I have a rat job I'm working on and am getting some curious results.

Has any of you used a rat snap trap and have the rat NOT caught, but right beside or close to it, acting dopey. It's like the trap fired and missed the rat, but clobbered it on the head, like maybe causing a concussion? When I go to pick it up for disposal, it makes NO effort to escape. What ever works! But, the chance of a loss seems pretty high. I have to wonder how many fired/empty traps are this same situation?

I have seen several such scenarios with a dead or stoned rat laying close to a snap trap.

Check to make sure both springs are still engaged on the kill bar. I've had one spring pop off at times. I noticed it resetting, the trap seemed really weak.

Both ends connected and plenty strong.

Got a couple by the tip of the nose. Had a couple gray squirrels with dents in the forehead laying beside trap. (Gray's were not the target).

Yes, it happens when the rat doesn’t move far enough under the bail. It’s like hitting them on the head with a baseball bat. They may wander a little ways away, but won’t go far.

I’ve seen it more with voles and regular mouse traps.

I don't see how they can't be under the bail far enough and still trip the trigger?

If the bail comes down on their skull, not on their neck, they could pull out. They probably have a headache or fractured skull, but might not be held at the trap.

I once had a rat venture 2 feet from an A24 trap. They use compressed CO2 to fire a steel bolt into the animal’s head. They’re tough.

I was trapping a shop next to a landfill, had a guy tell me he heard the trap go off, looked over and a big rat in the trap. Half hour later seen the thing struggling and got out of it. I used new victors with the plastic pan on this job. The guy said looked like the hulk fighting the trap. I’m guessing it eventually died but don’t know for sure.

wws

I saw a red squirrel do that to a rat snap. I don’t use them for red squirrels any more.

i have some fast mice that dodge the victor snap traps and some die right beside it or just sit there like concussed, i usually shoot them with my red rider

Sounds like norways. I go for squirrel cages and koros on those due to what you describe.

And dont count on it dying. I had one that did that and had to finish it off a couple days later with a pellet rifle as it limped across the yard.

I've had better than 75% still kicking, but laying right by the trap.

There is a guy on utube that made his mark by showing various animals working traps. Before utube took down his early stuff, he had a couple videos of very big Norway rats working various rat traps. What he found was the rats were simply too big for the traps. Likely as not, the striker bar just bonked them on the forehead vs. their neck. Like using a 120 body grip for big coon. Rat traps might work on smaller roof rats and juvenile Norway rats, but not the big guys.

Never had a rat problem to deal with myself, but have studied them. One of the biggest varmint problems the chicken guys have to deal with. Observing what works for them, trapping alone is an uphill battle. Control almost always starts with sanitation.......elimination of the food source they are living on. Because they make their own shelter by making tunnels in the ground, that one is hard to deal with. But they got to eat. Shut that off and they will either move or starve to death. And once they get hungry, then they get easier to trap with bait or more likely to consume bait blocks if that is an option.

But as for traps, I'd be moving up a notch or two. Like a 110 body grip tuned or even waxed so it will stay set, but fire if you breath on it heavy. A pan or big paddle trigger wire setup to guide them to a place for stricker bars to hit something vital. And option B.......a #1 or even #0 long spring blind set on runs. I might even try a 1 1/2 long spring with a dab of peanut butter under the pan and rag on top of it. Now we are back to kill trap.

I am surprised and happy that your old but, can still bend down to set/pickup......good Job
have a nice day Grumpy....

If they weren't so danged expensive the british Fenn squirrel traps look like they would work well on norways.

22 bird shot if you see them.......