He got the idea while watching his wife use a hand-spun egg-beater while baking in their Ontario kitchen. It took him 30 years to perfect and patent it, but it forever changed the trapping community. Today, we salute you, Frank Conibear. Your vision helped keep trapping a North American tradition.

I loves me some Coni's!

I heard he was anti foot holds.

Easy to be anti competition.

I've often wondered what the Mountain Men would have thought of a well designed conibear type trap. I'll bet they would have loved them.

I remember when my dad got a 330 back in the late 50s or early 60s. He told me if a guy got good at using them it would change trapping. He was right.

I can remember old time beaver trappers in the '70's absolutely refusing to use conibears.They were brought up using foot holds and,I guess it was a matter of pride to not touch a conibear.

I remember as a young kid at the local hardware store. Late 50’s or early 60’s. I want to buy a conibear . Father said no way, “it’s just a gimmick “.

Yeah Buck, the time I remember might be closer to the early 70s.

Funny the ups and down of support for the conibear traps at one time they had anti support using the humane angle. I used the heck out of them over the years definitely a tool a guy needs to have in his arsenal if your looking for numbers. Shallow rat trapping is where they shine for me or for defined trails.

The animal rights groups elevated him to "god-status" for inventing a trap that killed instead of "held!"

My how times change!

Pete

First 330 I saw was priced at seven dollars. #4 Victor jump type traps were two dollars each. stayed with the foot holds for another year,
1965 bought first 330. learning curve started. I was 15

Same thing with the DP Trap!

Great post Bruce!

The most amazing trap ever invented. All you need to do to fully realize that is get caught by the foot in one and try to wriggle out of it.
It just gets tighter and tighter unforgivingly the more you wriggle.

I don’t know if he was or not, but I have a number of books he wrote and I haven’t seen anything indicating an anti-foothold point of view.

In fact at the end of “The Wise One”, the beaver is caught by a foothold.

Frank Conibear was definitely a trapper who use footholds. But he may have had a desire to have a quick kill lethal trap for a number of reasons, and I heard he was given financial support from an ASPCA member when developing the idea. But that does not necessarily mean he was against using footholds. I don’t know if he was or not, just see no indication of it in his writings.