Need trapping advice

[Oldcountryboy]

What do you make your stakes out of, how long, diameter? Can I just use a peice of wire and wire the chain to a nearby root or sapling?

How do you normally kill your catch? Rifle, club, or other method?

Thanks for any info you can give me.

[fishhead]

What are you trapping?

[mj1angier]

For muskrat and mink I used kill sets. For coon I useed a 18" rebar with a swivel on it. for fox I used a drag if in thr woods and a 2' rebar if in a field.

[DavidUnderwood]

What kind of stake depends on what
you catching, and what kind of dirt
you have. In the rocks and clay we
have, 1/2 inch rebar 18 in. long will
hold a fox just fine. I'd double stake
for coyotes. Sometimes I drag a large
chunk of wood (log, tree) out in a
field to wire my trap to. Then use it for
backing for a dirt hole set. In the woods
I often tie to a small tree, or a big root.
In water I like drowners.

[Oldcountryboy]

I'm mainly interested in catching racoons and coyotes as they are what gives me the most trouble around here. But I might try to catch a mink or two and with my luck I'll probably catch more skunks then anything. I'm only allowed to use steel leg hold traps so my quarry will have to be euthinized (spelling!) when I check the traps.

[Oldcountryboy]

I take it no one kills the animals they catch in their traps! Or does everyone use Connibare traps which is illegal here in Oklahoma?

[Ed Norman]

I trapped raccoons as a kid. I had a hatchet head that my dad put on a busted axe handle so it was a longer handled hatchet. I would hit the raccoon behind the head with the handle, swinging forward. It would separate his spine from his head and he would die fast. It didn't take a big blow.

With coyotes, a heart shot with a 22 kills them quick, or tap them on the nose with a stick to make them unconscious, then stomp the heart. There are people who pay for coyote skulls so if you are after money, you might as well not put a hole in the skull.

[littlejoe]

Originally Posted by Oldcountryboy

What do you make your stakes out of, how long, diameter? Can I just use a peice of wire and wire the chain to a nearby root or sapling?

How do you normally kill your catch? Rifle, club, or other method?

Thanks for any info you can give me.

Soil conditions and species usually dictate stake lengths. We generally have a heavy type soil here, and trapping coyotes, I used 20" of 1/2 rebar with a nut welded on top. There are lots of different thoughts about methods, depending on target species, and conditions.

If in an area where a stake wouldn't hold, or couldn't be driven, I would tie it to a nearby feature, or use a drag. Drags definately have their place of use, especially if setting a trap in an area that would be frequented by others. They allowed the animal to leave the high visibility area and go to the nearest brush or other feature where they felt safer.

I usually carried a 22 pistol loaded with shorts or something similiar to dispatch my catch.

[DavidUnderwood]

I kill everything I catch. Not legal to
release animals (relocate) in NC.
I trap other peoples problems, and
I keep the fur. Other wise they'd
have to pay someone. Animal damage
control is big buisness here.

[gunsmithgirl]

I have used saplings for stakes and metal rods at other times, depends on the terrain and the animals I am trapping. As far as the killing part- I carry a .22 revolver with me. It is my trapping gun, works great.

[Oldcountryboy]

Thanks everyone. I wasn't really sure if the hides would be worthless with a bullet hole in them and wasn't sure about trying to sneak up on a skunk to wack him on the head with a club.

This is gonna be a learning adventure this year as I have never really done any serious trapping before. I have some traps on order and they are suppose to be here Monday. So this next week I'll be setting them out. Gonna start a new thread and ask some more questions. Hope you all don't mind.