which would you prefer????

[creekchub]

i have an assortment of traps for next season, to coyote and fox trap. here is what i have and i am looking to add additional 5 or 6 traps to this:
6: #2 bridgers
6: 1.65 bridgers
3: 1 3/4 sleepy creek offsets
3: 1 3/4 blake and lamb offsets
1: #2 bmi k9 wolfer

i am thinking of adding either 2 or 3 additional 1 3/4 or #2's of victor brand and 2 or 3 more #3's of the sleepy creeks or victors what do u all think of these traps

[razor]

i'd go with more 1.75 sleepy creek offsets. them are some good sturdy traps with about the best springs you can get. my thoughts. have you done any coyote trapping yet creekchub?

[Ohio Bill]

I thought about trapping but if i get the neighbors dog or cat in there it would be bad......Has anybody trapped pets by mistake? Just wondering...:confused:

[XX78]

Thats an excellent question Ohio bill, I was wondering that myself. From time to time I'll see some of my landowners cats out in the woods. Im not a huge animal fan, but I kind a think its neat seeing them out there. I kinda relate to them in a sense, they sneak away from the house, enter the woods and become primal predators.

[creekchub]

no razor i have not yet set for yotes,, mater fact its been 20 years since ive laid any steel,,, and back then there were no yotes just fox. so i am in the process of getting new traps for the yotes and fox, " i dont think my 1 1/2 coils will cut it out there" so they are being demoted to strictly water line next season. and yes i agree the sleepys look like a real good trap. but according to the eastern coyote bmp the victor 1 3/4 has a little more holding power but it is not as fast as the sleepy. also it is a wider trap at the jaw pivots than the sleepy.

[bill dowler]

hey creekchub i have one thing to tell you, if ya plan on setting for yotes, you had better get you some really long stakes. if ya get a yote in a trap he wont lay there like alot of animals, but they jump and jump and jump, i just thought that i would tell ya that

[razor]

creekchub,
bill's right, the soil conditions where i live a 28 to 30 inch stake is sufficient, also you can't have to many swivels, i never added any chain lenght to my traps and thats why i used such long stakes, i caught coyotes in the 40 to 50 lb range and my victors and sleepy's held fine, i bought a couple dozen dukes and they did alright for the money, a few of the dukes were dismantled by coyotes too. i had one coyote one time i dispatched it cleaned up the catch circle and went to reset the trap and the little dog lever was gone..lol.. i have no idea how he got it off. coyotes are fun to catch you will meet many different dogs and attitudes .. good luck.
as for the pets gettin caught... yes it happens. usually the farmers will work with you when you have traps set, the occasional house dog does get caught and if traps are swiveled good there is minimal foot damage anyhow, the way i look at it that house dog or cat for that matter has no buisness bein out there if it is not the property owners. there is a leash law..lol..
you can try and adjust pan tension for the cats but you'll miss alot of fox in your sets to go threw that trouble.

[creekchub]

thanks, ill keep that in mind, have any of you used the pogo anchors for fox and yotes????

[Minker]

creekchub, be careful buying any #3 coils , there are none i known of that are ohio legal without modifying them , which in the case of victors,dukes, and sleepycreeks all you need to do is bend the jaw tips up on both sides and that usually draws down the jaw spread enough to make the ohio jaw spread limit . the new victor #2 o/s jaw traps look good . those of you worried about incidental catches of dogs and cats , it happens and 99% of the time they are released unharmed , either from snares or foothold traps . free roaming cats are highly destructive to all wildlife , they are wanton killers and are far more adept at killing than any and all of our natural native preditors . if there out of site of a building , there not doing there owners any good in mouse and rat control around the farm . free roaming dogs are illegal in ohio , only if they are being trained to hunt, actively hunting , guarding or herding livestock . besides killing and chasing wildlife, they do thousands of dollars in damage a year to livestock, primarily to sheep . and these are mostly someones pets , not true feral dogs. stay as far away from buildings and homes as possible when setting traps , don't use pet food , small game meat or there fur or feathers or table scraps for bait . a snare pole , old coat or blanket can be used to help quickly release them. don't let them being around stop you from taking up trapping. mark

[creekchub]

thanks minker,, ill have to look you up at the regon c meet in march i plan on being there.. hope i can pick up a few tips there