Why Trap?
 

I enjoy hunting many different animals...deer, turkey, cyote, squirrel, birds, or sometimes something else, but i have never been all in to the trapping. What i like about hunting is that you are one on one with the animal. In trapping it just seems like their is nothing to be proud of, and definitly not a fair chance for the animal. It would be like biting into a big steak and finding out it was poisioned or something. HUNTING you have to work hard and try to actually find the animal, while in trapping you just...well leave a trap. That to me seems about as fair as going cow hunting.

RE: Why Trap?
 

shuler44,

I am not much of a trapper, but I have known a few and helped out on a line or 2, so I will try to answer your question, "Why Trap?".

I think the first thing you must do is realize that hunting and trapping are 2 different things. Hunting an individual animal with rifle, shotgun or bow is typically done for food or trophy. You yourself said you like the one on one aspect of hunting .. that is not the case with trapping. The "goal" is different. Most trappers are seeking the fine pelts of specific animals. On occasion that is for display purposes, but usually they are selling the hides they collect to buyers for money. Most trappers will tell you it's not the money that drives them though, it's just a part of the whole process .. and some people I know have said that the real reason is they don't have the room to store all the fur they collect! In hunting the challenge is to know your quarry and it's habits so well you can place yourself into position, or lure through the use of calls or bait that same animal into weapon range. In trapping the lure is knowing the land and animals so well you know where they'll be and make your sets there .. in the hopes you can collect from nature a gift. It's ok that you don't see the trapper's challenge, you've never done it before. But I can assure you the challenge and pride associated with trapping is no less than hunting. In hunting, if you are dedicated and have scouted, you wake up.. take your stand or stalk and whether you collect an animal or not .. you are leaving the field that day. At most, if you are successful, you must process the animal soon thereafter. The trapper also scouts, prepares his gear, makes his sets then must check his sets. He can't stay in bed if it's raining or foul out .. the ethics of his passion set limits on how long a trap can go untended. If he can't check his traps .. they must get pulled. If he's successful .. and there is a misconception that every trap is a full trap, trust me ... it doesn't work that way, the process of preparing hides for market is a labor intensive endeavor. The amount of time devoted to trapping far exceeds that of hunting in most cases .. and there in lies the main lure. The time spent learning and understanding nature at so many levels and in some small way living off the land.

I am always surprised a little by the person who draws an ethical distinction between hunting and trapping. At it's simplest level they both are trying to accomplish the harvest of a wild animal. I do generally believe people, even some hunters, are becoming to "soft" due to their distance from the actual killing part of life. I think trappers are more aware of man's relationship with living things. I ask you this question as I end this, take a look around you right now ...... and consider what you have eaten since dinner last night .... did you for one second spare a single thought of the sheer amount of animals that died to make the boots, belts and wallets .. or the sausage, burgers and chicken breasts???????

RE: Why Trap?
 

hey shuler44

How is it not a fair chance for the animal I could say the exact same thing about hunting a deer with a highpowered rifle. With a highpowered rifle you can shoot that deer easilly out to 300 yards and I can say well that is not fair to that deer it did not even know you were there

As a trapper you need to get that animal to put its foot exactly where you want it right on the pan of the trap. Now that takes some outwitting to get a fox or coyote to put its foot right in that exact spot.

You by no means just leave a trap like you stated. Most trappers scout alot before opening day. You need to put those traps in the most likely place to catch those animals and bait the area accordingly.

With smarter animal you can not leave any human scent on the trap otherwise the animal will dig it out.

A trapper needs to outwit the animal and that can be very difficult.

But hunting and trapping are two different and two similar things.

If you have any questions on trapping please ask more questions other trappers and me would love to disuss them

RE: Why Trap?
 

Two very good answeres to your question! Let me stress that the pan on a trap is at best a couple square inches, you have to know your quarry extremely well to know EXACTLY where its foot will land. Otherwise you are checking empty traps. No one does it for the money anymore cause there just isnt much money in the furs nowadays. You would get rich quicker flipping burgers at McDonalds with just a fraction of the work. We do it for the love of the sport,love of the outdoors and a love of the simple life and connection to the days gone by when the first beaver trappers pointed there noses west and opened up a continent. Nothing beats the frosty pre-dawn air in your nostrils and the sight of (pick your preference) a furbearer asleep with foot in trap awaiting your arrival. AAHHH, cant wait till fall. P.S. never knew a trapper that wasnt worth his weight in gold in the deer woods:)

RE: Why Trap?
 

