Heads up to hunters

[Eric Wettschreck]

I've run a trapline for a great many years and have seen a lot of weird stuff out there.

I have to ask, politely, it it's not your trap, leave it alone. The trapper will be along shortly to dispatch the animal.

A lot of people out there, and I understand this, think they have to kill the animal right away. OK, what good did this do? The trapper is out there to make money and by someone putting a .22 through the pelt just ruined everything, and now the animal is not only dead but worthless.

If you absolutely have to put the animal down, put a knee on it's chest and neck and sluffocate it. Or, if it's staked in the water, drown it. Otherwise shooting the animal is really, in the end, wasting the animal, and none of us want this.

[Trapper J]

People that do this are not hunters or sportsman that is why I made a distinction.There is no place in the outdoors for this kind of behavior.Its just plain old common sense,respect and courtesy which is lacking these days.

[crappiegetter]

I am not a trapper, and don't know much about these traps,,, but I do have a question. Are these traps clearly marked? The reason for my asking is because I want to know if any hunters have walked into these traps by accident. That would not be a fun thing to undo.

Thanks.

not all traps are clearly marked, usually some colorful flag tape will be marking a traps location but some trappers have learned to hide the tape by blending a similar color so it can be undetected by others. Personally never heard of hunters being trapped but with most hunting boots shouldn't be too bad on an ankle, caught my hands on accident many times tickles a little with thick gloves on. most traps are to be set as drown sets in water til a certain part of the season

[Moose-Hunter]

I completely understand your position... I run a small line myself. But name calling ain't gonna win you any support.

[brittman]

Sure let it be, but if you think there is a tending issue call the local DNR.

Quote:

Any trap capable of capturing a protected animal and not capable

of drowning the animal must be tended at least once each calendar day,

If the animail is still alive in the trap a couple days later, the trapper can be trapping to pay off his fine.

I have ZERO tolerance for any trapper not following the letter of the law when trapping on public land.

[Trapper J]

Sorry M.H.,this is something Im very passionate about.Again Im only refering to those that have committed what we've been discussing.If calling them 'morons' upsets somebody ,I apoligize.The words I wanted to use cant be on this forum.Im not one who's very good at doing the side-step-shuffle and pretty much say things straight-up and I've never been to mamby-pamby land.

[Acemac]

how do I keep the dogs out of the traps? that is all I care about. traping scares me because I have a dog.

[Trapper J]

We could get in to all kinds of differant scenarios and what ifs here.If you want to give me a call ,I'll help you as much as I can.I also have gun dogs so that is a concern of mine too.sorry I dont e-mail.

[Superduty]

Good luck trapping this season! As a duck hunter, I wish trappers were as abundant as they used to be before the market crashed. Predator control can be a good thing, and the muskrats can do a number on the vegetation in a marsh.

I have one small favor to ask. Please don't trap at the public access points on the lakes. I have seen flags just a few steps off of the boat landing area more than once. That is just asking for trouble with all the dogs going in and out of boats at the landing. I have no idea what the law says in regard to this, but common sense tells me it is a bad idea for all involved.

[fishnhooks]

I am starting to feel kind-of guilty for getting scratched up and releasing the farmers cat I found in a trap several years ago. I know the cat wasn't sleeping. At least the farmer was happy....

Acemac, that is a concern of mine as well. I usually ask the landowner if they are letting anyone trap when I ask permission. If they say yes, I will ask if they know where the person is trapping and try to stay away from that area because the chances of my dogs checking it out is pretty great. I also once found a trap with a foot in it on some land where the land owner said no one was trapping. I grabbed the trap, told the land owner where I found it and gave it to the land owner. He was very thankful for letting him know.

"hooks"

[BLACKJACK]

Your right ,you dont have a clue.Maybe you should take up knitting or play with dolls.

With an attitude like that it makes me want to shoot the first animal in a trap that I find. A simple 'please don't shoot animals in a trap, it ruins the hide' would probably be a lot more effective!!!

[96trigger]

+1

[Trapper J]

What part of please didnt you understand in my initial post?Do you cry when you see the color yellow?Sorry Im not in touch with your sensitive side!

[InTheNorthwoods]

What part of please didnt you understand in my initial post?Do you cry when you see the color yellow?Sorry Im not in touch with your sensitive side!

