bear trapping

[eedup]

They peel bark off western hemlock and douglas fir to actually get to the cambium which they eat. Most will girdle a tree at the base which equals a dead tree. Some will climb and peel every bit of bark for twenty feet up. A "bad" one can peel up to 60 trees per night . They peel trees that are about ten years old meaning the company cant replace those trees for 30 plus years when they harvest. Which equals lost production compounded for thirty years. As scott said if they dont girdle the tree it still ruins the main log for commercial value.

[redsnow]

Well, I'm still eye-balling that 330-foot snare setup. You're right, there are lots of things wrong with it. lol.

Like I said, I've got a plan in my head, hard to put on paper, but here goes:

For the first thing, I think the snare loop is too big. If the trap is 10" X 10", that loop is at least 11" in diameter. That's 34 or 35 inches of cable that need to snug-up on a bears ankle/wrist. I'd shrink it down, where the loop fits inside the jaws of the 330. 8" or so? That'd still fit the foot of a very very big black bear.

Another thing that would help, it'd be better if the snare loop was stapled fast, with the snare loop across the top of the jaws. (the way it is in your picture, it's down at the traps hinge point.)

Read between the lines. I also thought about stapling one side of the bottom trap jaw to a board/plywood. (you could stake the bottom jaw, the trap is going to jump, either way) Use a twist-tie/bread bag tie, to attach the loop to the top trap jaw, but only on one side. Just let the snare lock/cable lay on the opposite top jaw. When the trap fires, that should put it up above it's ankle.

If you'd have the snare loop, the right length, anchored near the bottom trap jaw, when the trap fires, that's going to snug it up on it's ankle.

But, here's a simple fix. I'd take about 4 or 5" of chalkline, tie it to the bottom, backside trap jaw, and tie a loop around the snare cable, behind the snare lock. Trap fires, cable is above the jaws, twine pulls the snare loop snug.

I'm sure all that is clear as mud.