Anybody trap anymore?

[puzzled in oregon]

I trapped fur and hunted with dogs. Beaver, Coon and Bobcat were my primary targets. Used legholds, snares and conibear. As far as the conibears, a Federal Trapper told me to be careful. He said if I caught myself in one of those I would have to go to town and find someone to get me out of it.

The Otter were unintended catches that fell victim to the beaver sets. After catching the first otter I always bought tags in the following years just in case. Otter were a much easier hide to handle compared to beaver and usually worth 3 to 4 times what a beaver brought.

Did some nuisance trapping in the off season at no charge for ranchers who let me trap their land in the winter months. Had a WCO permit for some time, but to many changes occurred there, so discontinued with that.

Neighbor kids used to really enjoy hunting coon with the hounds. Things have changed so much in this area, most individuals involved with trapping fur try to keep a low profile.

Sold the furs to OTC. They used to have 10 or more auctions in Oregon every fur season. Last I knew they were down to only a few.

 

[M.Magis]

Probably best to just ignore the troll. She's just an animal rights wacko trying to instigate hostile reactions, that I assume she then posts other places on the internet as ammunition against agriculture and apparently hunting/trapping. She obviously has no knowledge of cattle, or any other topic she butts into.

 

[puzzled in oregon]

Oh I forgot to mention the most interesting thing I ever caught in a Conibear was a "Salmon".

 

[504RP]

I have caught a duck, crane in Beaver drown sets both were drown too.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

In the Texas piney woods I would sometimes hear the baying of hounds in the 1000 acres of creek bottom. I heard that the custom of the hunters was to let out the dogs, go into the woods, build a fire, cook bacon and drink whiskey. They would enjoy the music of the hounds, then go back to their cars and drive home after someone leaving ther coat hung on the fence. The next day the guy would return and the dogs were waiting by the coat to be brought home. I also heard they rode mules and horses and would lay a coat over the fence and the mule would jump the fence so they could follow the hounds.

In 2016 our friend, Pappy, invited us to enjoy a coon hunt. It was a moonlit night. He let the dogs out of a cage on the truck and they ran in every direction. You could hear their music all across the landscape in the dark. Then, a chorus of yip yips was heard. It was the pack of Chihuahuas of the neighbors that had joined the pack. The travels of the pack was a beautiful thing to hear. Eventually the Chihuahuas fell back, but the hounds ended up baying Tree down in the creek bottom. We went down there with flashlights. Bell, the best of the hounds had climbed a cedar tree and was on a limb trying to get to that coon. Nobody had a gun so we called the dogs and all went home.

I mayself have livetraped many coons in Texas that got my chickens and I drowned them by lowering the cage into the pond since I didn't have a gun. And here in Oregon I trapped a skunk after it got a couple of chickens near the henhouse. This skunk we shot in the livetrap and was thrown out in the pasture. And within 5 minutes buzzards arrived and ate the whole thing. Ravens also arrived but were offended by the smell and they left.

The rancher across the road here traps coyotes. These coyotes kill many deer fawns and reduce the turkey hen and poult population to zero. He displays the bodies hung on the fence. Someone has placed a painting of The Roadrunner on the fence next to them.

 

[greybeard]

They will wipe practically every fish out in a pond then move on.

Yep, and do a pretty good job in river too. Over in East Texas, both beaver and otters are predominanlty borers or tunnelers. That is, they don't build many big lodges, they burrow up in the side of an embankment and hollow out several 'rooms'. Not fun driving a tractor along in 3rd gear and a front wheel/tire fall thru the roof of one of their tunnels. Nearly threw me over the hood one day bush hogging. I had a crossing over one of the ponds about 50' long and just wide enough to drive a truck or tractor over. Beaver tunneled under it in 2-3 places and if I wasn't dropping off in one with tractor or pickup, the cows were running a hoof thru one. Just plain lucky I didn't end up with any lame cows.

I never trapped any for $$ or sport. It was a necessity. Even tho their burrows were a huge pain in the butt, I maybe would have left 'em be if they would have just eaten Chinese Tallow but they felled everything else BUT tallow. After they got rid of all the gum and pine near the ponds, they lived off lily pad rhizomes. cellulose is cellulose...

I didn't know what a conibear was till I went by a littl local gunshop back around 2011 and asked if he had any spring traps. No, but he drug out a big cardboard box with 4 dusty 330 conibear traps. Had to learn all about them but my son came over from La with a jar of castor and the tool to set the traps with.
Never underestimate the power of a conibear.....

I never skinned a single one of the stinkin things but shot 3 coyotes in successive nights off the same beaver carcass I hung off a low limb on the back of my property.
Big Bird don't know how close to death he's walking. There's a conibear in the water 3' ahead tied off to that Tee post.




Otters are acrobatic for sure, but a voracious appetite.



Why trap beaver? because they're destructive as hades, that's why.

 

[greybeard]

I caught a channel cat and an aligator in a conibear.

 

[kenny thomas]

Genesis 1:25 - The Sixth Day

God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

biblehub.com

Kept telling myself that i shouldnt bait the troll but can't leave it alone.
Otters have ruined most small stream fishing, many ponds and a lot of the river here. They didnt come here naturally, Game Resources released them in TN and within weeks we had them raiding ponds. An adult otter can get as big as 35-40 lb and eat 1/4 their body wt per day. If you have a varmit destroying something you eliminate the varmit. 7 otters in 1 pond last summer. Thats a lot of fish.

 

[4hfarms]

Never learned to trap, but would love to. Land here is full of varmits. Archery hunted small game by stalking varmints and fish. Growing up in south Chicago, no firearms. Went on one coon hunt in upstate NY back in the 70s with cousins. Fun!

