Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Trapping MUSKRAT/ CONIBEAR TRAPPING QUESTIONS

I JUST RECIVED SOME OLD CONIBEARS AND I WANT TO TRAP MUSTGRATS HOW DO I PREPARE THEM DO I NEED TO DO ANY THING SPECIAL

How big are your traps? #110 and #120 are the rat killers. Who manufactured your traps, some are cheapos and others are high end well built. Look over the center rivits (what the jaws pivot around). They are not suspose to be hardcore tight, nor super loose where the frame gets out of wack when it goes off. Everything is inline. Feel the springs for good tension. It doesn't take much to kill a muskrat, but speed does kill and springs in good shape will do the job.
I use 'speed dip' (I know the traditionalist will hate me for that one). But it works nicely. It's just a barrier between water and metal. I personally don't wax my coni's, but I do my legholds. If you want a little more sensitivity, a little dab of wax on the dogs will help out. The way I look at it is any wax on a conibear is going to come off during setting it and it going off. Yet give your traps a good dipping anyway you choose.
Good luck

the very first thing you should do with any conibear type trap is to set it and fire it to see how it is working. some of them come with triggers that are so loose that it takes a rather large movement by the trigger before the trap is set off. animals can feel that and will back out if they get the chance.

I personally want my conibear traps to fire with very little trigger movement!!!!

If they have alot of trigger movement you will need to have someone who welds put a spot of weld on each side of the trigger notch and then you will need to set and see if it is enough. If its too much you will need to take a small file and file until you get it to the point where it fires with just a little pressure FROM BOTH WAYS.

as for waxing, I like my conibears waxed. protects them from further rust. its easy to take a small knife and scrape off a bit of wax where you plan to use the trigger.

I speed dip them also

Everyone is different, and I can kind of understand what your idea is. Alot of it is the set, coni's just do their job inbetween. An animal backing out is due to a poor overall setup, not someone trying to pull off a quick fire trap. With me, I just want the critter to pass into the coni a little further, so the kill shot is behind the head and lower backbone. Not that it really matters. But, I also slide small dried pampus grass stems over the wires so it might feel more natural against their noses, wiskers and foreheads. And I set my dogs to be smooth and my wires to give a little bit more. Walking into my 'house' is just that, your not backing out the front door.

I want that conibear jaw to hit right on the neck, not down near the front feet. if you use the proper size for the animal you are trapping and get the trap to fire right away you are going to get very good neck his with virtually no struggle whatsoever.

try tying mono between the two forks. you'll get em faster (especially if they are small)

We drill out the rivet on the side opposite the spring (on 110s) and insert a 1/4-20 bolt about 2" long. Use a good big washer on each side and double nut on the outside.

Then make a bunch of stakes from lathe with 1/4" holes every inch or so. Put the bolt through the right hole and use a wing nut to hold it on.

When setting in soft places the lathe allows you to hold your conibear up at whatever level is needed, quick and easy... Makes trail sets in marsh happen in just a couple minutes. You still need to stake or tie down the trap.

My father first wrote about this in The Trapper over 30 years ago. He also wrote about making 'rat scent with green apple shampoo, glands, and a few other good things...
art

I agree a short trigger throw is a improvement, but you don't need a welder. file the u-groove deeper with a round file and square the bottom of the dog. the flat of the dog should rest on the trigger when done. As for wax on a body grip trap, that is just plain dangerous, especially on larger size body grips.

only as dangerous as the handler makes it, it does scrape off the trigger area.

I agree to a point. If you have been using body grips for a good while. Cold, wet hands and a slippery body grip carries some inherent danger, especially to someone new to the trap. Having reread this thread form the beginning, I just wanted to clarify, I am not trying raise a ruckus, just offering another point of view.

Hey Rosco,
I'm one of those dangerous handlers! Forgot to scape off a 330 but remembered as soon as it fired on my arm!! If you're going to wax use safety clamp around the jaws. They are cheap to buy and will keep you trappin without a cast.

You may have to buy trap tags depending upon what state your in and the trapping laws may or may not require tagging your traps.

Spot