Although I have trapped most everything Ohio has to offer, I have never trapped beaver. I will be using #330s, and #3 legholds .... Question on the #3 legholds????? DO you set the pan at free fall, with level tension, or drop poundage ....

Thanks ... Garry-

You sell the 3's and buy #4's or MB750's ... the 3's will do you wrong... My Opinion, My experience over 23years... that's all!

I agree with 330 the #3 are going to be too small

Too late for that this year it starts in 2 days ... maybe next
next year .... Garry-

Well I guess will have to try and catch them by the front foot. I have no other alternative .... I was told several months ago that the #3 would work fine for beaver ... that is why I bought them ... Garry-

Also i would trade that ax in for a chainsaw this time of year.Get R Done Gary!

I would have but the part called for an ax ...... .... Garry-

Set shallow and target a front foot and you will do just fine.

Biggest we can use here is 6 1/2 garry, tons of beaver been caught in three's and two's use what you got. Ever take a good look at a beavers back foot? it reminds you of an umbrela they are mostly designed for swimming not for holding traps open.

Thank you sir .... how about pan tension ... I was guessing about level with no fall without tension of the jaw ... would this be about right ....??? Garry-

Ever take a good look at a beavers body? them critters is heavy garry, they for sure ain't mink

Front foot catch is not easy to do if you're trapping a river.
Water level changes can cause misses and back foot catches.
That being said a no.3 will work just fine on a pond or lake.
I use them but really like #4 ls for beaver.
Haven't tryed the mb750 or any of the 7 1/2 in. traps.
From what I see of them I want to get some, and try them.

Good luck.

P,S. level pan is all I ever use, only because I don't know any better way. Old school I guess.

And many a coyote have been taken in 1.5 Dukes but they sure aint my trap of choice for the job. Your gonna catch a few and lose a few in the #3s. Put 6 foot of heavy chain on them and stake solid. DONT try for a back foot or all you may catch is toes. IMO

Buzzy, you and I both know a pinched beav aint always simple the second time around. Trap beavs with #3s for any length of time and you will have a few cautious beavs.

Come on up Buzzy and I will show you how its done. Aint rocket science but you are from the south.LOL

The prescouted locations for the use of the #3 are pools both above and below the dams ranging from 3 to four feet deep. I have both 8' and 10' drowning cables that I will be using on the legholds and anchoring in the depth of the pools. Was anticipating on setting the trap in about 4" of water for a front foot catch. .... Garry-

Have plenty of threes on slide wires all set for front feet. Works fine on the James for me.

Feelin' cranky tonite Buz?

I really like the TS 85 that Kaatz Bros. sell, and have been pleased with the MB 750. In my LIMITED experience, they have turned beaver trapping into muskrat trapping (along with Clint's video). Scott

You're right BUZZARD ,they do except when the water goes up a foot.

I have caught my share on rivers.

I guess I didn't explain it enough.

Otherwise inlighten me since I don't know how!

You need deeper water than three feet garry, unless you can for sure front foot em.

Hey buzz, I guess Billingley didnt know what he was doing either when he took over 300 beavs in the south with #3s long chained. Just cause you havent figured out how to do it succesfully doesnt mean some one else hasnt. lol

Maybe I should clarify as to the locations and conditions I will setting under .... They are small winding streams ... never more than 20 feet wide and most often not that much .... I have 3 such areas to trap with a total of 5 dams ... Garry-

Under ice?

No sir .... the creeks may have spoty ice, but they fall fast enough to keep them from freezing much .... Garry-

Actor,
I have never trapped beaver before this year myself so for what its worth, this is what I do. All I have for them is a couple of older #3 longsprings and a #4 longspring.
I use cable for a drowning rig. I make a mock castor mound, set traps shallow, and place several small sticks (stuck in the mud--angleing to deeper water 45 degree) just outside of the set. I have had some success and I hope this helps you.
There is a huge wealth of info on this site and I have learned a lot from the people on here! Good luck.......
cdr

Since you seem to know it all Buzzard what do you suggest Mr. Garry does?

Buzzy, your leg get nicked by your chainsaw today..
Don't know much about beaver trappin' myself. I consider myself a rookie in that department. I have only caught a few hundred, which is waaaaay less than some on here. Buzzy is supplying some good info here. Drowners with slide wires are a much better system that a long chain. I learned the hard way on that one! Now, calm down Buzzard it's dang near Christmas!

