OUCH!

Now that I have your attention with my "clickbait" title, I would like to ask you: what's your worst trapping related injury?

Hand in a New 220 Belisle.

Hemorrhoids from pulling stakes!!!

Knives and grass. Hows that for clickbait? Cut myself several times through the years, several got stitched, a couple didn't. The worst was several years ago, stopped to look at a snare. A piece of grass was sticking right through where the coyotes nose would go, so I got out to get rid of it. Grabbed it with my bare left hand and jerked, that piece of Johnson grass, a noxious weed, cut the middle finger deep. Bled all over the set, all over the outside and inside of my truck before I could get some toilet paper wrapped around it to slow it down! It's the little things that get ya! 500 dollars at the closest hospital cured the issue!

2 years ago I got hammered in a #3 Bridger, on my index finger the 1st day, and on the middle finger the 4th day on my right hand. Right on the nail bed. Man that smarted. To this day if I get to close to a Bridger #3 I am liable to wet myself.

I might as well tell you what happened to me the other week: I caught my thumb in a 4 coil Bridger #2 Dogless, but I got caught on the side, so it wasn't in the offset. I never want to get caught by my thumb like that again. If it was my whole hand, I dont think it would have been nearly as bad.

What My Side said, difference was 4 coil NO BS Extreme on the side putting a screen cover in. Thumb and pointer finger right behind the nail. Good lord that hurt and I could not figure out how to get the springs compressed on that beast. Finally did took 7 months for the fingernails to grow out and hurt the entire time. I am way more careful now.

Ends of the fingers, on the nails, in the lever arrea, are all the worst! Used to stick my hand in one of my coyote traps and wear it while I gave a talkk to kids many times, but since. my hands have gotten so full of arthritis in my old age, I quit doing that. The jaws hit me on a knuckle with a bare hand, I'd just dispatch myself!

Snapped a belisle 160 on my thumb, right behind the joint. Hard to use setters with one hand in the trap, eventually took off my belt and passed it though the eyes. Bought a safety that afternoon.

The worst part about catching yourself on the nail bed is hitting the end of the chain

Snapped my thumb in a #1.5 Duke last year. Freezing cold in the water. Ended up forming a huge infected lump on the side of my thumb and ended up having surgery to cut off the lump

Was rushing to get in one last beaver set with a 330, and not being careful enough. Wound up with my right thumb in it between the 2 joints. Got it out by yanking which hurt so bad I got weak-kneed. Stuck my hand in the ice water but it still swelled up so bad I could hardly use it. I still have a bone chip in there as a reminder to always take my time and to keep the safety on it till I am about to walk away.

Moosetrot

Blood poisoning from cutting between two fingers when skinning a coon.

Hit the side of my hand with a 2 pound hammer while driving an earth anchor. Didn’t break a bone thank God but carry a scar. I’ve since welded a tee to the driver making it a big more idiot proof,lol.

Wiping off my fleshing knife in a hurry got 8 stitches on my thumb. Top of my nail down to the bone. Boy o boy did I learn a new respect for that knife. Had a hard time doing everything the rest of that season

Right thumb in a NO B. S. K9 extreme up above the first knuckle. It was nailed to the ground and I was on my 4 wheeler 1/2 a mile from the truck and my phone was on the wheeler. As luck would have it my trapping shovel was within my catch circle and I managed to set it on one lever and get my knee on it while I worked the other lever with my left hand. Couldn't bend my thumb for almost a month and even though it hit above the knuckle I still lost the nail. From that day forward I never let my shovel be out of arms reach until I'm back on the wheeler lol.

Buddy of mine went with me to set traps years ago. It was deer season, so he was watching for deer while I made sets. I caught both thumbs in a #3 double long I'd already staked down. I hollered, he said dang, you're an expert trapper, we ain't been here 15 minutes and you already caught something. I told him to shut the &$@# up and come get me outta this thing we still laugh about that

Last year I caught the very tip of my thumb in an mb 450. Didn’t feel too good. Last winter I was setting some beaver traps with a friend, and heard a snap behind me. Somehow he caught is arm way back in a belisle 330 just below his elbow. Luckily I was there to release him!

Joining the 220 and 330 club in the same year bout 10 yrs ago.

I have no clue to this day how it happened, but my middle finger in between first and second joint in an MB550. I don’t think it would have been too bad except for jumping and hitting the end of the chain! That was last year and still have a lump there, lol.

Lol, I did the same thing with a new bridger #3. I tried night latching them and turned them into a hair trigger. I was bedding the trap when it caught my thumb. It hurt like (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) and I still have a scar. Live and learn

Never got hurt bad trapping.minor stuff like cuts and bruises and frostbite etc.Worst injury on the line was popping my left hip bone out of joint flipping the snowmachine 3 years ago.Still in pain from that.
Did get hurt a couple times pretty bad working on the Railroad.

Finger in #9 trap 2 separate times!

Two locust tree thorns in the arm

Hand in a 220. Thank goodness it wasn't a Belisle!

I just remembered-I broke a couple ribs once when I fell out of the top bunk at trapping camp after drinking some shine.

