Traditional wooden rabbit traps

[Wolfdog91 6,919]

Got bored lately and had the desire to build some traditional wooden rabbit traps ( also called gums). Traps like these are close to the same design that trapper over here have been using for the last 150 or so years. Most older trappers I talk to talked about how building and using these was their first step into trapping. And according to just about every ADC guy I've talk to wooden traps like these just plain out catch any other method. Something about them being made of wood and dark or something. That and apparently one you catch a few you don't even need to bait them. The wood just soaks up all the rabbity goodness and other rabbit just have to check it out. Showed these on a FB group based over y'all's way and they just plain won't believe me. I know some of y'all catch 100's in them simple shiny little cages but that stuff just don't work over here. Well unless there super used to people and over populated out the ass .

Anyhow here my modern version of one. Not the best because I got the 1x8" for dirt cheap since they where culls and all bent and chipped but for $10 for 4 1x8x8's I can't complain too much

They are stupid simple to make once you get all the measurements right and beyond way to rig. These have a self setting trigger though. Pan is heavier on one end so it pushes the trip bar back into place l. All you need to do it push the door in and it's set. Also went with a wire back as topped to a sold wood one because I'd like to see what I caught before opening the top to skunk and it get really hot down here in the summer and they'll need the ventilation.

Then I saw a picture or two aof a two door one and since I still had some board left I said why not. Gotta say it's a little bit of a monster but still was fun to build.

But yeah these are most specialty traps. Most guy using these never run more then ten  but where not here trying to catch 100's or rabbits in a week lol.but yeah figured y'all would be interested. Anyhow gotta get back to build some of these mink/squirrel traps for a freind . Finally figured out how to make em without welding anything. Boring but saves me on rods lol.

 

[micky 3,325]

Some people over here in the UK can make a living out of catching Rabbits in Wire cages or Snares  and  they are at the top of their game  and in my opinion  if they say their tools are the best for the job then the are ! those Wooden ones are to heavy  and i doubt  that they work to well without  bait also whet set in a large area each trap would have to be approached and  checked individually whilst Wire ones can be scanned from a distance ,there is another Wooden Rabbit  Trap being  praised on that Forum  its the same size and  shape of a  Lorry Wheel and it looks ridiculous   though most of the members on there are to polite to say so .

[Wolfdog91 6,919]

56 minutes ago, micky said:

Some people over here in the UK can make a living out of catching Rabbits in Wire cages or Snares  and  they are at the top of their game  and in my opinion  if they say their tools are the best for the job then the are ! those Wooden ones are to heavy  and i doubt  that they work to well without  bait also whet set in a large area each trap would have to be approached and  checked individually whilst Wire ones can be scanned from a distance ,there is another Wooden Rabbit  Trap being  praised on that Forum  its the same size and  shape of a  Lorry Wheel and it looks ridiculous   though most of the members on there are to polite to say so .

Yeah that was my post . Those traps are a favorite for dog runners live catching rabbits for dog training.

I honestly think you guys think I'm trying to tell y'all that "our way* is better or something, which I'm not. I'm simply showing what we use and saying ,over here these are the best method for our animals. Not trying to start an international pissing match ....never have these situations with trappers from other place though I noticed..... Especially the Aussies and kiwis fascinating conversations with does boys but I digress.

And we are dealing with "different animals" . Yes both are rabbits ( we have like 5 differ varieties btw and I can tell you if you see a southern cottontail or a swamp tea but in the middle of a pasture like I see y'all's ...some it's very very wrong with that animal or some has been doing preator control to where they killing stuff that's illegal) but like I was trying to explain almost everyone who tried to trap rabbits over here has usually tried wire traps. Why because they work for everything elese just fine. But just about eveyone goes to wood simply because they work better . 

You also have to understand our condition trapping are completely different most of the time. Like two of those pro guys show me pictures of like 50 shiny cages just set out in the open in a line with a rabbit in each. awesome it works for them obviously but here, well just about every one of them traps would have been chewed up by coyotes red and grey fox coon,  heck Evey wild hogs . Why ? Well there's a delicious little rabbit sitting in there wide in the open and I'm not even joking when I say animals over here will destroy most cheaper 14ga wire and down. 

Like I've seen videos of your rabbits over there and they just arnt like that here they stay in the thickets . A carrot in the back o a cage is how every irritated homeowner or wanna be trapper over here fails at trapping them. Just plain how it is.  Heck I talked to some Aussie guys who do rabbit control and trapping them isn't even a thought to them why ? It just plain isn't effective. They go out on a side by side with themals in .22lrs and shoot 50-100 in a night. Trapping in general just isn't effective and I'm 90% sure they're dealing with the ancestors of the same rabbits y'all trap.

