I use the Albano mole traps and usually either pinch the mole or skewer them as the pan is so far forward. This time I opened up the tunnel and noticed the trap was flipped over and moved into the other one. They were originally set at about 45 degrees apart at a tight bend in an area of soft soil, just outside a flower bed and under a fence. Not an ideal place, but it was was it was... The mole was pretty big and caught through the forearm. Any ideas how it could have reached so far forward as to only have had its forearm in the way? The only thing I can think of is the tunnel was big and the trap was really bedded down. Maybe it closed under the mole.

Any ideas so I don't have a mole starve again?

I use hundreds of the trapline traps when we are busy with mole work and we catch a few occasionally that are alive upon running the traps. If you catch one just before you run your traps you will find some alive. Some you may get a skin catch on occasion or by a leg etc. It happens with mole trapping.

Finding a more straight run of sorts will allow for a better set up of your traps and trap bedding properly will ensure a better dispatch catch and fewer misses. You may at times have have to look for a better location selection at times. Some times you just have to make the best of what you have.

Not seeing the set I can only surmise but is it possible it was in the process of doing a u-turn after having reached the trigger and smelled a rat?

Possibly. I'd never seen it. My other 9 moles yesterday were clean kills. *shrug*

I've had some odd catches, too.

One thing I think can be to blame on some occasions is the trap jaws getting momentarily hung on the soil or some other debris letting the mole get out of position.

To help combat this I always fire the trap in the tunnel to make sure it closes. Sure enough, sometimes it catches on the soil or roots or something else and requires some additional clearance to make the trap fire quickly and completely.

I agree with Warrior that the mole probably turned around for what ever the reason and in doing so hit the trigger. We do hundreds and hundreds of moles a year and have also had some pretty weird catches. Believe it or not, and I swear it's the truth, I checked a trap that had caught the mole by the TAIL! The only thing I could think of was he must have turned around and kicked the trigger with its back leg.

Bob: I am surprised that you can use body grip traps for moles in Calif. How about skunks, is Calif. a cage trap state only? Nice to see a post with a real name below.

Everet, for the most part Calif. is a cage trap only state. When they outlawed body grip traps you couldn't even set a snap mouse trap. The D.F.W realized its blunder and made body grips legal for rats,mice,moles and voles. You have to be a lic. w.c.o. to use the larger body grips for animals such as muskrats and beaver. Even then the trap has to be set 100% under water.

Bob: at least the D.F.W. had enough since to make the changes. I am surprised that public pressure did not get to them.