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Old 06-27-2012, 09:13 AM
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drake drake is offline
 
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Default Trap Shy Beaver?

I had a cool trapping experience yesterday. We were asked to take care of some beavers that recently moved into a landscaped area. While building the first bank set we noticed the beaver inquisitively swimming laps back and forth 30 yards away. After securing the trap and creating the coral, we coated a bait stick in castor and just for good measure dripped some in the water. Within a minute of us stepping back from the set the beaver was enroute to the trap. We watched as he tried to circumvent the coral eventually choosing the path of least resistance. With no hesitation, he funneled towards the 330 coniber. The trap was half submerged in the water on a gradually sloped grade (not a sheer 90 degree cut out, which I consider the ideal place to set). The castor obviously had his attention and as he barreled towards the smell he touched the trigger. We watched the trap snap and the beaver roll. When we pulled in the tether we were disappointed to find an empty trap. My suspicion is that the is that the trigger was bent to far forward and the jaws missed the beavers neck and simply whacked him in the nose. Another thought is that the submerged portion of the jaws might have been buried in the mud, decreasing the energy the trap had and allowing the beaver to “dodge” the jaws. Lastly, maybe he veered off at the last second and touched the trigger with his side/tail. Who knows…..Anyways, it was a great learning experience to see how a beaver reacts to a set. I should know later this morning whether we whacked him in the other sets we put out last night. If we didn’t get him, does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with a trap shy beaver.
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  #2  
Old 06-27-2012, 09:31 AM
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dale7637 dale7637 is offline
 
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Trap shy beaver.....
You could shoot him. Doubt it would work by the sounds of things though.

Sorry if i wasnt much help.
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Old 06-27-2012, 09:37 AM
houndsmen houndsmen is offline
 
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Are the springs wore out or weak on that trap? I've seen that happen.
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  #4  
Old 06-27-2012, 09:58 AM
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Rob Miskosky Rob Miskosky is offline
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Foothold on a slide wire will take care of him. Just build a little shelf under the water to bed the trap on an active run. He'll step in it eventually.
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Old 06-27-2012, 11:13 AM
McLeod Valley McLeod Valley is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Miskosky View Post
Foothold on a slide wire will take care of him. Just build a little shelf under the water to bed the trap on an active run. He'll step in it eventually.
Yup . Works almost every time!
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Old 06-27-2012, 11:25 AM
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drake drake is offline
 
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Can the leg hold steel be exposed or does it have to be covered with material?
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Old 06-27-2012, 11:27 AM
McLeod Valley McLeod Valley is offline
 
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Build the shelf to place the trap just low enough to submerge the trap jaws , use guide sticks if necessary .
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  #8  
Old 07-12-2012, 09:37 PM
Rayzor Rayzor is offline
 
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Always keep the bottom jaws out of the mud/bottom to ensure free travel. You can suspend the trap off the bottom by bending the springs all the way up and running a stick through them or squeeze the bottom jaws on a decent sized stick (can also place 3 or 4 nails on a bigger stick and squeeze the jaws on those. Once you have your set in place, minimize your "corral", ie. don't build an obvious fence. Just lay some dead branches and sticks in such a way to influence his travel. Aside from the lure you are using, build an obvious scent mound just behind the set with fresh mud and apply more lure on the mound. A nice green piece of poplar with some bark stripped off placed behind the set will top things off nicely. Might be an idea to make your set during the day when he is not around to watch you. Those damned rodents are a lot smarter than most think. Good luck.
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  #9  
Old 07-15-2012, 11:18 AM
zepf zepf is offline
 
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Default Bvr trapping

A leghold would be a good choice on the dam or a bank.For a slide wire I use 3/32 coyote cable attached to a cinder block in deep water.My leghold trap of choice for bvr is a CDR given to me by Paul Dobbins......tremendous holding power.A ram power snare may work too if you ca suubmerge the loop.Once a bvr gets snapped on the nose by a 330 its pretty much useless.Hope this helps.Zepf
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  #10  
Old 07-15-2012, 01:52 PM
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KegRiver KegRiver is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drake View Post
If we didn’t get him, does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with a trap shy beaver.
Here is one way I deal with trap shy beaver.



It may not be obvious in this photo, (cheap camera) but place the top jaws just above the water and then place a stick across the jaws to force the beaver to dive through the set. Finally splash water over everything to wash away as much human scent as possible.

Reducing scent makes the beaver less cautious and forcing them to dive through the set puts them at a disadvantage because they can't see as well under water, and they can't smell anything. Thus they are far less likely to dodge at the last second.

It's not 100% effective, but well worth the effort. The leg hold set is more effective, but also a great deal more work and rather tricky to get right.

I use leg holds only as a last resort. Too many things can go wrong with a leg hold set, and they are to much fussing given the alternatives. IMO
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  #11  
Old 07-15-2012, 09:50 PM
braggadoe braggadoe is offline
 
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too each there own, but i like leg holds for beaver in open water. cruise a railway track and pick up the plates that they use too spike the track too the ties. there basicaly a heavy piece of steel that when wired to the bottom of any trap will drown a beaver. very simple/fast/easy and effitive. just a thought. beavers arn't rocket surgeons.
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  #12  
Old 07-17-2012, 12:21 AM
jimh jimh is offline
 
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I find the leghold at a dam set to be extremely reliable for me. As far as weight goes I just take along a burlap sack and fill it full of rocks at the site. Saves having to pack around blocks or steel and the rocks just stay there when you're done. Jim
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