Here in Pa. since the game commission started stocking pheasants it is virtually impossible to not have interactions with hunting dogs when trapping this public ground. I would like to avoid it but these game land fields harbor the game and prey species that the canines subsist on. So, those of you who trap these areas, what have you experienced as far as catches of hunters dogs. What trap did you use (offset laminated jaw, rubber jaw, etc.) and how did the hunters react?

I have stayed clear mostly of these areas, but it is getting more and more difficult to do so when I know that is where the canines are. Is it possible to set off of the field itself and make the set inside the brush line or would this be too far off of the travel way to draw them to the set? I'm not as much worried about theft as the ill relations it might create.

Is this a legitimate concern or should I just go trap?

Its a big concern with most of us but we cant talk about this topic on the forum due to the rules above

Maybe PM some of the guys for advice

This is a legit question to not allow any damage happen to nontarget catches. I use offset and offset laminated #3 traps. I've caught a lot of random dogs as well as my own. I let them all go and none of them had damage. Matter of fact, I've even had them lay next to me while I remake the set and follow me around.

The best piece of advice I can give you from my experience on public ground, is drive the earth anchors deep. You want to need a trap puller to get them out. Using flat sets helps camo them in, too. You will still have traps get tampered with if there's a catch circle and possibly some animals shot and stolen, but at least you still have your gear.

Good luck to you and I hope it works out.

Hunters and trappers have the same rights to land use here in Michigan. I try to avoid setting any traps where there are canine tracks and human tracks also. I do know that a dog walker without a hunting license for s supposed to have the animal on a leash and that doesn't happen often. I have had talks with the DNR about this. The dog walker got a ticket. My traps are on 18 inch super stakes and don't often come up missing. I also use mb550s offset cast jaw. My dog steps in at least 1 a year and heis fox sized. Never hurt his m a bit.

I release probably half a dozen dogs a season and as far as I know the owners have never known their paw was in a trap. Bridger dogless 2s modified.

I caught my lab last week in a k9 extreme with no damage

I shy away from Game Lands stocked with Pheasants.
If you want to plant traps in fields with hunting hounds, better think this out. You are asking for problems, trouble, frustration and loss time.
You are going to catch hunting dogs in a 'stocked Pheasant' area. That's a given and promoting a bad image of trappers. You mentioned hunter/hound owner reaction...they usually get angry while hunting with their hound. Some hunters get very angry when their dogs gets in a trap. Damage is zero to hound, because owner is close by to quickly release hound. But some hound guys hate trappers.
g55, you mentioned setting brush or brush lines. Rabbit hunters take their hounds to these thick areas. Guys with Beagles, hunt the brush & cover.
Two things I do at our local Pheasant stocked Game Lands, I trap neighboring properties and I call Fox/Coyote on Game Lands.
These two methods are productive, less time spent producing fur, no problems and project a better image than catching a couple of hound dogs.

Been, the ma are wise words. The last thing you want are other sportsmen against us.

We had way more pheasants in our corner of the state back in 80s and 90s than we do today. I trap coyotes targeting land that has very little interest to pheasant hunters and this approach I still use today. Low grazed pastures, flat picked bean fields with only a whispy little weeded fencerow along it, mowed grassy draws, edge of two picked fields. Basically trap away from cover and away from where the pheasants are and you shouldn't have much for encounters. Private ground also helps as the landowner will tell you who and what goes on in his property.
Find crappy ground that sits next or in between two good looking spots. Coyotes don't stay on one property only they travel through the crappy no cover spots to get to the other cover spots...so intercept them on the no cover spots and trap those instead. Some guys with dogs working the cover push a lot of animals out of the cover including deer and coyotes, and you'll be ready for those that get pushed out if you trap the nearby crappy ground.
Have fun!
Jim

^^^^^ that is sound advice right there ! ^^^^^^

that's my approach as well! Knowing the ground you trap is also helpful! I hardly ever catch hunting dogs the roamimng pot lickers are what plague my line! Dogs getting caught don't worry me its the over dramatic owners that do!

I agree with Red. I deal with guys pheasant hunting in areas I trap quite a bit. It is almost unavoidable in my area. I ALWAYS have permission and a permit, they usually don't but it doesn't seem to deter them.. people don't even ask to hunt they just go. I make sure if I am in any areas I think a domestic dog will, be I drive a long 30 inch stake that no pheasant hunter wants to try to wrench out of the frozen ground. I have caught only a few domestic animals (never twice on the same dog LOL). But have also had a trap or two stolen along the way. I try to stay away from where I know they will go and like jabNE said, try to set up on travel routes where other people are less likely to frequent. However at the end of the day I am the one with the permission and also a trapping permit so I just smile to myself when they call John Law on me, he will help me get my trap back every time, and the other guy gets the ticket for tampering with my trap. I also run victor #3 soft catch traps in ANY area I think I will catch someone's dog, not trying to tear up anybody's pet, helps cause less drama IMO

When trapping public ground I try to wait till the very end of the season. And then I only use Cable restraints. Extremely dog friendly.

The thing about foot holds Is I don't want to have the dog owner having to release his dog from my foot hold. Last year I caught this guys dog. He was hunting a pond for ducks my trap was 300 yards away on the other side of a hard road. Not much of a duck dog. But anyway the dog was just fine but when the dogs owner tried to release his dog that dog turned on him and bit him up real bad. Got him on the face and on both arms. Needless to say the hunter was not happy. The land owner asked him not come back.

Many trappers would tell you it is not a sport, but a commercial venture. Some states consider trapping commercial also, so equating it with beagles chasing pheasants may not be accepted.


This may be the post of the year. It is a recurring theme of "how can I catch a ___ in this circumstance?" when truth is you get them on the way to the problem area. Coyotes don't fly, they have to cross some trappable location to get anyplace else they might ever be.

As to trap used, offset does nothing but let the levers get higher on the jaws, laminations do spread the pain over a wider area and thus may reduce bruising but are often coupled with increased power through four coiling, so just get a larger bruise. idk rubber but they look like regular jaws to me.
I used regular jawed two coiled traps that have the sharp rounded off the jaws and check often, one trick I have used is to set just before dusk and spring or remove the traps in early morning. More time invested but pets rarely leave home in the dark. I have also released my own and the neighbors dog unharmed, returning a pet and telling how you caught it far from home usually stops that pet roaming.

I try to take the same approach as hern. Pheasant season overlaps with trapping in pa, except right now because of deer season. People still run their dogs, just to run them, but if you're set on trying to trap the pheasant ground this is the time to avoid catching dogs. Personally I would avoid it because I don't like dealing with people don't quite like trappers. Not saying all dog guys don't like trapping, because I run dogs myself. Just my 2 cents.

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Coyotes don't stay on one property only they travel through the crappy no cover spots to get to the other cover spots...so intercept them on the no cover spots and trap those instead. .. Jim

But when some of these public areas cover 100s and 100s of acres and you can't access the private land around them what are you going to do sit on your hands.

I don't have that problem where I trap but if I was faced with the situation,I would post signage at the acess point that this area is being actively (legally) trapped.Keep dogs on leash.
It is not the trappers responsibility to watch out for someone elses dog.
It is always someone elses fault when a person does not control their animal and it winds up in a legally set trap.These ejits with dogs need to take responsibility for their own actions.

I caught a landowners dog the other day my first double of the year a coyote in one and the neighbors cattle dog in the other. He turned him loose and there was no damage. The coyote got the encounter with the rancher which is what it is. He still lets me trap and said he didn't even know his dog was out that way 95 acres away. I only trap a little public but the public I trap most around my area don't know it is public and this helps me a lot. Good Luck.