Trapping a new ranch in south TX

Living the Vida Loca - the "crazy life"
Getting a new ranch in south TX all set up. The Mrs. is along to trap alongside me on this ranch so even more fun in the sun!

I hear the cell phone ring and then I hear Donna say, "Well, Mark is kinda busy right now."


Ah yes, the two poop set with two lures working for the Mrs.


We have a 70-80 lb mountain lion walking this road, but a coyote found the lion set first


Always best to get their attention before slipping the Death Ray on 'em




Non-target as a target


Blessings!
Mark

Loved the Bacon targe Mark.

Both you and Waggler know how to live!!!

I needed my .17 to be honest. Ol' porky pig charged me over and over trying to keep out of the line of fire. I don't think they make .22 rounds to shoot stuff anymore. Or my aim is teetering. Maybe both.

I carry a .22 Mag. Sometimes 2 of them.

You didn't try that trick you use on the coyotes?

looks like fun , enjoy , and take lots of pic.

Is free pork one of your perks?

Oh my the third coyote above the pig is pretty ugly huh, do you get paid per animal, or a set price

The 3rd pic down, I believe you actually don't have a true coyote, but an actual red wolf hybrid. The head looks too wide for even a mature coyote IMO. I sent you a PM.

I have never charged by the animal in a full on predator control effort where I stay on property. A stiff daily fee separates the wheat from the chaff

Well, I missed its partner today who pooped about 40 yards downwind. I made a set for her so I hope to get close up pics soon. It looked like a coyote to me (#3) and was one heck of an athlete.
He lost.

Blessings,
Mark

Ya it's a coyote

Donna has been leading the charge on bobcats.

Looks fun Mark. Its even more fun to spend the time with good trapping partner.

Donna's smiling face says it all......
She loves catching them bobcats, you can have the hogs!

Looks like you and Donna are livin large, Mark. Looks like the Rays are still doing the job. Glad you guys are getting some time off and having fun, Hope to see you at the fur takers in June. It’s been awhile!

Thanks for the pics looking good

Dang you have some pretty cats down that way

Fun pics!
Great cats!
Nice wheels!
I got my wife a new decked out Honda Pioneer 1000.

Just the photo of your method of getting attention would work to prevent sleeping in church!

Stay well!

way to go guys !!!, keep up the good work,

I love this Kawasaki and will get another one when this one dies. It's our office and is so much better than the Polaris we ran which always broke down.
We take the dominion over creation quite literally and I assume the outdoors passion will always lay a foundation for our path.
Just this morning I got an email from the gentleman in charge of hiring a full time pastor for the Church on the Rim of the South Grand Canyon, as part of the National Park Service.
So very cool but not sure it'll work out for Donna and I at this season of our lives.
But how cool would it be to minister a 5:30am church service at the Grand Canyon with all who attend as the sun rises!

Creation has always held on to me in ways I can't explain....
and don't really need to in a world seeking all things logical.
I know the grandness of God each time I see the beauty of His crafted bobbie cats!

Blessings!
Mark

Hope to see some more of these today...
His and hers.

Good work

Thanks BTLowry!
I set two more sets specific to a lion yesterday. The prints I found were about two weeks old so maybe, just maybe, it'll come back around while we're here. The area is a chuck of ground that our rancher just bought adjacent to him that has been pretty quiet north of Freer about 5 miles. If I was a lion, it'd be a nice place to hole up where no one will bother you.

There's a new sheriff in town now.

Blessings,
Mark

Is the part of the ranch high fence where you seen the lion sign? Maybe you hang the ole cougar in a fence snare

Good thought Yotegiter. We found a hole today that cats, coyotes, and black buck antelope were going back and forth through. It had lion tracks near it also. We had to button up the hole to stop antelope from coming and going plus I'd kill an antelope long before I killed a predator should I hang a snare. Golden opportunity though. Hogs are terrible here on this ranch and they go through every bigger hole A LOT which hampers us also. But we're in the game!



Donna continues to reel in the kitties.


Blessings!
Mark

Nice!

Fun reading !! Please keep sharing!

Mark,I was thinking it would be a lot nicer where you guys are at now,-14 for the high here today forecasting -34 tonight and maybe -14 for the high tomorrow then it starts to warm up highs above 0 for highs.Happy New Year to you and Donna,one thing about this week the bugs are not bad!!!