Like you said you have. Professional guys over there trapping rabbits with those methods because they work , obviously.  We have traps you can fire off with your phone , that have multiple doors ,that don't have foot pans that can just be set in the trail without bait literal 100's of different baits and lures ,but our professional guys ( who btw arnt doing what y'all do needing someone to catch 100's of rabbits off a property over here is extremely rare  it's generally trying to catch select animals rabbits in someone garden or something)who are getting paid to remove these animals cause damage  and who do this for a living 365 day in day out , the top of their game ,don't have time to piddle around with stuff that doesn't work primarily prefer the wooden traps. Why ? Simply because they work. The same reason guys who do professional wild hog removal use $3000 cellular control corral traps that catch an entire sounder in one go.  No one wants to be a construction worker no one wants to pay $3-7000 for one of these systems but they do . Why because it's the best option for us.  Probably won't be for you guys just trying to get rid of one or two hogs tear up a the edge of a farms field or what have you but your not over run with the things and their not educated because everyone and their mom tried to catch them with crappy passive trigger single catch traps.

It's like I was talking to a guy who came down from Iowa ( a state some 2000miles northwest of me) dude catches legit 1500 racoons in a 3month season. 30-60 a day is average. What does he do ? Guy drive down the road stops at every bridge slings out four fish stake sets hops back in the truck. That's it. Find bridge puts fish head on stake put trap in front it stake repeat. Dude racks up racoons. Came down here and tried the same stuff was catching 5 a day if he was lucky while the trappers from that are where having 20-30 a day.  He asked what they where doing and they would putting in dirt holes flagging sets and blind setting. Guy said no I trapped 1000's of coon in Iowa so the same should work down here. Dint believe you had to do all that to catch a stupid raccoon. Guy didn't start picking anything up until he started using the local methods.  Why ? Different location different animal habits diets behavior so different methods . Their coon in Iowa face super harsh cold so they gotta eat any and every thing. It's mainly farm land up there so they stick to water corridors more . Their rut run for shorter then ours so their not thinking about sex as much as food so their easier to catch. Polar opposite here . Deer feeders every where water everywhere it doesn't get super cold so they don't need to put on the fat so they don't have to eat everything in from of them so their less susceptible to just any bait. If it's not something they want they won't walk two feet of the trail to look at it. Or rut runs waaaay longer then theirs so you gotta do stuff that uses their sex drive as an advantage and get them to your set. It habitat shifts so much compared to them as well. One property may be 90 pine plantation and two miles down the road cattle pasture and a mile from there is beaver swamp those animals will act different in each one of those . 

But what I'm getting at is just because something works absolutely fantastically in one location for an animal dosent mean it will in another location for a similar animal.

Not saying anything is better or worse . Honestly I'm super happy that y'all can trap rabbits in such numbers so easily.

[Wolfdog91 6,919]

1 hour ago, W. Katchum said:

Bump. Wanna read later when get home an not busy, could be doin with some traps for rabbits

Just saying you can build the same thing out of wire in like 15min pretty easy and they seem to work for you lot Soo

[Ferretman65 2,177]

2 hours ago, Wolfdog91 said:

Yeah that was my post . Those traps are a favorite for dog runners live catching rabbits for dog training.

I honestly think you guys think I'm trying to tell y'all that "our way* is better or something, which I'm not. I'm simply showing what we use and saying ,over here these are the best method for our animals. Not trying to start an international pissing match ....never have these situations with trappers from other place though I noticed..... Especially the Aussies and kiwis fascinating conversations with does boys but I digress.

And we are dealing with "different animals" . Yes both are rabbits ( we have like 5 differ varieties btw and I can tell you if you see a southern cottontail or a swamp tea but in the middle of a pasture like I see y'all's ...some it's very very wrong with that animal or some has been doing preator control to where they killing stuff that's illegal) but like I was trying to explain almost everyone who tried to trap rabbits over here has usually tried wire traps. Why because they work for everything elese just fine. But just about eveyone goes to wood simply because they work better . 

