Dedicated to the new trapper

[coyote_buster]

I havecaught my fingers in traps before and they just got num after a short time, if it didn't leave bad marks on my little fingers it wont break bones.

[tmrschessie]

All right now we have our traps, stakes, etc ready to go. What next. If you have done your home work you will have already gotten permission to trap raccoons at one or more locations. You will also know there are coon at those sites. So lets start with a few water sets that have proven effective in taking coon.
The pocket set, as described by coonkiller above, is the first. The hole will be what ever size you determine will work for you. Larger holes have more eye appeal both to the coon and thieves....Dig the hole at water line and angle it upwards in the rear. Place your bait in the dryer area of the hole. Now hook a piece of number nine soft wire to the drowner side of your slide wire and secure it in water about 20 inches or more deep. Unroll the wire as you go back to your set area. Cut enough to wrap around the stake on the bank side stake. Run the wire through the drowner lock on the end of your trap chain, pull the wire snug and wrap it around the up stake. I like to have enough wire to make a couple wraps high on the stake and a few towards the bottom. Set your trap in about 4 inches of water in front of your pocket...push down and twist as you place the trap,this is bedding the trap so it does not wiggle on the bottom. Also if you place a water logged leaf on the pan or some mud it seems to work better.The object is the coon moves around in front of the the hole trying to get the bait and gets caught.

Slap set, if using a sticky bait, all you have to do is find where the coon is walking in the water next to a bank, log or similar object. Smear some of the bait on the the stick or what ever you have, place the drowner in, set and bed the trap as before and you are done. A very fast and effective set.

Stick set, I just tried this for the first time this year and it works... Take a piece of wood about 20 inches long and 3 or 4 inches in diameter. Using a saw cut 4 or 5 notches in the top of the limb but not through. You stick this in the water and smear bait into the slots. Place the drowner and trap and move to the next site. This will work very well where you don't have any structure like around a farm pond.

Next time...Cage traps for coon. Tom

[tmrschessie]

Cage trapping coon. This is one of the safest and easiest methods to take numbers of coon. You can set them about anywhere, in town around businesses garbage dumpsters, next a garden shed or in a farm lane next to the grain elevator. Even on the creek or in a field. The down down side is they are bulky, hard to transport, and subject to theft probably more than any other trap. Also if setting around people you need to make sure no youngsters or pets can get hurt by the trapped coon.

Lets set our trap, with the identification tag attached, where we have to highest probability of success and lowest chance of theft. Along a weed line by a neighboring farmer, rancher, or say a feed lot operation, silage pile. Coon like to dig in the piles to get the corn and for the heat generated in the composting silage.
Look for trail in the weeds along and behind these piles, ususally they are easy to find. Open the trap door and throw in a chunk of carp or a hand full of dry cat food, so it is visible. With your trap in place, put some weeds, silage, hay, what have you, on the floor of the trap and on the trigger. The coon will enter easier if they are not walking on the wire. I know some times it does not seem to matter but why take a chance on missing one?
It is that easy, no matter where you set your trap...
Alright, the next day we have a coon, now what. The easiest method is to shoot the coon between the eyes with the bullet going straight back into the body cavity, this leaves only one hole in the hide and you will not be docked for that. Any other methods we need to discuss in PMing or have been talked about elsewhere.
Smooth out the area and reset your trap, get ready for the next coon.
It is that simple. Next time....Conibear style traps....Tom

[tmrschessie]

Ok here we go, the one many of you have the most interest in, conibear style traps. Quick, easy, dispatches the catch, no bait or lure required. Down side, they do kill what ever is caught in them, they do hurt if you get your fingers, hand, or arm caught (don't ask me how I know, LOL). Locations where you can set them are limited. They also will, like a snare, leave a mark in the fur.
The easiest and IMHO the most effective place to set a conibear for coon is in a trail used by them. You can place the trap on the ground and stabilize it with sticks. As the coon works down the trail it will push through and be caught. Normally in this type of set you would put two or more traps about five or ten feet apart, on the trail. Early in the season it is not uncommon to have multiple catches on these trail sets. You can also buy or make a holder for these traps called a stakilizer or other H style holder. This speeds up setting them.
Buckets, the single worst thing I think one could use. They tend to be attractive to pets (what do you use to feed or water your pet in the winter) as well as coons. Do they work, yes, are they the best choice? I will leave that to each trapper you have my take on them.
Boxes, much more effective, easier to blend in, last a long time. If you cut three pieces of wood 9 inches wide and 24 to 30 inches long. Use two pieces for the sides and one for the top. Take a piece of scap and make a floor for the back half of the box. Nail or screw this together. Put 1/4 or 1/2 inch screen on the back. I use scraps of lath to hold it on. In the sides cut notches in the center of each side about 3 inches wide and 5 or 6 inches deep to hold the springs. The guy I learned this from uses a piece of wire to attach to the back half of the spring so the coon can not knock the trap out if it crawls on or around the box.
Go to your site and bait the back of the box, i like fish the best. Set the conibear in the box and unhook the safety hooks. Pull up on the springs to make it solid in the box. Hook the wire on each side to the back half of each spring. Lay a heavey log, cement block, or what ever you have to keep the coon from turning the box over.
The points I like about this is the coon does not feel anything differnt as the front half of the coni box is open. It blends in so pets and thieves are not as likely to get in or take them. I also spray paint mine to camo them with black and OD green paint. I scew a wire on the top to use as a handle to carry it.
There are many other conibear sets that we can cover in another thread.
I have added a couple pictures to help here...

