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Wax Sand #7429350
12/12/21 10:08 AM
12/12/21 10:08 AM
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 6
Arkansas
S
Shot Offline OP
trapper
Shot  Offline OP
trapper
S

Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 6
Arkansas
Just wanted to share my method of making wax sand. I’ll start by melting my wax in a pot inside a pot of boiling water. I’ll then fill a couple roasting pans with sand and slap them in the oven. Heat the sand to 130ish. Then I’ll pour the hot sand in a 5gallon bucket. Add 1/2 pound of wax to approximately 4 1/2 gal of sand. I mix it with my dirt hole auger. After mixed spread it out on a tarp and rake it thin because it will harden when the wax cools. Wait for it to cool completely and then sift it with a sifter back into a bucket and your good to go. Works for me.

Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7430017
12/12/21 11:48 PM
12/12/21 11:48 PM
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 6,190
Kansas
Pawnee Offline
trapper
Pawnee  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 6,190
Kansas
Never tried wax Sand but I intend to in the near future


Everything the left touches it destroys
Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7430075
12/13/21 02:03 AM
12/13/21 02:03 AM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,751
Central, SD
Law Dog Offline
trapper
Law Dog  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,751
Central, SD
The issue I have is surface tension the water sits on top of the waxed sand making the set easier to find it looks unnatural to me, I’m sure it evaporates over time but the impact is at the worst time to be standing out. IMO

Try sifting dirt on a very windy day hold the sifter high enough to let the “baby powder“ dirt blow away and the courser dirt fall into your containers. That’s the best all around dirt you can make.

Last edited by Law Dog; 12/13/21 02:07 AM.

Was born in a Big City Will die in the Country OK with that!

Jerry Herbst
Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7430164
12/13/21 07:37 AM
12/13/21 07:37 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 17,548
Rodney,Ohio
SNIPERBBB Offline
trapper
SNIPERBBB  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 17,548
Rodney,Ohio
Waxed anything always has a problem looking natural. At least around here. Only way to really combat it is to fling the stuff all around the set to make it look like it came out of the hole. For me, top coating with local dirt doesnt work either as it tends to dry out and highlights the trap area by the next day inless it rains.

Re: Wax Sand [Re: SNIPERBBB] #7430246
12/13/21 10:05 AM
12/13/21 10:05 AM
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 6,004
alabama
steeltraps Offline
trapper
steeltraps  Offline
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 6,004
alabama
I like the idea of waxed sand. Sounds good. Used a 2 gallon pump sprayer before. To wet the ground around flat sets to make it match. Dirt Holes ? Why would it matter if it matched??? You could get a small 18 volt leaf blow and the air and slight heat from that would help dry up and Match the dirt up

Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7430312
12/13/21 12:02 PM
12/13/21 12:02 PM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,751
Central, SD
Law Dog Offline
trapper
Law Dog  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,751
Central, SD
Blending here is easy windswept and sunny most of the time so a simple drag of the sifter for top dirt and your blended. The issue I’m talking about is the evening dew collecting on top of your sets and not being able to soak into the soil because the wax won’t allow it.


Was born in a Big City Will die in the Country OK with that!

Jerry Herbst
Re: Wax Sand [Re: Law Dog] #7430910
12/14/21 12:07 AM
12/14/21 12:07 AM
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 305
Wisconsin
A
Average Joe Offline
trapper
Average Joe  Offline
trapper
A

Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 305
Wisconsin
Same thing happens with freeze-thaw conditions. Puddle forms in the day or saturates your top layer of natural dirt and then you get an ice pancake on top of your trap at night. Challenge is trying to keep your pan as a relatively low spot but not so much so to allow a puddle when things get wet. Got nearly a foot of snow last weekend, now 50 degrees and rain predicted this week, then followed by more cold. Challenging times for footholds. Wax dirt isn’t perfect but so far is the best I’ve found to stay in the game. Hoping for some consistent cold soon to leave a layer of fluffy snow on top.


I’ve been sayin yes sir all day at work, I’ve been sayin yes ma’am at home…
Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7431140
12/14/21 09:38 AM
12/14/21 09:38 AM
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 382
Northern Illinois
MuddyMike Offline
trapper
MuddyMike  Offline
trapper

Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 382
Northern Illinois
use parafin wax flakes and just heat the sand to about 150 shut off heat i use a half pound of wax to 5 gallons of sand. once you shut the heat off start stirring in the sand i wear gauntlet style gloves and just start mixing the sand around you will watch the sand start to look wet. once it all has a uniform look then i dump it in a big plastic sled and my boy starts moving it around to help it cool once it is cool we use the sled like a funnel and dumpp it into a clean 5 gal bucket with a lid. takes less than a hour to make 5 gallons.

Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7431152
12/14/21 09:55 AM
12/14/21 09:55 AM
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 104
Ohio
M
MattDoyle Offline
trapper
MattDoyle  Offline
trapper
M

Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 104
Ohio
I like the cheaper darker construction sand better than the yellowish play sand. It’s not as nice to work with and I’ve found it to be less dry from the store, but it’s way easier to blend with bc of the brown color.

Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7431299
12/14/21 01:37 PM
12/14/21 01:37 PM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,751
Central, SD
Law Dog Offline
trapper
Law Dog  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,751
Central, SD
I use wolf fangs so it leaves a drain hole under the set and by using the course dirt they work together to drain water away from the top.

[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]


Was born in a Big City Will die in the Country OK with that!

Jerry Herbst
Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7431957
12/15/21 06:38 AM
12/15/21 06:38 AM
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 5,445
Southern Michigan
T
trappergbus Offline
trapper
trappergbus  Offline
trapper
T

Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 5,445
Southern Michigan
The last thing ya want with waxed dirt or sand is a low spot over the pan.. I bed the trap and make the area over the pan higher so the water runs off. I'll even make a drain off with my fingers. Or bed the trap on a slight angle. They step right on the high spot. Ya don't need but a dusting to top coat to help blending. Mulched leaves, dead grass, or whatever is at the set site to blend the set. With a 4 coiled trap it'll bust right thru until it gets cold and stays cold then just snow to blend. As long as the paw breaks the crust your golden. The coyotes I trapped yesterday were planted 11/25 thru 2 rain events with temps in the mid 20s that night. No problemo... There is a fine line between too much and just enough top coat.

Last edited by trappergbus; 12/15/21 06:41 AM.

Common sense catches alot of fur..
Pay homage to all you harvest..
Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7431963
12/15/21 07:02 AM
12/15/21 07:02 AM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 655
Central New York State
Z
Zagman Offline
trapper
Zagman  Offline
trapper
Z

Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 655
Central New York State
Freeze-thaw-rain-ice is the problem with ANY bedding material. Once it get below freezing and stays there with any NEW moisture being snow, ANY thing works, including plain or bone-dry dirt with no wax on it.

Waxed dirt OR sand is NOT maintenance-proof during these freeze-thaw-rain-ice days...........if you've used it, you see that "pancake" of crust on top from rain or dew. Sure, a coyote should bust through that with his weight AND if using a good trap, the trap SHOULD come up through as well. But, I found myself on my hands and knees addressing that pancake during the crappy times and it was FAR from maintenance-free.

Therefore, I sat back on day and thought: Why the heck am I spending all this time and effort AND money to make something that is NOT bullet-proof. Plus, like others say above, I did feel the need to top coat it with local material. This isn't the arid west, this is the Amazon jungle with high moisture amounts that often freeze. Top-coating is a delicate balance and its easy to put TOO much on top. Now you have the waxed-dirt pancake AND frozen local material. Yes, coyotes SHOULD break through that combined-crust, but you might miss some fox. But you might be missing coyotes as well......

Therefore, I went 100% to dry peat moss or grass coverings. Other than adding salt, they require, IMO, less maintenance during those crappy times. If snow is coming I do NOT top-coat the peat.....but if its just rain, I lightly top-coat and salt.

One year, I made 800 gallons of waxed sand. Took 10 years off of my life! Once it was gone, I never went back. That effort MAY being swaying my opinion a bit!

I've caught plenty of coyotes on waxed dirt and/or waxed sand. I caught plenty-more on peat and/or grass coverings. Easier, cheaper, less maintenance, etc. pushed me to that long-term plan of attack.

MZ


Eastern Coyotes.......Western Numbers.

Check out Coyote U!

YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/JGwORfXpwOo

www.coyoteu.com

Mark@coyoteu.com
Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7431989
12/15/21 08:06 AM
12/15/21 08:06 AM
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 5,445
Southern Michigan
T
trappergbus Offline
trapper
trappergbus  Offline
trapper
T

Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 5,445
Southern Michigan
We all have our favored techniques that fit our conditions. I agree that nothing is 100 percent bullet proof and soil types vary, that variance determines the top coat. Clay type less than loamy stuff. I've gone too just enough grass/duff that you can still see the different color of the sand. Like you do with screen. I will try peat next season, just have never been able to wrap my brain around it. I use mostly flat sets and blind trail sets is the reason. I'd rather cut my hands off than dig a hole LOL.. Now that prices have dropped it's probably a good time to open my brain a bit. When I used grass with screen I saw some avoidance that disappeared when I went back to waxed sand. Can't prove it was that tho, could have just been the mood they were in. I'l be trying that again too.

We had a nice blending rain last night, sets are lookin pretty, good luck today Mark. tight chains wink

Last edited by trappergbus; 12/15/21 08:10 AM.

Common sense catches alot of fur..
Pay homage to all you harvest..
Re: Wax Sand [Re: trappergbus] #7432016
12/15/21 08:37 AM
12/15/21 08:37 AM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 655
Central New York State
Z
Zagman Offline
trapper
Zagman  Offline
trapper
Z

Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 655
Central New York State
Originally Posted by trappergbus
We all have our favored techniques that fit our conditions. I agree that nothing is 100 percent bullet proof and soil types vary, that variance determines the top coat. Clay type less than loamy stuff. I've gone too just enough grass/duff that you can still see the different color of the sand. Like you do with screen. I will try peat next season, just have never been able to wrap my brain around it. I use mostly flat sets and blind trail sets is the reason. I'd rather cut my hands off than dig a hole LOL.. Now that prices have dropped it's probably a good time to open my brain a bit. When I used grass with screen I saw some avoidance that disappeared when I went back to waxed sand. Can't prove it was that tho, could have just been the mood they were in. I'l be trying that again too.

We had a nice blending rain last night, sets are lookin pretty, good luck today Mark. tight chains wink


I get it....I struggled with peat for years, but then sat back and witnessed FAR better trappers than me using ONLY peat. One year, I decided this was the year: I am going to 100% peat or grass.....no waxed products. I just muscled through it. In the end, that was the very first year I was able to break 100 coyotes in New York. I ended up with 125 that year........and I had to admit that the peat caused me no problems, quite the contrary.

For anyone that does NOT know, I am not trapping in a place with low rainfall or snowfall amounts....quite the contrary. I am off the southeast end of Lake Ontario and 1000 feet higher than the lake. A northwest winds dumps and dumps lake-effect rain AND snow here in amounts that make you wish snares were legal! LOL

I've battled this weather for over 30-years of chasing coyotes in crap, so my opinion is NOT based on guess-work, but rather, the school of hard-knocks. Thus, why I came up with my Pipe Dream.

Have I seen avoidance with that set? Of course! No set has them running in and committing suicide like we all like OR like the lure makers tell us they will! LOL

Coyotes are individuals.......heck, I've had coyotes roll on stuff the books say they SHOULD NOT roll on, like a coyote turd with nothing else added to it.

I don't jump to quick conclusions or think small samples define a pattern or problem. Arguably, my BEST long-term lure I use and count-on and use extensively had THREE rollers in one day this fall, and I don't know that I can remember anything like that happening before.

Did I STOP using it or think I have a problem? Nope.....just kept using it with confidence.

I am going for averages and numbers and anomalies happen all the time. I don't freak out about it......just keep on keepin' on.

If you watch one of the YouTube videos from the show HeadHunters TV we did with Randy Birdsong, he was getting scratched at and dug at nightly while I was killing them in grass and pipes and he switched over

The next year, the opposite could have happened........they are coyotes, not robots.

MZ


Eastern Coyotes.......Western Numbers.

Check out Coyote U!

YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/JGwORfXpwOo

www.coyoteu.com

Mark@coyoteu.com
Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7432017
12/15/21 08:39 AM
12/15/21 08:39 AM
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 829
NE NE
W
Wife Offline
trapper
Wife  Offline
trapper
W

Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 829
NE NE
Zag, In this row crop farm landscape with little or no grass/hay it may be tough to keep grass on a trap (covering). In the "arid" West, drying then wet is a stickler and match that with the wind it makes the dirt/sand option a better day in day out option. Where rain predominates, to keep that grass matted, your vegetation covering is a better choice. And when using "our friend, the badger" to locate a set, soil (waxed) still works the best for me...... the mike

Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7432039
12/15/21 09:05 AM
12/15/21 09:05 AM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 655
Central New York State
Z
Zagman Offline
trapper
Zagman  Offline
trapper
Z

Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 655
Central New York State
Oh, I get that! The set shines in places that get monsoons, NOT places that get wildfires!