 

[SBMF 2015]

Never learned to trap, but would love to. Land here is full of varmits. Archery hunted small game by stalking varmints and fish. Growing up in south Chicago, no firearms. Went on one coon hunt in upstate NY back in the 70s with cousins. Fun!

Dog proof traps were a huge game changer for coons. Virtually no skill required. Find a coon trail, set the trap, go back the nxt day and collect your coon.

 

[kenny thomas]

Early 1980's

 

[greybeard]

Genesis 1:25 - The Sixth Day

God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

biblehub.com

Kept telling myself that i shouldnt bait the troll but can't leave it alone.
Otters have ruined most small stream fishing, many ponds and a lot of the river here. They didnt come here naturally, Game Resources released them in TN and within weeks we had them raiding ponds. An adult otter can get as big as 35-40 lb and eat 1/4 their body wt per day. If you have a varmit destroying something you eliminate the varmit. 7 otters in 1 pond last summer. Thats a lot of fish.

Don't know how many I watched playing around chasing fish thru night vision December 2019 but the next month I worked on em pretty hard.


Conibear don't miss often.

 

[Dave]

I trapped fur and hunted with dogs. Beaver, Coon and Bobcat were my primary targets. Used legholds, snares and conibear. As far as the conibears, a Federal Trapper told me to be careful. He said if I caught myself in one of those I would have to go to town and find someone to get me out of it.

One time setting a 330 conibear I had the hooks on the springs. Set the trap on my thigh and was pushing the jaws together. Wet muddy hip boots the bottom jaw slipped around and I caught both wrists. It wasn't full force slam shut but I did have both hands caught. I managed to pick up the setting tool and walk up to the old logging road. Good thing it was a fairly well used road. I had to wait about 20 minutes for a man to come along. I stood in the middle of the road to make sure he stopped. He thought it was pretty funny but he got the trap off me. One thing I was lucky about and learned was the last thing you do is to wire the trap to a stake.

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

Probably best to just ignore the troll. She's just an animal rights wacko trying to instigate hostile reactions, that I assume she then posts other places on the internet as ammunition against agriculture and apparently hunting/trapping. She obviously has no knowledge of cattle, or any other topic she butts into.

I only trap otters with an overbite!!

 

[greybeard]

One time setting a 330 conibear I had the hooks on the springs. Set the trap on my thigh and was pushing the jaws together. Wet muddy hip boots the bottom jaw slipped around and I caught both wrists. It wasn't full force slam shut but I did have both hands caught. I managed to pick up the setting tool and walk up to the old logging road. Good thing it was a fairly well used road. I had to wait about 20 minutes for a man to come along. I stood in the middle of the road to make sure he stopped. He thought it was pretty funny but he got the trap off me. One thing I was lucky about and learned was the last thing you do is to wire the trap to a stake.

I was so unfamiliar with conibears, that the first time I tried to set one, (in my mid 60s) that I had every kind of big pliers, paracord, and woodworking pipe clamps and the trap in a vice, trying to get the jaws pulled back. When son showed up with the tool, I was a happy camper.

 

[SBMF 2015]

I was so unfamiliar with conibears, that the first time I tried to set one, (in my mid 60s) that I had every kind of big pliers, paracord, and woodworking pipe clamps and the trap in a vice, trying to get the jaws pulled back. When son showed up with the tool, I was a happy camper.

There a local farmer who won a bar bet when he was in his twenties. A great big guy. He set a 330 with just his hands!

 

[J Hoy]

Probably best to just ignore the troll. She's just an animal rights wacko trying to instigate hostile reactions, that I assume she then posts other places on the internet as ammunition against agriculture and apparently hunting/trapping. She obviously has no knowledge of cattle, or any other topic she butts into.

I grew up on a ranch and was in 4- H until I was 21, and had livestock for years after that, so have likely forgotten more about cattle and ranching than you ever knew. I don't post on any other place about cattle or other livestock. I would think that you would have something better to do than call old people nasty names. I love all animals, wild and domestic. I was a wildlife rehabber for 50 years, so I am rather fond of wildlife. Not a reason to call me names and tell whopping lies about me!

 

[Silver]

One time setting a 330 conibear I had the hooks on the springs. Set the trap on my thigh and was pushing the jaws together. Wet muddy hip boots the bottom jaw slipped around and I caught both wrists. It wasn't full force slam shut but I did have both hands caught. I managed to pick up the setting tool and walk up to the old logging road. Good thing it was a fairly well used road. I had to wait about 20 minutes for a man to come along. I stood in the middle of the road to make sure he stopped. He thought it was pretty funny but he got the trap off me. One thing I was lucky about and learned was the last thing you do is to wire the trap to a stake.

It can happen. When I was a kid I was on my line setting a #4 jump trap with teeth. My feet slipped off those short springs just before I got the pan set. Caught both my thumbs. And I had just nailed the trap to the tree.

 

[puzzled in oregon]

It can happen. When I was a kid I was on my line setting a #4 jump trap with teeth. My feet slipped off those short springs just before I got the pan set. Caught both my thumbs. And I had just nailed the trap to the tree.

Okay, how did you get your thumbs out ?

 

[Silver]

Okay, how did you get your thumbs out ?

The way I remember it I pulled really hard. I know I lost skin even though I was wearing mitts. But it seems to me I should have been able to get my feet on those stubby little springs…. Mostly I just remember feeling both stupid and a lot of pain at the same time, as well as the irony of being a few miles from home caught in my own trap nailed to a tree…..