You also have to understand our condition trapping are completely different most of the time. Like two of those pro guys show me pictures of like 50 shiny cages just set out in the open in a line with a rabbit in each. awesome it works for them obviously but here, well just about every one of them traps would have been chewed up by coyotes red and grey fox coon,  heck Evey wild hogs . Why ? Well there's a delicious little rabbit sitting in there wide in the open and I'm not even joking when I say animals over here will destroy most cheaper 14ga wire and down. 

Like I've seen videos of your rabbits over there and they just arnt like that here they stay in the thickets . A carrot in the back o a cage is how every irritated homeowner or wanna be trapper over here fails at trapping them. Just plain how it is.  Heck I talked to some Aussie guys who do rabbit control and trapping them isn't even a thought to them why ? It just plain isn't effective. They go out on a side by side with themals in .22lrs and shoot 50-100 in a night. Trapping in general just isn't effective and I'm 90% sure they're dealing with the ancestors of the same rabbits y'all trap.

Like you said you have. Professional guys over there trapping rabbits with those methods because they work , obviously.  We have traps you can fire off with your phone , that have multiple doors ,that don't have foot pans that can just be set in the trail without bait literal 100's of different baits and lures ,but our professional guys ( who btw arnt doing what y'all do needing someone to catch 100's of rabbits off a property over here is extremely rare  it's generally trying to catch select animals rabbits in someone garden or something)who are getting paid to remove these animals cause damage  and who do this for a living 365 day in day out , the top of their game ,don't have time to piddle around with stuff that doesn't work primarily prefer the wooden traps. Why ? Simply because they work. The same reason guys who do professional wild hog removal use $3000 cellular control corral traps that catch an entire sounder in one go.  No one wants to be a construction worker no one wants to pay $3-7000 for one of these systems but they do . Why because it's the best option for us.  Probably won't be for you guys just trying to get rid of one or two hogs tear up a the edge of a farms field or what have you but your not over run with the things and their not educated because everyone and their mom tried to catch them with crappy passive trigger single catch traps.

It's like I was talking to a guy who came down from Iowa ( a state some 2000miles northwest of me) dude catches legit 1500 racoons in a 3month season. 30-60 a day is average. What does he do ? Guy drive down the road stops at every bridge slings out four fish stake sets hops back in the truck. That's it. Find bridge puts fish head on stake put trap in front it stake repeat. Dude racks up racoons. Came down here and tried the same stuff was catching 5 a day if he was lucky while the trappers from that are where having 20-30 a day.  He asked what they where doing and they would putting in dirt holes flagging sets and blind setting. Guy said no I trapped 1000's of coon in Iowa so the same should work down here. Dint believe you had to do all that to catch a stupid raccoon. Guy didn't start picking anything up until he started using the local methods.  Why ? Different location different animal habits diets behavior so different methods . Their coon in Iowa face super harsh cold so they gotta eat any and every thing. It's mainly farm land up there so they stick to water corridors more . Their rut run for shorter then ours so their not thinking about sex as much as food so their easier to catch. Polar opposite here . Deer feeders every where water everywhere it doesn't get super cold so they don't need to put on the fat so they don't have to eat everything in from of them so their less susceptible to just any bait. If it's not something they want they won't walk two feet of the trail to look at it. Or rut runs waaaay longer then theirs so you gotta do stuff that uses their sex drive as an advantage and get them to your set. It habitat shifts so much compared to them as well. One property may be 90 pine plantation and two miles down the road cattle pasture and a mile from there is beaver swamp those animals will act different in each one of those . 

But what I'm getting at is just because something works absolutely fantastically in one location for an animal dosent mean it will in another location for a similar animal.

Not saying anything is better or worse . Honestly I'm super happy that y'all can trap rabbits in such numbers so easily.

If that was in your trap the fcking Buzzards wouldn't off got it lol  

[comanche 2,941]

18 hours ago, Wolfdog91 said:

Just saying you can build the same thing out of wire in like 15min pretty easy and they seem to work for you lot Soo

I think solid, dark box / tunnel type traps like the ones you are making will always outscore wire traps in the long run.  

They have lots of advantages; the natural feel and smell, the instict of many animals to check out tunnels and  the fact that an animal can't  fuss about trying to reach the bait through the mesh. 

I s'pose wire cages are just easier to lug about . Shrouding them in  wooden tunnels definitely helps though..

I'm a bit envious of your enthusiasm for trap making and tool kit   . My efforts tend to look like something that belong in a skip or on a bonfire!

It can't be denied that lot of the cage traps used in the UK sacrifice efficency  for off the shelf availability and  operator convenience . 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by comanche

[micky 3,325]

Rabbits in the Midlands are jumping through Wire Fences all day and night why would they  hesitate going  into a Wire Trap.

