# For People who think Foothold traps break bone.



## JonathonJEB

I will start by saying I have trapped National Forrest for the past two years, and I have caught 3 domestic dogs including my own. This morning I went to check my traps and two of them were gone. I was upset to say the least but I guess I had it coming being on National Forrest. I pulled the rest of my traps and headed back home when my phone rang. It was the person who had my traps and they had pulled them because there squirrel dogs had gotten in them. They called the DNR and gave them the number off of my tags, and I guess the game warden told them I was legal. I actually met the two men last year on the National Forrest and they are good men. Today I guess they were upset about there dogs being caught and apparently thought there dogs were scared for life. They then told the game warden that they knew me and that they would give the traps back. Im glad that they were honest enough to give my traps back, but I decided today that I will no longer trap on National Forrest, so for now my  traps are at home and I am looking for private property. After today I decided that I would post a video of a trap in action because trapping has a big enough competition with Peta and HSUS without sportsmen thinking that it is cruel and inhumane. Anyway excuse the quality I am using a regular camera and filming with one hand.


----------



## fishtail

It is unfortunate but not surprising that it takes a video like that to educate the unknowing public.
Put it on your phone, it may do you good later.


----------



## Toddmann

good video. I have had them grab my hand a many a time. Nothing broken yet. I got a sleepy creek #4 DLS trap I want you to try...


----------



## Barehunter

Good job with the video.


----------



## HucK Finn

Barehunter said:


> Good job with the video.



I agree....  they look a lot worse than they actually are.


----------



## buckdog1

Nice video but i disagree with you on stopping on national forest. Im lucky enough to have more than enough private property to trap but if i didnt, i would trap national forrest all i could. Now here's my problem, those guys that took your traps may be nice guys but personally i would have had a real problem with them taking my personal property. It's against the law for them to even touch your traps much less take them. I'm not sure what i would have done in your situation but i dont think i could just say im going to quit. I believe that if we dont educate people on trapping and trapping laws, this kind of thing will continue.


----------



## javery

That's a good video. Like Buckdog said,by law they shouldn't of messed with your traps. I guess if you're having to share the woods you're gonna catch a dog every now and then. I've turned them loose and then they jump up in the truck like that's what they wanted.


----------



## Drake2050

Great video man...and I agree with the above poster about the taking of the traps being theft. There dogs weren't hurt i'm sure(the video proves that) and they were doing there best to have you ticketed or worse. You being legal you won..and lost with the time and work in putting those traps in and having to take them up thinking someone was just stealing from you. Trapping is an everyday thing and I hunt and fish but not everyday to provide a service to all other hunters out there that like hunting deer, turkey, rabbit and many other types of animals that coyotes reduce the numbers of each year. A little respect needs to be given to the men and women of the trapping world for making all others hunters have a little better season than they might have had.

Drake


----------



## Throwback

you weren't in the wrong---they were



> 27-3-65.  Removal of trap or of wildlife from trap owned by another person; possession of wildlife removed from trap of another person
> 
> 
> It shall be unlawful for any person to remove a legally set trap, except for the owner of the land on which the trap is set, or to remove any lawfully trapped wildlife from any legally set trap or to possess any wildlife so removed from such a trap without the permission of the owner of the trap.


----------



## Throwback

ive caught myself enough to know that is a crock. 

T


----------



## NCHillbilly

I'm amazed how many people have the idea that traps break animal's legs. If they broke bones, it would defeat the purpose of setting them, because the animal would then twist its leg off and escape. It's possible with something like a muskrat caught by the front leg in a too-big trap, but in years of trapping, I saw very, very few animals I caught in leghold traps that couldn't have been released unharmed (except for drowning sets lol.) I caught my own not-so-smart dog many times, with no harm at all. I've caught my fingers and hands in more traps than I care to remember, and have never broken a bone.


----------



## GAGE

Last nights check produced the third lost dog that I have caught in 4 years of trapping, and he was VERY happy to see me.Granted having a MB-550 latch on to my hand does not tickle, I let him out, he wagged his tail and went on his way.


----------



## Throwback

GAGE said:


> Last nights check produced the third lost dog that I have caught in 4 years of trapping, and he was VERY happy to see me.Granted having a MB-550 latch on to my hand does not tickle, I let him out, he wagged his tail and went on his way.



the last two I caught--a double --we both sound asleep when I walked up on them. one walked off with a look on his face like he was embarrased, the other one  hung around acting like "what cha doin?" 

T


----------



## GAGE

Throwback said:


> the last two I caught--a double --we both sound asleep when I walked up on them. one walked off with a look on his face like he was embarrased, the other one  hung around acting like "what cha doin?"
> 
> T



Pretty funny, when my daughter shined the light on this set and we saw the glowing eyes, I knew we had our first coyote of the season.


----------



## Tlen

where  are   at  might  have  some  land  for  to trap  on  after  hunting  season  is  over


----------



## Dr. Strangelove

Seems it's hard to keep the dog hunting folks happy on National Forest land.  About 15 years ago, some buddies and I hiked in a little over five miles for some trout fishing and camped a couple of days. The road we walked in off of road was by far the closest road to where we were.  

A coon hound wandered into our camp and was overjoyed to see us.  We fed it, because it was obviously hungry, but didn't treat it like a pet or restrain it in any way.  It walked out with us, it was tough to leave it on the road, but it wasn't our dog and we lived 2hrs away, and at least someone could find it where it was.  We saw a truck with a dog box creeping along some miles down the road and stopped and asked the driver if he was looking for "Flash", or whatever the name on the collar was (no owners name or phone number), and explained where we had last seen the dog.  The driver thanked us and was on his way.

