Beaver Trap Size?

[fatback]

I agree with the sentiment that the more you do something the more you learn and subsequently the better you get. I really appreciate the input I got on this thread and believe it helped me in catching the 2 beavers on the first night I set traps. Based on my research and the input I got here I believe the 750s was important in making my catches. Both were back-foot catches and maybe my 550s would have worked or maybe not. There was no doubt with the 750s. There have not been any more catches this week. I’m hoping that I caught my problem critters. I now have some confidence they if/when more beavers start frequenting my ponds I’ll be able to take care of it again.

 

[furtaker]

My 2 cents worth. Bigger is not necessarily better. LONG before there were MB750s & TS 85s the trap of choice for beavers was a Victor or Blake & Lamb #4 double long spring. It's what I started with on drowning rigs and still have and use. Yeah, I've got MB750s cause over time the #4 inventory got low. I liken this to just about anything else you want to mention - "Mine's biiggern' yours!" Read the old deer hunting stories and it's all about .35s and such - killed deer just as dead but now you got magnums and such. A 45# pound trad bow will kill any deer in the woods, but folks got to have 80# compounds and Lord Knows# crossbows. As is the case with so many things it's not so much what you got as how you use it. Can any body truly say that they would have absolutely caught that beaver if they'd been using a TS 85 rather than a MB750? What about the NEW & IMPROVED trap I'm developing the SR12M (a solid 12" of beaver catching machine!). The M of course stands for MAGNUM. Well the cats out of the bag now so somebody else will probably beat me to market with the G3 - GIGANTIC 3 FEET X 3 FEET OF BEAVER CATCHING MAJIC!!! EXACT SAME THING FOR COYOTES - IF I JUST HAD A BIGGER TRAP!!
Learn how to set/position the trap. Pay attention to what you're doing. Learn little tricks as you go. Get better. Sure every now and then you gonna' miss one but that's the way it is with this stuff. Anybody catch EVERY fish Every time? Anybody kill EVERY deer/turkey/squirrel/rabbit/quai/woodcock/duck EVERY time? Relax, have fun and enjoy the ride!
Again just my two cents worth, but what do I know I only caught my first beaver in '66 - that's 1966.

I'm not a beaver trapper yet but I've been thinking about ordering a few traps as they are tearing up the backside of our farm. I would seriously consider a #5 double long spring for a foot hold. Cool traps and it seems they would bed in the mud and muck very well.