Worked a gray squirrel job recently. Well, catching grays is hard enough but when you MISS one, it just burns you up!

I came back to check my traps and found this:



Anybody want to guess what's wrong with this picture?

If you use Conibear style traps long enough, it will happen to everyone. ( But you will still wonder if that squirrel had a guardian

angel ) On a brighter note, you will still probably catch him in the same trap.

Trigger wire jammed against the jaw.

that is why I set them trigger up.

This would be a great advertisement for circle triggers, huh?

That happens several times every year to me during winter fur trapping for muskrats with 110's. Thought about adding a 45 degree bend about 1/2" long at the bottom of the trigger wires..... but then I figure the misses could be considered breeding stock for next year!

I had to replace trigger wires in a live trap. So I put a loop in wires. Thought they would last better. Well the loop lassoed the catch in the live trap. Fun to deal with

Ron, I have caught the jaw with the trigger up, down, and side-ways. Do I win something?

Has happened to me on 110s. I now put just a little bend in the trigger so it is not straight up and down.

yeah Paul for the slowest moving animals out there. That cold weather you have makes your critters slow on the forward move.

A lot of the old time rat trappers here in NJ cuts the trigger short for that reason.