coon and buckets

[conibear]

Have alot of you guys used 220 or 160 in buckets or wood cubbies for coon. Are they a good coon taker. What kind of bait would you use and would you use some kind of gland. I have noticed some coon track along a frozen ditch. And was thinking of trying some buckets sets thanks.

[dskuhlmann]

conibear, I use 220's in buckets, I prefer the square ones don't rock and can set alot faster. I use cut up fish or a mixture of ground corn, honey and anise extract. I've also used marshmellow with the anise on them. The fish works best along the river, but more chances of skunks or possum. They work good, but not a sure fire thing just need to get there attention. good luck Dan

[trappnman]

buckets are weird. I find them for me to be very poor at catching coon. Sure, I've taken coon in them, but I see so many tracks stopping a few feet away and moving on. One year waay back, I made an effort and put out a fair amount of buckets way back up creeks and valleys so I could run a 3 day check. I was so disappointed in the results- not the lack of coon but the results- that I never have do so again. I try a bucket every now and then. Last season , I was given a bucket by a trapper that has good success with them in another state. Square, wire back- and had that out all winter- at a couple locations, and never caught a coon, yet the pipes and pockets in the water near by, caught coon all winter.

Yet others like Dan do well on them.

The whole thing is beyond me. I'd say try them- try round, square, open (wire) backs, etc- see what happens.

[foxtail]

Yep, I am about an hour from Steve and I usually do quite well with them.

Some people can't get beav with footholds,yet can wipe them out with body grips.

Maybe Steve is similar.

[trappnman]

mark- the year I tried I caught maybe 20 coon during the winter in buckets- I saw so many more times where the coon would come 3-4 feet away- and you could tell he was "looking" at the bucket---and then on he went.

I do not see those same resfusals with pockets, pipes. Many, many times i'll follow coon tracks in the snow along a high bank until we come to the pocket- and boom! down he goes to the creek and there he is.

Different strokes I guess, for different folks...

[iacooner2]

i do ok with them. not my favorite set but sometimes the best set for some spots. loove up in old barns and houses. L shape trigger set on top. i drill hole in top and drop a piece of wire though hole which i use to hook a chunk of fish. square buckets are my favorite.

[iacooner2]

i do ok with them. not my favorite set but sometimes the best set for some spots. loove up in old barns and houses. L shape trigger set on top. i drill hole in top and drop a piece of wire though hole which i use to hook a chunk of fish. square buckets are my favorite.

[NEPISIGUIT]

I like them in certain places especially where there are no bears.

[rk660]

1 every 5 years they work great, 2 out of 5 fair, some years not worth a hoot. If you really want to 220 coons in cubbies, a larger double ended cubby works much better for me. Some guys have told me prebaiting w/o a trap makes them tick, but I never really have time to do that. A guy I know took 250 one year when froze out early in buckets. He usually is a 1000-1500 guy, this was 10 years ago or so. He says he still has nightmares about little old ladys and dead dogs after having that many 220 buckets out.

[trappnman]

1 every 5 years they work great, 2 out of 5 fair,

Please explain.

[rk660]

Dont know what else to tell ya, some years they work darn good, some years not. Every 1/2 decade, they will really shine. Im mostly talking in colder late season weather. Seems once breeding season is on, they got to s*&t no matter what.

[tap21]

I don't about everyone else but I have excellent success with them I use them alot on wooded areas early in the year and when the snow flies I stick them in buildings and other areas where a coon might have hay, grass, or straw to hold up the winter in preferably near some food like grain bins. for bait I just use the cheapest sardines or chopped up fish chunks.

[foxtail]

Steve, that was in no way meant to offend.

[trappnman]

mark- I'm not that easily offended. Ya dork....

RK- are you telling me, that occasionally buckets work great- but more years then not, they suck?

I find that that very interesting

[rk660]

exactly

[trappnman]

any clue as to why- weather patterns, harvest the year before, ?

[thebeav2]

I conducted this test one year.
I picked 3 coon trails, these were trails that I would normally catch from 8 to 10 coon in each year.

I built 3 boxes.They were built so they set up off the ground on a angle so that the coon wouldn't have to lay down to get In them.
I baited them with some cooper river reds, Smoked salmon from Alaska. My daughter would kill me If she found out.
The boxes were set right on the trails, any coon would have to pass within Inches. I also set one 160 In the trail just past the box by about 5'. I set the 160s so I could tell when I made a catch witch way the coon was coming from.
Time of year mid Nov.
These trails lead from hard woods to corn fields.

Results. I caught 1 coon In a box. I caught 22 coon In the 160s 10 were caught before they reached the baited cubbies 12 were caught after they passed by the cubbies.

I don't use many baited cubbies.

Reasons
I just think coon are fat and lazy.
Now I have found that these boxes work better when things freeze up and the food source Is pretty much gone. But by that time I've caught all the coon I intend to catch.

Gary

[foxtail]

One other point.

Even if you are not getting coon in the buckets, they are a wonderfull tool for reducing the numbers of possums, feral cats and skunks in the area.

We all know if there is one thing farmers love, other than dead coon and beav, it is dead skunks and possums.

[thebeav2]

Hey don't use my name In the same sentence with dead. LOL

Gary

[foxtail]

Oh come now, I'm pretty sure you are clever enough to take the rrap out of the bucket before you take the bait.