bear trapping

[musher]

College boy is, as of a few weeks ago, now college graduate boy. He is soon to be university boy. That means that he's moving out and empty nest syndrome is going to move in.

He wanted to shoot a bear. Knowing that he's always doing 200 things (school, work, girl friend, skate boarding, mountain biking, training, buds ....) i discouraged him from it. I didn't want him spending $50 on a permit and I especially didn't want to attract bears unless we were going to kill them.

So I said: "Trap it." He has his license already and that way we wouldn't have any bears around the house.

He was keen. What I didn't expect was that I would remember how much I enjoyed trapping bears.

I used to be a bear trapping fool. For about 25 years I trapped several bear a year. Then the sale of the gall bladder was made illegal and it got too expensive to trap them.

It was bear time. You know that bears are out of hibernation and moving when you see these.



So college graduate and I set our woodlot with scraps. We got a hit immediately. We set traps.



Zero. The bear didn't come back.

Due to my sons student employment, he had access to some bait. I started egging him to set more baits in some of my old spots.

Right away we got two hits on 4 new spots. I wanted to broaden my horizons and try getting one using a 330 to activate the foot snare.



That was a mistake. I missed one right away and it didn't come back. I missed another TWICE in the same night. It didn't come back.

I then said "freak that noise" and went traditional.

We finally connected this a.m.. College graduate was a little grumpy when I got him out of bear at 5:45 this morning. But he was glad he got up.

With the aid of a pulp hook in the jaw of the bear, he got this 130 pound male to the truck by himself.



It was skinned and in the freezer within the hour or so.

I'm after him to get more bait. I figure we can get a couple of others before the fur thins out.

Regardless, we're having a good time!

[foxman]

Sweet deal! I would love to trap a bear.

[eedup]

How high up is that M15 in the bucket? If the snare goes around rim of bucket how many lethal catches compared to foot catches do you get?

[musher]

The bucket is about 5 feet up.

You don't get any more lethal catches than with a smaller hole. A smaller bear forces its head into a saucer sized hole. What you do get with a larger hole is less sprung snares due to bucket slapping.

There's no problem with a lethal catch. The set isn't torn up and it's safer for the trapper.

I've never had a bear spoil in a 24 hour check.

BTW: in both photos the sets are incomplete. The snare isn't even attached in the bucket photo! So the opening will be smaller in diameter than what you see.

[fishdaddy]

seems like if you have trillium growing there then should also have ginseng?

[eedup]

Do you put lid on bucket to support snare then ? Is the 5 ft height a legal requirement or just what you've found to work best. I have caught bears in buckets and appreciate the bucket slapping advice.

[GaTrapper]

Very Cool!

[musher]

No ginseng here. Unfortunately.

There is no legal requirement except that you set traps designed to snare the bear by the foot. 5 feet is a good height to work at. I can't set an m-15, safely, at 6 feet. There's also the fact that when bears climb to check out the bucket they are often head caught. Ditto for buckets at 2-3 feet.

You can support the snare with a lid that you have cut an opening into. You snip out slits to hold the snare. You can also use wire attached to the bucket.

If you are using a conibear as your snare thrower you can wire the snare to the conibear.

There's even a Belisle trap designed to foot snare bears.

The idea is to get the snare around the foot of the bear

[eedup]

An aldrich is what i use in trail situations, never tried a conibear. Do you feel prebaiting also helps avoid bucket slap? Am trying to avoid/lessen bucket slap and lethal catches, but have experience with both. I have run buckets on ground at a 45, at 2 ft sitting level and at 6 ft pointed down. Prefer 2 ft at this time just wanting to fine tune.

[musher]

I tried the coni's for the first time this year. I had problems with birds and I missed three times. My coni's were on the ground. Some people set them in the mouth of a square bucket.

I'm not wild about aldridge's either. It isn't a big target. They work best for me in a bear trail. I set them in the track.

I would expect you to get mostly lethal catches with a 2 foot high bucket. Or slapped buckets because the bear can't force its head in.

If your bucket is elevated, a shelf (2x4)just below the bucket supposedly gives the bear a footrest which helps with the slapping.

I prebait to save gas. I put bags of meat out and don't set until a bear rips the bags.

[eedup]

Actually 10 % or less lethal in 2 ft. height with 6" hole in bucket lid. Would like to see 3% or less. Its the slapped buckets that is more of a problem. Do you prebait any inside the bucket? Do you feel they usually put their head in first then reach with a paw? I have very little or no complaints with aldrich but was well schooled on making the bear step where i want him to.

[musher]

The best way to avoid slapped buckets is to place the bucket between two trees so that the bear cannot slap the bucket. It takes big trees and the tree is going to take a pounding when a bear gets caught.

Putting the bucket between two trees also means that the spring must go upwards so that it does not hit a tree. Therefore the trigger hangs down and not to the side. The downward trigger is very sensitive and can be a pain.

I do not prebait with a bucket. I only place a set bucket when the baits are hit.

[eedup]

The anchor tree definately takes a pounding ! I've used a tree with stump close enough to wedge bucket between, I didnt like the two trees or fork in a tree due to cable tangling enough to foul swivels. In your experience, after a bucket slap do you feel the bear returns and is caught on the next visit? What bait to you use in your buckets and how do you attach it to the trigger?

[musher]

I've never had a bear foul swivels. They are too destructive! You can plant spuds after a catch. If you are nervous, install a boat swivel. There are some huge ones out there that will not foul.

Yes, a slappy bear does come back. and he slaps again. It seems that once they figure it out they keep it up.

I've used many things as bait. Sometimes I just use lure on a rag tied to the trigger. Other times I'll put bait in an onion bag and wrap it on the trigger. Or I'll impale a chicken leg. I've used bread and molasses poured into the bucket ... it's whatever is hanging about at the time. I've used muffins in a plastic bag and left over rice.

I do try to make the bucket different from the bags of tainted meat. It has to stand out.

[eedup]

Lucky you. I usually use rag and lure tied to trigger. Just trying to improve my methods. Seems our slappers return and are caught but could be different bear. Thanks for info.

[redsnow]

eedup, I'm just curious, what state/province did you gain your bear snaring experience? Do you work for a state DNR or the USDA?

Musher, I've eye-balled your 330-foot snare setup. I've got a plan in my head, I think it'll work. Well, it'll work.

[musher]

Redsnow: Lots of things are wrong with that set. The first being that the springs should be bent closer to the frame so that there is less likelihood of the bear stepping on a spring. The trap being on a piece pf plywood might also help "spring" the trap upwards. Two of my misses had the snare catch on the trigger of the trap. The bear was caught but maybe for all of a millisecond. No catch circle but the cable was wrapped around a tree and there was bear fur on it.

[eedup]

West coast usa, private adc company, timber damage

[musher]

By timber damage you mean that the bears strip the bark off of trees? Bears do that here but the trees seem to live. It's almost always a balsam and they do it in the spring.

Do you have so few trees that the damage is worth the expense?

[Scott W.]

I'm not a bear guy, but I am a tree guy, and the bear may not kill the tree, but it will ruin it for any high value commercial use.