And add to the list of "Why's" listed above, here is one more reason "why to trap". In area's where there are problem animals, weather it be a coyote, porcipine, rabbit, squirrel, skunk, etc., a trap, properly set, can hunt 24/7 and increases the odds of removing the "problem", which, in a lot of areas these days, hunting is not allowed! As was said above, trapping is more than just putting a piece of meat near a trap, it just don't work that way!!

RE: Why Trap?
 

trapping is as hard if not harder than hunting
I do both and in my opinion it is very hard. You have to understand the animals feeding habits, where it lives, where it travels, how often it travels and many more things. You really have to understand the animal. It is a great reward coming to a trap and seeing a animal in your trap. Just my 2 cents

Take em

RE: Why Trap?
 

Oops I edited the post instead of replying!:D I'll try to restate it.

How long are they in the trap? Isn't it cruel? How do you kill them? Does it hurt the animal?

RE: Why Trap?
 

SHULER AND ZAC, YOU GUYS ARE THINKING LIKE ANTIS. IN OUR SPORT ALL SPORTSMEN AND WOMEN NEED TO STICK TOGETHER AND PUT DOWN WHAT TYPE OF HARVESTING ANOTHER DOES.

RE: Why Trap?
 

When I was young I did a lot of trapping and I can tell you that it is hard work. Also all trappers have seen fox and coyotes caught in traps curled up and sleeping. If it was so cruel how come they are sleeping in the trap. Have also seen beaver caught in a trap and sitting there eating a twig or something. Again if it was in any pain or distress why is it not showing it. Trapping and hunting are diferent and still a lot alike. Why would anyone say it is cruel to trap and then be a hunter? Not all game is killed cleanly and humanely. We all try to do it is as quickly as possible but it does not always work that way. I worked in a packing plant for many years and they slaughter humanely right? Well I have seen with my own eyes cattle that were knocked, shackled and stuck and kept right on bellowing. I have seen hogs stunned, stuck and conveyed into the scalding tub where they revived and screamed until they were scalded to death. I am a hunter, a trapper, and a meat eater and I will not apologize for any of it to anyone.

RE: Why Trap?
 

zak123-

You asked a few specific questions .. that are completely legitimate. I'll try and answer them for you.

The animal is in the trap normally for 8 to 12 hours at the longest. Trappers in almost all states are required by law to check their traps every 24 hours, most setting them and checking them in the morning. Since the animals are most active at night they often are trapped at night and recovered in the morning.

Many traps actually kill the animal instantly, or drown the animal within a short period of time. Coyote and fox traps that "hold" an animal till the trapper arrives, I'm sure hurt the animal. Those same animals are quickly dispatched normally with a small caliber round to the head. The hurt of the animal is not something to be considered extreme based on many animals reactions, the pain thresholds of wild animals and the design of the traps themselves.

You also asked,
The answer is no. It is no less or more cruel than killing a deer, duck, turkey or bear while hunting. It is definitely not gentle, peaceful or sweet. Killing ANYTHING never is. If you truly think trapping is cruel, then you are much closer to what an anti-hunter or PETA member thinks than you realize. These people equate hunting as cruelty. The mere thought of killing an animal horrifies them.

Perhaps you could think or trapping as just another way of harvesting wild game? Some people choose to use rifles as others choose to use archery equipment. Some choose to trap. All methods can dispatch an animal humanely and ethically with respect given to the animal. It is important to accept that ALL methods can result in an animals pain and suffering if certain errors or conditions occur. As ethical "Sportsmen" we all do our best to insure this doesn't occur .. but in the harvesting of game we accept that this will occur and be always vigilant to reduce the chances of it.

As a hunter .. I would hope from our collective points we have opened your eyes a bit to trapping. If we can't get you to see that trapping is not "cruel" and should not be "banned" then we as sportsmen don't have much of a shot.

RE: Why Trap?
 

It is amazing that I can't even ask a question without being put down. I don't care if you trap, heck I would even like to start. No hard feelings.:D

RE: Why Trap?
 

None taken. As stated above most animals are caught in water sets set on drowning wires which results in a quick humane death. Many animals caught on land are asleep when the trapper arrives. Properly set and sized traps cause extremely little to no discomfort. Same for properly set snares with relaxing locks, have caught a hounddog or two over the years(even my own) and they were sitting there calmly as if on a leash, the exception being if snares are set in a fence the fox or coyote often hangs themselves jumping over the fence. NEVER set fence snares where a domestic dog might find it.

RE: Why Trap?
 

