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Whats everyone carry on the line?
I carry a ruger lcr .22lr. water trapping and a ruger 10/22 takedown in a magpul backpacker stock for land. I like the td for ease of cleaning.
IMHO these are the best, light weight and weather proof.
What say you?

When I trapped in eastern Washington, I carried several different trap line guns. A Charter Arms Pathfinder 3 inch was one I regret trading off. I carried a 1902 Winchester single shot rifle behind the seat of the truck for a lot of years. It killed a few truck loads of coyotes with CB shorts. When I walked in to check cat traps or walked fence lines checking snares I always carried an old model Single Six, 5.5 inch. I still have it.

I’ve trapped very little since moving to Alaska. Mostly due to time constraints. I’d be inclined to carry the Glock 44 now. At 16 ounces fully loaded it’s pretty light on the hip. Might be inclined to carry a four inch 22/32 22LR or a 631 32 H&R with very light loads.

A real old rusty Mark 4. has killed a couple of truck loads of critters. Rio7.

The g44 would be a nice light one to carry.
In the early days I carried a 77/22 alot.
For revolvers I carried a s&w 63-3 but that was too heavy.
Then i went though 2 S&W 43c's. Thought I had the perfect revolver but both want back to smith a couple times because they wouldent fire everytime.

When I was trapping in MN I used a Llama XXII semi auto as it was easy to pop the mag in and out between sets, no loaded weapons in the vehicle. After the divorce and my carry permit a Smith model 34 4" round butt. Running bush line in NE MN the little 22's kept me in rabbits and grouse to supplement my diet of beaver, meat, livers and jerky. Never cared for a rifle on the line, too hard to pack.

H&R 929 Sidekick .22 revolver, holds 9.

Only recently bought, with one season behind it but I do believe it has earned the opportunity for more.

I learned right quick that carrying a rifle was a chore, so I went to a pawn shop and bought a used single action Heritage 'Rough Rider' .22 pistol.

It's a piece of junk, but it will get the job done.

Don't really have a line per se
Mostly use a 999 H&R or a Jennings J22
or my nephew's kids 22 Cricket single

It's lighter than the stake driver I use

I carry a S&W 617 but I do this as a hobby not as a serious trapper. I also use this for squirrel hunting.

If I was trapping I would carry my single six and think I would get an AR7 for the pack.

My Smith Model 18. It rides on my hip in a Threepersons or in a Tanker holster.
I used to drag a Winchester 67 around some.
My youngest boy uses his Ithaca 49.
All 22’s.

I’d like to have a Single Six Hunter to carry but haven’t found d one I could afford.

birdshot, baby......

Cong-rats! What kind of bait did you use to trap them? The traps are homemade or bought? Good idea to have a protection shield between the cage and the handle. Please, would you show us a picture with the complete mechanism?

Whole corn or dog food. Store bought.

Looks like a large weasel board or maybe a female mink board should work when you go to put em up. That an old 6 shot? Looks like a pinned bbl.

I carry a S&W 422, loaded with Stingers. I never shoot trapped fur, but I will shoot porkys and feral cats. It has also accounted for a number of coyotes that make the mistake of being within 75 yards of me along the road.

I carry an old cheap Heritage. Near as I can figure, its been on my side for 25 years. Been dropped in the creeks, rivers and mud, bounced out and ran over with the 4wheeler more times than I can recall. If you do any amount of trapping it will get abused and neglected. I sure cant see carrying a nice lookin expensive revolver on the line.

As others have stated, a trapline pistol gets ABUSED bad! They are wet all the time, get beat and banged on the snow machine and are used to dispatch animals at close range. Here in MN they need to be unloaded anytime you are in or on anything with an engine. I have an old Savage 101 22 "revolver" that is actually a single shot that has worked great for many years. If I drop in over the side of the canoe I am not out much.

A High Standard Sentinel has served me well for many years.
It's beat and ugly but still shoots great.

