FIRST OFF-- i have NEVER used this set, so take this rant for what its worth.

HOWEVER, my logic tells me this cant be a high percantage cathc set, MY logic tells me i would get quite a few toe catches or pullouts or sprung traps.

for THOSE who use this set, or have tried this set on a lrage number.....how many pullouts or sprung traps do you see?

Charles,

What the heck is a dirthole then???? LOL.....

well, by BURIED BAIT set, i mean, the trap is ON TOP of the hole, with the bait under it, and the point of the set is to catch the coyote while he DIGS for the bait, and hits the pan in doing so.

there was an article in the TPC this month on it..

made me scratch my head.

please explain the set more..

a set I use and others in the AK forum do as well, is to dig down in the snow, place bait, then cover with some snow, add trap and cover.
the fox and yotes get caught diging for the bait.

now snow may be different than dirt, so take it for what it is worth.,

oh, and i don't use those tiny muskrat traps for this set like you do,
it is typically a #4 4 coil OS or a mb 750 wolfer.

never mind you explained while I was typing.

that sounds very similar to what I wrote.
I think a larger trap would make better catches.

thats it hup. trap goes right over ht ebait.

you didnt have many toes or pullouts?

I wouldn't know Charles. As usual, I don't have the new issue of TPC............

The buried bait set as described by Charles Dobbins is a set where you dig out your trap bed then dig another hole under the bed for your bait. Place your bait in the whole then place your trap in the bed. Use a stick or rod to create a scent chimney up through your trap bed and sift your dirt over the trap.

Charles used a bigger trap with a undersized pan as I recall from his book that helps limit your chances of toe catches.

(Note ive never used this set, this post was more for j morris)

Never tried it Charles. Was afriad they'd dig the trap up then they'd be educated and I'd be dealing with diggers which is the one thing I hate most. Darn Diggers. Found over the years the cleaner you keep the bed area and don't dribble lure or bait they don't dig and roll so much. Just my 2 cents

no pullouts, and no toes, actually great HIGH catches, and one two footer.
and I run near zero pan tension as well, due tot he freezing, and I think it may help with the better catch.

as they start each dig stroke the pressure goes from light to harder, like with a back hoe, so it may fire the trap faster and get them with the whole foot committed on the beginning of the dig stroke, rather than near the end of it..

does that make sense??

I usually use a shrub for backing as well. same as a dirt hole and it is usually a very tight backing.

Mainly, I use this along a travel route off the trail or "around" a bait set, say 50 -100 yds away, like something took the bait and then burried it.

Dang, was sure alot of people on here had the Land Sets and Trapping Technique book.

as far as diggin out the trap only, it did happen, but with my partners Bridger #5 cs that he speed dipped.
they dug em out and all the way around, like they were on a snow pedestal, but they nbever got the bait.
actually 3 of them had near 6 ft trenches dug back from the trap and about 2 ft down in the snow.

we concluded it was the speed dip, not curing right or whatever, and removed the trap, and bait and remade with my traps and voila.

ill be.

pm chaz

Would probably work better in snow than in dirt. Soil eats up scent pretty good. They can smell much better through snow, and is the reason we are extra carefull on clean traps than you could get away with burying them in dirt down south.

-TJ

I glanced at that article last night myself. I stopped reading it myself because I didn't think it would work very well. I also thought it would cause dug up traps and maybe some toe catches. Hmmm...might have to reconsider and read the rest of the article now.

I've used the burried skunk set many times and had good success with coyotes.MB650 with very light pan pressure.

I have a different version of it and its actually a flatset. I got the idea from when one of my ranchers buried a cow that died. Then I modified it even more when one of the hunters freezer went bad and they buried a bunch of venison and other stuff that was in the freezer. I use my scraps from butchering my deer and what all. I will take a pic of some of my sets this fall and winter to post on here.

I caught two red foxes in the buried bait set in the snow- male one day, female the next, back in the early 70s before I pulled the trap. I had a coyote carcass that was tainting because I didn't get around to getting rid of it soon enough. So, I buried the carcass in a shallow hole at the base of a huge standing dead tree trunk (it was a good 4' diameter, 20' tall, and rotting while still standing). The trap was a #3 longspring and I set it on top of the buried carcass and covered it with a mixture of snow and ground duff. I gave a shot of red fox urine to the base of the trunk to make it appear that an animal buried it and marked the location with urine. That scenario convinced me that foxes WILL work a set with a big backing and also that the buried bait set is a worthwhile mixup set to use besides the run-of-the-mill dirt hole and flat set.

Another sign why you don't want to use any type of speed dip.T.20