General questions

Hey guys I'm new to this forum, I have some general questions I grew up trapping as a kid until my dad stopped and I just started trapping again for the first time last season in 14 years and I'm 26 now. I'm doing it with my two boys to help them get outdoors and away from the screens. Lasy year we took two raccoons, 7 beaver, and an otter not bad for my first time doing it on my own. But I am a smoker and I wonder if that messes with my traps and sets at all, I don't smoke at the sets but I still wonder. Also I'm having a little trouble bedding coil springs with the D ring on the bottom maybe I should be leaving an indent in the center of the bed and try to rest the trap more on the coils? And here in Michigan the bobcat season for where I'm at only lasts for 10 days and I'm wondering if I use my traps for other predators before hand and then move my traps and make different sets specifically for bobcats if the scents of previous catches on the traps will mess with that at all and if I would need to clean and re dye and wax them again for bobcat? And help with these questions would be greatly appreciated along with any other tips and pointers you want to add that aren't related to the questions. I really want my kids who are going to be 12 and 6 at the end of the year to have an enjoyable experience and to give them the thrill that trapping gave me as a child and to create a longstanding tradition and there's nothing worse to those two with their short attention span to see empty traps day after day. Thank you

Personally, I wouldn't smoke around your sets.......as you mentioned...........but I wouldn't freak out about it either. Just be reasonably clean in handling your gear. As far as cats go........... they are not very bright ! I wouldn't worry about re-doing your traps that had been previously set for some other critter.

Except for wolves, I think the whole "human scent" issue is overdone. Just stay reasonably clean and you'll be ok. IMO

Welcome to trapperman. It's a great place to waste time.

I'll second what white17 says. I smoke and like you I won't light up anywhere near a set. I'm a firm believer that it is physically impossible to not leave some scent evidence behind and that what we leave behind is not automatically alarming unless the critter has prior knowledge that would associate the odor with harm. Of course that is not license to get sloppy or stupid.
As far as bedding center swiveled traps I like to dig either a bowl or a narrow hole straight down to hold the chain and swivels. The trap is bedded firmly on the rim of the bowl and held by the jaws and levers only. It helps if the bowl is the exact shape and size of the trap or slightly under sized.

Welcome to Trapperman.I would suggest the book perfect sets by rich faler.Also if you’re trying to teach your kids something how about quitting smoking-my two cents.

And that was to be expected and took quicker than I thought to show up.

Mind your own business, Karen.

Oh I know I should quit their mother let's them know all the time I'm stupid for it and they agree with her, I'm not afraid to talk crappie about myself to them to let them know how dumb it is.

I roller into my location to find a group of guys surrounding 2 caught yotes.
The owner saw them and called friends and family.
They were smoking, chewing, spitting, you name it.
I demoed the dispatch and remakes and general BS session.
The next day I had two more in those sets.

Check out the archives.
There's a button for them under the no politics and other rules on this page.

Sorry-I don’t know what gets into me sometimes,Karen

I've done a lot of reading on this site before I finally decided to join. I just want to make sure I'm doing things right and getting the most out of time spent with the kids, they grow up fast, and each year seems quicker than the last. Going to be going to the trapping convention with them up in evart MI this year hoping to see some good demos and let them participate in the kids game. I actually talked to Lee steinmeyer on the phone the other day looking into his death ray, I gotta get my order sent in pretty quick for that. Yesterday I just had my order come in for my mb650 offsets inside and outside laminated. First pricier traps I've bought before this I just had bridger 1.75s 2 coils. Wonder if I'll be able to get a more solid bed with these, I also got 4 1.75 Victor's I picked up at a local trapping show last year but never used those, and I got 2 1.65 bridger offsets and my oldest has a duke #2. I'm slowly acquiring more as I go, I just need to keep at it and learn the skills and put them to use

Muskrat trapping might be most fun for the kids and their probably the most sellable right now.

That's what I did mostly when I was young. If I were to do that I'd have to stock up on some traps we only have 2 110's the kids won in the hay find last year. Other than that for body grippers I have 6 330s and an mb1216 and no footholds smaller than a 1.65, another thing is all the guys I know who have property that are willing to let me trap mainly have coyote, fox, and beaver they want gone with otters also in the area

If you have beaver and otter, there is usually muskrat
Welcome to trapperman

Yes, that or as a kid I loved trapping weasel in the winter with my dad.

You could get started trapping ground hogs with your children. I know it's not exciting like canine trapping but someone needs to take care of the boogers.

You’re 26 years old and have a 12 year old kid?…Anyways, I wouldn’t worry about the cigarette smell or needing to wash and re-dye traps after catches at all. I’d just flick that cigarette butt as far away from a set as possible though.

For bedding your traps with the center D ring, I would make sure the bottom of the bed has a half inch’ish of soft dirt/sand that you can press the trap down into. It’ll bed solid then.

I have all my coil spring traps in a big tangled ball full of dirt and grime and rust from trapping last year. The day before season starts I’ll untangle the mess and set them the next day. Guaranteed to have animals bouncing around in them the following morning!

I agree with Karen, I can't believe anybody is stupid enough to smoke in this day and age with all the info out there. Haven't you seen anybody die from lung cancer? Emphezima? (sp) Kissing somebody that smokes is like licking an ashtray!
Kudo's tho for spending quality time with your kids, enjoy it while you're still alive!

I have a daughter 10 years younger than me. My older wife had children before we got together

dude judgie much , plenty of ways that happens to have 12 year old at 26 all that matters now is he is taking care of them and being a good father.

Well my wife is a few years older than I am when we started dating I was 20 and she had a 5 year old son, the fathers not around he won't call him or even send a birthday card he even dislocated his shoulder when he was between 1 and 2 because he wouldn't stop crying. Believe it or not that didn't fix the issue. The guy is a real piece of work and none of the guys she was with before me would even acknowledge the poor kid. And yes I know that smokings bad and I know the information I'm not looking for lectures on that though just want to learn how to bag some fur

Lol no not judging at all. People judge me cause I gel my hair.

Don't worry about it, I'm not going to take offense. But when you guys make a dirt hole set how do you guys like to make the hole? Trowel, auger, or dirt hole punch?

I take my earth anchor driver and punch a hole about 10” deep then rotate it around to make your hole.

I use an auger 75% of the time and a rebar stake the rest

Good deal taking your boys trapping, hunting and fishing.
I treasure every minute that I spent with my 2 girls and son in the outdoors.
Someone told me that Mark Twain said, Quitting smoking was the easiest thing he had ever done
Because he had done it a thousand times, so hang in there buddy.
A lot of great guys on T-Mann, then there’s you know who. Lol