This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

While I won't argue with not caring about cosmetics on the trapline, the last thing I want is a cheap or unreliable gun that'll jam. I know of two Heritage Rough Riders that had the hammer cam worn off and wouldn't stay cocked. Due to the sloppy tolerances I have seen several other cheap revolvers ice up and jam that way, regardless of being degreased and dry lubed. Same with a Marlin 39 rifle when the extractor failed to work and I had a casing stuck in the chamber with a very lively wolverine in a foothold.

I am not much of a catch pole guy but have had to do it out of necessity a few times due to having cheap trap guns with me. Hopefully this stainless Single Six I got last year holds up as well as I am expecting it to.

Sometimes I want to stand back farther than birdshot allows.....

I have a Ruger lcr 22 that rides around in the front pocket of my bibs. Has accounted for a few dozen wolves, bunch of yotes, grouse, and whatever else I don't use a pole on. Hard to beat it for ease of carry and reliability. In the early season when the bears are still around I carry something heavier.

Savage Rascal

LCR is near perfect in my mind.

I used a S&W model 63 or my Browning Buckmark. Figured I bought em to use them. We only shoot the coons in the live traps. A 220 conibear takes the shot out of play. We gave up foothold traps years ago. Buddy will catch close to 800 coon in 10-14 days coming up here shortly.

Savage youth single shot 22. Its prolly the rascal model dinny mentioned. Has the accu-trigger which is absolutely necessary for shots within 6’.

Well, mine my screw up the next time I cock it, but if it does, I'll just go back to the truck and get another gun. After all, the target isn't going anywhere.

I never had any specific trapline guns, just used what I had and as I could drive right up to most sites it wasn’t an issue. 22 rifle, 12 gauge for game birds of opportunity and a 222 in case something pulled out and took off as I drove up.

I started out carrying a Marlin 39, it got heavy so at twelve years old I sold enough furs early in the season and convinced my father to take me to town so I could by a pistol. I chose a used Taurus 96 Target .22 LR revolver with 6" Barrel, he purchased with my fur $, probably the best shooting pistol I have ever owned! I then purchased a used Winchester 9422M (.22 Mag) for my sled/trapping gun in Alaska, couldn't argue about the dependability, abused it bad... I also utilized a Ruger Mach II Target .22, still the one I prefer and carry

H&R 929 9shooter that I bought with a missing grip and a bent screw for $40.00. Found a new set of grips on Gunbroker and got a screw from the hardware store. Good to go.

I, also, carry a H&R 929 with some wood grips I modified to fit.

Smith 63, Ruger Single-Six, Smith 317 are the first that come to mind...probably have used others as well.

Ruger Mark II .22 6" works well

I always carried a 22 revolver to start. But a few times I had opportunities at animals that weren't in my traps. So I started carrying a 22 Rifle. The one I had was a BL22. I kept it loaded with short solids.

Do you carry your Ruger MKII in a holster or just in the backpack?

Other than the handguns mentioned when I ran lines out of a canoe I had a single shot shotgun,12ga cut to 18 1/2 in to pot a duck or goose but mostly the barrel was loose in the bottom of the canoe, and I used it to bonk critters in the trap on the head. Never shot any fur with it. Broken down it fit in a backpack nicely for travel, held off a bear once with it while my wife packed our gear in the canoe to leave the sight to the bear, threatened a couple of would be robbers into thinking taking my stuff wasn't that smart of a decision and they left quietly. For some reason Manitoba and I weren't a good fit.

I have a 3 digit Ruger Bearcat that is my do everything small handgun........

I don't trap, but the 2 serious trappers who I know swear by High Standard Sentinels., or the Sears house brand J.C. Higgins Model 88, and cut-down Winchester 67s. Inexpensive guns that seem to be durable and common in pawn shops..

Heritage Rough Rider.

No frills. Ugly. Works.

Buckmark, BL22, or a 10-22 typically.

My grandfather always used a Stevens 22-410. ( called it his turtle gun, because on the river he would always move his kayak away from the shore on the susquehanna river and most of the time a snapper would be there)Really a sweet small game rife. My dad would use a h&r 22 pistol.

