I went to the class in west Tn a few years back and thought about getting into trapping so I bought some snares. Made them all up nice and pretty, then they sat on a a shelf. Clarance offered time and again for me to go with him on some of his runs, but we could never get my schedule to line up where I could go. Well, last year a student started in my Ag program at school that does trapping for his Supervised Agriculture Experience, SAE, project. He told me yeah, I can give you some pointers.

Awhile back he brought some victors out to my farm and showed me how to set them for coyotes. Long story short all I caught were fox squirrels. Then it happened. Somehow I ran over one with a truck and my neighbor ran over one with a bush hog and tractor. Well, I knew I needed to replace them so I ordered some MB550 rubber jaws to replace his two and have me 4. Finally got them rusted, dyed and waxed and ready to go.

Fast forward to last week. Buddy I go to church with says his coworker has beavers in his creek and needs them gone! Then a lady were building a project for in the shop says she’s got a red fox at her place. Wednesday before Thanksgiving I call my student up and I go to pick him up. Dear. Lord. He’s sitting in his driveway with enough stuff to fill my truck up. 330 conibears, long springs, 4 coils, and dog proofs.

We we get to the place with the beaver and find fresh sign. Tree that’s gnawed but still green, with fresh shavings all around. He shows me what a food pile looks like in the. Reel and then asks me, what do you see at the tree. Beaver coming up one side and sliding down the other. So he asks me, how would you set this. I say a foothold on the climbing side and a conibear on the slide side. We set them and out up guide sticks. (Side note – conibears make be a bit nervous!). We move down to the bridge and find coon and bobcat tracks. Set two dog proofs and a 550 dirt hole set. We go to the next farm and set some 550s and snares for the fox and call it a day.

We go to check the beaver farm and hit the bridge first. Caught a coon! It’s small but a coon none the less! Dispatch him and move down to check the beaver traps. As we get close he starts grinning. I said, what’s the deal. He points and says “ripples.” Look over the bank and there he is, one mad beaver in the foothold. He says, where’s the other trap? I look around the other side and all the guide sticks from it are gone. Then I see it under water, another beaver! DOUBLED UP, we dispatch the one and check the other farm but nothing.

Brushed and skinned out the beavers and coon and now they’re in the freezer. This year, for now at least, I’m planning on learning to catch and sell my fur green. Next year will be learning to flesh and dry, in the hopes that I have a work area for it!