Trapping: Be a Trapline Detective

 

By Hal Sullivan

 

Be a Trapline Detecive

By Trapline Editor Hal Sullivan

When you see a trap sprung, with no critter in it, you may safely assume that something has gone wrong-but that's about all you can safely assume. Beyond that, you are better served if you forego assumptions and instead conduct an investigation.

Beginning trappers make a couple of common mistakes in this situation. Being so focused on the target animal, they immediately know in their hearts that one of the critters they were trying so hard to catch has pulled out of the trap. They immediately reset the trap and remake the set, hoping the critter will come back.

Mistake No. 1 is the assumption that the trap was fired by the target animal. Mistake No. 2 is wiping out the sign at the set that might have told the real story.

When you find a sprung trap, take your time. There may be sign at or near the set that gives a clue as to what really happened. Watch where you step, and don't pick up the sprung trap without checking a few things first. The condition of the trap and the position of the trap both offer clues as to why it might have sprung.

Did an animal pull out of the trap? It happens, and usually there are indicators. Sometimes it's obvious. If the set is torn up, some kind of critter probably was in that trap. You may even find tracks that tell you what kind of critter. If there is a discernible catch circle, the animal was there for some time.

When the trap caught a critter, but is now empty, one of three things happened. If the trap is broken, then you can assume that's how the critter got out. Another is mechanical failure. The trap simply failed to hold the critter even though nothing actually broke. A third possibility, and I'm afraid a rather common occurrence in some areas, is that a thief removed the critter before you got there.

To sort out these possibilities, you need to read the sign as you approach the set. Are there strange boot tracks in the area or in the catch circle? Is there a spot of blood, possibly where the animal was shot?

When there is no overt sign that someone stole the catch, look for other more subtle indicators of what might have happened. Start with the position of the trap. If the trap has moved from the bed, note the position of the trap, and then pick it up and examine it carefully. Sometimes when a critter is caught, it scrapes some of the coating off of the trap. The size and shape of these marks, especially if they are claw or bite marks, may tell you what kind of critter was in the trap.

It may be that the animal was simply too big for the trap.

Deer are everywhere this day and age, and their curiosity is aroused by many of the odors used in canine trapping. If I find a land trap snapped and out of the bed, and there is no hair and little or no sign of a struggle, I start looking for deer tracks.

A 5-inch foothold trap won't hold a deer for a second; they pull out easily, cleanly, and quickly.

Sometimes the right critter fired the trap, but the trap just didn't get a good hold on it. The critter was only "pinched" and pulled out quickly. Look for hair between the jaws or other parts of the trap.

Beavers have a way of hitting foothold traps with their bodies and not their feet. Sometimes I find these traps partway down the slide wire, with a few belly hairs clutched between the jaws. One time I found a trap like this with two otter whiskers in the jaws. No, I don't have an answer for that one.

There are several things to consider when a trap does not hold the target animal. Perhaps the trap was set in the wrong position. Insufficient bedding can leave a trap unstable. If a critter fails to make proper contact with the trap trigger, and upsets the trap in the process, the trap may fire, but it's not apt to get a good hold on the critter. You don't want a trap to move or to fire until the critter has "committed" to the set and made the desired direct contact with the pan or trigger. Too much of the wrong trap covering can slow the jaws closing or even clog the jaws and prevent them from closing all of the way down.

Some sprung traps are not the work of critters at all. Sometimes, traps fire of their own accord.

Once again, it is essential to note the position of the trap. If the trap is in or very near its original position, and the chain is not extended, the most plausible explanation is that the trap fired on its own.

After a trap is waxed or dipped, the trigger and firing system must be cleaned back down to bare metal. Slippery surfaces don't engage very well. You may get the trap set and in place, only to have the trigger slip out of engagement later. A heavy rain that soaks the dirt or a freeze that causes slight movement in the ground can make such traps fire. It can also happen if a trap is set on a "hair trigger" with very little pan tension. If the pan can't support the weight of wet dirt, or if there is a slight "nudge" from frost, a trap set on a hair trigger may fire.

Again, study the set. A foothold trap standing upright in the bed, with the jaws closed, has likely fired itself. Sometimes they hop a little ways out of the bed. Observe the dirt and covering around the trap base. When an animal pulls a trap out of the bed, it usually also knocks all of the dirt off in the process.

The need to clean wax off of all trigger contacts applies doubly to bodygrip traps. In fact, I don't recommend waxing bodygrips at all. I use dip, and I wrap a piece of tape around the trigger jaw, right in the center, before I dip the trap. I remove the tape later to expose the bare metal. I also clean up the trigger dog with a round file. If bodygrip triggers are cleaned up right, they rarely self-fire. About the only time a bodygrip with a properly engaged trigger will self-fire is when it is set in water and drifting debris collects on the trigger.

If, after a heavy rain, you find a bunch of bodygrips fired but empty, it probably wasn't critters that did it.

And sometimes what appears to be a self-fired bodygrip actually was fired by a critter.

I set a 330 in a swamp for beaver. Two days in a row, the trap was fired yet not even knocked free of the stabilizer. Trap-wise beavers have a way of firing 330s, and when I found the trap fired again the third day, I was preparing to make a set for this "smart" beaver when I noticed something floating in the water about 10 feet away-a dead muskrat. A fresh one, for sure, but deader than Tuesday afternoon.

There were no visible marks, and I wondered what might have killed it. Then it dawned on me. That muskrat had been firing my trap. The trap was too big to catch the muskrat. But this last time, the trap must have knocked it on the nose, and the muskrat was either killed outright or drowned before it came to. Since then, I've noticed other floating muskrats in similar situations. Mice and ground birds can fire mink traps without leaving any sign.

Sprung snares are a class unto themselves. But you may still learn a lot by examining the evidence. If the loop is just knocked down, still dangling by the stabilizer, there are three likely explanations: An animal walked over the snare and knocked it down, an animal walked under it and knocked it down, or the wind knocked it down.

Sometimes if a loop is too big and too low to the ground, an animal may knock it down while passing through.

If the snare has been pulled from its stabilizing wire, and there are signs of disturbance, check the loop. If the loop is very small, chances are an animal caught a foot in the snare and was able to slip out. Some critters actually are snared and held by a back foot.

If you find a loop closed down to a few inches across and lying empty on the ground, the animal may have been able to push the snare off itself before the loop cinched completely down. Raccoons and beavers have a knack for doing this with their front paws.

Same as with other types of traps, check for hair. Snare locks often snag a little hair before the critter gets away. This can help you determine the critter you missed, and maybe even tell you how to adjust the snare for an improved remake.

You never want to find a fired and empty trap. But when you do, try to look at it as an opportunity to learn. Proceed slowly and carefully; examine all evidence before you destroy it by remaking the set.

If the trap is fired and there is no critter in it, you know that something went wrong. The more accurately you can determine what happened, the more reliably you can prevent it happening again.