Culver's trapping escapades 2019

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Well I thought I would chronicle  what I am doing this year as I start off trapping. I have been trying to get all the equipment together and get a half-assed fur shed area set up in the garage. I'll take some pics of the stuff I have put together, but I just had to get some traps out this weekend. At this point I will be targeting coon, fox and coyote.  I didn't have my peatmoss yet so I didn't set for canines yesterday. It was just too darned wet. The traps I put out for coons didn't produce Saturday night. I think becasue the area I had them in got a little flooded with the heavy rains. Last night was a different story though. I got up at 4 am and headed out on the wheeler.  First trap I checked was a 160 trial set I put in using a home made H-stand and it connected last night. I then checked 3 locations where I put out pairs of Duke DP's.  Each pair I split up the bait in them. One had dog food with fish oil trailing scent and the other had marshmallows with maple syrup.  On the first location the dog food connected and I forgot to take a pic of that one. The second set location I actually had a double.  The third location came up blank and that surprised me becasue that was the spot I thought was going to be a slam dunk.  They were set right next to 3 big old rotten denning trees.  These sure were not the big coons that I have seen the tracks from but it's 4 egg eaters off the property and 4 hides for me to try out the PVC fleshing beam I built and hopefully learn some knife handling skills before I come up with some more prime fur. 

[Lawdwaz]

Looks to be a great start.  Keep ‘em coming!

[covert]

Nice job.  Make sure you set aside about 47 hours apiece to flesh those danged greasy things. 

[Culvercreek hunt club]

4 minutes ago, covert said:

Nice job.  Make sure you set aside about 47 hours apiece to flesh those danged greasy things. 

I skinned one out quickly when I got home before I got ready for work. Was dying to try the gambrel I made and the new knives. I couldn't believe how much fat there was on them and it seemed very similar to bear fat in texture. I'm thinking about quartering them and freeing the parts for buried bait sets for canines. I would think they would eat them and it would give me some use for the meat.  

[rachunter]

This is awesome keep it coming.I've been playing around with trapping for a few years but nothing serious yet.Plenty of pictures if you can please.

[Pygmy]

I'm  glad you started this thread, Bob....I was going to PM you to see how you were doing...Congrats on the ringtails...

I only have 5 sets out at the present and they are all bobcat specific, not that I might not catch something else..

Hoping to get a few canine sets out soon, but the cats are still going to be my main focus.......

[TreeGuy]

Great start ! Keep em coming.

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[Pygmy]

If you get some young of the year coon, Bob, they are very good eating....Just be sure to get all the fat off them that you can..They are closely related to bear, and I know you're a bear fan... To my taste, they are close to rabbit, in flavor and texture..

[grampy]

Way to go Bob! Great start my friend!

I look forward to following this thread!

[wolc123]

The coon parts will definitely make great coyote bait.   The DEC requires "damaging coons", taken before the opening of regular trapping season (Oct 25 I think), to be burried or burned.   I did not always bury them deep enough and the coyotes would often dig them up within a few days.   I did not trap any this year, because it was too wet to plant corn.   If I do next year, I will try burning them.  With all that fat, they would probably burn pretty good, and fast.

I had pretty good luck with cat food in the duke dog-proof traps.           

[doebuck1234]

Nice work bob.keep em coming!!!

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Off to check traps. I have a bad feeling I forgot to flip the safeties off on the 160 trail set...lol. 6 new coyote sets to look at and the 7 coon traps. (mumbling no skunks please, no skunks please under his breath)

[doebuck1234]

18 minutes ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

Off to check traps. I have a bad feeling I forgot to flip the safeties off on the 160 trail set...lol. 6 new coyote sets to look at and the 7 coon traps. (mumbling no skunks please, no skunks please under his breath)

You got off to a good start so expecting pics soon!!

[TACC]

We need pics !!!

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[Nomad]

What’s a coon pelt bringing today ? A good friends father and three sons all trapped ,back in the ‘70s when I knew them back then a big one brought $35 or so . I used to,pick,up road kill and did alright . Minimum wage was $2.35 and I was getting $10- 20 for a road kill .

[wolc123]

4 hours ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

Off to check traps. I have a bad feeling I forgot to flip the safeties off on the 160 trail set...lol. 6 new coyote sets to look at and the 7 coon traps. (mumbling no skunks please, no skunks please under his breath)

I always carry my Ruger 10/22, when checking traps.  Whenever I caught a skunk, I went back the the house for a shotgun, prior to dealing with it.   A 12 or16 ga. load of # 4, 6, or 7-1/2 to the head, with a modified choke, from about 10 - 15 yards upwind, has put their lights out every time without any spray.  At that range, there has also never been any damage to the box traps, as would occur if you were too close and the load was still contained by the wad when it struck the cage.   

Coons get a single .22 at the intersection of an "x" formed between the ears and the eyes.  Possums get that, and a second "double-lunger" .  They have a tiny pea-brain and often "play possum" after the head shot, only to rise up and take off later.  Their lungs are normal size though, so that second shot is always effective.

