Never take a 3 yr old trapping

[whiskeylivewire]

Or at least my DD3. She had to run around and touch every tree, every leaf etc...on the other hand she was good entertainment. The man only put out 2 sets yesterday, had one trap that snapped the foot off a possum, the other one still had a possum in it. Megan, the DD3, said "oh Daddy, it's beautiful, kill it!" She wants a gun for Christmas(which she is totally not getting), I can't decide if I'm proud of her for being in the hunting spirit or worried about how blood thirsty she is!

my dh takes our four year old out "bunny hunting"... she was really angry they didnt get to shoot at anything. she takes the dog outside to get him to chase the cats, other wild life in our yard... and when he loses interest she chases them herself. i worry about her sometimes too but then i just blame daddy, if he talked about barbie all day she would probably be in to those too.

[diamondtim]

It's better than giving them a steady diet of Bambi and Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar.

[bowdonkey]

Charlie the lonesome cougar is a great show!

[Ed Norman]

I don't mind my DS watching some nature shows, but as soon as they name the lion or wolf or moose, the channel changes. I never met a wolf named Flower or Biscuit in the wild.

He killed his first coyote at age 2. I had a pair in traps and shot the first one. He shot the second.

[Haggis]

Originally Posted by whiskeylivewire

Or at least my DD3. She had to run around and touch every tree, every leaf etc...on the other hand she was good entertainment. The man only put out 2 sets yesterday, had one trap that snapped the foot off a possum, the other one still had a possum in it. Megan, the DD3, said "oh Daddy, it's beautiful, kill it!" She wants a gun for Christmas(which she is totally not getting), I can't decide if I'm proud of her for being in the hunting spirit or worried about how blood thirsty she is!

I always enjoyed taking my children along on my traplines, even when my children very very small; in point of fact, my Good Son snared his first red fox when he was but three, and could handily catch any fur bearer in the Kentucky woods by the time he was 10, using steel traps or snares.

By the by, steel traps don't so much "snap the foot off" an animal (it would defeat the purpose), rather, the caught animal will twist and roll the trap and chain until the trap is fouled and will no longer swivel on its chain, then the animal will often continue to twist until the foot is wrung off. 'Possums and muskrats are notorious for wringing off a foot; an extra swivel closer to the trap are generally the surest cure.

[whiskeylivewire]

Originally Posted by Haggis

I always enjoyed taking my children along on my traplines, even when my children very very small; in point of fact, my Good Son snared his first red fox when he was but three, and could handily catch any fur bearer in the Kentucky woods by the time he was 10, using steel traps or snares.

By the by, steel traps don't so much "snap the foot off" an animal (it would defeat the purpose), rather, the caught animal will twist and roll the trap and chain until the trap is fouled and will no longer swivel on its chain, then the animal will often continue to twist until the foot is wrung off. 'Possums and muskrats are notorious for wringing off a foot; an extra swivel closer to the trap are generally the surest cure.

Thanks, Haggis yes I figured the possum got himself loose. Last year we took all 4, the other 3 were in class yesterday. Megan wants to set a trap lol. My only worry taking her is trying to keep the area "clean" because she touches everything, she is 3. I like going when it's just the man and I because it's peace and quiet, that's hard to come by with 4 kids!

[whiskeylivewire]

We don't have TV, the kids only get to watch movies we rent or get at the local library. Last night it was total silence as DS10, DD8 and DD3 watched a turkey hunting video. Silence until DD3 decided to try to gobble like a turkey lol.

[Haggis]

Originally Posted by whiskeylivewire

My only worry taking her is trying to keep the area "clean" because she touches everything, she is 3.

Please forgive the name dropping here, but I've personally discussed the idea of "clean" with such folk as Tom Miranda, Pete Askins, Dan DeZarn, and a host of other nationally known trappers, some of them, and no, I won't tell who, say they teach inexperienced trappers to keep their traps and the area where a trap is set "clean", but they themselves never give it a second thought. I never gave skirl of the pipes about "clean" and always caught as much or more fur than my competition in any given area. My advise to beginning trappers would be the same as the folk I mention, keep everything clean. This I say because if one pays attention to every detail, eventually one will learn which details matter not a whit to the animal, and which details make all of the difference.

All that being said, I had rather take along a small child, expose them to the enterprise of trapping, and risk a wee bit of contamination, than leave them at home and risk that one day they might oppose trapping as an enterprise.

[big rockpile]

Let her wear her own Gloves and Boots.And teach her to make use of all that she kills.

I hope she was wearing her Hunters Orange.

Yes you Shorten the Chain and use a Swivel it will keep animals from twisting off.I take Rebare Weld couple Nut at the Top with Waser in between with a Hole Drilled in it for Trap Stakes.

big rockpile

[whiskeylivewire]

Thanks for the advice, guys. Don't worry about name dropping, Haggis, I've never heard of them lol. I have never set a trap in my life, the man does it all. I am so glad that he came into our lives(We've been together 14 months) so that my kids are getting a taste of nature and wildlife. Until him, they had never really been out in the timber. He has gotten my DD10 so interested in coonhunting, trapping and in general hunting that the boy gets more excited about the new nite lite catalog coming in than he does a video game lol. Even my totally girly girl 8 yr old will go trapping and carry a dispatched animal back to the vehicle. Most of what we do is outside, coonhunting, fishing, trapping or just driving around to see how many deer or turkeys we can spot. We don't have much money so this is good entertainment and the kids are learning something.

[littlejoe]

There isn't a better way to raise them IMO, WLW.

I've got three boys that were raised on a ranch. We did everything together, as long as they weren't in school or another project.. worked, hunted,fished, and trapped.

The fine people of the state of Colorado (imports along the front range) saw fit to add an anti trapping amendment to the state constitution, no less, in the last century. That put an end to our trapping (more or less)

On the last day of the last century, I took them out calling. The main goal was to get on a high ridge where we could watch the fireworks go off 20 to 50 miles away. #1 son took a shot at a jackrabbit just a couple minutes before midnight, and #2 took a shot at a called coyote about 3 minutes after midnight. I told them it was probably the last and first shot fired at a game animal in the last 100 and the first 100 years? #3 son was a little too young to take part in the shooting aspect, but we let him fire a few shots anyway!

It's the places where memories are made. They still carry those memories, and when we're reminiscing, i realize how many memories were instilled in them. From work, to trapping, to fishing, to hunting!

Originally Posted by whiskeylivewire

Thanks for the advice, guys. Don't worry about name dropping, Haggis, I've never heard of them lol. I have never set a trap in my life, the man does it all. I am so glad that he came into our lives(We've been together 14 months) so that my kids are getting a taste of nature and wildlife. Until him, they had never really been out in the timber. He has gotten my DD10 so interested in coonhunting, trapping and in general hunting that the boy gets more excited about the new nite lite catalog coming in than he does a video game lol. Even my totally girly girl 8 yr old will go trapping and carry a dispatched animal back to the vehicle. Most of what we do is outside, coonhunting, fishing, trapping or just driving around to see how many deer or turkeys we can spot. We don't have much money so this is good entertainment and the kids are learning something.