One thing that dramatically improved my success on my trapline was taking the time to adjust my traps to the point that they would set level only took a small amount of movement to fire had plenty of swivels to keep the animal from twisting out and consistently made solid pad catches on the animal I was setting for At that point I started to catch and hold far more animals had far fewer snapped but empty traps .. So I was not spending time resetting empty traps Either I had something or the trap was set nd ready to catch whatever might work that aet the next time .I do not have numbers to prove it but my guess is just doing the basic adjustments such as more swivels squaring the pan notch and dog etc increase my catch by 40 to 50 %

You point out a number of great points that will not cost a trapper a lot of money to try .

This ^^^^, plus trap setting tools have helped me a quite a bit over the years. Plus making quality, efficient sets over quantity.

Thanks for all the replies so far!

I guess that is the main point to this thread. Everything has a cost...either from your wallet (for convenience and ease of use) or physically (making due with more hard work). When you're young and bulletproof, you are pinching pennies so the extra labor and abuse is worth it. Once you are older and more financially stable, you can afford more of the "luxury" items for trapping that make certain aspects easier, but also cost more money. My goal is to set myself up for longevity in the game, so switching over to the impact-reduction methods, even at a higher dollar cost, is on my mind. Just absorb the increased cost of doing business, you could say.

Like a forest service ax for trap bed chopping, pre-drilling super stake holes, and drilling the stakes out to make it easy to pull them. Good drills aren't cheap, but neither is shoulder replacement or back surgery.

You are on the right track As a young trapper learning to put up fur I was used ad old kitchen spoon to scrap the fat and any hunks of meat off of the pelts I was putting up That was mostly muskrats and coon. Wel that spoon was OK for the rats but it made for a lot of time consuming work for scraping fat off of coon pelts After a few too many seasons of making things more time consuming than need be I purchased a Zepf scraping knife It is a long time ago but it cost me about $80.00 back than However I could now put up a coon hide in about 75 to 80 percent less time That meant I was spending more time catch more coon And getting a proper skinning knife again left me with more time to devout to catching more critters We all start out needing to learn what methods work for what we are trying to do The quicker we figure that part out the more time we spend catching fur which leads to larger catches the better we are motivated to imrove over and over . ..

Nothing saved me during the heyday! Ran my body and my mind ragged during those years. I was focused om Beaver and cat trapping back then and there is nothing you can do state hopping beaver to help your body. anyway thats how it was for me. back problems, two new knees, just the cost of doing buisness I guess!

CFoxer,
If you dont already own one...a SxS will enable you to drive right up to the set location. It also saves your pickup truck. I could drop all the other stuff I listed and go back to the old ways, but not the Honda.

Great thread!!
I read your one remedy for making life easier. As far as stakes go, I never use them I tie off on logs or trees or and stationary object. The log stays there till the next time I set a trap.

Make life easy for me.

No SxS as of yet. I'm fortunate enough to have a lot of property that I can drive within 10 yds of my sets with my current truck. But its on the list.

.. driving the anchors with the hammer drill ?… or drilling a pilot hole with it then driving the anchors with a hammer and driver?

A skinning machine. Makes life much more bearable when you've got 30 coon laying on the floor needing to be shucked.

My hands have become weak and painful. I use setters for all body grippers., even 110's. I also use a plastic sled to haul bigger critters out. A sled makes hauling out a couple of 50 pound beavers, even on dry ground.

Rotary hammer drill nephew.

I havent used one but they will drive a stake.

… shoot I’ll have to look into that… my woman could drive stakes while I supervise with a cool one

… so there’s a bit for a hammer drill that will fit inside one of these and drive it down a foot or so just by pulling the trigger?

… yes or no ? … I’m genuinely curious

Nephew get you a piece of cold roll steel and chuck it in a hammer drill . I got a Milwaukee brand with 1/2 chuck that has driven a many of a 6 ft ground rod for electric services. I don’t use that brand or many of any kind but it would work!

No...use the same driver you've been using for the SuperStakes. There is a special driver bit (about 4 or 5 inches long that attaches to the rotary hammer drill chuck. It fits over the end of your SS driver.

I’m only 57 so probably not one of your true older trappers. I still walk into most sections of my coyote line. Park and walk, and I hit spots that the coyote hunting pickup army can’t always get to. Stay in shape all year round by running half marathons and 10Ks. I do several races a year in off season.
I did quit carrying rebar and went to cable stakes. Lot less weight to carry in.
When I’m scouting I carry my jugs of dry dirt in then. I watch them in nearby weed patches and brush piles wherever I think I will make some sets. Then on setting day I’m only carrying a few traps and bag of set making stuff.
I just try to be smarter about everything and realize I’m not in my 20s any more. Also, I don’t have to be so cheap about my fun. Buy some cable stakes, instead of carrying rebar. Stuff like that. New coyote traps are expensive so I just get a couple here and there, maybe ask for them at Christmas or Father’s Day. Over time I’ve built up a nice bundle that way.
And I just slow down and enjoy my coyote line. Stop and take a few pics. Or stop and listen to one bark and sing.
I just have a lot more fun.
Jim

They make several models and newer ones are 10 times lighter than my old 15 year ago model . This one holds up to a 5/8 bit ( cold roll ) or electric fence post .

Thanks for the replies Uncles