LOL Rick! Yep. It's peaches and cream here. I was telling Donna today as we buzzed around in 87 degrees and full sun that trapping TX seems to be the opposite of brutal cold. It's brutal hot. We had 18-20 mph wind today which blew the bugs off us which was AWESOME. Sun lotion. Bug spray. Zillions of ticks and fleas. Snakes. Day after day with no let up.... reminds me of brutal cold day after day. Either one SAPS you after a while and the greatest hurdle I face here is that I've always been a crappy hydrator, so a couple days a week I get a headache and I remember, dang, I've only had one gatorade today!!!

Donna says she'd take the HOT all day every day rather than cold. Me... I think I prefer cold.

Nice catches.That soil sure looks like a dream to trap in.All clay and rocks up here.

I was thinking earlier today that it is just plain wrong that I was out checking traps on the 4 wheeler this morning in shorts and a t-shirt on 12/31

Looks like the warm weather is not slowing you and Donna down catching predators though

My biggest concern would be snakes

Nice pics Mark. Happy new year to you and the wife. Keep after them!

I'm the boot wearing snake dude BT. But we haven't seen a rattlesnake yet. Donna keeps close to the buggie at all times.

I wear snake boots year round down here. Good luck! Enjoy this thread!!

Y’all are killin it!

looks like a good time down there, but Ilike the cold here too, 16 for a high today but sunny ,

I wish my partner would like to trap. The time I took her out and caught a coyote double she is yelling get out of the trap he is going to end your life. That was a good day. I had six traps out and caught four coyotes. Now I have a hard time catching four coyotes in a week. The fields are now hay and pastured by black angus and fences all over the place. So this year I avoid trapping that farm. That farm was always my best farm. How do you trap hay fields?

Sod set turn the sod upside down thats your backing blend with grass etc. over the trap,Pipe set with grass as your covering again Deep trench slide in set is what type of sets I would use in hay fields the pasture's cow trail stock ponds if the cow are gone.

looking good , with a bonus pig , must be fairly far north on this one , no pistol at your side.

I guess as a rule I look for bald spots in any area. I'm not consistent fighting grass and ground cover.

good morning mark where's the pic,?

Just two bobcats yesterday as not much action with the heat just before the front. NOW, it gets better.
Plus everyone and their pals were hunting and riding the ranch these past two days and that causes the critters to lay low.

One of those days were I relured and got all ready.
From 90 to 30 degrees has critters figuring it all out.

beautiful cats down there

Sure some nice spots, here in WIs we have rabbit back cats with muddy spots

The cold front hit with a 30-35 mph north wind (rugged!!!! on the buggie today) but the bobbies were on the move!
6 cats today including a double.

Yesterday 90 degrees. Today, Donna bundled in everything she owns.


Bobcats were on the prowl with the cold temps and we spent a long day yesterday getting plenty of sets ready for 'em.


I had a couple layers on also. Darn the wind today!


Caught a bobcat in one of my lion sets. Maybe tomorrow....



Donna caught the oldest female of the trek so far.


And his and hers bobcats


Gonna be cold tonight again so more cats tomorrow is the plan.
Coyotes are wimps here. They lay up when the temps hit the 30's

You need a windshield on that 'saki for those cold days...


Nice cat catch!

Now you sound like my Mrs. Swamp Wolf. I can't see sign with a dag-gum windshield PLUS tough trappers get tougher when the going gets tough.

a very good day, WTG guys

Some good pictures Mark

With a windshield you can still look out the sides. Just put Donna over in the bushes as you straddle the middle to look your wheel rut...lol.

Unless she's the one driving....then that's a no go.

How'd you know how I roll SW?
Donna told me a couple days ago it took her something like 4 years to get one particular mesquite thorn outta her hand.
I suggested she keep all hands and legs inside the moving vehicle at all times.
I get on a track and I sometimes forget about the person in the passenger seat.
It's a disease.

I know what you mean. My SxS driving on the trapline or deer woods causes the wife and I some interesting "discussions." Lol

Good stuff Mark.
You skinning those cats?

Skinning every one. . Yessir.

SW, I bet our "discussions" are quite similar sir.

Must be cold there, looks like snow boots! Lol

Same weather up here

High 70's yesterday but when the sun started setting the wind changed and temp started dropping. This morning it was 24 with 17-30mph wind.
Checked traps after church and did not get enough layers on for the all of 30min it took to run the line.
After work tomorrow I will be checking in the truck I imagine

Have a samurai that I need to get going again, mouse/rat chewed a few wires

30 degrees but no wind to speak of this morning.
Donna is going to use the word, "Caribbean" 10x this morning. Betcha

24 up here just North of Tyler

Stay warm and get Donna some hand warmers

BTLowery, She will have hand and feet warmers today until about 11:00am. Promise.
Have fun up there and hit 'em hard!