220 went off while I was placing the trap. Everything must have been just right as somehow both trigger wires punctured completely through my left hand. Didn’t even realize it until
I couldn’t let go of the trap

I bet it really hurt the next morning!

Just remembered I took a locust in the calf 2018, it came out next to my shin

Ouch
Thank God for Health Care in Canada;
we are covered for those un-expected little trapline mistakes.
The ER doctors always want to hear some stories....actually have take some out on the line afterwards so they can experience it, including the Minister of Health who wanted to be front line in Hanti-virus days.

Dang, I would come up with a better method. That just don't sound fun....Lol

When you forget your stake puller and you gotta give it all you got!! This clay is hard up here!!

Caught 4 fingers in a 330 on my dominate hand. Then I just pulled em out. Ripped the index finger open to the bone. I left a blood trail. I’m a lot more careful these days

Sore back from fleshing.

bridger 120 across thumb knuckle .....those things are awful.....I had bought 6....I know I launched one along the way somewhere out of frustration...still have 5 in the shed not doing anything

when I was in the Army...I did some training with an Aussie..the instructor was asking guys about safety opinions on things ...he said..(in his best crocodile dundee voice)
ABCDEF...

ALWAYS
BE
CAREFUL
DON'T
EVER
FORGET

never forgot that

second day of season years ago, last set of the day ,caught my thumb up high in a number 4, the next day I could not move it , my season was done i could not set a trap ,

Standing on top of a very large icy metal culvert, I slipped and fell landing on the side of the culvert and the large bolts holding it together. Pretty sure I died.

I was about 16 years old, I made a 120 out of two 110's, no safeties... tried to set it, slipped and caught both thumbs! I was there thumbed-cuffed, luckily I was home and my brother had a rare moment of sympathy for me and help me get it off.

2006 I was standing on a culvert looking down at two sets, no catch. I turned and stepped on some ice and went down. The culvert is about 6 feet tall, I knew I was going in the water but with waders, no big deal. I crossed my arms on my chest and went down. What I did not know is that just below the water line the culvert was cemented in and my elbow hit the cement on the way down. That did not hurt my elbow too much but tore my left rotator cuff and that hurt from November until March when I had surgery. I skinned and fleshed 105 coons plus rats and a couple reds after that and it took a few pain killers to keep going. One wrong step and several months and years to get back to an older normal.

Bryce

Last year, MB750 on my bare left hand across the joint at the base of my thumb and the joint at the base of my index finger. It hurt a lot, lucky I had a set of one hand setters with me.

Besides getting thumb and index finger in traps, getting bit by a gray fox

Thumb in a #3 Duke while cat trapping.

Both hands across the fingers in a brand new 280 Bridger magnum. At the time I was used to settings the springs with setters and then squeezing the jaws together by hand to set the trigger (I now use setters for this ;)). Those first gen Bridger magnums had the round rod safety hooks that were just a bit long, making for a tricky leverage curve when squeezing the jaws together. Anyway, I was in the process of doing so when the trap slipped, and it just so happened both the safety hooks jumped off. Fortunately I hadn't anchored the trap yet, and I had the thumb and first finger of one hand free so I was able to start and drive about a mile to the farmers house on the property I was trapping and he, with help of another local farmer who happened to be there were able to remove the trap.
Honestly I wasn't aware of any pain until circulation started back in, and that passed only after several minutes of vigorous dancing, in which I must say I invented some pretty creative moves. All in all I escaped with only minor bruising, and a lesson well learned. On the bright side, it gave the local farmers something to chew on for awhile. I can only imagine what their version of the story might have been...

This past summer I was trying to catch the third and last beaver on a private pond. The 330s weren't connecting so I pulled out my Hancock and set a dam break. Two nights of debris and still set, I had the trap open and safety on. I tried to adjust the trigger and at some point the safety came off. Next thing I know, I was on my butt with a welt on my forehead. Man, those things close quick. I reset the trap and had the beaver the next morning.

2

when i was young , in high school , had a friend trapping with me , he went down stream to a dam i went up stream to a dam , in winter , I made my sets an came back to truck, and waited , no friend , so i honk the horn , no friend , so I started to go see what was wrong , THATS went I see him coming out with both hand in a 330 , seem he had every thing ready to go thru the ice when he notice a branch in hole , so he set down 330 on ice , got the branch out , and reach back for the 330 ,that was laying on ice and it went off ,jump up and got both hands , he had to unwire 330 from poles ,

Last year I tore my rotor cuff pulling myself up onto a Creek bank.

Completely blown rotator cuff muscle, not repairable debilitating injury. Carrying heavy drowning weight up a beaver pond bank in too big of a hurry, feet slipped out jarring the shoulder.

Still hurts !

Thumb in a 220 Belisle, same thumb in a 220 Victor, thumb in a #4 coil, and thumb in a 1 1'2 coil which hit just so on the nail to have it hurt almost as bad as the other thumb incidents. Neither thumb looks completely normal any more.

I had a 14 go off and the tooth went through the thumbnail.