I am brand new to this forum and to trapping so take this for what its worth.

This thread started off on the right foot It seemed but went south In a hurry in my opinion.

Being brand new, I can appreciate saving $ when feasible, things like using a 5 gallon bucket with a bucket boss took skirt for tools and lure, bait, etc.

Using milk jugs or PB jars to store waxed dirt or even making your own stakes, earth anchors, snares or cable restraint, baits and lures etc.

However, I think its also very important to remember 3 things.

1. the animals deserve the best we can give them, whether that's a sturdy anchor that holds, enough swivels to not bind, etc.

2. Trapping is not going to pay the bills like it did in the 70s and 80s. I can't think any of us plan to live on this fur market as a full time job. I think we do it because its fun, it protects other animals from over population, protects the actual animals we seek from diseases or other over population hazards. Most of us don't have to trap to survive. We are doing it either for a hobby or to keep populations in check.

3. In this economy, if you are not truly disabled , its your fault if you don't have the $ you need/want. Practically every place has hiring signs up. If you don't like the pay at your current job, find another that pays more. If you want nicer items in life you need to work in a career that can support that. If you want to use para chord for anything other than to make a coyote carry sling out of, you need to do something that allows you to do something the right way.

To me trapping has must haves, nice to haves, and then the luxury items that are purely for adding more enjoyment.

Good anchors, good traps, and good swivels and good ethics are the must haves. If you can't have these I personally don't think someone should be trapping.

Having higher end tools vs homemade trowels, shovels, sifters pack baskets, etc are all nice to haves. Other things can get the job done ethically, maybe just not as efficiently.

A skinning machine, a high end fleshing knife, etc would fall into the luxury items to me as a newbie. To others they are the must haves due to their volume.


There's a ton of common sense in this post. Good job

I would like to nominate the moniker, " Big Milk", to supplement MattLA's screen name.

If we can't have coonman, this is a very close second.

My "tip" to qualify my post is: "Para-snaring". Defined as the act of snaring wildlife with paracord. The activity shouldn't even require a license since it is fundamentally catch and release snaring. This is a "cheap" way to snare and makes as much sense as most everything else on this thread. Lol

Let's get this thread back on track...

Many plants and trees have high levels of tannin in their bark which makes good trap dye. I make bows and this is some strips of Big Leaf Maple bark that I saved from a bow build and used to dye my traps.

Oaks (especially the galls), willows, maples among MANY others all have useful amounts of tannins in their bark and can be used for dying your traps.

1st pic is a #11 Newhouse Double Jaw, 4 foot of #2 double loop wire chain, and I just wrapped it around a beaver "log" that functions as the drag. This was originally set for raccoons, but when i walked up this morning there was a live 35lb-40lb beaver in the water. It was making funny movements and I thought it was sick, but turns out the #11 double jaw had a great grip on his back foot and my natural drag with chain did it's job of tangling itself around 4 beaver sticks I pounded in around the lodge for a different purpose. I was able to get close enough and talk calmly to the beaver and let him go. Just 15 yards from this beaver, a dead beaver that put her head in a RGB 220, that also had a beaver stick drag, she was 5 yards from where the trap was originally placed. You can see the natural drag applied here again even for beaver.