Forgot to mention that wildlife agencies nationwide use foothold traps to catch critters such as otter (for one example) to be transplanted to areas where there are few or none for the purpose of restocking and/or expanding there range.

RE: Why Trap?
 

I thought the trap broke the leg. I did find one in the woods.

RE: Why Trap?
 

Iam not a trapper I have played around with a few sets when I was young. But a trapper Iam not but to all you hunters that think trapping isnt sporting your dead wrong .
Its as much of as a chess game as hunting buck deer
And if you want to know where that big buck deer lives ask a trapper he more then likely knows he spends more time in the brush then most hunters

RE: Why Trap?
 

Nope. A proper sized and set trap does no damage other than occasional slight swelling as long as traps are checked regularly. I know a professional coyote trapper in my area that traps across the country for yotes to sell to the live market and they will not take them if their is ANY damage to the animal.

RE: Why Trap?
 

why Trap? same reason you do most things because it is fun, other reasons might be you like the outdoors and would like to spend more time there , then there is outwitting your quarry,getting rid of pests, making a few dollars, although making money is not all that easy and requires a certain level of expertise
we used to get up early in the am. to get all the traps checked before school, its great being out on a cold day before any lights are on, you know the same feeling when your hunting and and no other hunters have made it to the woods yet and you fell like you have the whole place to your self? well while trapping you most likely will have the whole place to yourself as there are not near as many trappers as hunters, nothing but the stars and the animals stirring , or your down by the water with the brook gurgling looking to see if your set is disturbed, smelling the earth thru nose hairs with frost on them, even the farmers aren't up yet
i remeber the smells more than anything , the smell of my Dad smoking during a break with the smell of swamp mud wafting from the holes my feet just punched in to the mud just a short break the tide was on the way in lots of traps to still check. Dad loved it , he never hunted,that i knew, just trapped . and he was good at it. But you are almost always good at what you like to do
I just helped check the line and skina few Muskrats, he did all the real work , Like lugging burlap bags full of traps to the swamp , and lugging burlap bags ful of rats back out, and sometimes lugging me out too. Ahhh the smell of bulap bags with swamp mud on them . brings a tear to my eye thinking about those days , I miss him but i'm sure there are liberal bag limits and long seasons in heaven

RE: Why Trap?
 

The only trapping i do is pest control. My aunt had some racoons living in their attic, so when they would catch one in the trap i would go get it and take care of it for them, other than that though i dont trap, not as fun to me.

RE: Why Trap?
 

I am a die hard beaver trapper and i work dang hard for my game. Scout areas just as you would for hunting, study where they are sliding, chewing etc. Set the trap up in such a way that you are able to outwitt the animal into it. Its not just as easy as drop a trap off and thats it. The trap has to be angled, and have just the right amount of water flowing through it otherwise they won't co operate. I get a big satisfaction out of trapping in fact just as much as hunting. There is nothin like checking the line in the morning and walking up to that trap and seeing a beaver in it. A beaver with you have outwitted, and ethically taken. If your not into it shuler thats fine but ya don't need to piss and moan on here about how its not ethical.

RE: Why Trap?
 

You go turkey hunting, how do you think that gobbler feels when that hen that he wants ends up being a decoy? Lights out for him, but you worked hard for it most likely.

Just like trapping, its hard work and you earn what you trap.

RE: Why Trap?
 

In my opinion trapping is just as hard or harder as hunting. You have to learn the way the animals behavor, feeding habits, and just about everything else you can learn about them. You have to set things up perfect(or near) As for human scent, It is just like hunting if they get one scent of it they are gone! It is alot harder than what people think. Especially the cleaning part. LOL If anyone is interested a good trapping website is Trapperman This website has helped me out alot. And so has huntingbbs.com

Thanks,
Trapper_Hunter(Colby)

RE: Why Trap?
 

Shuler, you are VERY MISTAKEN. If you think trapping is easy, you obviously don't have a clue what you are talking about. Go buy a license and get a trap and try to catch something other than a skunk or cat, and you'll see what I mean. Please don't make such assumtions about trapping until you further your education on this subject. Trapping, when used correctly, is not only difficult, but is humane, and can save many ranchers from losing lots of cattle, and can help to keep waterfowl and pheasent populations high. Again, please don't make accusations on a subject which you don't understand.

