Frozen ground trappers?

How do you do it?

Under special permit I can use conventional sets for trapping coyotes.
The ground I am setting is clay and road bedding that is hard as a rock.

I chipped 5 sets in, but it sucked,,,,, to much work ……

Thought about bringing a torch next time to melt the top couple of inches…

I did experiment with 2 above ground sets, but they consumed a lot of my mixed dirt…

Thanks

Love

Vinke

I've been setting by using trees and bushes as my tie off but that obviously relies on availability.

I have adapted Major Boddicker's method of using salted sand and the cheapest 1 gallon Ziploc type bags, usually store band. I get sand at Lowe's I just use the play sand, livestock salt 10 part sand to 1 salt.. Either chip out a bed or just find a depression, low spot etc. add salted sand, put trap in bag, I use 4 coiled #3, bed in the sand, cover with the salted sand, I usually blend it in a but, but have caught with no blending.

I had and ADC job last winter, homeowner was checking sets for me. I put in sets, three days later it snowed 12 inches, then 5 days later another 12 inches of snow, then it drop below zero for 10 days. Then a week later it rained and melted. I never remade or relured the sets, and homeowner didn't see nay coyotes on his security cameras (which is why he called me to begin with as he has 2 small dogs). Left sets for 2 more weeks, then caught two coyotes 3 days apart.

I have also chopped out beds, find a hatchet works well for that, then poured in salt or calcium chloride to soften bed and made set the next day after it had softened up.

Use a Pulaski, firemen's axe, to dug begs.

Thanks Mike,,,,,,

Borrow your Brother in Laws chainsaw and use it to notch out trap beds.

I must be rubbing off on you,,,,,, you type and spell like me now ……lol

Love

Vinke

The Castansa model you posted earlier?

I just use an axe. Sometimes a pick axe. Its a lot of work. Neither is better than the other. I always thought a pulaski worked best in nonfroze dirt. Its fast. Just unwieldy to carry.

are snares an option?

No not allowed under special permit…

X2

My Pulaski in 92-94 was named "Miss January" and I even carved that it it's handle. I finally broke it in the Salmon River breaks sometime in 94. It was a sad day.

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You WERE a stud…… hope the panties I sent fit…..
love
Vinke

I use a 3" masonry chisel

Now you have me thinking,,,,,, battery powered roto hammer …..
nice!
Canyon brothers for life!

I have used a pick axe. It’s a lot of work.

I do think the boys up north that that trap more on bare frozen ground do use a rotary hammer.

Peat, semi-dry dirt, and table salt... premixed at home and toted in a 10 qt. metal pail.

I chop beds out with an axe, lay wax paper, bed my trap, wax paper again, and cover with snow. I use drags or chain to a tree

THIS^^^^

I also used a 3” masonry chisel and I found it was a little easier if I drilled some 1” holes a couple inches deep with a masonry bit before using the chisel. Lined the bed with waxed sand then pegged the traps rock solid with 2- #14 x 2-7/8” TORX Timber Screws with the extra wide heads so I didn’t have a concern about a stable trap. Over the years I tried a bunch of different methods but this was the very best for me whenever I had to make sets in frozen clay.

Get a hammer drill with a chisel bit and 3 batterys.

Milwaukee M18 FUEL SDS Plus Rotary Hammer, Tool Only, 1in. Chuck, 2 Ft./Lbs., 1330 RPM, 4800 BPM, Model# 2912-20

This, with a few chisel bits. 1 concrete drill bit to pre drill for earth anchors, another bigger one for the occasion when I want to dig a dirt hole.

I use a cheap hatchet. But here we know its coming so some trap beds are dug in before we get frozen ground.

Pulaski. Some guys do use a rotary hammer, I've never tried it, but from what I hear it works fairly well, just keep your mouth closed and eyes squinted (same goes for a Pulaski in frozen clay) because there will be chips of frozen clay flying everywhere. I've never cared for the mess when chipping/chopping out frozen trap beds, but not too much you can do about it. Fill the bed with waxed sand and cover the trap with the same, and then very lightly blend. You can often drive earth anchors in frozen ground (with a lot of swings) but you aren't pulling them until it thaws. Drags or chaining off to a tree works much better.

If you get enough snow to set in, that is much easier. As Tramp says, put wax paper under, bed trap, put wax paper over.

Personally I don't care for any type of antifreeze when setting in frozen ground, coyotes and wolves both seem to avoid that wet spot the antifreeze leaves. Maybe it doesn't bother fox, I've not tried it around them.

Hammer with a chipping part welded to the back.

Word of caution when chipping out frozen trap beds...eye protection is a good idea.

The great thing about a chisel is it's not a big mess with chunks flying everywhere. Just cut the bed exactly the size and depth you want. Less bedding material because u can better control the size of bed. Blends better for same reason and for me it actually seems like less work than othe methods. Got the idea from Jameson when he was out here.

