need just a little more advice please

[howie1968]

Hi guys     i  just  set  my  3  traps  yeasterday  and  went  and  checked  them  this  afternoon   i  am  using  2  duke 11-LS traps  and 1 duke 1.5 cs trap  on  thetrigger  i  am  using  aluminim  foil  and  Tuna  as  the  bait  i  am  setting  threm  right  on  the  edge  of  the  water and  am  coviering  the  wire  up  and  chan  as  i  was  checking  them  i  found  a  coon  foot  in  the  duke  11-LS  and  obvously  it  chewed  its  foot  off  i  should  have  checked  them  this  morning   but  i  fell  asleep  after  work   my  loss  and  now  there  is  a  footless  coon  which  makes  me  un  happy   i  have  a  few  questions
1. where  I   am  trappingi  cant  take  a  fire arm   what  s  the  best   most  effective  way  to  dispatch  a  coon??  i  bought  a  heavey  1  inch  dowel rod  to  do  the deed
2.On  the  triggers  do you  want  a  hair  trigger??  On  the  dukes  i see  a  screw  and  a  nut goig  through  them  i  backed  them  out and  it  was  floppy loose need  some advice  n  that
thanks  for  the  help  in  advance

[Mira Trapper]

Sounds like you need a trapping course. :shock: Anybody close enough to mentor this fellow. It would seem he needs some lessons which can lead to bettEr trapper and less flack from the antis. The sleepin excuse doesn't cover the other troubles you seem to bring to trapping. Always make sure trigger is taunt enough to cut down pan wobble. Make sure trap is firmly bedded.

[foxtail]

The next question is, "Why are you trapping coon in the month of may in texas?" They can't have any value.

[howie1968]

i guess    out  of  ignorance  i  did  not  know  when  a  good  time  was  I  thought    you  could   trap  them yr  round  i  know  some  people who  will  give  me  10,00  for  every  one  i  trap  plus  other  than  hog  and squirrel  hunting  not  much else  is  going  on

[SPW]

Wow a lot of problems. The best advice I think would be to get a book on trapping your main target animal(ebay or were ever) and read it all the way through. As at this time of year in TX you can only take 1 coon a day on your hunting license as trapping season for furbearers has been over for months and the fur is worthless. I would advise you pull your traps until fall and in the meantime learn all you can. Also altho this is is just a guess as I was not there and didn't see it I suspect the coon escaped by twisting its paw off and not chewing it because they won't chew off a paw if the bone is not broken and that size trap shouldn't break the bone. I think it it would be wise to use more trap swivels and a drownder cable if possible. Do the best you can to improve your methods as finding a paw in a trap should be as rare as losing a gut shot deer.