Blessings,
Mark

Beauties

Had a super day with coyotes cooperating...

I like to catch them wherever they turd. Always good to catch them where the person paying you has to drive around them as they enter or exit the ranch.
This male shouldn't left his calling card.


Middle spot where the two bladed roads bisect.


Setting right on sign.


Ranch hands found a doe and when I investigated the pics they took and the prints around the carcass... it's our lion. Ate out the chest area in a nice oval shape and then the coyotes showed up at some point and chewed on the entire doe. And then the buzzards and Mexican eagles showed up too.
Set two lion set ups.


Had to set away from the carcass as the birds had found it by the time I was able to set it up.
2 MB 550's at each spot with lure - gland - scat - urine and a visual attractor.



We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Look's a little warmer there today,hope you can snag the lion looks like a two trap W/T whats footholds are waiting for him/her NBS,Bridger #5,#4New House or a Sterling MJ 600?Those TX bobcats are pretty clear Some not all,but they sure are nice % wise,coyotes thats another thing!

I don't set anything bigger than an MB550 on any ranch I trap otherwise I might catch and hold the exotics. Can. Not. Do. That.

I forget about the money making game animals,those 550's will hold the Mt lion if it gets ahold of two.three toes or more no problem I've held a 80 to 90 lb bear in one before and a few wolves as well,550 2 coil is a STRONG foothold,look forward to more pictures.

Yep,

Held this 105# male by 4 toes all day long waiting on the state guys with the tranq gun in another state. And that was 1 trap.

Awesome thread! Thank you for sharing and carrying us along Mark!

That’s a cool catch right there!!

I have missed reading your report for a few days.
You and your expert Boss lady really piled up the cats!
I was eagerly awaiting a lion catch. Great job! That must be exciting!

We had a Kawasaki Mule Diesel 4x4 for 15 years. Recently sold it to a guy who loves it!
The new Honda Pioneer 1000 has a wider stance like yours. Very nice.
Best wishes.

Thanks Willy. Say, I think I'll trade in the Kawasaki this year for a new one but I'm considering the Pioneer also based on what I hear about them.
Your thoughts? The Kawasaki has been rock solid.

Blessings,
Mark

Morning Mark 0 here this morning thats way better than -30 something.

Yessir friend!
Hope to show you a lion soon. The rancher just bought the adjacent ranch and it's on this piece that we cut the lion tracks last week. Real quiet area that makes sense a mama lion could set up as home base. There's a bit more traffic now that the rancher bought it 3 months ago and his ranch hands are starting to get in a mow/trim/fix tanks/etc.

I sure do enjoy this type of country and it's always best when it doesn't rain when we're here as you well know!

Blessings!
Mark

Mark The ranch I trap in New Mexico has a fleet of pioneers and they have on average 12 to 16,000 very rough miles on them. I am seriously considering a Honda as well once my Kawasaki blows up. I have over 11,000 miles on my 2018 Kawasaki. It has been a pretty good machine but has also seen the inside of a dealership more often than I care for.

You've been working it Yotegiter! That's a bunch of miles since 2018! Mine has 8500 and so far so good. Thanks for the info about how many miles those Pioneers have on them. Once I graduate from seminary in May, we have quite a bit lined up and I may just get a new "office."

Appreciate the feedback.

Blessings,
Mark

What kind of price on those Honda Pioneers?

Iam along for the ride too....looks like a blast...road trapping .Don't bet any bettah !
...Hope you get that lion...he's around for sure.

As is typical, no sign of the lion since the kill two days ago. Dang.

But, the coyotes continue to play along, even in remake circles which is not common in high fence set ups.


And Donna has the largest bobcat so far
Can you hear the catch pole creaking? How about the comment from my bride to "HURRY UP AND TAKE THE PICTURE!!!!"?


And of course, I always enjoy when you pull up to three well bedded traps and "Jeffey" (what I call raccoons) has dug all three outta their beds. REMAKE x 3 please!



Blessings,
Mark

Excellent Photos

Memories Together

Probably don't have time for it but I would set a dog proof nearby for "Jeffey" and get even for that stunt

Great thread Mark. Looks like a blast.
That lion kill makes me wonder if the lion was feasting and got spooked and wasn't able to return before the yotes and eagles took over.

Great photos Mark!

Question for ya.