Forget digging. Hay sets

Step 1. Find a spot that has frozen tracks.
Step 2. Chop a bed deep enough to set your tiny little trap in the lowest spot that you figure the filthy dog will work its feet into. I like chopping it out with a hatchet. Makes my elbow talk to me.
Step 3. Cover the trap with the absolute minimum that you can blend it in with, because it’s either going to snow or freeze your trap out of commission within 3 hours of leaving it, or it’s going to rain and turn everything into grey ice and you won’t get your trap out of there until May, maybe.

Rinse and repeat until success.

Tried waxed sand, waxed paper, waxed grass even. That stuff just freezes into the same unmovable blob as the rest.

Keep us informed of what works for ya, eh?

I’ve been using trees, brush, and the occasional drag.

Sometimes I’ll chop a hole into the ice and then put a steel bar with a chain tied to the center into the hole to create a T-shape with the bar on the bottom of the hole and the chain extending out to hold the trap in place. I caught a lynx using this type of set on the edge of a frozen pond.

Wa. or Az.?

AK!

I gave up, tried it all, nothing works good enough to keep trying, salt the deer set of all my traps, and traps rusted so bad, only set that work some was a hay set

So how long do you leave a yote set sitting before you get discouraged and move it or give up? I mean do you expect to see something within a couple weeks usually? If you don't you just let it keep going? How long? Maybe its more of a patience game than I realize?

p.s. Mattock tool is supposed to be pretty handy has anyone tried one of those?

I have an old rail road pick that I use to hack out beds in frozen ground here.
I can drive rebar into frozen ground with a good sledge, once you get a foot or so down they go in easier. Cross stake for when things thaw out they hold better.
I don’t mess with dirt holes in frozen ground.

A bent over cornstalk, trap bedded in from of it, and I smear bait or lure on end of the stalk that is bent over and pointing at the bed.


In bean fields I kick a pile of bean chaffe into a small pile. Bed in front of the pile and bait goes under the pile on trap side.

A piece of wood block with a hole drilled in one end is a good bait or lure holder too.

Jim

I use the chisel method, but if you want to invest in the drill/battery/bit method that would work also.

If you go chisel method you can kind of outline the edge of the trap bed first and get just about a perfect fit when placing the trap. I use a 4lb hammer. Antifreeze in the bottom and around edges after placing the trap before covering. If you don't go plastic bag method definitely use some type of antifreeze mix for the covering.

Ohioboy,
Maddox and Pulaski are different names for the same tool. My dad always calls them a Maddox so that is what I grew up calling them. But wildland fire fighters and a lot of people who work in the woods call them a Pulaski after the guy who designed them. Worked and been around enough people who call them a Pulaski that I use the two words interchangeably now, often calling them by both names in the same sentence.

I use a splitting maul to chip out trap beds and pound rebar stakes

Use the grey pipe instead of digging holes

Steel screen pan cover/Wax dirt of course

Is there snow on the ground? Or do you have grasses, weeds, chaff?

Is that for me or the OP?

For me, it starts out unfrozen,,then it’s frozen,,,then lots of snow,,,then wind blows most snow away,,,,back to mostly bare frozen,,,,then it snows again

Mostly pasture/bush

Use coal shale up until it’s starts freezing,,,,then wax dirt

This time of year(late season) mostly use blind sets at bait piles(snareing locations)

The grey conduit pipe is a great(bait/lure holder) for frozen ground foot trapping

No need to dig perfect deep trap beds(pipe dream),,,,bed normally with wax dirt

It was for Vinke but IF a guy knows where to set up BEFORE the snow blows it can be advantageous for anyone. Like mentioned already ...anchor off into wrist sized trees and bushes saves a lot of time. I use a 12-15 ft of chain and heavy drag(JC Conners is the best in my opinion). As far as ground conditions...I set on top and cover with leaves, grasses/weeds, soy bean duff or cut up corn shocks. Yes, I know it sounds like rookie stuff and crude but it is effective and saves the wrist, elbow and shoulder from chopping and banging. Snow cover just makes it better. I am coyote trapping no wolves here so I favor strong #4 Newhouse traps...springs can freeze down and top springs can still operate jaw closure. Trap beds fairly quick because of the"legs" of the double long springs...you might have to chip out a little. I use a natural big backing or I bring one in pre-season and let it sit out there. The critters get use to it. Set trap in front and toss drag into thick cover lure up and go. Try it....bare ground works too looks real crude....my advice make the set and stay away... they'll find it.
Hope it helps someone....

Hard ground trapping is pretty easy in a nutshell.

Get a rotary hammer and a couple 5aH batteries.

Not a hammer drill, a 3-position ROTARY HAMMER.

Get a 2-3" spade bit (Bosch makes excellent bits).

Than, get your war face on and get good and mad. Because it sucks.

Yes this. Last times I had to do it I used my Milwaukee battery hammer drill and masonry bit, whatever size 1” or whatever. Better if you go in ahead of time and punch the holes pre freezing. Take the material home in marked pails and dry it out for winter use/bedding.

Osky

This is the way to go.

And if you’re already outfitted with whatever flavor of batteries and chargers, the bare tool price isn’t horrible.

But it saves a guy a lot of grief and wear and tear when the going gets tough.