Last year, I don't think think many fur-buyers were taking coon hides.   I remember getting up to $ 40 for them in the early eighties and you could buy a lot more with that back then.   These days, it is mostly just trap and kill, to keep their numbers under control and to prevent crop damage.   Coons are responsible for more corn damage than any other animal.  They begin the chain of destruction by knocking down the stalks, taking just a small bite out of every ear before moving on the the next stalk.   Other species, like wild turkey, deer, ducks, geese, and morning doves then move in to finish off the corn that the coons have knocked down for them.            

[turkeyfeathers]

So if all the other critters , the sought after are finishing off the corn why would you care so much about coons knocking it over? Legit question 

[wolc123]

25 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

So if all the other critters , the sought after are finishing off the corn why would you care so much about coons knocking it over? Legit question 

It is a tradeoff.  I always like the corn to last until the end of ML season, and that often requires taking out some coons.   There is no doubt that corn, which has been ravaged by coons, is a bit more attractive to deer and a lot more attractive to turkeys.   I don't think turkeys are able to pick standing corn at all, but deer are very efficient users of it.  They will consume a whole ear, prior to starting on the next one.  

I will never forget watching a 2-1/2 year old buck walk into a plot of standing corn (where coons had been eradicated), 3 seasons ago.   I had just passed his little 1-1/2 year old buddy, a few minutes prior to seeing him.   As he approached my stand from upwind, I could clearly hear him munching on the corn as he got closer.  It was peak-rut, and I could also smell him, just before he emerged from the corn, 15 yards away.  

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Well no song dogs last night. Tossed out another set in a high swalegrass draw that has quite a bit of fox sign in it. I think the little buggers are in the knocked down sections of it mousing. I did end up getting another coon and it is the biggest one I have gotten so far. I also had a wring out on another DP. Maybe the evening checks are letting them sit too long from night time movement. I may have to rethink that. I had the DP cabled off to a 4" sapling with about 3 ' of cable and the tree went up a foot and then bent on a 45 degree. it had climbed the tree, wrapped the cable and the trap chain around it and a branch and pulled out. I am thinking that must have been a good sized one. 

When I got home I got to work putting up the previous coon and the one from last night. I have to get some more wood stretchers. They present the pelt much nicer than wire in my opinion. The smaller ones were pretty blue on the skin so there is no value there I am sure but it was good practice. I absolutely butchered the first pelt I did which was ok since I broke it darn tail off when I was skinning it. Took me a bit to get the feel for the knives. I consider myself pretty good with knives and skinning other small game and big game so I hope the learning curve will be fairly short. It became obvious as you are working on the furs when your set up isn't quite right. It is one of those "you don't know what you don't know" situations. things like needing a place to put the fleshing knife when spinning the pelt. needing a squeegee to clean the beam between animals. I'll be happy to see it cool down though. The coon fat is VERY much like bear fat. @Pygmy. You were right on the mark there Dan. It almost liquefies with the temps from working it and your hand temperature. 

Hoping to get a canine to give them a whirl soon. 

[Pygmy]

You're doing great with the ringtails, Bob !!

Hope you get some canines to work on soon..Foxes are easy..Not much fat and you can peel them most of the way with little cutting...  Coyotes are a BEE -och…… Skin seems like it is glued to the flesh and you have to cut  every inch of the way...

[Culvercreek hunt club]

14 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

You're doing great with the ringtails, Bob !!

Hope you get some canines to work on soon..Foxes are easy..Not much fat and you can peel them most of the way with little cutting...  Coyotes are a BEE -och…… Skin seems like it is glued to the flesh and you have to cut  every inch of the way...

I've heard that about the coyotes. In my buddy's barn we set up a deer processing station. 10' ceilings and I have any electric 2,500# hoist all set up with pulleys to lift and adjust deer. I have seen quite a few of these set ups online with bottom anchors used to power skin a coyote. (and coons for that matter). I think I may fab a base, anchor it to the slab and run them the 2 miles over there to do them. (assuming I can strong arm my buddy into buying into the idea...lol). I am betting it would be worth the drive for the time savings.  And as an added plus there is always beer in the fridge. 

[turkeyfeathers]

@dinorocks

Any incite to help out Culver (Bob) ?

[Nomad]

17 hours ago, wolc123 said:

hides.   I remember getting up to $ 40 for them in the early eighties and you could buy a lot more with that back then.

My friend made enough over Christmas break, ( four weeks ) to pay for the next semester at St .John Fisher college . $7 a rat, $35 plus a coon , don’t recall the mink price , but it was nice to get a couple here and there .

[grampy]

I've seen some of your knife skills and you are pretty dang good! It won't take long for you to master those new knives.

The coons came out nice!  No doubt, soon you'll be adding some song dogs to the racks!

Were you thinking Terry's for the floor anchor and winch? Real nice set up there! And a heck of a guy too!

Great thread.

Edited October 30, 2019 by grampy

[Culvercreek hunt club]

11 minutes ago, grampy said:

I've seen some of your knife skills and you are pretty dang good! It won't take long for you to master those new knives.

The coons came out nice!  No doubt, soon you'll be adding some song dogs to the racks!

Were you thinking Terry's for the floor anchor and winch? Real nice set up there! And a heck of a guy too!

Great thread.

Yeah. That's just what I was thinking. It picked the snow plow up for his pickup to load it on a trailer so I gotta believe it would tug a skin off.