Saying "please" doesn't automatically make things okay. Like, if I were to say, "with all due respect, you're being a moron/jerk/[PoorWordUsage]/etc.," it doesn't make it better because I said "with all due respect."

[TooTallTom]

This is just my thought. First, most animals that are trapped are not mortally wounded. They are being held in a foot hold trap.

Second, if it is a non target catch or a small raccoon ect. some people release these animals unharmed. If someone comes along and it is not their trap, they want to kill the catch, now it cannot be released. I say if you tamper with it, you are breaking the law. Just my .02

The ones with broken appendages are. But I was thinking more along the lines of them being trapped and in line to be killed anyway. It was kind of a poor choice of words on my part. And I didn't think of the possibility that unwanted, unharmed animals might be able to be released.

Edit: So foot-hold traps basically just restrain an animal without damage?

[Trapper J]

I have no respect for the very few that do this and have no kind words for them.

[TooTallTom]

Why not ask that from the beginning? The answer is if its not your trap or your trapping partners trap than you can not tamper with it or an animal in the trap.If you do have permission from the trapper to dispatch animals,reset traps,etc.etc.than you need a trapping license to do so.To dispatch an animal one can give a quick,swift blow to the skull or a .22 short in the ear hole or centered between the eyes and ears.A .22 short does minimal damage and is effective.1 small bullet hole in head does not effect the value.Obviously a person would not dispatch smaller critters such as mink and muskrat with a bullet.Kind of getting sidetracked here.My point is if its not yours leave it alone.Its the law.You can learn more on a trapping forum,thankyou

[TooTallTom]

What part of 'it is illegal' do some of you not get? There are plenty of folks here who are law abiding hunters and fisherfolk who would call TIP at the drop of a hat when seeing a violation, and that is good as far as I'm concerned. But in this thread there are some advocating breaking the law is okay regarding dispatching an animal in a trap that is not yours. Maybe someone should call the TIP line, or the local CO when you are seen screwing around with someone's traps. Illegal is illegal, right? Either your law abiding all the way around, or your a hypocrite. Think about it. Leave the traps alone. And no, I do not trap.

Do you ever speed?

I understand that it's illegal to tamper with or remove a legally-set trap. I'm not sure that killing and leaving in place a trapped animal qualifies.

Also, just because something is illegal does not make it wrong, and just because something is legal does not make it right. We've got a lot of race-related laws in our country's history if you'd like some examples. If you want a more outdoors-specific example, I think that the newly (within the last year or two) legal calibers for deer are not ethical choices for most deer hunters/ hunting situations, and should not have been legalized.

[Trapper J]

I would be happy to talk to you about any of your questions T.T.T. Sorry I dont e-mail

[TooTallTom]

Thanks for the offer Trapper J. I think I'll start peppering my family members that trap with questions. It's kind of an interesting subject to me, and I should know more about it.

[Tim_Anderson]

Great debate! I'm reading this, and can't really help but laugh...

Not here to choose sides, but just offer a point of view, and perhaps a different way of thinking.

I think it's safe to assume that Trapper J has spent the majority of his life being a woodsman - that is, trapping, hunting, and fishing. I think he also trains hunting dogs.

He's obviously very passionate about what he's talking about - can't blame a guy for that.

Perhaps he's not the smoothest character when it comes to getting his point across.

Some guys tend to be more blunt rather than "beat around the bush" by trying to be careful or politically correct.

I tend to be "painfully blunt" when I speak, and "ridiculously careful" when I write. Being overly careful became a crucial aspect of trying to advertise and run a business on here, as well as getting articles published off the forum.

This is the primary reason why I don't spend much time on the forums anymore - because it's hard to say much these days without having SOMEONE jump all over you. It gets really, really old when a guy can't just be himself. The mental strain of continuous conflict tends to make forums counterproductive.

Not to mention the fact that they ARE dangerous. You see the words, but you can't see HOW they are delivered. You can't see the facial expression, the eyes, or the body language.

So people guess and jump to conclusions.

I've got better things to do...

I, for one, appreciate the straight-forward talk - and tend to look at it in a positive respect.

A man gets his point across quickly - that's great! Then I don't REACT. Instead, I PROCESS, and then perhaps later, RESPOND.

