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Post by shagnasty on May 3, 2007 12:26:16 GMT -6
beav, the foot size is not much different from mountain coon and our coon, just body size. the traps are super strong and never heard these trappers complain about pullouts when staked properly. not arguing anymore, i know what the deal is.
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Post by trappnman on May 3, 2007 19:23:22 GMT -6
Shag- I've trapped a lot of big coon in #1s- and pullouts is not a problem for me. Some has a system to reduce snapped traps due to back feet, and for sure they hold coon. As a matter of fact, when I used #1, I wasn't using the Armstrong guide stick for coon- and since that alone reduces snapped traps i n1.5s, I'm sure it would be a factor with ones as well.
Snapped traps due to foot size- IS a prblem for me using #1 in general water work.
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Post by shagnasty on May 3, 2007 19:56:42 GMT -6
well, the idea is to make the coon step on the pan, a coon's foot is not larger than the jawspread on a #1, not everyone is at the same skill level, therefore i ignore bold comments that #1s are no good for coon.
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Post by thebeav2 on May 3, 2007 20:46:42 GMT -6
Your right the coons foot Is not larger then the jaw spread of a # 1. but the foot Is large enough to be on the pan and the Jaw at the same time and there lies the problem, and the cause of empty snapped traps when using small traps. Now a large jaw spread trap with a smaller pan will not allow the coons foot to be on the pan and the jaw at the same time. You may have some misses but you wont have empty sprung traps.
I personally don't want to spend a bunch of time guiding the small traps to make them efficient coon traps when I have better steel that I don't have to screw around with. a lot of my sets are In 5" to 8" of water and guiding small traps in this situation Is a huge waste of time.
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Post by trappnman on May 4, 2007 5:50:34 GMT -6
exactly beav-
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Post by shagnasty on May 4, 2007 6:49:04 GMT -6
no guides are used. it is all in set construction.
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Post by Zagman on May 4, 2007 7:04:08 GMT -6
Beav and Steve:
Serious question, not chop-busting or inciting.....
You both have been defenders of the 1.75 for coyotes, and while Steve has essentially bumped up to the Montana, Beav still shouts the praises of the 1.75.
Curious why the bigger trap for COON is such an obvious choice, but the benefits of a bigger coyote trap for all the same reasons as you mention here for COON was not as obvious or as quick of a revelation?
Only thing I can think of for Beav's southern lines is that the smaller trap MAY be a better all-around trap since many species are potential targets there?
Zagman
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Post by mustelameister on May 4, 2007 8:09:28 GMT -6
Hmmmmm . . . .
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Post by trappnman on May 4, 2007 8:18:31 GMT -6
you are 100% right Zags- its almost exactly the same.
but there is a big difference in guiding a coyote, then in guiding a coon in 3-8 inches of water. Until I learned guiding, 1.75s were a bit of a problem.
I've probably caughht as many coon in #1 as anything- but oh those misses...same as in coyotes with 1.75s.
Its not the pullouts that are a problem....
both traps are too "small" without a doubt. But the choice to go to 1.5s in the water, was a lot easier choice then going to #3 on land.
Water incidentals are fur, land incidentals are domestics.
I'd still use a lot of #1s in water, except that I feel you lose a fair amount of mink in them.
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Post by PamIsMe on May 4, 2007 15:03:19 GMT -6
I have very few coyotes where I trap down south. But I do have lots of reds and Grey's and cats, and Lots of free roaming dogs. The 1.75 works great well I should say after i replaced the large pan with the smaller 1 1/2 sized pans. If I could I would move up to a #3 sized trap. And with the live market In the crapper I might just change to all #3 sized traps and just skin all the Grey's. In fact I did that this year. Now I will have to wait till the next auction to see how I do on those Grey's.
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Post by robertw on May 4, 2007 15:11:30 GMT -6
Good to see you come out of the closet Pam! I always knew you were a trapper!
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Post by shagnasty on May 4, 2007 21:22:59 GMT -6
1.75s are leg bangers on grays, dont tell me any different because i have caught enough to know. many actually have broken legs. staked in the open with multiple swivels and cable stakes. not a real big deal to me because i am skinning them, i am considering going to all 2s and 3s because of more coyotes and of course cats. the vic 1.75 is a tough trap for fox and cats. held a few coyotes in them too, but i think the bigger gear is going to be the ticket for coyotes when they take on strong here.
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Post by thebeav2 on May 4, 2007 21:41:30 GMT -6
Well I have sold a ton of 1.75 caught greys to the live market but I have also skinned a lot 1.75 caught greys. It's just the nature of the beast. It's the same as coon, no matter what type of foot trap you use you will get foot chewing. I use !.75s because they work for a lot of different animals and while they may not be the best In all situations they do work.
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Post by tulemanlabs on May 5, 2007 9:49:43 GMT -6
Smaller number 1 sized traps can be used effectively in the right situation for coons, even in big numbers. I'm in basically the same area as Rich and catch a high percentage of above average sized coons. In my area I have to trap a LOT of small ankle deep ditches where you just can't find water to drown all of the coons. If I have the water, I grab a number 2 or 3 every time. I don't and never have used 1's for coons, but I use a lot of 11's. With the number 11 on these big midwestern coons, proper guiding will make or break you. I'm not sure on exact numbers, but would guess that close to 400 came out of 11's on my line just last year, so it can be done.
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Post by mountainman on May 6, 2007 0:07:45 GMT -6
1 1/2, 1.75 and #2 coils are efficient enough on coons that they allow me to run long road lines for mink with guiding on most sets and consistently have large coon catches or big river mink and rat lines where I generally have fewer choices on location. I use minimal guiding on some of those sets, none on the rest, and still get the same type numbers on coons. 100-175 or more sets on either of those type lines regularly produce around 130-180 coon catches in 5-7 days. One 15 yard string of 11 blind mink sets on a big river caught 11 coons in one day. Those numbers are for coons I was trying to avoid catching because there was no coon season and still isnt in half of those areas. The same traps can be pulled out of the water and used on predator lines. #3 and larger traps will efficiently take coons in drowner sets and can also be used for beaver and otter as well as on the predator lines. In some areas there are cats, yotes and fox running the riverbanks. Where domestics arent a problem some water sets with larger traps can give you a nice edge on predators as well as add to the catch on coons, mink and rats.
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