunters that say we run deer out of the area, it’s just not true’deer still hang in the area.?
‘However, once people see how much of a problem that raccoons are around homes and barns, they see it’s good to have some of them removed.?
The raccoon population continues to escalate each year, said Plumb.
‘It’s not uncommon for a dog to tree eight raccoons in two hours,? he said.
‘Farmers are especially getting the worst end of the raccoon population spike’they are eating crops at a high rate. Some area farmers say it’s nothing to have 200 raccoons on and around their farm.?
‘They’re overwhelming the farmers up here,? said Plumb. ‘The raccoons are devastating to crops and the products stored in the bins of farmers.?