35-pound raccoon steals Missouri state record

There are big raccoons, and then there are BIG raccoons.

Two brothers appear to have snagged the latter in northern Missouri during hunting season, shattering a new state record.

The Missouri Department of Conservation said Couper Simmons harvested a 35-pound raccoon while hunting with his brother Hunter Simmons in Worth County. They contacted a conservation agent who weighed the raccoon on a certified scale. 

The current Missouri state record raccoon is 28 pounds, 8 ounces. 

New records are determined at the end of the hunting and trapping seasons, which end at the end of February. Extended trapping season on private land is from March 1 to April 14.

Congratulations, Couper and Hunter! That’s one BIG catch.