# Trapping



## holman927 (Sep 28, 2007)

Any of you guys trap? My brother and I have been talking about it and he has me fired up and wanting to get out and do it. I have wanted to trap but did not really have the time to check the traps every 48hrs, so I never learned or tried it. He and I are going to team up and work it together. I have had traps for almost 20yrs, they are just sitting in a backpack, he has traps and has trapped for awhile, so it should be a lot of fun doing it together. It will be nice to have another reason to use the horses in the winter too. I was on the ranch this weekend and the landowner told me about the animals he has seen, I saw a good pack of coyotes there on saturday. 

So if you have or do trap tell you stories, hints and tips ect....


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## hound_hunter (Jan 1, 2009)

You've got horses, private land, a trapping partner who has experience, and it sounds like probably plenty of traps between the two of you. Your situation could not be better, have fun and post some pics!

I wont get into different sets and stuff cause I'm sure your brother who has trapped for a while will teach you whatever he's most comfortable with, but those coyotes are smart (I only mention that cause it's the only animal you mentioned you'll be targeting). It's the most frustrating thing in the world to take all the time in preparing traps, scents/baits/lures, and thinking you've got the perfect set in place 100% scent & detection free just to have a coyote circle it a couple times and walk away. It's also the most rewarding feeling of accomplishment when you try a different set and catch the old dog the next week 

I can definitely say the most rewarding thing I gained from trapping is knowledge of the outdoors and the animals that live there! It's hard sometimes not to get caught up in the numbers, or these days the money, especially in your case where you've got horses and a partner so you have the ability to long-line. But I'd recommend focusing more on gaining a knowledge and respect for the animals you're targeting and trying to learn why they do the things they do, how often the same animal frequents an area and if it is on some kind of loop every week, day, or whatever. What they're eating, how often, why. Where do they choose to live, why. What's their daily life schedule, and when you notice something different with them, find out what's changed in their lives that made them act a different way. I found with trapping, more than with fishing, hunting, or hiking, I was paying the most attention to every little thing outdoors. It's a great time to learn, gain a respect for, and come to love these animals. I really hope I'm able to get the traps out again one year.

You say you're traps have been in storage for almost 20yrs. I'm sure your brother will tell you to do this and give you some more specifics on how, but you need to boil those traps again before you use them. I have to imagine they are covered in all kinds of random smells from 20 years of storage.

I'm looking forward to some reports and pics!


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## reaper (Nov 18, 2010)

Is trapping for fox or bobcat any different than coyotes?


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## hound_hunter (Jan 1, 2009)

Sure, every animal you trap for you need to know in depthly to be consitently successful and to help yourself target a specific animal and only catch that animal.

Between just fox and coyote there are more things in common than they have differences, but still, they do have their small differences that you can use to change your game plan for them. Fox never hunt in packs where coyote, sometimes, will team up with 1 or 2 other dogs to hunt for food in winter. Not like a pack of wolfs, but just in the most basic sense they'll team up to help catch food in winter sometimes. Coyotes sense of smell is better tuned than fox and also they're a little more cautious around sets. Fox are a lot easier to trap.

Bobcat are different than the other two because it's a cat. Just like the differences you see in a house cat and a house dog, you can find the same in these wild cats and wild dogs. Cats are much more curious about visual effects, so if your set is on an opposite ridge as the bobcat is on, if you hang some feathers above your set or something the cat wont resist its curiosity and it will check it out. This is a big help for drawing in cats that aren't drawn in by the scent of your bait or whatever you've got (whether due to range, wind, etc...) You can't normally do that when trapping K9s. Bobcats make the same routes so it helps targeting them a little easier.

That's all I've got off the top of my head and its been a few years since I've been able to trap, hopefully someone else is able to pop in and throw out some better knowledge.


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## rugerdogdog (Nov 18, 2007)

Good luck with that Holman. Trapping is a tough game and the retards that run this state are just making it harder. They tried to pass a law that would let a trapper check his sets every 72 instead of 48 hrs.....they shot it down....of course! :evil: 
Also,I would be surprised if you can get more than 1 bobcat tag this year. Why the hell don't they just leave it alone!?!?!?!? :evil: :evil: :evil: 
I swear they are just trying to make it so hard to trap that we will all just give up!


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