Never trapped a lot but when I did either an Ithaca 49 22 with shorts or a Ruger mark 1

Single Six with 22WMR cylinder in it or PMR30. I don't shoot anything but skunks and porcupines. Anything else gets a bloodless dispatch, unless it appears to be poorly caught, then I'll shoot a furbearer (almost never). I like the 22WMR, as it lets me reach out a little further if I need to. Sometimes I'll shoot a coyote that I happen across while checking.

Ive packed a stainless single six around for a bunch of years up here and its still a fave. Though these days I use a Ruger LCRX 22 cause it fits in a riser bag on the sled.Just use it for wolf mostly. Wolverines are conibear or snare.

I have a CZ 452 stainless that gets the most use on the trapilne, shooting ptarmigan.

Catch poles for lynx but agree that wolverine think they are a joke...

Remington 510, short Ruger mk II or a Ruger 22/45. Sako 222 and a Remington 870 turkey for stands.

That is some solid reasoning for your choices.
I trap differently than most however, and do it all on snowshoes. I have come to prefer critters be alive so that I can skin them on the spot and not have to pack the whole frozen carcass out, plus it is fresh bait to reset with. Snares and connibears have their place but I have largely gone away from them due to how I prefer to trap plus a live critter doesn't get pecked on by Gray Jay's or eaten by marten. Anything more than a week between checks and I can see snares and connibears being much more ethical, from the animal's standpoint though.

For lynx catch poles are indeed fine but I have a mental thing against watching an animal suffocate. I just prefer to put a .22 cal hole in them. It is just how I am, I guess.

I use a vintage remington falling block in 22lr. Originally it was 32 rimfire. Much like carrying a stick around, if theres walking involved. Thats pretty much limited to trapped and snared coyotes that hit the wire wrong.

We foot snare bears; for that I use whatever I felt like shooting ADC beavers with that bay. Usually a big 7 or 300 of some description with Bergers.

Most any .22 will work. The one I carry on the line and like the best is a .22 Tarus stainless 2". Holds 9 shots and they can be cb, short or lr.

My Dad's friend, old guy next door used to trap, took me out a few times, I LOVED it, will never forget it as long as I live. He saw my old Steven's Crackshot .22 and my Dad gave it to him. I still miss that little rifle, but am glad he took something in return, for the good memories he gave me. God Bless ya' Mr. Hoyt!

I use an old Remington 512. Accurate and dependable.

I haven’t trapped in 30 years. When I did trap 30 years ago, I carried a Ruger bearcat. Nice little revolver that I wish I still had. They come up for sale every so often on here, but I always seem to be late to the party.

4" .22 revolver

When I was a kid, I only clubbed animals so I carried an old over/under savage in 222/20gauge mag. That permitted me to shoot anything in PA I came across while checking and setting. Deer, squirrel, grouse, pheasant fox and raccoon.

I once had to shoot a fox running down a clearing with my trap and stake still attached to his foot. I popped him on the snout and kneeled on his chest like always. I pulled the set, threw the fox over my shoulder and hung on to the stake. At some point, that red fox came back to life and didn't appreciate the predicament he was in. Too be honest, I didn't either and shucked that damned thing off my back as fast as I could. By the time I got myself together, he put some distance between us and I let loose a load of number 6's at him to no effect. I then switched the little lever on the hammer to 222 and sat down and rested off my knee. He was running a real erratic pattern with the trap and stake dragging behind him but I managed to pop him at about 150yds.

After I was a bit older, I had caught a bobcat in a dirt hole set. That thing tried to kill me every time I stepped in to club him. I went home and asked my dad for his single six 22 and he told me I didn't need it and took my club and went down the creek to club it. He came back with his jeans all tore up and bloody and gave the pistol and told to go kill the damned thing. After that, the pistol was mine for trapping purposes.

I bought my Ruger single six 5.5 for just that reason, CB caps and 22 lrs are my go to rounds. Stainless steel helps some but you have to rember to wipe it down now and then. It has not failed be yet.