I have used pipes in WY and KS, but those versions were NOT what I call the Pipe Dream Set......on the contrary.

Dried sage leaves certainly are great to blend any set in.....and if trapping sand hills, well, the sand does just fine.

In the end, we should all use what works for us in our areas......period.

My initial reply was more on this thread was about using peat rather than waxed-anything.......and again, its a personal preference only.

A million ways to skin a cat, and I'd guess whomever originally coined that phrase was ALSO a trapper!

MZ


Eastern Coyotes.......Western Numbers.

Check out Coyote U!

YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/JGwORfXpwOo

www.coyoteu.com

Mark@coyoteu.com
Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7432092
12/15/21 10:29 AM
12/15/21 10:29 AM
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 2,529
NW Illinois
K
Kevin Stake Offline
trapper
Kevin Stake  Offline
trapper
K

Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 2,529
NW Illinois
Coyotes invented the word Paranoid.


It is more blessed to give than to receive
Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7432097
12/15/21 10:33 AM
12/15/21 10:33 AM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,751
Central, SD
Law Dog Offline
trapper
Law Dog  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,751
Central, SD
I’ve seen wax dirt do some amazing things that plain dirt would not do, no it’s not perfect but preforms better under most conditions. It’s a little different out west the sun and wind are our friends here. Setting on a dirt dam helps keep my sets working most of the season.


Was born in a Big City Will die in the Country OK with that!

Jerry Herbst
Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7433833
12/17/21 06:06 AM
12/17/21 06:06 AM
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 5,445
Southern Michigan
T
trappergbus Offline
trapper
trappergbus  Offline
trapper
T

Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 5,445
Southern Michigan
The biggest problem I'm concerned with peat is bedding the trap rock solid without carrying nails and such. Do you use your same hammer technique as with the screen? I live and trap east of Lake Michigan, lake effect to the extreme. This sure ain't the high desert LOL..


Common sense catches alot of fur..
Pay homage to all you harvest..
Re: Wax Sand [Re: Shot] #7433858
12/17/21 07:28 AM
12/17/21 07:28 AM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 655
Central New York State
Z
Zagman Offline
trapper
Zagman  Offline
trapper
Z

Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 655
Central New York State
I view peat as a insulating liner between trap and existing dirt.

I dig my beds very small and hammer them out to let my Jake bare sqlyueeze into it.

I dig them deep so I can nestle the trap down into bone dry peat. After the peat goes in bottom and side walls and in hammered-in counter-sunk spot for levers, I salt it before I put trap in place.......

Then I squeak the Jake into the bed and then hammer the top and pinch it into place. Only peat is touching trap now. Trap is ROCK solid since I am not trying to bed it in a bed as big as a football and fill all that back in with the same amount of peat. The peat is only insulating the trap from the existing dirt.

Now I salt the top of the ground around all four sides of the trap, like heavy rows parallel to the top square bed and square trap....when done, looks like I've framed the bed in salt.

Now I place my screen on trap and top coat with peat. Not a ton. Trap is already bedded solid due to hammer. Don't forget to hammer outside of levers to push that dirt up to support levers and to eliminate the fulcrum they create if you don't have under support....and again, there is peat under the levers to insulate them from the ground as well.

Once trap is covered in peat along with levers, I top coat all of that with salt. Then, if snow is coming, I am done. If no snow, I will top coat with local material but not a lot.....I mean less than 1/8th inch. If super windy, might have to do more. Regardless, I now salt my top coat as well.

Salting is done in stages and in layers. Initial trap bed is small. Peat moss usage is NOT to bed the trap in but rather to just insulate trap from local ground cover.

NO method is bullet-proof. If NOT using grass, but rather, peat moss, this is how I do it. It keeps me in the game.

With this approach, you will no longer think bedding traps in peat is difficult, because you are NOT bedding them in peat! LOL

Again, I RAN from peat for years......LOTS of guys have and still do. I've figured out how to use it in a way that eliminates the wobble, and a SMALL trap bed is the key to that when you start

MZ

Last edited by Zagman; 12/17/21 07:34 AM.

Eastern Coyotes.......Western Numbers.

Check out Coyote U!

YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/JGwORfXpwOo

www.coyoteu.com

Mark@coyoteu.com
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