“But, the coyotes continue to play along, even in remake circles which is not common in high fence set ups.”

Why not? Curious to hear your input, as I always thought remakes with catch circles were better than original sets, with my K9 experience.

John

looks like you guys are getting it done, thanks for taking us all a long ,

I think I agree with you adam m. I wish I would have found the carcass initially. The ranch, I have learned from the new owner, was vacant and very quiet for about 15 years. The new owner bought it less than three months ago and he's given the marching orders to get this 3200 acres in shape. He own 7000+ acres next to it. With the ranch hands walking around the fresh kill (they discovered it around 8:00 am) I'm sure the lion wasn't far off.

Oh well, we set it up and try. I had seen the lion prints walking down two roads and it's probably 80-100 lbs by the size of the tracks.

Blessings,
Mark

Trapping inside high fences as I have now for 17 years I can tell ya that resident coyotes inside a "static" environment are different in a way that is quite different than coyotes that are free to roam for miles and miles. They are VERY skittish. In 17 years, and a ton of coyotes, I betcha I have killed .05% in a remake. I used to have fun with anyone trapping with me.... tell them, "I'll give you $100 you catch a coyote in a remake." I never paid $100!

I have learned much trapping inside fence. After about 7 days of setting leg holds, I drive the places on bigger ranches (5000 -15,000 acres) where we DID NOT have sign the first of the adventure and 90% of the time after a week... yep, the coyotes have moved to where I'm "not." Coyotes don't like trappers and coyotes "bump" into areas we chase them too when we pound stakes, pour goo, and kill their cousins. It's quite interesting. It's like a chess game. I set up. They adjust. I readjust. They move. I find 'em. They move again. Now mind you, I'm killing coyotes right along and after about 14 days, the dogs get so spooky in an enclosure of miles in size, that trapping with leg holds becomes unproductive. So I pull, wait a month, and hit 'em again. The goal is always to kill 80-90% of the resident coyotes inside the fence.

It's quite interesting that I don't use a ton of snares because most of my ranches snare 365 days a year. But I "button the parameter" 1st to make sure of all that goes in or out and funny thing is about days 4-5, I catch coyotes. You see, I kill coyotes in leg holds here and there and it's as if the remaining dogs "now" want out.

It's not anything about "setting good location" like fur trapping and waiting for the next victim to walk by.
Using leg holds inside a high fence is the most challenging coyote trapping I have ever done and we love it!

Blessings,
Mark

Roy,

I'll ask the biologist here on this ranch if I can bring you along next year this time. I'm pretty sure he'll agree since he leaves the matters about all the trapping stuff to me, but it' polite to ask.
Great ranch. Great lodging. Full boat of coyotes and bobcats and the occasional lion (as we've found out).

I have the traps and gear. I have the buggie. I have all you need except you'll bring the trapping fun and adventure with you.
Donna said, "Yep, bring Roy next time."



Interested?

Blessings,
Mark

Mark- why did they tranq the lion? Can’t you keep them in Texas. That would have made an amazing mount !

I caught that lion in Nebraska in a bobcat set.

Great pics Mark and Donna. I have been analyzing your cat sets to use here in Kansas. Keep up the good work.

The goal is to be consistent with the predator catches.

Setting with the rising sun.


Four coyotes today was a consistent day.
Been waiting on this coyote to revisit where he turded a week ago.


The oil lease roads with the limestone base is hard to get into but I can make an invisible set in it.


Another catch in a remake. Unbelievable but this time of year the coyotes are headed into breeding season and are falling for turd sets with Flat365 big time.


Another catch circle victim. Female caught where another female was nabbed 5 nights ago.


And the bobcats are outpacing the coyotes as is usual on this ranch.


Two more days and back to DTS we go!

Blessings,
Mark

Great thread Mark
I like that big cat.

Please don't leave without catching that lion!! We are sitting on the edge of our seats!

looks like another great day ,thanks for taking us along ,

Haven't seen where he/she has returned. The ranch hands are "checking" these sets about three times a day and that's too much noise, even though they just drive by in a truck.
I met the neighbor two days ago who just bought the ranch adjacent to the piece my rancher just bought. It's starting to make perfect sense. For years, there was very little activity on two ranches and if I was a lion I'd make this whole area my home base. All would have been quiet. The neighbor owns another ranch besides the one he just bought and he and I texted back and forth the night after I met him. He asked my rates. I told him. He said "you must be good with that kinda money per day," and I texted him back, "I know you're good with your kinda money." He texted back a LOL and said "when can you start on my places... we just found a fresh deer kill while we were riding the new ranch today?"