I posted that story a few years ago on a forum and was absolutely lambasted for having helped the dog.  The coon hunters seem to think we should have driven the dog away and it would have been better off.   Sorry, but I'm not going to ignore a friendly, obviously domestic dog and let it go hungry when it's clearly lost.

Seems like you just can't win when someone's dog is involved.  We all gotta share the woods....


----------



## JonathonJEB

thanks. I found a new place to trap so today I redyed everything and I hope to have them back out by Monday next week. Another thing those guys said was that the DNR told them that to trap on National Forrest you had to Notify the DNR of were your traps are located and mark them with a red ribbon. So I called the same game management office that they did, and they told me that they were unsure because it does not say to do that in the regulations. The DNR also said that they would contact me back if they found anything concrete. If that is true I dont believe you could have a trap not get stolen on NF. Anyway spilled milk.


----------



## buckdog1

They were trying to buffalo you. You do not have to mark your trap locations on national forrest.


----------



## famlytraprz

This was an issue handled by the GTA last year,  The Nat Forest officials contacted the GTA president about having us flag our traps on Nat Forest and that was shot down quick because of the theft thing.  You are supposed to contact the Nat Forest office and let them know the area you will be trapping but that is all.      Rob


----------



## USMC0321

Try that with my MB 750, lol


----------



## buckdog1

famlytraprz said:


> This was an issue handled by the GTA last year,  The Nat Forest officials contacted the GTA president about having us flag our traps on Nat Forest and that was shot down quick because of the theft thing.  You are supposed to contact the Nat Forest office and let them know the area you will be trapping but that is all.      Rob


Rob is it on the books somewhere, that you have to notify them of where you are trapping? 
From my dealing's with the forrest service, it seems that they try to make things up as they go because they dont have much on the books, for trapping.


----------



## famlytraprz

buckdog1 said:


> Rob is it on the books somewhere, that you have to notify them of where you are trapping?
> From my dealing's with the forrest service, it seems that they try to make things up as they go because they dont have much on the books, for trapping.


I agree about your accessment on the forest service, and this just started last year.  I don't agree with having to contact them when noone else does, but our GTA president said he discussed this with forest service officials and said he had no problem with the notification thing but no flagging.  So I'm not sure if this is in writing or not but I had the same Nat Forest experience and was told the same thing and I got a ticket, so I agree with the young man about going somewhere else.  The GTA tried to get me to fight the ticket but I just moved my traps, and this was a nuissance job.


----------



## buckdog1

famlytraprz said:


> I agree about your accessment on the forest service, and this just started last year.  I don't agree with having to contact them when noone else does, but our GTA president said he discussed this with forest service officials and said he had no problem with the notification thing but no flagging.  So I'm not sure if this is in writing or not but I had the same Nat Forest experience and was told the same thing and I got a ticket, so I agree with the young man about goinhg somewhere else.  The GTA tried to get me to fight the ticket but I just moved my traps, and this was a nuissance job.



You got a ticket because you didnt notify them of where you were trapping? Sorry but i would have fought that too. Now you have me wondering and im gonna get to researching.


----------



## famlytraprz

No I got the ticket because the trap given to the game warden supposedly had no tag on it.  I showed him all my other equipment was tagged and my extra tags for when I notice ones missing.  He said he did'nt care if the person that found the trap removed it, it still had no tag.  He also said I was in violation because I did'nt notify them of the location I was trapping and that I did'nt have a catchpole on my person and a  .22 while tending my beaver traps.  The GTA contacted the head of Oconee Nat Forest and got an apology for the over enthusiastic officer.


----------



## buckdog1

famlytraprz said:


> No I got the ticket because the trap given to the game warden supposedly had no tag on it.  I showed him all my other equipment was tagged and my extra tags for when I notice ones missing.  He said he did'nt care if the person that found the trap removed it, it still had no tag.  He also said I was in violation because I did'nt notify them of the location I was trapping and that I did'nt have a catchpole on my person and a  .22 while tending my beaver traps.  The GTA contacted the head of Oconee Nat Forest and got an apology for the over enthusiastic officer.



Rob, i searched for 2 hours last night and couldnt find anything on the books, about having to notify the forestry service. I hate that the guy gave you a hard time but you khow how some people are.


----------



## famlytraprz

buckdog1 said:


> Rob, i searched for 2 hours last night and couldnt find anything on the books, about having to notify the forestry service. I hate that the guy gave you a hard time but you khow how some people are.


Its probably not, but you know how some are, nothing specifies that while tending traps you have to have a catchpole and a .22 on your person while beaver trapping.  I was trapping private property that borders the Nat Forest and only had 3 traps on the line.  We are working on trapping WMAs  but I won't be participating.


----------



## buckdog1

Rob, did you have them in your truck and how far from your truck were you? I know im asking a lot of questions but i just want to make sure it never happens to me.


----------



## famlytraprz

buckdog1 said:


> Rob, did you have them in your truck and how far from your truck were you? I know im asking a lot of questions but i just want to make sure it never happens to me.


I had catchpole, .22, and license in my truck not 50 yards away.  We could see my truck while we talked and I checked my traps, after our short conversation, I realized I was getting a ticket for something so I quit talking.  Good luck to all that use this resource but I'm only setting on private land and dealing with state officials.


----------

