I have some FMJ that was out in the unheated barn all winter, I have read that it goes bad. It looks just like it did when I used it last year does it just not harden of something?

Also any opinions on FMJ vs wax for K9's

Following. I like FMJ, but have only used it for one season, so can't speak to it beyond that.

i use fmj for all my k9 traps it has worked well all the time i have used it

I haven't used FMJ but I think if it went bad,due to freezing,it wouldn't be liquid.Dip one,hang it up and see but I bet it will be OK.

Been using it for years now on all my canine traps.

FMJ will turn to solid if frozen. I warning on the label to keep from freezing. They replaced mine since my label did not have the warning on it and I e-mailed them pictures of my labels front and back. They sent me a new jug. Thank you

Also any opinions on FMJ vs wax for K9's[/quote]


FORMULA ONE

Both will only give you temporary protection for your traps. A couple of catches and It's gone. Wax Is more work but I feel It holds up better.
Looks like FMJ will cost you about $30.00 a gallon. And all It Is Is a floor wax I'm betting you can go down to your local hardware store or your grocery store and buy a commercial grade floor wax for a lot less money.
To fill a container with enough product to dip your traps Is going to cost you.

Look up the material safety data sheet for FMJ and then google the chemical makeup. There’s all sorts of floor sealers that are the same chemically. Then you can compare prices or maybe fine something local.

Not what you asked, but I thought I’d share since I spent some time doing that a while back.

Zeps high Traffic floor polish from Home Depot.
Same as FMJ, but only $16.00 per gallon.

I just bought some of it but I got mine from tripps it was like 20 bucks

I tried the zepps, I’m back to waxing traps the old fashioned way now.

Hello folks new to the forum, longtime reader first time posting.

KJD what problems did you have with the Zeps?

So I dipped traps a month or two before season, let them hang in the usual spot in the back of an old shed to air out, I caught coyotes in my dirtholes. But could not catch a single one in the pipe dreams. And in fact a lot of traps were dug up or uncovered. So I boil something like 25-30 traps, wax them normal and my problems went away.

So what do you thing was the problem? Was It the lack of dirt covering In the pipe set?

Yes I was told a long time ago that 1” of dirt covers a lot of sin. So those traps obviously still had an odor, I waxed them like normal and started catching coyotes the next night.

Thanks KJD! I was leaning towards the Zeps to save a few bucks but I think I will go with the FMJ to be on the safe side.

Remember the FMJ Is the same stuff as the zeps. It's not the floor wax It's how you cover the trap. A grass covering Isn't going to hide any odors.

Yep, I bought Zeps High Traffic floor polish at Menards last season. Didnt land trap much at all but it held up fine by my standards.

In 80s I used to use walnut hulls boil then wax on my canine traps. Then for a few years I tried dips you mix with white gas or good quality gasoline, and for several seasons I used rustoleum to paint them, and have tried and used FMJ type coverings for several seasons, too. I even had a friend powder coat some 1.5 coil coon traps for me one year, and that didn't hold up to my liking either for what I paid for the process. Was not a fan of FMJ or other floor wax coverings, and it was a PITA to remove it later when I wanted to switch back to something else.

In the most recent several seasons I've gone back to freebie dying with walnut hull boils and a straight hot parrafin wax covering afterward. New traps get degreased then waxed and used like that for one season (no boil), but then boiled the next and waxed. It just plain works.

I have no scientific proof of why or why not, but in 40+ years of trapping coyotes my catch rate was way off in years when I didn't use walnut hulls and wax. In addition, I had more severe trap rusting and freeze up issues in years when I didn't use a paraffin-type wax. I've also gone to using mostly waxed dirt for trap covering. Everything works to some degree, but wax has been best weather-proofing and reasonably cost effective method I've found so far.

For coon work, water or land, I don't care what you use on your traps coon will remove all of it after a catch or two. Straight wax actually works better for me on my coon traps, too.

All of those other trap preps I've tried worked to some degree, but were costly compared to freebie pick 'em yourself walnut hull boils. I get my unscented parrafin wax for a very reasonable price purchased in bulk and so far is the best weather-proofing, cost efficient, and trap protection I've found. Get the unscented 10 pound blocks of pure candle parrafin wax from hobby lobby and be sure to use their 40% off online coupon for the purchase. Have a friend also get a coupon and have them buy more for you, too. Its way cheaper than traditional "trap wax" and you can also shave the block in to fine curls with a block plane and use it to make waxed dirt, too.

I have a large "smart cooker" electronic crock pot cooker we got as a 2nd one year from family gifts. Only needed one for the kitchen and couldn't take the other one back. So I've been using it to wax traps in off-season. Take one of those 10 pound blocks of wax and bust it up into smaller pieces with a hammer and put those in the cooker. Set the temp to somewhere above the wax melting point and let it melt, add wax pieces until the cooker is mostly full but not overfilled so when you add traps the hot wax doesn't overflow. Mine holds 2-3 traps so takes me a while to do batches but I can do this on side while working on other stuff around the garage or yard, I can control the melting temp and with no open flame its super safe for waxing traps and other equipment like wire, hammer heads, trowel heads, etc. when I'm done waxing I unplug the cooker, let the wax in the cooker cool back to solid state then just put the sealed lid back on it and store the whole thing on a shelf in my garage. The sealed lid keeps other odors out of the wax until I need to use it again. Its super easy to re-wax traps after several catches, too. I bet a crockpot or two picked up at a garage sale would work well too.

Jim