I'll trap his place, but not right away because I have to get back for my last semester at seminary which starts Monday. He runs a big time hunting camp which should be a fine set up. But it sounds like the lion is over a few miles...

I need him to sneak back in these last couple days, back on our ranch.

Blessings,
Mark

Have a great day

Maybe you will get lucky and catch that lion before you have to pull everything

Mark good thread and good luck on your last semester at DTS.

Thanks Pawnee. I'll be straight forward, it's been wonderfully difficult and heart transforming all at the same time. I've met countless people from all over the world who study at Dallas Theological Seminary (it's the most diverse non-denominational seminary in the world with about 90 nations on campus) and many are from war torn or communist nations. Listening to them each week, I can appreciate EVERYTHING I've been given by being born in America. It's been absolutely wonderful for my Mrs. and our marriage also. God's Word changes you. It is divinely designed to do just that and Donna and I are a stronger couple in 1,000 ways because of her saying "yes" to my request to attend seminary at age 61.

Well, here it is almost three years later and almost 8 semesters completed and she and I have no idea what the future path looks like. But God does. All we do prepares us for what He would have us do for His glory, not ours, so we rest in that. I think that they'll always be some outdoors and trapping involved wherever we end up. I'm thinking bush country. Donna is not so sure of that one unless it's small village Alaska. Then she's there all day long she says!

I look forward to seeing you again Brad! Let's shoot at some pheasants!
Blessings,
Mark

Lions are definitely here today gone tomorrow animals. Sometimes. Have seen in real dry conditions where they will just stay at a water source too. Or get on a group of big horns and just stay. The AR folks like to say they kill a deer a week. When killing is easy they kill a lot more than that. IMO they prefer fresh meat and also IMO they kill for fun. They may eat some but its not uncommon for them to have another dead animal a few days old they have abandoned without eating all of it.


All just conclusions i have reached so take it for what its worth.

that lion will wish he moved on if you keep after him I am sure

Good points danny! I just wish I would have found the fresh carcass so that the ranch hands weren't always checking the "water hole." It's the only pond on a piece 3200 acres in size and if I was a lion I'd nap under the mature mesquite trees and just wait. Like it prolly did with the deer the guys found.

All I can do is try. The rest is up to where the lion is headed.

I even tinseled the sets!

Blessings,
Mark

That is what Wayne Derrick says about lions. What I have found when they are around are coyote legs in my traps---they like eatin' 'em!

This is what we look for on the lion kills. Ate the axis deer in the chest area like a surgeon. The flank is eaten on by coyotes.

Great thread, I always learn something from everything you post.

How can you tell the SAME coyote returned to his turd spot a week later? Track size, turd shape/contents, or something else? Maybe just an assumption based on his "home range"?

Thanks and good luck on your last semester. Quite an accomplishment and something to be proud of.

trap-alaska, I can't remember what I had for lunch but I can memorize a coyote track (generally) so that I remember what happens at a set spot. It's a disease!
Of course, I can't be 100% certain, but coyotes seem to come around every 3 days on this ranch and that helps my CSI efforts.
Plus, I'm a big time optimist and push-come-to-shove, "that's the one!"

You need motivation on any trap line and I'm your guy.

Thanks for the encouragement and kind words.
Blessings,
Mark

Tomorrow is pull day.

Today, two turds got a nice male coyote.


And a couple female bobcats



It was 37 on the trap line today with a slight mist. It was CHILLY!
From 88 to 30 this week has us dressed up like the Pillsbury Dough Boy one day and T-shirts the next.

No lion action....

Blessings,
Mark

Great thread Mark. Those are really pretty cats!

Always look forward to your posts Mark. I know us northerners like to kid you southerners about what cold is really like but temp swings like that are the worst! -1° here right now and with the wind makes it feel like -20°. Be safe and hope you have a big ol' cat waiting for you in the morning!

Mark thanks for the elaborate answer to my question about remakes. Always learning! I did a little coyote trapping while I was in Carrizo Springs in 2010. Little dogs compared to the eastern coyotes that I was trapping in WV! Luckily we have very few here on the lower Eastern shore of MD. Good luck tomorrow!

