New Trapper...Not Sure What Happened...Advice?

[MilkweedMania]

I’m by no means a professional, but I do catch a critter every now and then. I can’t speak for the 650’s (not legal here) but the 550’s are set perfect out of the box.
I don’t worry about scent, there’s no way on Gods green Earth I’m not gonna leave scent in SW Georgia. Even our winters are warm, lol. I have a pair of leather gloves I use the set traps with then once all traps are set I put out bait and lure with bare hands.
Now, not familiar with the bait, but that Violator 7 is some potent stuff. Just a little will do ya. As far as urine, I try not to use to much. It seems our deer love fox pee, bobcat pee, and coyote pee. If your traps are sprung with no catch circle and nothing else disturbed, more than likely deer. I’ve watched them on a cell camera I had watching 2 coyote traps, and I hadn’t been out of the area 4 hours and they were all up around the trap smelling where I had baited and tried coyote urine...hoof prints on the jaw, lol.
The quickest I’ve ever caught a coyote is the second check. And that was setting dead where they walk, not off to the side but directly on their trail. And be careful about guiding coyotes, I’ve had better luck just getting them to shuffle their feet trying to get the bait.
And to give you hope, the first coyote I ever caught was caught in 2 week old trap that had only been baited and lured on the initial set. And I’m so jealous of y’alls Snow!! Hard to see track so in pine needles and grass covered two tracks!!

Wow...tons of great info here. Thank you. The 650s barely made the legal limit in my state, so I thought I would try. A-men on the Violator...very strong. I just dipped the tip of twig in it...but maybe putting lots of sets up and down the wagon road made too much scent? Maybe I should limit to a couple of sets per 200 yards or so? I was just trying to up my odds because they are so regular on camera.

 

[furtaker]

See, that’s where I get confused. Our regs say #2 no larger than 5.75”...is that outside or inside?

Inside.

 

[Mark K]

I would keep them as is. Maybe if you rebait or lure, just bait one and lure the next. The same smell up and down the road I think throws them off at first. Eventually they’ll get curious/hungry enough to investigate closer. Just about the time I’m thinking I need to pull traps in an area I’ll make a catch.
It’ll happen, just give it time.

 

[Crakajak]

If it happens again put a trail cam out and you will know for sure.

 

[furtaker]

Ouch! I know what the 550’s feel like, don’t want to feel the 650’s!! And I have read about pan tension issues with them as well.
And another question for the OP...you did clean all the grease off the traps after buying right? I don’t dye, but I do boil and wax.

I've never been bitten by a 650. The times I had them go off, they were sitting in the trap bed right after I covered them with dirt. I guarantee you a 650 would leave you a week of black and blue knuckles as a present. They do have pan tension issues, but after trial and error I learned to not leave them in the ground with a hair trigger or you will have misfired traps and lost animals out of your traps. Crank them up a little and you will be fine.

One of the hardest things for a new trapper to learn is pan tension. A little tension is a good thing. I know from experience you will get better pad catches if you run enough tension to make the coyote put a little weight on the pan before the trap fires. If you run a hair trigger you will get some caught rabbits, plenty of toe catches, and plenty of educated coyotes.

As for the jaw spread issue, it can be confusing. The inside measurement is what counts and it can't be larger than 5.75 inches in GA. You can't really go by #2 or #3 and so on, because different trap brands are different sizes. If I'm not mistaken a stock #3 Sleepy Creek is legal in GA but a stock #3 Bridger is not.

 

[Mark K]

Thanks for the info.
The MB550’s all will trip the second I release all the weight off my 3lb hammer. So far I’ve only had one toe catch on a bobcat, the rest have been full pad.
Also started using steel screen this year and I can tell the catches just from the screen. When the critter is off the side away from the pan it had to be the screen. So far I like it. Using Zaggers bedding method has also helped during the wet December we had...0 remakes from weather.
Really appreciate the info. We can learn a lot from the more experienced trappers here.

 

[Ol' Gobblero]

Inside dimensions.

 

[furtaker]

Thanks for the info.
The MB550’s all will trip the second I release all the weight off my 3lb hammer. So far I’ve only had one toe catch on a bobcat, the rest have been full pad.
Also started using steel screen this year and I can tell the catches just from the screen. When the critter is off the side away from the pan it had to be the screen. So far I like it. Using Zaggers bedding method has also helped during the wet December we had...0 remakes from weather.
Really appreciate the info. We can learn a lot from the more experienced trappers here.

I think that improper pan tension can definitely cause toe catches, but it's probably not the only thing. If part of the animal's foot is on the pan and part of its foot is on the jaw or levers when the trap fires, it seems to me that you would get a toe catch.