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[Deleted by Admins]

RE: Why Trap?
 

why do i trap? well, basically i just do it so that i can catch those dang hogs that are diggin holes everywhere and so i can be close to the animal so that i can study them without me becoming breakfast. they may be extremely ugly on the outside but i think that they are interesting and entertaining just to watch. ill go and sit in a blind with just my camera and take photos of them. i dont know what it is about them but i just love feral hogs.......but when im done studying them then i just either let em out of the trap or i shoot em depending on whether i want to eat 100 pounds of hog meat that year...lol and as for those crazy javelina, i just have to laugh when i see there ugly little faces and how they walk you should watch carefully oneday, you might find it very immusing. (he is a picture of a mamma hog, she had 9 pigletts with her.but they arent in the picture.)

RE: Why Trap?
 

and here is a picture of those ugly little javelina...ya i no, the pictures suck, oh well. and im 14 by the way, 15 in 16 days!! woo hoo!

RE: Why Trap?
 

shuler44 Iam not sure you understand what hunting is all about.
As a trapper I have to get up everyday I have traps out to go see
if I caught anything.If it is raining cats and dogs, if it's freezing cold
or if I have the flu, if I have traps set I have to check them every day.
You on the other hand don't have to get up out of a warm bed if you
don't fill like it, or if it's raining , or if the wind is not right. I take pride in the fact I am a trapper and will take a coyote in a trap over an eight point buck anyday . I would bet that if you followed a good trapper around all day and helped skin,flesh, and put up his catch,at the end of the day you
would say trapping is hard work and hunting is fun...

RE: Why Trap?
 

Big time hunter hear, and would be trapper if I had a place to get up and go to EVERY morning, but c'mon guys. Give the guy a break. Some of you say he "knows nothing about trapping," and other obvious comments, but don't you think that is why his topic title is "why trap." Teach kindly, and you might get some followers. Shove it down someone's throat like they're an idiot, you just might lose 'em.
As for Zak, sounds to me like he just wanted to know if it was cruel or painful. There's nothing wrong with wanting to know this before starting. Compassion is a good thing. It's not anti behavior, it's just curiosity from a hunter. I'm sure he's not an anti hunter. I'm sure as heck not, its my favorite activity, but I'd want to know what is "cruel" and what isn't before I start something. Lighten up, people, and help others out who may not know as much about a certain topic, then they might be more willing to help you out when you have a question.

RE: Why Trap?
 

Trapping is Hard as hunting.
Alot of things u have to learn that u don't have to when you are hunting also. You have to learn where to make the best sets, and what u expect to catch in them. If you just throw a trap out all u will catch is probably a cold from being out in the SNow and Freezing weather for nothing. Trapping gives me another excuse to go out in the woods with my papa and spend time with him. While at the same time making money. (Not much though)

Trapper_Hunter

RE: Why Trap?
 

I don't know if I would take a coyote over an 8 point buck anyday. Bur 3 or 4 of them would DEFINETELY do it.

Trapper_Hunter

It's hard getting up Early in the morning rather it is freezing, Raing, SNowing, Raining ice, Wind blowing hard but I do it anyway cause it is fun seeing if you caught anything that day. And if I do it gets me satisfactory that I did something right.

Trapper_Hunter

RE: Why Trap?
 

just curious but what do they use them for? pets?

RE: Why Trap?
 

Most all the older men in my area trapped a little at some point in their life. They don't any more but they aren't against trapping. Most of they young folks think trspping is bad. I think it is fine and hope it is not outlawed, especially since we now have so many coyotes and need more trappers.

RE: Why Trap?
 

after all that has been said all i can say is that trapping involves much skill and woodsmanship, to learn more about it ffind a experienced trapper and tag along a time or two and i bet if you hunt and like being in the woods you will enjoy youself and learn something in the process even if you decide not to pick it up or arent interested in trapping personally, my guess is your viewpoint would change.

RE: Why Trap?
 

why would i not have to get out of my warm bed now? After hearing a lot of replys i have a different view now and apoligize for what i said. It is more difficult then i would expect.

RE: Why Trap?
 

Well first i must say that the guy that ask WHY TRAP? Must be one of those people against trapping because i have trapped for 35 years and never used a poison steak to catch a animal, and believe me it isnt as easy as you might think to out smart a fox or coyote so try it before you knock it.

RE: Why Trap?
 

I tried trapping and it IS harder than it looks. I put 7 traps out. I checked them the next morning and 3 sprund. The coyotes sprung them first and continued on their way. I am going out coyote hunting tonight. I do not have enough time to successfully trap coyotes. I only have a few days a week of free time. I may not be able to check the traps daily. If I do get some more free time, I will trap again.