John

Thanks 20scout, at least the raccoons, coyotes, and buzzards haven't mucked with my lion sets. They are set and waiting but we are down to the final hours. Stranger things have happened.
We are slaying the coyotes and bobcats at a better pace than I guesstimated and the rancher is super happy. We put in long hours because we love what we do and have a can-do attitude. We work alongside some great ranchers and biologists and as a biologist myself, I generate a pre and post trapping report each time we harvest. I relate our predator "project" with the fawn/exotic calf crop numbers and plot it all for the staff personnel. It's part of my fee.

Blessings,
Mark

Mark how many sets are you running on that ranch.

Cattrapper, we are running about 110 leg holds and 40 snares. We've only caught 6 animals, including the hog, in snares as the ranch hands (all of them) snare 365 days a year, so it's dull as can be checking the holes. I just like to see what's coming and going while we are on property.

Mark it is a dream of mine to run a long cat line. I seem to see black spots 24/7

Mark it is a dream of mine to run a long cat line. I seem to see black spots 24/7

We're at 23 cats in 10 checks on this ranch. We got 'em.

We have a lot of cats here in Southeast Oklahoma plenty of growed over cuts and pine plantations just not enough time in the day to run a long line. Maybe one day I'll have time one thing I have learned I can't not trap.

Great thread Mark….so what was your final crittah count ?

Look forward to it. My son (C) was running around the house the other night before a big goose hunt looking for his dog collar and transmitter. I told him I knew another guy that had a hard time keeping track of his equipment

In for the morning check

Give me one more day Nessmuck. I know one thing, it isn't "80 coyotes" like so many trappers tell the ranch owners they say they threw in the bushes. I document pics of what I catch every day and text them to whoever they say is in charge of that topic. We like to kill 2-3 coyotes per square miles and that puts a major thump in the coyote denning cycle.

You see, I tell our ranchers, my "J.O.B." isn't to kill coyotes. My job is to increase herd production. Sometimes that means we need stuff with sharp teeth killed including coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, and hogs (I don't do hog control).

All the ranches we trap on are high end outfits and they spend big $$$ on herd production... deer, exotics mainly. I'm not on any cattle ranches. Cattle ranchers are great folks but fickle in the pocket book and we charge a robust daily fee. My new buggie will set me back $21,000 so this isn't a hobbie, it's a business. They are biz people, and so are we. We are here to earn a living (and have a blast!!).

Stay tuned Nessie. One more day of killing but we at about 1.9 coyotes dead per square mile at present.

looks like you have a good run-on animal, landowner should be happy,

Pulling traps today or tomorrow?

Enjoy following your "live" threads

Today is pull 110 traps day
In the fog (at least it's not raining) and mist.
Fun's over. Work begins.

Please let a lion visit a set or two or three. I'm not proud. I also left two snares for him that I'll reel in today also.

good luck

Love those cats.

I bet 110 come up easier than they go in

Hope you catch that lion

Mark, can you go into the “ranch hands all snare the fences”...do you consider that when setting up your bid for the work? Do you have them take the snares down until you leave or do you get credit for their snaring? Just seems odd to me...
Thanks

Reckon the lion got Mark?

No hide. No hair. No lion.
The neighboring ranch had another kill today, about 5 miles from my spot, so I think our big kitty moved over a bit. I pulled sets today so we came, we tried, no go.

The highlight today was the Mrs. getting another nice Tom


We've got the coyotes and bobcats cleaned up real well because the catch is falling off drastically.
We pulled a punch of leg holds today.
The end of a great time on the line with my Mrs!


Thanks for riding along.
We ended with 1.95 coyotes taken per square mile and 2.1 bobcats harvested per square mile.
Right at goal of 2.

Blessings,
Mark

We are interior leg hold experts and we sell our services that way. Resident coyotes that inhabit the interior are usually the bad hombres, and we go after them with leg holds exclusively.
Ranch hands use snares on some of the ranches but our premier ranches have very few holes and they use predator skirting also. On this job we caught just under 60 cats and coyotes and 94% came from leg holds.

Big league ranchers don't hire big league trappers to run snares. They think they can have a hired hand run snares and thin out the bad hombres, but typically all that happens is the transitory animals each year are thinned out and not the interior bad boys.

When I trap after about the first of May, I won't hardly ever catch an animal in a snare because territories are set and no one seems to move in and out of fence.
Leg holds.... it's what we're good at. Find sign. Set sign. Nail them!
Coyotes move around in an enclosure called a high fence ranch because they don't like us.
It's an awesome chess game. Their move, my move, their move, my move... over and over for 14 days.

Blessings,
Mark

Good looking cat pretty clear belly fro the picture,foot holds are way more rewarding than snares but it's good to have both,thank's for other ride along.When is the next ride along,do you have one or two before the fawn May reduction?

