I'm in Florida where leg holds are currently illegal. We can do live traps and snares, including power snares, but nothing else. But there may come a time when the rule of law is upset and I'd like to have some leg holds ready for meat and furs not for sale.

What would be a good way to practice this? Don't have the time or the funds to go on vacation to a state where it's legal.

Is it against the law to possess leg holds in Florida?

If not just buy a couple and start making sets in the yard. Get it just right, trip the trap and do it again?

Of course if you live in apartment or condo that might be difficult

Remove the springs and make sets as usual. Measure success by footprints on the pan. Best way I can think of to practice with animals without breaking the law.



Ideally, work to get the law changed.

I like the last part of Aix sponsa’s post.

“Ideally, work to get the law changed”

I don't believe so.




New at this. How would I measure the success of my set, knowing I got it just right, knowing that yes animals would go for it?

I like that, I think we have a winner.



Ideally yes.

Go make sets with no trap, soft dirt over the "trap" area will show tracks, or dug out holes will be let you know if you did it right.

Buy a few traps and learn to make sets with them. Then go out In the back 40 and make those same sets with NO trap.

And while you are at it, please call them by the correct name.....they are foothold traps!

Oops. Newbie error!

For now I would trap with what is legal in your state.. Learn the habits of the animals your trapping. Get good at finding good locations to make your sets. After you learn those things the rest is easy to learn. The animal you're targeting is always the hard part to learn.

Buy some 4" or 6" pvc pipe (appropriate for intended trap size), cut ~1" thick rings. Bed rings as you would a trap for any leghold set: dirt hole, flat, scent post, etc. Bait, lure, urine as you would. Observe location of footprints ... Feet inside the rings are a catch. Good luck and work at getting your state trapping laws changed.

Good advice everyone, I've marked this as solved

Too many bunny huggers in Florida! The game commission is afraid of the bad publicity should an unintended target be caught and end up on the evening TV news as happened here a while back with some illegal foothold and DP traps (bobcat in a DP).

There are coyotes inside the city limits of most Florida cities/towns. They keep the numbers of feral cats down, but they spook a lot of people that see them roaming the hood' during the night.

Footholds can be used, but only by special permit and only in verified cases of livestock depredation.

SloBro; search out the Florida Trapper Asso, join that group, and attend their gatherings, training seminars, etc.

Did not consider you were asking about if the set would pass the critter test and was just thinking about getting right depth and properly bedded.

I like the PVC ring idea