My Trapping Thread

[SaturatedShadow]

I've never done any trapping before, but I decided I should learn how. I scrounged up some old traps, bought a permit, and got started.

I'll keep a log of my trapping and share my results in this thread. I welcome any trapping advice, discussion, or stories.

I'm trying mainly for coyote as their population has rapidly increased the past couple years. I started out with two dirt hole sets.

I dug out an area for the set. This set is located in a fencerow and just off one of our roads through the woods, which wildlife also use. I have seen a coyote in this spot while out turkey hunting.

All the dirt I removed was used to make a bank to border the rear and sides of the set. This is to make the set accessible only from the front.

I secured the trap chain using two stakes inserted diagonally in opposing directions.

Trap set. The trap must be bedded so that it does not move if an animal steps on the jaws.

The pan is covered, and loose dirt is used to cover the trap. At this point, the trap pan should be the lowest spot in the set. I punched a narrow hole, in which to put the bait. I used some pork loin left over from Christmas for bait.

I placed sticks and rocks around the trap. The goal is to make the trap pan the only comfortable place in the set for an animal to place their foot. I then covered the trap pan.

I then moved on the second set location. This set is North of the previous one on the same fencerow. Like the other one, there is a road just to the west, and woods beyond that. To the east is pasture. There is a trail nearby where something crosses under the fence.

I found some cow bones, and used the skull as a visual attractant to this trap set.

Same process as before. I used some scrap cotton material for pan covers.

Finished set.

Since I had found the cow bones, I went back and added the jaw bone as a visual attractant to the first trap.

The next morning, I checked the traps. Nothing in trap 2. But as I neared trap 1, I could see movement.

A skunk.

Sorry, no up close, live pictures of this guy.

Dispatched the skunk.

A good looking hide, too bad skunk pelts aren't worth anything. Still, I was quite excited that I caught something in my first ever trap set.

This is what the set looked like after the skunk got through with it.

I reset the trap a few yards away next to a rock.

The skunk was caught on Sunday. Nothing caught Monday, and I had to spring the traps because I was going out of town for a few days.



Got back Friday, and reset the two traps.

Set a third trap on another part of the farm near a known coyote trail.

Another dirt hole set.

This time I added some scent to all three traps. We'll see how it works.

Third trap placed. The tools I used are shown. Cold Steel shovel for most of the digging. A digging tool made by my grandpa from a hydraulic cylinder to make the bait hole. Eskabar for the cutting. Trail Hawk to drive the stakes. Rather than carry a big sieve, I'm trying out a kitchen strainer for sifting the dirt.

Traps were undisturbed this morning.

More updates to come.

 

[bladeboss]

Nice to see someone else trapping.
My father got me into trapping about 5 years ago.
Its good fun, but sadly not popular.
We do it for fun. Lately we've been keeping the pelts and sending them to be tanned.
:thumbup:

 

[GarnetandBlack]

Cool stuff! I've been interested in trapping for quite some time now. I think I need to follow your lead and just jump head first into it already. Looking forward to more updates bud.

 

[upnorth]

I respect anyones efforts to try something new in the outdoors. :thumbup: Practice makes better, because life is imperfect. I have recently subscribed to this fellows youtube videos because I recognize the far north in them from personal time up there. Buddy is a salty charactor but once past that I find him to be quite interesting. Maybe you can subscribe to his youtube channel and get trapping tips, he seems quite approachable. My name is Chris on there.

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheWildNorth

 

[schmittie]

Very interesting. I've never stepped into the world of trapping myself but I really appreciate you documenting your experiences. I'll check back often and I hope you have success.

 

[trailbum]

Whenever I have skunks or coons in the barn, I always trap them.
I never used a bait hole though, I always hung bait above the trap or set up a funnel to the bait, with the traps at the mouth.
Please keep this thread going.

 

[Larry from Bend]

Nice story and pix. Trapping is an art. Congrats on your Skunk. Coyotes are among the toughest animals to trap. I'm sure you'll get one!!!

If you're not aware of it, Fur, Fish & Game is a great trapping magazine. It's very practical and down to earth with great stories.