Three ranches want us in May and early June as soon as I graduate May 7th. Dog-gone-it's-hot that time of year.
But we love it.

Outstanding knowledge sharing Mark!

Thank you Mitch L. I try to help as much as I can on an online forum

Hey Mark, any guess what the bobcat population density is in that country?

Wow Ringneck, I really don't know. Sections of Texas have bobcats in addition to coyotes as apex predators. We make sets that are designed to catch both most often. Sometimes we put in a coyote specific set and sometimes we set just for cats, but they work the same areas a lot so we target both. Our ranchers are ALWAYS surprised how many cats we catch and after 3-4 years, we do see a marked drop off in population. Which is the goal.

Curious what you do with all of the carcasses?

I would guess you harvest glands and things to go in your baits/lures?

Do you mess with skinning any of the cats for fur sale?

Cats might be worth skinning but a Texas coyote hide with a dollar attached will net you .25

Always interesting and educational following these threads

Have a safe trip home

Mark -
Thanks for sharing the adventure!
You wanted my thoughts about the Pioneer. Well first compared to others. I do wildlife habitat improvement for private landowners. The design and the real work. Plus I do predator management on their lands. All of my customers have some kind of buggy. I have ridden in a bunch and driven many. The only brand I have no experience with is the CanAm.
The Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Polaris all drive the same with that clutch and belt spongy snowmobile feel. They seem weak trying to use the engine for compression braking down a hill.

One customer has 5 side by sides. We got them out and I drove a Pioneer 700 and said THIS IS IT! No more test drives. The drive shaft system makes a tremendous difference. The 1000 is substantially wider than the 700 which made it even better.

The 1000 is the quietest side by side I have ever used. Engine power and torque is over the top great. Ride is superb. The gear system is great - full auto or full manual. Great for everything. We splurged on the SE Special Edition model which costs more, but you get much more than the price difference. This came fully setup with roof, windshield, extra instrument switch panel wiring, and switch for the LED light bar. Also Fox high performance suspension system, front and rear A arm beefy protection, beefy full underneath skid plates, Warn winch, Maxxis radial tires, fancy rims, and other stuff that I cannot remember. The cost was $22,000 plus tax. We had it on order for almost 9 months. I am not crazy about the bed. It is not designed to mount stuff all over it.

It needs a Honda soft rear window ($75) to keep dust out of the cab. It needs side mirrors ($50). It needs a gun rack ($100).

Dang Wiley that’s a beauty, I have buggy envy.lol

All these years ..I thought Texas was a warm weathah destination….. Do they ice fish down there…lol

BTL, Yes, I skin all the cats but no I don't gland the coyotes. We use so many glands in our lures that I buy in quantity from fur buyers, which we could sure use more of!
Thanks for the well wishes BTLowery.

The cat pictures are always enjoyed by the guys paying us.
This is the final cat tally at this ranch for the two weeks.



Blessings,
Mark

Willy, Willy, Willy.... see what you've done. Now I have to go try one of these. My Kawasaki cost $18,000 out the door 4 years ago and has too many miles now to trust it for the punishment we trappers give it. It's my office, so these Pioneers have caught my eye. Thank you so much sir! I will go see what they are all about!

Blessings,
Mark

Nessmuck,
It's always battle against the elements anywhere we trap, right!
One day it's cooking your bacon here and the next your teeth are chattering with every layer you have on. 100% humidity in the early am this time of year makes for a dense fog until it decides to dissipate. Sometimes that's 8:00am. Sometimes it's never. It can go from 26 to 85 in the same day depending on if the north beats the south or the south wipes the north. Honestly, I prefer sorta the same temp each day or thereabouts. No such thing here during this time of year. Now starting in the spring, when we trap, it's just dang HOT HOT sunup till sundown.

Blessings,
Mark

thanks for posting mark ,we all enjoy the ride along ,

That sure looks like alot of fun trapping.Good luck on the mountain lion.

What's your next adventure?Hows everything going?Take care.Sure enjoy reading your posts.

BruceT, It's back to the studies for this guy as I begin my final semester at DTS. The semester has begun with all that entails. We have one trapping contract we do for one week every 3 months on a smaller (300 acres) property to keep the coyotes off the axis deer. That comes up in about a month.

And then we run the Trapping Academy in south Kansas in March.
Thanks for asking.

Blessings,
Mark

The Trapping Academy sounds like a blast.

