I have used Hancock traps a few times in the past, on loan from F&G when a customer, usually municipal, wanted beaver removed from an area where there was some public visibility. They worked fine and I was able to extricate the beaver without giving anyone too much heartburn over the removal.

I’ve been toying with the idea of using a Comstock or Z trap style but have no experience with them. I have access to some Washington ground nearby that have beaver but am restricted to cage traps. I appreciate any input and experience you can share on cage trapping beaver with box type cage traps for beaver.

I believe Comstock has a Youtube channel you can learn from. You can also to comstockcustomcage.com and click on the video section to gain information about using them for beavers. Hope this helps.

https://comstockcustomcage.com/videos/

Thank you sir.

Not sure what a Z trap Is but the city bought me 2 of those beaver cage traps. $400.00 dollars each. I set one and caught a coon. Never caught a beaver in a baited one on the bank. But I did call Jim and asked how he used them and for the most part he was setting them in shallow runs. Where I was trapping, I didn't have that option. So, a snare worked to perfection. You could set just about any location. And once the beaver wrapped up it was fairly easy to remove it alive from the location. Sometimes they didn't wrap up, and it was a real chore to get them In NAFA bag.
But I membered my days of live trapping coyotes and fox. I would use a dog crate and just shove It up close to the critter and for the most part they would run right into the cage. Close the door pull out the foot remove the trap and lock the door. It worked really good on beaver. Put dog crate on the jet sled and haul it to the truck.

No experience with Z but I like the Comstock's. I set them in runs or behind dams just like a body trap. Works great. You can brush them in and pile stuff on top of them and they work fine. Beaver go in them readily.

I like the Comstock beaver traps. There are downsides to them. Getting a big snapper out of them is a chore. As is a full cage of branches. And I don't like the stock wire trigger, they break to easily, but you can replace with rebar wire. Even though they are bulky, I prefer them over 330's.

Larry, can you go into MORE detail about setting traps BEHIND the dam? thanks

Comstock can be placed on land or in the water. One door open or two.
Not sure what was ment by baited, but lured trap catch beaver on dry land.
If you want to go inexpensive, look for the older large havaheart.

We: my partner and I, have used the Z-trap cages made for beaver. We couldn’t get the beavers up on the bank but had no problems in shallow water. Neil Ziegman, the developer of the Z-beaver cage trap video’d beavers getting caught in his cages. Call him and I’m sure he’ll share his videos.

I just looked at the z trap. Not impressed.
Construction looks good
Trigger looks like it would work in dry conditions. Snow or to much weight and the trigger would get heavy to trip.
The guy says to offset slightly to decrease tension. That might work for one way of the two way trigger.
It is not designed for in water use because of the swing door.

It is a normal cage with a dumb trigger design IMHO.

When you say Z trap, in guessing you mean the EZ Trap?

No. Z trap has a cage trap now.

I've been asked to live trap and relocate beaver.
People have wanted it done, but I tell them you buy the live traps
get permission from mtfwp to relocate .
2 out 5 people called back and said that they said no.

All out of staters and money's not a object of course.

No relocating. But if I want to use conventional gear I need to file for special permit.
No permit needed with cage. Cages are as easy as any other gear minus the weight factor.
maybe easier...

Look at the Ztrap website and find the beaver cages. Russ Buddin, Neil’s good friend, sent me the pictures and videos from the website. Dumb me, I’ve never seen some of these before.

Anyway, I’ve used these beaver cage traps before. My partner got a couple to try out. They worked well in a couple inches of water. The trigger, which hangs from the top of the trap, is well built. I’ve used the coon sized version with the top-down trigger, and that works well, too.

From our experience, these beaver cages are well built. Beavers have no problems entering them and getting caught. Having used Hancock beaver live traps in the past, Ztrap beaver cages work as well or better. And they’re half the price.