Coote

It has been a while since I visited this forum. I just wanted to thank everyone for the good information and entertainment I've had from this site. And I particularly want to thank Pegandgun, Glen Waters and David Holdaway (TrapWorks) for the information they've shared privately about trapping. I've recently had some success snaring rats in my garden. They've been avoiding conventional snap traps, and the primitive deadfall traps that have worked for me in the past. Brass wire isn't readily available here, so I've used some 0.38mm 'tiger tail' nylon-covered stainless steel cable fo

I answered a call from a lady wanting to get rid of a couple of rabbits she's been seeing in her garden. After visiting her, I realized it wasn't a place where I could safely use my .22. I thought it would be a good opportunity to make a couple of rabbit gums to try. I understand that these traps are called 'gums' because sometimes they were made from hollow logs, and there is an American tree called a gum which evidently has a lot of hollow wood in it. I've seen versions of this trap which have slots cut into the side walls to provide a secure track for the door to

Swamp Thang.... Thanks very much for posting this. I've got a keen interest in primitive traps, and I've never seen this one before. Best wishes from New Zealand... Stephen Coote.

Very encouraging. Good on you. I agree that you get good advice on this forum. I will be interested to read some more on this project.

Aye Hob&Jill, it was a good day out when I look at the big picture. A disastrous day trapping is better than most days working. Dang Danielt, you got me thinking about my first rabbit. I'm told I shot my first one when I was five....and I wouldn't be surprised if I bust the crap sack on that one with the bullet. That was a long time, and many animals, ago. I've busted many crap sacks in my time on various animals. I try to be really careful nowadays, but occasionally the knife goes in deeper than I intended...or I pull too hard... or I simply do it right from the start with a bul

My cousin knows that I like to trap, so she told me about a field full of rabbits near her. I committed myself to having a go at getting a few. Well yesterday I decided to I should look at getting the rabbits seeing folks had been kind to arrange it for me. I did this instead of going after a pig, which I would probably have rather done. The area was far from ideal... there were allegedly up to fifty rabbits living in a little strip of thick brush alongside a road and a drainage ditch. I couldn't use my greatest strength - sniping from a long distance with my Anschutz and silencer

Aye.... I do need more tomatoes on the plate, but I figured if I piled up the normal serving the meat wouldn't be seen in the photo. I am concerned about trichinosis and I always take pains to cook pork well, and to encourage other people to cook it well. I do not recommend barbequeing it, or cooking a whole pig on a spit... it is too easy to have undercooked portions (but people do it all the time, so the risk must be minimal). I am interested in making salami and this uses raw pork. I've researched the subject a bit. My missus plays music with a lady from a family that makes salami

I haven't seen any trees here with a sheet metal sleeve fixed around them to stop the possums climbing, but we do have a lot of sheet metal sleeves around our power poles. Darn possums will climb a pole and possibly touch two wires... and electrocute themselves. Nobody cares too much about the possums, but often they cause a power cut when it happens. Brought home another wee hog this morning. I shot it just before dark last night. It ran off after I shot it, but I knew it was a good shot and it shouldn't go far. This morning I found it maybe 20 yards away in a patch of gorse. I got

Yep LocalYokel, many possums have been taken using a spotlight and a .22 with a scope. I've shot a few myself in the past. Nowadays I'm a bit nervous about shooting at night unless I am absolutely certain that there is nothing around that could be harmed by a stray bullet. Folks do a lot of spotlighting, and I shudder to think about how casual they are about shooting into the dark where they cant see outside the range of the light...or worse still, shooting possums out of trees. I'm inclined to think that a .22 bullet falling out of the sky after going its full range is not likely to be h

I occasionally may use a foot trap. My most common way of trapping possums is to set snares on propped poles or sloping branches. I use a lure to attract the animals to the trees where the snares are set. I also might use the occasional baited cubby... and this may become more common when I trap in areas where there is a lack of suitable trees in which to set pole snares. Although I haven't trapped a lot of hogs, I do use bait in a big swing-door cage trap.... or I may place bait/lure somewhere near a snare on a trail. In my attempts to catch stoats, I use a steel clap-trap (a

Thanks for your thoughts. What animals am I after? Well the main thing I want is to understand about how lures work generally. But I will be applying this knowledge to what I want to trap down here. My main quarry is the Australian Brushtailed Opossum, which is generally a vegetarian but I think it has been known to eat meat and birds' eggs. But I also am interested in trapping other species like stoats, feral cats, rats, feral pigs and maybe goats. And if I ever get the opportunity, I wouldn't mind having a go at catching foxes if I travel to Australia. Do I want a bait or a l

I've never used any form of animal lure and I know relatively little about them. Some animals would obviously be attracted to a good lure made from urine or glands, but would some desirable animals be repelled by the odor? If the lure was made from the urine or body parts of a dominant female, is it reasonable to think that this lure might attract males but also might frighten other females away? (And vice versa if the lure were made from male urine etc?) What preservatives are needed (if any) in making these lures? Thanks in advance.... Coote.

Here's a picture of a variation of the figure four trigger that I found to be quite successful. The difference between this and the standard figure four is that the diagonal stick is tied to the bait stick. The string should be kept quite short. I think that the tied version can be a little less tricky to set. Also, the bait stick is possibly more likely to be flung clear of the deadfall when triggered because it is tied to the diagonal which rotates quickly as the trap fires. Having said that, my current favourite is the shortened figure four as shown in the rat picture. By shortened

We've got a small shed in the garden where we store a bit of junk. Noticing the droppings everywhere, my missus hinted it was time to set a trap. I've had great success using a deadfall with a figure four trigger for mice, and I reckoned it was time to try it on rats. As you can see, it worked. I think it is important to split the end of the bait stick of this trigger, and to force bait into the split. This makes the animals push harder to get it out. Another thing to consider, is to set the trap with its 'back' closest to the place where the animal will run to where it thin

Our possums have quite nice fur. I classify them into two main types... the dark ones similar to the one shown in the picture below, and the silver-greys (which seem to be less common in my area). At present, the best price I know of that one can get for a pelt is NZ$14, but most would sell for less. Currently we are being offered NZ$90 per kilo for plucked fur. It takes the fur from maybe 15 possums to make a kilogram. Possum fur is hollow which makes it fairly unique... and good for insulation. However I guess it also makes it frustratingly light when you are trying to get a few ki