I plan to trap muskrat this year, i have 30 #1 victor trap will thay work.

Robert,

#1 will work for muskrat and mink though many use 1.5

All about how you rig them as well to be effective on muskrat.

1.5 has a bit more weight and size, I'm sure if you look at the archives on the trap talk there
are some extensive photos and descriptions of rigging.

Justin

I think Rrobert is as confused as his name.

U r a craky old p bag. Rrobert is probably using some tiny mobile device with tiny keys and is poking them keys with his big fingers.

Rrobert - a #1 Victor will work just fine as long as you make a set that DROWNS the muskrat. Make sure you anchor the trap strong enough that a coon or other large predator can't make off with it.

U r craky too ( Whatever that means ) The absolute worst trap I ever used for muskrat...you guessed it; the #1 Victor longspring!

If your trapping around muskrat houses you will see where there climbing up to build it bigger and there will also be a feed bed on the side of the house . Using long spring traps to set both location slide the spring into the house so the house holds your trap in place . This way when they climb up it doesn't flip your trap over . I like to take a mix of stoploss and reg along . I caught a 30 lbs beaver in a 1 victor long spring just a few days ago .

What is the first trap you ever had as a kid? What did you try to catch with it?

Mine was a #1 Victor long spring and I soon learned as a 12 year old how to make a drowning set.

Mine was too and I quickly learned that muskrats have a very fragile front foot. I also inherited some #4 beaver traps and cut one spring off of them. Never lost a muskrat in one of them that I can recall. Fortunately, in a couple of years, the Conibear came along and we couldn't believe all the muskrats you could catch in that silly looking trap.

Since the only two trap styles I use for ADC muskrats are the stoploss and Conibear, I guess that's all I would use if I still fur trapped. Come to think of it, I have never had a wring-off in 24 years in the ADC business.

Okay Phil, let's gang up on Paul. My dad and I have been trapping muskrats in some local cattail marshes for over 40 years together. In those conditions conibears are seldom an option due to the "mucky" bottom and lack of runways leading to the houses. In one swamp alone we catch around 100 rats a year. Our FIRST trap of choice is the #1 LS. Then 1.5 LS. Coils are generally too strong for their delicate bones, even if used as drowning sets IMO.

Total rat catch for a couple decades ranged from 250 to 525 per year. Last few years has been way down at 150 to 200. We first set 3 milk crates full of #1's, then use up the 1.5's. 3 feet of tie-wire to extend the chain to the trap stakes, which are about 4 to 5 feet long and staked as far as the wire will reach from the landings or toilet station sets.

I catch most of my mink in #1 LS also. I would have to say if I had to pick only ONE style of trap for my rat and mink trapping, it would be the #1 LS, preferably the old Blake & Lambs, which also hold a coon as well as anything. If I'm setting a rat swamp, the #1's are top choice. I have some stop-loss models, but seldom need them as the water depth is perfect for drowning in most of the swamps where we fur trap.

I must add.... if a person is after muskrats and can only catch them in 110's, they need to learn the basics of using the footholds. It would take forever to trap rats without knowing how to catch them on slides, feedbeds, and toilet stations. I can go to a pond where there are no dens visible, but as long as there is rat sign they are on the stretchers... no conibears needed. So many guys around here say there are no rats. Odd how we still catch 150 or so without ever going farther than 15 miles from home. They are in all the creeks and can be picked off IF you know how to read sign and use the footholds.

Glad you're picking on me Ron, because I have a question for you. This was the driest, hottest year in our area's history. I had a number of customers with muskrats and no visible sign. ( Just the opposite of what you were talking about ) No slides, feed beds, and few if any droppings. I managed to catch some of them and was amazed at how many stayed underground when the water dried up. I also felt that where there was always enough water, more than usual were lost to predators. So how come no sign?

As far as the marshes go, I had one trap that would really work well; the Conibear 220 single spring. Just stake it where ever there was a path in the cat tails and you were in business. Sounds like we might have slightly shallower marshes than you guys. I don't remember any raccoon that weren't alive when they stumbled into the footholds.

Sounds like you might have a few more 'rats within your fifteen miles too. I did catch 525 one year, but it was closer to 250 most years. I usually got about 60 raccoon and 20 mink. I only had one year that I went after fox a lot more than usual and that was 1981 when I got 37. Funny how that coincided with the best prices I ever got for fox.