Predator Trapping

[roymunson]

Not sure if this is in the right section, but it does include native habitat

Any of you guys mess with any predator reduction?
Around here they kill some coyotes hounds after the season, but I'd like to try my hand at snaring a couple. I know almost nothing about it, but would like to give it a whirl. Anyone do any of it, for fun or for function?

 

[Telemark]

I used to shoot them at night, especially in the winter.

I tried snaring, but it doesn't work well in the summer, which is when I'm up at the place where I can snare. I used foothold traps, but raccoons got into them before the coyotes could.

I think the key to snaring is use as close to a whole animal as possible, get them to establish trails, and set the snares on the trails. Works best in winter.

 

[roymunson]

Have a field close to home I can check daily, and it has a bunch of round bales there.

Was planning to make a circle/rectangle out of the bales an make sets on the openings. Then put a deer carcass, or other attractant in the circle.

May be stupid, but I'm sure I've done something dumber in the past.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

snaring is pretty easy and highly effective.

 

[DrDirtNap]

Foothold traps have more flexibility as far as the types of sets you can make. I’ve always been concerned about catching deer in snares and I don’t have confidence in the deer stops you can put in them.


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[Hoytvectrix]

Growing Deer has whole playlists of videos on trapping predators. Probably the best on YouTube or the internet in general for trapping info.

 

[Telemark]

Have a field close to home I can check daily, and it has a bunch of round bales there.

Was planning to make a circle/rectangle out of the bales an make sets on the openings. Then put a deer carcass, or other attractant in the circle.

May be stupid, but I'm sure I've done something dumber in the past.

If you can check daily, I would get some foothold traps. I think mine are called Minnesota traps. They are excellent. There are a lot of different sets you can make. Snares don't require you to check that often. I would use those in the woods on the coyote trails.

 

[trampledbyturtles]

Hope your ready for another rabbit hole.

Have a couple grand in steel just sitting in the shop these days.

Footholds are great on a year like this with very little snow amd moisture.
Snares rain supreme on most years post Nov 1 when its impossible to dig a trap bed. (Location plays a big role)

Do all my trapping in the spring these days. Mostly for nest raiders. Dont mind having a few coyotes around, help keep the rabbits in check. Was fun catching 80 dollar yotes just a couple years ago tho.

Came to the realization there are other things I would rather chase in the fall than fur.

Would buy prebuilt shares from a gentlemen in Minnesota if that is the route u decide to go. Top notch stuff and can build them to your specs. Or if you are just digging in, can help guide you to what would work best for you. Name is slipping me at the moment but can come up with it if need be.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

The snare shop


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[swat1018]

Yep, depending on your regs, snaring is a great way to catch them. In Indiana I can snare fence cross unders, etc. Some states (MO) you can's snare withing so far of a fence, no entanglement, deer stops, breakaways, etc.

 

[Tree Spud]

Have a field close to home I can check daily, and it has a bunch of round bales there.

Was planning to make a circle/rectangle out of the bales an make sets on the openings. Then put a deer carcass, or other attractant in the circle.

May be stupid, but I'm sure I've done something dumber in the past.

A whole lot easier to hang a carcass on a tripod midday with the right wind 200 yards from a stand you picked. You can hunt late afternoon to into dark.

Get a remote coyote remote controlled prey call.

Set things up so you are not winded or seen. Make sure you are in a blind offset from the wind to the carcass. They will approach and look for larger predators first visually.

 

[ruskbucks]

I use cable restraints here in WI for coyote. Snares are illegal here. They work decent we have caught a few. I like them because they are pretty safe if you want to release a dog or fox. The deer stops work great. I never caught a deer but they have knocked them over before. The key is to set them up correctly. The bottom of the hoop needs to be 8- 10 inches of the ground ( hard pack snow)for coyote, any lower you will get non target catches. One tip I learned is to look for tracks after a snow. Coyote will use the same trails time and time again. Set up on a good grassy trail that funnels them down to your restraint.