If I happen to be the "moron", then I don't take it personally or get defensive. I just try to learn from it. After all, aren't we all wrong at one time or another? Are we willing to admit that?

People call me rude and crude names all the time, or poke fun at me (dolls and knitting, or refererence to the hillarious Geico commercial - one of my all time favorites.) A guy has to be able to just shrug that off and have a sense of humor about it IMO.

Is it possible that sometimes we all just take this stuff too seriously, and are too easily offended?

I've looked down the list of characters on this thread, and I'm pretty sure we are all MEN, right?

Remember what William Wallace (Braveheart) told his army when (right before a serious battle) they asked him "What should we do?"

His reply: "Just be yourselves."

Not that this is necessarily battle, but Tapper is just "being himself." Sounds like a dude I'd like in my corner when it comes to doing battle...

We would all do better to respect that about one another, and there'd be a heck of a lot less bickering on here.

My two cents...

[pushbutton]

Well said! I actually clicked on this link because of your name, and have not seen you post much lately and have always enjoyed the great information you have provided. It is too bad you do not post more, as I and many others have learned a ton from them, but I do understand why. Hopefully many will learn from this one as well.

Edit:

This is not in response to this thread, or anyone in particular, just to the overall tone threads can often turn into. Go fish, spear, hunt, trap, be a vegetarian ....whatever, but when you do so, have respect for for yourself, others, and the resource. Most of all have fun, life is too dan short......

[Dave S]

I've run a trapline for a great many years and have seen a lot of weird stuff out there.

I have to ask, politely, it it's not your trap, leave it alone. The trapper will be along shortly to dispatch the animal.

A lot of people out there, and I understand this, think they have to kill the animal right away. OK, what good did this do? The trapper is out there to make money and by someone putting a .22 through the pelt just ruined everything, and now the animal is not only dead but worthless.

If you absolutely have to put the animal down, put a knee on it's chest and neck and sluffocate it. Or, if it's staked in the water, drown it. Otherwise shooting the animal is really, in the end, wasting the animal, and none of us want this.

Very well put Eric. Had the original post been worded like this, the thread wouldn't have the tone that it does.

Another good example of how to get a controversial point across is the thread about removing your dog from a conibear.

TrapperJ,

first off welcome to HSO. But I would have to recommend you tone it down a little. Your initial post was a little brash and rough around the edges. You'll get far more respect and cooperation if you leave the name calling and poignant comments out.

I've never trapped before but have always had an interest. I, like many others here, are looking forward to hear more info from you. It would be great to see info/tips on sets or pictures of sets and the fruits of your labor.

[Trapper J]

Point taken.In my opinion,my initial post was aimed at the guilty whom I think are very few.I have no tolerance for it and refering to them as morons is hardly as 'rough' as I'd be if I caught someone doing this.From now on I'll try to tone it down and not be too offensive.The only ones that should be getting wound up over this are the guilty.

[HunterLee]

Been away from the computer so little behind on the thread, the main reason that i don't want my stuff shot or dispatched for me is first off, most people don't properly do it, second off the longer the animal is dead the more of a chance of spoiling/fur slipping.

I trap and have trapped for quite a few years. Many animals are calm, and like I said some are sleeping.

Traps don't break bones, cut off legs, or stuff like that, for the most part animals are caught across the paw leaving them caught with minor discomfort at most. Other than a numb foot they are fine.

I take my dog trapping and she has been caught twice, both times were trail sets she didn't know about that i added the day before. Now she stays right behind me.

Most trappers don't mark sets because we don't want are stuff messed with or stolen, if everyone was honest i would have no problem marking them, but until them I will hide them.

Most raccoons are trapped on the edges of corn, creeks and swampy cattails in there trails. Most dogs will simply hop over conibears. But that is why its part of the trappers responsibility to watch were we set to avoid any possible dogs.

Baited bucket sets are the dog killers, and are for the most part are a poor set unless you are positive no pets are roaming.

I probly have missed something but feel free to ask, there also is a post from last year on getting your dogs out of a conibear. Please read that and if possible find a person who traps and show your dog what they are and what happens.

Good luck this year and have a safe season, and please show a little respect to trappers, its a dying sport and getting tougher every year.