Last year or so I picked up a pair of S&W Victory handguns still in boxes. 22lr. I use the stainless. Both are incredible shooters.
For a long gun I retired the .22 and now use a .17 WSM. Good gun to have along especially when a little calling may be in order.

Osky

Used a 1903 Winchester for years but sold it after ammo got near impossible to get . Don't trap any now but if I did I'd use my S&W kit gun , pre woodsman and a Remington model 25 in 25-20. I had one of the little board stocked Remington .22 single shots that you could slide down the top of a pair of knee boots but somebody walked off with it. It was great with the old style BB or CB caps , used the RWS when I could find them.

I don't trap anymore. But in my younger days when I did I found a good 22 LR handgun and some times a 22 WMR was about as good as I could get.

I used a Colt Huntsman, a Ruger Standard auto, a Colt New Frontier 22/22mag a Smith & Wesson K22 and a Smith & Wesson M63 stainless kit gun. All were fine.

The one that was a favorite because I liked it's versatility and the ability to handload ammo of differing levels of power was a S&W 6" K-frame 32-20. It had all the power I needed to any handguns range (I could shoot pretty far out with good handguns in the day when my eyes were still good) For trapped animals I used a 100 grain bullet loaded to only about 750 fps. No hide damage. Loaded with the same bullet and a stiff load of 2400 I could get the bullet out fast, and it shot flat.

Looking back I am 100% sure I'd have been fine with a 38 special or a 9MM too, but I used 22s for the most part except when I could use the 32-20 which was my favorite, but that was a borrowed gun, so there were many times I didn't have it. I have one identical to it now, but now I just enjoy shooting it and carrying it as a back-up for a rifle. I think back to the days when I was a kit and had the S&W 32-20 along, and it makes me smile.

Savage rascal for me. Weighs just 2.5 pounds

Carried my stainless Ruger MK II for many years as my trapline gun. Was always pulling double duty for small game hunting and trapping. Tried out a .22 LCRx. Looked great on paper and checked all the boxes of what I thought a good trapline gun should be. However I couldn't get used to the terrible trigger pull in single action, let alone how it felt in double. Down the road she went. Back to my MK II. She has put just as many bunnies and squirrels in the freezer as any other gun I own. No reason to shelf her now.

I only carried if trapping Coyotes or bigger.....Just a .22 LR revolver. For Fox, Fisher or cats, I never carried anything.

This....
I use a 10/22 for the same.reason..

What trapping I do we have snow down so a sno go is part of the deal. I have a hard scabbard bolted on. I carried a 10/22 until two years ago I switched to a 17wsm.

Osky

Almost always carried a 223.

I have used a Ruger Single-Six for many years. Apparently it was getting some wear because I sent it into Ruger for fitting of a magnum cylinder (bought it used almost 30 years ago and it never had one) and they held it hostage till I sent them a bunch of money to upgrade the internals. Still works and I still pack it. I am guessing my great grandkids will be shooting that revolver someday.

A couple years ago I had a stainless TC .223 cut down to 16.25" to carry in my backpack on hound hunts. I got a wild hair and loaded up some HP bullets designed for the .22 Hornet at .22 WMR velocities using TrailBoss. Makes a pretty handy trapline gun and appropriate for dispatch with the reduced loads. Totally unnecessary looney BS but kinda fun anyway.

I typically had either a bolt action 223 or an AR15 when running traps.

I am still using the same stainless Single Six I first posted 2 years ago on this thread. Only my 3rd season with it, though zero issues thus far. I did wish I had a rifle a few weeks ago as I got about 80 yards from a black wolf before he realized I was there. All I had was a 16 gauge with #7.5 shot, and the Single Six. Aimed at his backline but it wasn’t meant to be…oh well.

Caught this boar the next week.