Hi Mark,

Thanks again for sharing the adventure.

Similar to your text conversation with your new rancher, I like impressing my trapping customers. One regular customer said “you aren’t inexpensive, but you certainly are effective”. And that is the image I desire.

As a follow up to the side by side info - at 20 years older my Kawasaki Mule was way behind the new Honda Pioneer. My Mule was extremely heavy and slow - 24mph top speed. It had a spongy drive feeling due to the clutch belt arrangement. The guy who bought it put in a new clutch so that probably helped. The Pioneer has a typical Honda very strong low gear reverse. It has a transmission selector for high and low range and another for one, two, or intelligent four wheel drive. From talking to other owners, the one wheel drive or turf drive is easy on lawns, pastures, gravel, and tires. It has a limiter that prevents speed more than 10mph unless the shoulder harness is latched for which I found a great electronic work around part. Using a SxS for work makes the shoulder harness just too annoying. Heck, my old Mule did not even have dooors.

We just received a nice snowfall so I will attach a new photo of the Pioneer.

Best wishes for a successful and enjoyable final semester and the same for your employment opportunities and selection.

Awesome Photos Mark!

Continued Blessings to You Both!

Thanks for letting me ride around through Tman. Always enjoy reading about your ranch trapping and seeing you and your wife so happy. She has an infectious smile.

Mark, you mentioned graduating in May, CONGRATULATIONS--my father in law is seminary trained (retired SB pastor) so I'm sure there have been some challenging times! Where are you headed after graduation?

Willy,
Very much appreciate the post. They are getting my recently purchased 1000 geared up with A-Arm guards, roof, and bed extender. The factory skid will be fine. I ordered RP (Spartan) 12 ply tires and while ALL THIS GEAR is hard to get right now, it is 100% required on the trap line. Appreciate the insight on the speedo governor and I would appreciate a PM on the work-a-round. I buckled by Mule behind my head with a beener and that worked fine.

They aren't cheap but they are part of the deal in my pricing. I just raised by daily rate 15%. No one flinched. Couple gulps but biz is biz and I don't trap as a hobby when I'm pounding stakes in 100 degrees in the middle of July. Heck no. I'm old. I'm not foolish.

Blessings,
Mark

It IS a great time. A good solid exhausting mud-on-the-boots week also.
There have been many friendships forged at the Academy. Quite a few as a matter of fact.
I think this year I have 7 or 8 returning trappers - alumni - and several of them have become great pals and have taken the opportunity to trap each other's trap lines in different states.
It's a benny I didn't anticipate years ago when I started it, but it's cool to be a part of.

Blessings,
Mark

The Academy sounds like fun and would no doubt be a great learning opportunity. I catch hundreds annually but I’m not to closed minded to learn new tricks

Hi Mark,

Congratulations on the new Pioneer. It is an amazing buggy! You were fortunate to grab one because production was way down waiting on electronic parts.

Are you going to carry a spare tire/wheel?

I sent you a PM with the ordering info for the seatbelt override.

A few more observations. The safety netting above the doors is annoying and easy to remove.
With a roof and windshield and the original half doors, the open back window sucks in A LOT of snow even when the snow is not falling. I expect that dust will be the same. The OEM Honda soft rear window is $75. I will be adding one.
The only best place that I could find to mount a gun rack is right under the roof overhead. I am reluctant to get clobbered by a falling rack with two guns.

Keep studying!

Willy,
I ordered the part. Many thanks! I have run all manner of windshields... I mean all sorts, and I made the decision that no windshield is the way to go for the dust swirling. It's a bit nippy somedays but that's why we have gators.

Blessings!
Mark

Had a cancellation this week so there is one open slot.

The Lord knows but He hasn't shared it with us yet.
Donna and I are confident He will accordingly.
Human wisdom wants things right now.
God's Wisdom and Character includes patience... thank God.

Blessings,
Mark

So proud for you guys Mark! All the best, Jason.

I'm blessed by a Merciful God and a wonderful woman.
Makes all the difference in the world.

Thanks for the encouragement.
Blessings,
Mark

Those are Wall-Hang'n photos right there!

Good point 330. Good point.
Grandkiddos think grandpa and grandma are "fun!"

Blessings,
Mark

I’m booked on ranches until May except for a few days here and there and that’s for family, would love to do it though. Maybe if y’all had a early fall school like the Furtakers

We've thought of that option in the years to come. A tune 'em up, gear 'em up time before seasons start.
Have fun on those ranches!
Trap a bunch.

Blessings,
Mark