 

[Turkey Creek]

As someone who trapped professionally for a number of years, snares are a great tool in the right circumstance. Just as is calling/shooting and foothold traps. Snares shine the best in poor weather and where you have a reasonable amount of natural cover to blend them in. They also have the lowest cost for your initial setup (though typically only useable one time) and quickest learning curve for someone new to the game. Setting round bales like you had suggested might produce a coyote or two, but there are far simpler ways to go about it. Make sure if you are using exposed bait that you are abiding by your state's law in terms of how far away a trap or snare can be set to it. Your state trapping association likely has a fall convention that is an excellent place to learn to snare, though most of the conventions werent held this fall due to COVID.

 

[yoderjac]

Not sure if this is in the right section, but it does include native habitat

Any of you guys mess with any predator reduction?
Around here they kill some coyotes hounds after the season, but I'd like to try my hand at snaring a couple. I know almost nothing about it, but would like to give it a whirl. Anyone do any of it, for fun or for function?

Some predators can be controlled with hunting or trapping, but not all. I was chatting with a USDA biologist one day who had previously been working on a coyote study. Several issues here. First, coyotes can move hundreds of miles in a day, so any control program would need to be performed on a very large scale. A coyote you shoot today could be a hundred miles away tomorrow if you had not shot it and a coyote from 100 miles away could fill its spot tomorrow.

The second issue is that the study was showing that shooting certain coyotes from the social structure actually made female coyotes produce more pups and a higher percentage of female pups. That was just one study, but it is safe to say, we don't have a sound scientific strategy for killing coyotes.

Given that, we have taken the position of "dont' care" at our place. If our guys see a coyote and want to shoot it fine. If not , fine. If someone wants to try trapping them, fine. If not, fine. We won't put any intentional concerted effort into it from a wildlife management perspective until we have better science.

We do have some good science on reducing the impact of coyotes on fawns through habitat manipulation. There was a very good extensive study that showed creating long-narrow strips of good fawning cover caused a high percentage of does to fawn there. Those strips were very easy for coyotes to hunt and they killed a higher percentage of fawns. So, if you are creating thick cover, do it in large blocks.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[roymunson]

I'm under no illusions that I'll be mitigating the number of coyotes on the land. I want to see if I can do it, and I want a really nice pelt to tan as well.

Plus it'd be something fun to do with the boys. Got them a couple dogproofs as well. We'll see how the coons hold up.

Its also another push to further learn how the wild world works in a way I've never investigated.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

The "science" can say whatever it wants, since I've started taking out yotes i've noticed a drastic increase in the number of does with twins and triplets. There are a couple of guys within a 5 mile radius that are also trapping them so i'm sure that also plays a role.

 

[yoderjac]

I'm under no illusions that I'll be mitigating the number of coyotes on the land. I want to see if I can do it, and I want a really nice pelt to tan as well.

Plus it'd be something fun to do with the boys. Got them a couple dogproofs as well. We'll see how the coons hold up.

Its also another push to further learn how the wild world works in a way I've never investigated.

Nothing wrong with that.

 

[SWIFFY]

The "science" can say whatever it wants, since I've started taking out yotes i've noticed a drastic increase in the number of does with twins and triplets. There are a couple of guys within a 5 mile radius that are also trapping them so i'm sure that also plays a role.

I agree with this and have witnessed the same.

As far as coyotes moving 100 miles a day... it may be true but i find they have a home range just like deer. I see several coyotes on camera that have distinct color patterns and pelts, sometimes yotes that are recognizable because of 3 legs. They can stick in the same areas for years, im sure some come and go as well.

 

[SWIFFY]

I'm under no illusions that I'll be mitigating the number of coyotes on the land. I want to see if I can do it, and I want a really nice pelt to tan as well.

Plus it'd be something fun to do with the boys. Got them a couple dogproofs as well. We'll see how the coons hold up.

Its also another push to further learn how the wild world works in a way I've never investigated.

Snaring is a blast! Your boys will love it! Its about as easy as it gets and its very effective.

Another good thing is a dozen snares weigh about 2 pounds and cost under $30 so youre not out much if you dont use them.

Predators are very fascinating I think. I knew very little about them until I started trapping them. And it is neat to have a few beautiful pelts off your own farm!

I killed almost 25 coyotes off a 5 acre pond at my house a few years ago. It put a dent in them and helped the deer... but there are still plenty to kill every year. Its fun

 

[Bill]

I skinned a coyote once. My son shot it, we had it tanned.
I’ll never do that again. Unless I did something wrong I’ve never encountered something so hard to skin.