Does anyone regularly release coons from DP traps? and if so how do you do it? and lastly is it something you do while alone?

Honestly, and after much thought, I really can't think of a legitimate reason why you would want to release a critter from a species specific trap. (i.e. you want it, you got it)

Frank.

It can be done solo. Put a catch pole on them and pin them down, then depress the spring.

I'm with Frank . I haven't seen a reason to release Raccoon for a number of years.

Raccoon have transitioned from "fur bearers" to "vermin" over large areas. And no, it is not wasting a resource, it is a management practice.

I agree with what both of you said above. I don't foresee releasing any. I guess it was more a matter of curiosity than anything. I thought about the catch pole but it seems like a lot going on for two only hands.

Once the catch pole loop is tightened down. Either kneel or stand on the pole. Which frees up both hands. Wear gloves,unlike some animals Raccoons use every tool they have to express there annoyance with you

They are easy to release with a catch pole. I release anything smaller than a 2x myself. I was of the mindset harvest em all for a while, but I release some smaller ones now. I will say one thing though, out of all the critters I release, coon is the one that will come after you most often. Some of them are just plain scrappy.

I'll weigh in on this, because I agree with Ric -- there is little justification for turning coons loose. As he said, coons are rapidly sliding from game/furbearer to vermin.

We hit a crisis point with this about 20 years ago in Ohio. The DNR was on the verge of simply removing the season on coons, the hunting and trapping season on coons would have been the same as that on Norway Rats. We (OSTA) got them to modify their stance so that a landowner, or his agent, could remove coons any time they were doing damage, yet maintain them as a furbearer with a regular harvest season.

I've already killed three coons in my backyard this summer, and there are more around. Summer, winter, spring, fall, I do not release coons. If we are going to maintain that we (trappers) are influential in controlling the population of wild animals, then we need to do just that.

If, perchance, the prices increase on the pelts and enough folks are willing to get after them, then the population level may decrease, and there may be some justification for releasing them. Until that time, any coon I catch is a dead coon.

(P.S. I ain't turnin' loose no coyotes either. )

Its good to see these statements. As a beginning trapper its hard to kill something and not "use" it. Its important to understand that nature will recycle it. Native song birds feast around carcass piles etc. Letting a species populate to the point of starvation and disease isnt good stewardship of the land. Past generations have eliminated wolves, bears, and other natural predators from the landscape so nature's checks and balances arent there.