Next we will talk about snares for coon. Tom

[tmrschessie]

The last method we will discuss in our attempt to take raccoons is the snaring. The snare is a very effective tool when used correctly. Like the conibear style traps they are potentially lethal and not as target specific as some of the other methods we talked about.
If you have a trail that is used by coons you can set 3 or 4 in the trail at about 5 or 10 foot intervals. Open the loop to about 10 inche and plaee it so it is say an inch off the ground. Wire the snare securely to a stake or sappling so it can fire. Stake it securely you may take a coyote in these sets also. The object it to get the coon to step thru the loop and for the snare to fire once the animal has its head and front feet through the loop. Most coon will be alive when you come up on them so be aware of that. If you stay on well used coon trails in heavy cover you should be able to avoid non target catches.
If we have any snarers here and you would like to add to this please do so... I used to snare and now just find my enjoyment in using other and newer methods. The snare is like any other trap in your trapping gear. It has a time and a place to be used....Tom

[HailCall]

More on Snares Please. I am about to order a bunch and try to catch a cat. Any advice???

[tmrschessie]

Cats like to travel well used trails, especially deer trails. If you can position a stick at an angle to an existing tree, wire it solidly, the cat will take the low road and the deer will normally go around the obstacle.
Another well used snare set up is to make a tunnel from some wire fence and hang a dead rabbit, chicken etc from the center and hang a snare on each end.
Stake your snares securely as the cats can put them to the test.
Be cautious of where you hang them to preclude catching deer, cattle, horses, dogs, etc. Tom

[BPbowhunter]

About how many traps are run in a normal sized line? I'm wondering about how many traps i need to buy for a small to medium sized line.

[tmrschessie]

The number of traps you want to have depends on the amount of land, plus the amount of sign, you have access to. I know several guys who only run a dozen traps at any one time...That is what their schedule will allow.
So in answer to your question....Get as many traps as you can tend. I recommend getting 4 to 12 traps to start and let your fur check pay for additional traps as needed. Then watch yard sales, auction bills, and the newspaper. Tom

[coyote_buster]

It all depends on how much time you will have. Are you just going to trap weekends or during the week. How far you are going to be traveling to get to where you trap, and are you just going to check traps in mornings or are you going to be ramaking sets and all that. Prolly best of just starting with about 4-5 and then get a good idea on how much your schedule will allow for.

[huntman025]

I like to use sardines for bank sets, connibear and live trap sets. I get the kind that need opened with a can opener. (cheap ones) Just leave them in the can and poke a few small holes in it. It lets the scent out but they can't eat your bait. It can be reused all season long. With conibear and bank sets sometimes its been carried away by something else but its never far from the set and I can reuse it and only have to carry bait out one time. I do usually carry and extra can or two just in case. The shiney can also gives some eye appeal to the coons.

[war_man_2009]

ok so you have covered coon coon and more coon but what about weasel and fox

im a new trapper with 3 longspring and two 110conis, i have seen lots of weasel sign at the lake and lots of rabbit and some fox( i think but it could be a dog so im gonna hold up on fox for now) anyway how do you trap rabbit cuz i have heard they are real finikey about their trails. is the best way just to snarethem? and how do you do that?do you buy them or make them? and how big(i've got cotton tails not jackrabbits)?

for the wealels i made a box and put my coni in it and was thinking of putting some cow liver or some elk heart, wich one will work best.

how should i catch coyotes? we have a compost pile and they come in and eat all our veggies and so now we feed them with our fish guts. how would i catch them in this senario?? what trap?
there are two disticnt trails... help!! thanks

[tmrschessie]

war man....where you from and what is your trapping experience? That will help us help you. Thanks, Tom

[war_man_2009]

I'm from way up north, canada, and we have about one foot of snow. umm i have almost no trapping expeirience and little hunting expierience. i am fifteen and even though i havent caught anythuing except two rabbits i love walking around the corner to check my trap, with my heart beating and I'm all excited and then I have nothing, so i guesse right now i love being outside.

anyway umm about those yotes that we have. one night i went out to the shed, its about 8 yards from the compost heap and i stood there in the shed where there was a 1 foot square hole in the wall and waited for those yotes. but then i got cold and went inside. sooo I thought maybe i could just trap them. so there is a picture atached(if i did it right) as you can see there is bush, so mabe there is some fool proof way to trap in the bush.

anyway thanks for the replies, joseph