 

[Throwback]

See, that’s where I get confused. Our regs say #2 no larger than 5.75”...is that outside or inside?

5.75 inches measured inside across the dog.
inside laminated 650's are legal as they are 5.75 inches inside

the "#2 trap size" requirement is not written in the law it was just always called that from 60 years ago when the 5.75 inch requirement came from a (then) #2 trap.

OCGA 27-3-63
27-3-63. General offenses and penalties
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to:
(1) Trap any wildlife upon the right of way of any public road or highway of this state; provided, however, that this paragraph shall not apply to any person licensed as required by Code Section 27-3-60 who traps beaver upon the right of way of any state highway, county road, or municipal street as an authorized agent, employee, or contractor of the state, county, or municipality for the purpose of preventing, reducing, or stopping damage to such highway, road, or street resulting from beaver activity;
(2) Set, place, or bait any trap for the purpose of taking any wildlife upon the land or in the waters adjoining the land of any other person, except during the open trapping season for such wildlife, and then only after obtaining the written consent of the owner of the land, which written consent shall be carried upon the trapper's person while engaged in trapping;
(3) Trap any wildlife without inspecting the traps used for such purpose at least once during each 24 hour period and removing from the traps any wildlife caught therein;
(4) Trap any wildlife by the use of any trap or other device which is not legibly etched, stamped, or tagged by affixing a stamped metal tag showing the owner's permanent trapper's identification number as provided by the department or the owner's name. In the event that a trap or other device etched or stamped with the owner's permanent trapper's identification number or name is being used in the field by another, such trap or device must have attached to it a stamped metal tag with the user's permanent trapper's identification number or name. Any trap or other device found in use in the field which is not etched, stamped, or tagged as required by this paragraph may be confiscated and destroyed by the department through its officers and conservation rangers;
(5) Ship or otherwise remove or cause to be removed from this state any raw or undressed hide, fur, pelt, or skin of any fur-bearing animal without first making a report to the department of the removal on forms to be furnished by the department for such purpose;
(6) Fail to carry a weapon of .22 caliber rimfire while tending traps and to fail to use such weapon to dispatch any fur-bearing animal found in a trap, which animal is to be taken by the person;
(7) Fail to carry a choke stick or similar device while tending traps, which device shall be used for releasing domestic animals;
(8) Set on land any trap with a jaw opening larger than 5 3/4 inches, provided that nothing in this Code section shall be construed to restrict the type of trap which may be used in water;
(9) Sell the fur, hide, or pelt of any domestic dog or cat caught by a trap;
(10) Sell the raw, undressed fur, hide, skin, or pelt of any fur-bearing animal unless the person has a current valid commercial trapping license or fur dealer license; or
(11) Set any body-gripping trap (as opposed to a leg-hold trap) of a size in excess of 9 1/2 inches square except in water or on land within ten feet of water, including swamps, marshes, and tidal areas.
(b) Any person who violates subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as for a misdemeanor, subject to a minimum punishment as follows:
(1) For the first offense, the offender shall be fined not less than $100.00, except that this minimum fine shall not apply to the offender if he is 17 years of age or younger;
(2) For a second offense within a two-year period after the first offense, the offender shall be fined not less than $300.00; or
(3) For a third offense and for each subsequent offense within a two-year period after the first offense, the offender shall be fined not less than $750.00.

 

[mossyoakpro]

See, that’s where I get confused. Our regs say #2 no larger than 5.75”...is that outside or inside?

Mark, check your pm

 

[Mark K]

PM sent...thanks

 

[BCPbuckhunter]

You say you are in Indiana and you had snow. Did you put p at under the traps too. If you didn’t your trap jaws could have froze to the ground and an animal could have stepped on the pan and released it but the trap didn’t fire because the jaws could be stuck to the ground. When the ground warmed up then the trap will fire off. I have no experience with that but I have read about it and seen videos of Northern trappers y’all about it

 

[MilkweedMania]

You say you are in Indiana and you had snow. Did you put p at under the traps too. If you didn’t your trap jaws could have froze to the ground and an animal could have stepped on the pan and released it but the trap didn’t fire because the jaws could be stuck to the ground. When the ground warmed up then the trap will fire off. I have no experience with that but I have read about it and seen videos of Northern trappers y’all about it

I did put peat under first, but I'm thinking I may not have put enough. Been reading about wax paper to keep moisture out and it looks convincing.

 

[Trapperman]

Probably a bedding issue, if you are are using peat under your trap without power bedding your trap, it probably isn’t rock solid and your gonna have issues with animals digging up your traps and springing them, if you don’t know what power bedding is get on Youtube and look it up, there are several videos on power bedding there, also in freezing temps make sure you use a method to freezeproof your trap bed.