 

[willseeyalater]

Trap all the yotes you can, I hope there is some value in the hides. Since you are new into trapping just be ready for the time when someone's prized hunting dog gets into one of your sets. Wherever you do set out traps be sure the landowner knows you have dirt sets out for coyotes so they can advise anyone who is hunting birds in the day or raccoons at night that there are traps out and the dogs may get hurt or killed. There is room enough for trappers and those who like hunting with dogs but the guys who follow their dogs like to know if a spot is set up with traps...most times they will go with plan B some place else. Do what you can to not cause conflicts between sportsmen.

 

[upnorth]

I have read accounts of early fur traders in these parts using baited hooks. The animal jumps up to bite and gets snagged.

 

[SaturatedShadow]

Thanks, everyone, for the comments.

I respect anyones efforts to try something new in the outdoors. :thumbup: Practice makes better, because life is imperfect. I have recently subscribed to this fellows youtube videos because I recognize the far north in them from personal time up there. Buddy is a salty charactor but once past that I find him to be quite interesting. Maybe you can subscribe to his youtube channel and get trapping tips, he seems quite approachable. My name is Chris on there.

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheWildNorth

Thanks, upnorth. I'll check it out.

Nice story and pix. Trapping is an art. Congrats on your Skunk. Coyotes are among the toughest animals to trap. I'm sure you'll get one!!!

If you're not aware of it, Fur, Fish & Game is a great trapping magazine. It's very practical and down to earth with great stories.

Thanks for the tip.

Trap all the yotes you can, I hope there is some value in the hides. Since you are new into trapping just be ready for the time when someone's prized hunting dog gets into one of your sets. Wherever you do set out traps be sure the landowner knows you have dirt sets out for coyotes so they can advise anyone who is hunting birds in the day or raccoons at night that there are traps out and the dogs may get hurt or killed. There is room enough for trappers and those who like hunting with dogs but the guys who follow their dogs like to know if a spot is set up with traps...most times they will go with plan B some place else. Do what you can to not cause conflicts between sportsmen.

Very true. The traps are on our family property, so I know what all is going on there. I've tried to locate the traps well away from any pets, and of course have told everyone who may be on the property. We bird hunt as well, but there are hardly any birds around here any more to hunt. We also coon hunt on occasion and I will disable the traps when we do.

 

[zcd]

Thanks, everyone, for the comments.



Thanks, upnorth. I'll check it out.



Thanks for the tip.



Very true. The traps are on our family property, so I know what all is going on there. I've tried to locate the traps well away from any pets, and of course have told everyone who may be on the property. We bird hunt as well, but there are hardly any birds around here any more to hunt. We also coon hunt on occasion and I will disable the traps when we do.

Initially I was curious / concerned about where you had set your traps in case of neighbours kids and pets. Glad to hear you're doing it responsibly - not everyone would

 

[SaturatedShadow]

We got some freezing rain last night.

Traps are all froze up.

I'll try again when things thaw out.

 

[willseeyalater]

If you have an air gun or .22 snipe a couple of birdfeeder squirrels and use them for bait in your dirt hole sets. Cut them into 1/4's or smaller but use medic type disposable gloves to keep your scent off the chunks. Fresh meat/blood will draw predators along way but you may need to shield the set from skyview of hawks and eagles....you don't want to get one of them caught and get a federal fine. Those folks can make your head spin.

 

[Txknifefan]

I don't know how much lure you are putting out but it's easy to over do it and scare away predators. Something that works good if you want to get away from the cotton cloth is wax paper that has been crinkled and wadded up until it's soft as cloth. Plus you can make a lot of pan covers with a roll of wax paper from the dollar store. To clean scent off your traps boil water in a big pot and put in small cedar branches and let it boil a few mins then put your traps in and boil them for 5-10 mins. Hang them on a fence and let them dry a few days and ready to reuse.
Also wear a clean pair of gloves when touching any trap items you are getting ready to set out. Coyotes will either dig up the traps or avoid them like a plague if something smell's weird. Look for crossing at fences if you have a dog take him along and look to see where he sniffs on the fence, this can be a dead give away that its a popular trail. Look for hair in the fence on the bottom wire, a lot time the coyotes will lose a tuft of hair when the wire rubs across their back.
Finally like others said if you or your neighbors have any prized animals let them know because trapping is unbiased it catches whatever steps in it.
Good luck!