[Rowan 308]

On 12/06/2022 at 13:33, W. Katchum said:

Bump. Wanna read later when get home an not busy, could be doin with some traps for rabbits

I've got 6 wire cage traps i'm looking to sell as i no longer use them .

[Rowan 308]

West Norfolk , Narborough.

[Rowan 308]

Just now, Rowan said:

West Norfolk , Narborough.

just posted them on the classifieds 6 x  Number KC75 rabbit cages ; £90 the lot collected.

[Wolfdog91 6,919]

I'd actually love to see some put a wooden trap side by side with a wire one or one with two doors besides one with a single door and put trap cam on them. Would love to see that footage.

[Wolfdog91 6,919]

22 hours ago, comanche said:

I think solid, dark box / tunnel type traps like the ones you are making will always outscore wire traps in the long run.  

They have lots of advantages; the natural feel and smell, the instict of many animals to check out tunnels and  the fact that an animal can't  fuss about trying to reach the bait through the mesh. 

I s'pose wire cages are just easier to lug about . Shrouding them in  wooden tunnels definitely helps though..

I'm a bit envious of your enthusiasm for trap making and tool kit   . My efforts tend to look like something that belong in a skip or on a bonfire!

It can't be denied that lot of the cage traps used in the UK sacrifice efficency  for off the shelf availability and  operator convenience . 

 

 

 

 

Well I appreciate that these are just first and made of shitty lumber so the next ones should be much better. 

Actually have someone asking if I can build them some a armadillo traps but I'm definitely gonna read this design because Christ these are crazy even if you only need one or two

 

But I'm getting off track lol. Honestly what I curious about is how many rabbits y'all miss over there. Asked around apparently putting trail cams on traps is kinda frowned on over there for some reason. But anyway due to the just pure crazy populations you guys have what I'm curious about is how many are you missing to how many are y'all having just visiting / fully avoiding them

It's like guy I talk to who are bih numbers fox trappers in Pennsylvania and Maryland .  100-200 reds in a three month season isnt uncommon for some of those guys at all. But they just have fox numbers out the ass . Talked to a few of them who put camera on there sets and they had to stop because what the cameras where show where they where actually missing 2-5 fox for Evey one they caught. They just had the number that doing the most basic things kept them in numbers good. Now that being said catching big numbers even with a large population of an animal still requires a certain skill set just like someone catching perticular animal. Or the 80\20 rule as alot of control trapper over here refer it as.

Now as far as y'all traps, I'm not going to lie at all when I say I look at alot of those cages y'all make over there and I'm just here like * ummmm that's it ?*. But really, it's all y'all need for the most part. And honestly if I had to set tla shit load of cages and wire ones worked that what id use Like here a picture from a guy named Phil Day on the Facebook and his traps are super simple but look, they work ! Can't really complain about these results 

It's like colony traps. 

This is a type of trap thousands of trappers over here use for mink and muskrats. Their beyond stupidly simple. Four bends three cuts and some cage clips. You put them in the trails under water or on the edges of banks brides and waht not and a mink or rat will just swim though the little flapper door and their caught. That's it no bait no lure no trigger mechanism with spring and pulleys . And you can get catch's like this day in and day out 

All you need to catch a rat just like all y'all seem to need y'all's rabbits.

At the same time though there's states where any other method other then cages has been outlawed so people try to get the absolute most bang for their buck so they innovative and make traps that can go from a passive door for rats to being triggered for squirrels to having this for this and that for that and people start using them for everything to realize," holy crap my catch is going up" 

I just don't think some like that has happen with the UK so y'all just use what's always work and thats it. But anyhow I'm rambling now 

Edited June 14, 2022 by Wolfdog91

[Wolfdog91 6,919]

I will say though btw if I had to set 50-100 cages like I see you guys doing I'd definitely figure out how to make white work because we'll.....that's just common sense I feel  

[Ken's Deputy 4,459]

3 hours ago, Wolfdog91 said:

 I'd definitely figure out how to make white work

 Steady!

 

 

 

[Ken's Deputy 4,459]

42 minutes ago, W. Katchum said:

I’m too poor sn miserable to pay for the batteries for a trail cam

Fukk off, Katch! Few fukking moles worth?!

For looking at a trap, you'd be better off with one of the cheapest ~ they work fantastic at ranges of about two feet. And the batteries? Four AA's should last ye Months!