I guess this would be the right spot to post this, we need to get a trapping forum on this site.

I'm a young feller at 16 and was interested about trapping some coons. Asked my father and he said it had been so long sinced he went trapping he hardly remembered how to do it. So I come here. Do any of you fellers have any advice for me or a link that is usefull. I know I got a while before trapping starts here but thought I'd read up on it first before the season comes.

I was thinking of getting some #110 conibears(maybe 4) and some leg hold traps(either some #1 longspring or #1.25 coil spring) Like i said i'm goin after coons so any info would be nice

First thing to remember is that 1 out of 10 coon in md has rabies. #2 or 2 1/2 is needed to hold a coon,,#1's and 1 1/2's are really for muskrats,nutria,,smaller stuff,,and set up as a drowning type rig,,they dive down and drown before they decide to chew thier leg off. I've caught them in #110's before,,prefer #220's.Sardines work well,,down your way you should have a lot of good sweetcorn too,,and they thrive on that stuff,,they'll dump a trash can just to get at a eaten corn cob,,Good luck,,Clay

claybuster,

Thanks for the info. Rabies, thats what a .22 is for. Could you explain how to make a drowning set? Also thanks for the advice on the larger traps

any one else with any links or anything?

I dunno anything about conibears but I think the really big ones with teeth would be great for crats.

I do know that since you will kill 'em anyway the Hav-a-heart works just fine, use a CB between the eyes and plan on the bullet passing thru and thru. In other words, be conscious of ricochets when you shoot, and make sure you don't shoot the release plate in the bottom of the trap. A "drown set" is simple. Tie a rope on the trap handle and chuck 'em is a pond/creek/river/ocean and make sure they don't swim off with the trap. Bait the trap with...anything. They are fond of watermelon, cantelopes, corn on the cob(cooked), crat food, etc etc.

Big plus with the hav-a-heart, if somebody sees you with it they will think your a nice guy. That is important when there happens to be crat inside. Lot better than having a trap and dead crat in your hand when the neighbor comes lookin' for their crat. Trust me on that.

Dan

POTYHC

www.KeepIt.Simple

I have trapped many of them. (also fox, mink, beaver, etc.)

The proper conibear size for coon, in my opinion, is the 220. I like to use them in a 5 gallon plastic pail. You cut a notch on each side for the spring to rest in. the body of the trap covers the hole in the pail. bait (sweet smelling or fish smelling) goes in the pail. the pail is laid on its side so the coon can see in. put something on top so it won't move. when they try to get in the pail they hit the trigger and set the trap off. boom. one dead coon.


With regard to water sets, the good old pocket set is best. Dig a hole at waters edge and set a trap in about 1 inch of water. you want a ledge of sorts in the back of the hole for bait. Use a fish smelling bait. to drown, you need a wire staked at the set on one end and out in deep water at the other. the trap is hooked to the wire by an l shaped piece of steel with two holes in it (commonly called a drowning lock). when the animal pulls one way the lock moves freely, when it pulls the other way it locks.

If you decide to use the smaller traps, the #11 (double longspring #1) works great for coon. For me, I used those and #1 1/2 primarily. I had more chew outs with the larger sizes, but they certainly work. The 220 conibear also is good and the 160 may work also.

If you are adverse to catching crats in dry sets, mini marshmallows in the fruit flavors are pretty good bait. Jelly donuts in the conibear buckets work well also, but it's a shame to waste good donuts.

Be really careful as to the rabies potential if it is endemic in your area. Any cut or broken skin can be an entry point and there is reportedly potential for limited airborn transmission in rare cases. Also remember that if you shoot them in the head and would need to have rabies testing performed, a head shot will likely make testing impossible.

FWIW

MFH

I have a trap set as we speak. Had another raid last night, the wife lost another hanging flower pot. If you use a wire live trap be sure to block off the backs and sides so they don't reach through the wire to get the bait. I shot one doing exactly that the other night. As was stated earlier, cat food works well and I also use fruit salad when I'm worried about catching a crat. We have a couple of barn cats that we feed just enough to keep them around, but on coon trappin' night they get an extra ration just to keep 'em out of the trap.

quote:

I was thinking of getting some #110 conibears(maybe 4) and some leg hold traps(either some #1 longspring or #1.25 coil spring)

If you have any muskrats I'd suggest you target them instead of coons, the prices on pelts has gone up a bunch on rats but coon prices suck.

Maryland also has a heck of a lot of red foxes so target them too.

1 1/2 coilsprings are the preferred foothold for both coons and red fox.

My reccomendation would be to get 6 Duke 1 1/2's with laminated jaws.

They'll work fine for muskrats too, but geta dozen 110 bodygrippers too.

I'd suggest you email the Maryland DNR and inquire about a license and if they have a trappers ed program, Robert Colona is their furbearer biologist and he should be able to help you out.