Congrats on the wolverine!

taurus tx22

Old Marlin single shot 22 rifle, forget model# but ya cock it by pulling back knob at end of bolt. Only use 22 shorts. I only trap for coyotes and a "short" in the lungs they just lay down and die pretty quick, no exit. Also dispatches the unwanted coon or opossum. The old gal is pretty beat up, but still fires when I pull the trigger.

Bought my dad a cheap no name single action revolver when he was trapping. He had a gimpy hand and wanted something easy to use and cheap.

Never been much of a trapper but while living in Alaska trapped rabbits for food. Carried my Rem 660 in 308 because that was all I had! Now I have the gun I think I'd carry. S&W mod 19 in 32 long. Just shoot cast bullets out of it!

Uncle used a Remington Model 25 in 25-20, or his Winchester 62a in .22lr. Remember as a.kid walking
with him on the trap line at.night under a full.moon. Crunchy snow in northern Minnesota, pure quiet except for our footsteps.

I use to carry my Dad's H&R 22 revolver. Then a couple of times I had opportunities to shoot fur or small game animals I couldn't do with a cheap revolver so I started carrying a rifle. Mostly my BL-22.

new one for the packrat line....

My late Brother worked for an old trapper out of Edmonton and later Idaho. The old man also carried a model 24 22/410 as he liked eating birds but when he got too old in the Winters the gun got too heavy so my Brother got it. Very handy gun when you don’t know what you’re after. He carried a 45 Colt Black Hawk too just in case.

Rick

I carried a Colt Woodsman most of the time back in the day........


Frog-----OUT!

I am doing some nuisance trapping for one of my friends. I have been carrying my S&W Victory 22 lately. Had to shoot a turtle yesterday caught in a #3 Victor Coilspring trap.

My dad use to trap in the 60s and 70s, he carried a Ithaca M-49. He used the cheapest 22 ammo he could find, in the late 70s I remember seeing Thunderbolt and Wildcat boxes in the garage. I guess from a few yards, it didn't really matter how acute the cheap ammo was.

I'm not a trapper but did trap some rabbit's to eat while living in Alaska. The gun to carry is whatever gun you like! Love my Marlin 22 mag but for that I'd prefer my old Winchester mod 62a. Better yet would be my High Standarg HD Military or my mod 16 S&W in 32 Long. Handgun's make time at the trap almost 100% hands free!

This. I have a matched pair of them camo and the other stainless. With a chest center holster the stainless I now carry often on the trail. The clip pops right out to make it machine legal.

Osky

I used to run a trapline with a four wheeler. Had a ruger m77v in .22-250 in really stout protective case mounted on it for critters I saw in distance. Carried a Beretta minx .22 short for dispatching raccoons and such. Carried a ruger stainless 5.5" mk 2 target for in between and skunks. Think that smith wesson 422 another poster mentioned would have been about ideal.

Carry a Winchester 70 22-250 with a 3-9 Nikon on the snowmobile or 4 wheeler in my pocket a S&W model 63 going back to the late 70's now a S&W 317 with a 2" barrel it weights only a couple ounces and loaded with sub-sonics it will put down a coyote and put a grouse in the pot....

great thread I have enjoyed it.

Bought me a Ruger Wrangler 22lr. They come with cerakote from the factory and I have been really happy with it. Use Cci Quiet22 ammo and have not had any problems dispatching 'yote's. Used to carry a Ruger 22/45 with a can. Still do occasionally when setting coon traps around the deer feeders to keep the noise down.

I carry a old H & R 22 single shot automatic. U put a shell in. Close the bolt. When fired the bolt kicks back and eject the hull. I carry a rough rider 22. My wife bought me a golden boy 22 to run my traps with. Ended up buying a new henry 22 carbine. Putting the golden boy up.

Ruger semi auto 22lr. Previously to that it was a Hi Standard sportking 22 LR. I got the Ruger after my dad passed as the Hi Standard was his and my grandfather’s so I didn’t want to dick it up any and went to the Ruger. Pretty much the same pistol ergonomically.

looks like you made him say his prayers when you wacked him hunts😀

Huntsman has the coolest [bleep].