 

[SaturatedShadow]

After the ice melted off, I reset the traps, but no action that weekend.

I was then out of town for a few days.

On Thursday, I reset the traps.

This trap had been tripped the previous week, but didn't catch anything. And I saw some coyote tracks nearby.

My second set, had never been disturbed, so I moved it to a new location, deeper in the woods.

I set this trap for coon, and baited it with a marshmallow, which I heard made good bait.

The last trap, I moved to a friend's property where we had seen a coyote earlier that day.

Nothing in the traps on Friday morning. I managed to shoot a squirrel and baited the traps with squirrel meat.

Nothing in the traps on Saturday.

I was beginning to get frustrated with several days of empty traps, especially with the season about to end. My problem at this point is bait. I need some scent lure, but I don't know any place local I can buy any. I've seen several recipes for homemade baits and lures, which I will try to look into more and make for next season. I bought a can of sardines to try as bait.

Nothing on Sunday, so I put out the sardines on two of the sets.

Monday morning, I found this little guy.

She was quite calm and did not seem at all distressed about being in the trap.

Out came the .22 revolver,

and I dispatched the coon with a shot to the head.

Now I have a hide to do something with.

I put the carcass in a tree and reset the trap underneath it.

The last trap was tripped but empty.

The deer made an appearance though.

 

[SaturatedShadow]

This is the process I follow when skinning a coon. I am certainly not an expert skinner, but these techniques were taught to me by an experienced coon hunter and seem to work.

First, the equipment I use. I'm not going to say that a certain knife is better for skinning than any other, but I prefer a small fixed blade. I find that longer blades are unwieldy. In fact, the 3.25 inch BK-14 I'm using is too big for the old coon hunters I hunt with. They generally use very small, slim fixed blades or the spey blade on a traditional folder. I also carry a length of paracord with loops on each end and two finger-sized, green sticks. These items will be explained later.

Skinning will be much easier while the animal is still warm.

Start by cutting through the hide all the way around the rear ankles.

Then cut up the inside of each leg.

Strip the hide from each rear leg. The hide can be somewhat peeled off by just pulling, but often you will need to assist in separating the hide from the flesh underneath by lightly slicing where the skin and muscle are attached... without cutting through the hide.

At this point, I loop the paracord around the ankles, and hang the coon from a tree limb, or in this case a fence post.

Continue removing the hide

until the hide is separated all the way around the tail.

Remove the hide a little way up the tail.

They make a tool for stripping the tail, but we have always just used two sticks. Place a stick on each side of the tail, grip them tightly, and pull hard. This will strip the hide off the tail.

After the tail is stripped, the hide can usually be pulled hard and peeled off up to the shoulders.

Now, carefully remove the hide until the forearm can be exposed.

By hooking your fingers under the elbow and pulling the hide with your other hand, the skin can be peeled off the lower arm.

Then sever the hide around the wrist.

After getting the skin off the legs, peel the hide down to the head.

The head is the hard part. Work slowly, pulling and cutting until you get to the ears.

Cut through the ear cartilage and remove the ears with the hide.

It is often helpful to use the ear holes as handles while pulling and cutting all around the head. Carefully cut around the eyes.

Continue removing the skin down the face. Cut through and detach the hide at the lips.

I didn't do very well on the lower jaw.

At the nose, cut under the nose so that it stays with the hide. After this cut, the hide will be detached from the carcass.

Turn the hide right side out

 

[Nightshifter]

Interesting. I always wanted to try that as a youth growing up. Mass. is a terrible state for trapping regarding laws and such. Hope you get some coyotes.
-Paul

 

[schmittie]

SS, thank you for taking the time to show how you skin a hide, step by step. I am sure there are many who have never done it and are interested in learning how. Your pics would be helpful.

Nicely done!

 

[shane wink]

Man I am loving your post, good job! Are snares illegal in your state? They are in mine and we use them to catch hogs and yotes and they are pretty effective. Also look into picking ups 2 -3 202 and 303 conibears. You wont be sorry and they are cheap! I keep 2 202's and on e 303 in my pack. Just look for den sites and place them over active holes. Looking forward to more and congrats again.

 

[Chris Pierce]

Maybe I missed it. But what do you do with the hide?