Actor, #3s will work, tis what what I used when I first started after beaver..went and got CDR's after the second year after a couple toecaught and toe with no beaver attached incidents. Got some TS 8.5s this year after looking at one beaver whose foot spanned a CDR.

I'll be river trapping Raccoon Creek come Friday, and with rain on the way for saturday, them beaver I catch might as well be 100+ lbs trying to haul them up the banks.

Guys, Buzzy takes more beaver than 99% of the people on here.

IM NO BEAVER TRAPPER by NO means.

BUT ive have SEE it done with #3 (6-6.5 inch jaw spread) traps and can go do it right now, if i wanted to, getting a BACK FOOT cathc. hard to type it out, easy to show in rela life. no drowing, castor mound set up.


armchair trappers...lol

And with BACKFOOT i dont mean step over the jaws, i mean step BETWEEN the jaws, you suitcase the backfoot.

My bad! I thought it was a given to use drowners, being they are #3 footholds, to me it goes with any foot hold. Better?



Just the same MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL, YOU 2 BUZZARD

target the front foot and drown him. I haved used #4 jumps and caught them on hind feet.

mostly I use 330s but I do enjoy legholding them.

No hard feelings buzz. Just curious as you have your own opinions about what others posted why not chime in yourself and suggest what you like. You know a thing or two about them.

Myself, I've never caught a beaver in my life (seriously), so I'm all ears.

Those 3s will work fine, so will smaller.

I often set for beaver up on the bank, totally out of the water.

Trap as if I was setting for fox, meaning use a guide stick to get front foot into trap or better yet, with 1 1/2s I'll use two traps, one on each side of trail. Each staked down solid with a short chain. They're always high and dry and waiting in the morning.

I've caught many a beaver in a #3. My favorites among the #3s are the #3 Northwoods coil and #3 Bridger coil, both four coiled.

I've held many beavers by the hind foot in these traps also. The key to using these smaller jaw spread traps, as well as the larger jawspread traps, is to position them so the beaver's approach brings it over the levers, and not the jaws.

Even setting for a front foot catch, its easy to miss the front foot and that big ole back foot will make contact with the pan.

If the trap is positioned so the beaver's approach brings it over the jaw instead of the lever, its heel or toe can be sitting on a jaw when the trap fires. This will cause the beaver's foot to raise up resulting in a toe catch in the event the heel is on the near jaw, or foot thrown clear if the toes are draped over the far jaw.

When the trap is positioned so the beaver's approach brings it over the levers, it doesn't matter if the beaver's heel is at the near hinge point of the jaws, or toes draped over the far hinge point of the jaws, it will still fire with the foot in the trap.

You can however, have the beaver's left or right toes make contact with either right or left side jaw and still fire the trap. This usually results with a hold at an angle on the hind foot below the ankle somewhere, but still will usually hold the beaver.

Just my 2 cents.

I think that post was worth a quite a bit more then 2 cents Paul. Heck I even read it twice.

Great info Paul! thanks for taking the time to explain in detail!

Paul touched on a big problem people have with footholds is setting them too close to the center of approach. Beaver are wide animals and if you set your trap too close to the center of approach the beaver will only have the edge of it's foot in the trap when it fires. With the pan 4 1/2 to 5 inches off center you will get good hold most everytime if you use guide sticks to put the beaver where you want him. I agree with Buzzard on everything he said in this thread too. #3's will hold nearly every beaver if they are set right and you have a good drowning system. I use them all the time where theft is a problem and RARELY have a pullout. Forget the long chain. Drown them as soon as possible.

Set shallower, in about an inch, with some shallow water in front of your trap as well. This assures the beaver will have it's feet down when it hits your trap. In 4" of water, the beaver can still have it's front feet tucked against it's body.

My favorite trap is the bridger #3 4 coiled , northwoods and the new duke #4 they are all basically the same trap. I have caught a ton of beaver in bridger #2s ON PURPOSE !! It anit the trap its the user. I set for a front foot but they will hold the back foot just fine. I dont drown em either, for many reasons but to answer your ? set those traps out an set them right you will have beaver to skin at night.
This a northwoods 4 coiled.

Drowning NOT needed.

any one that long chaines a set for beaver will lose a lot of beaver if not deep enough for slider use 330.and is the 3 my choice no but i use alot of them in high risk areas .i agree with buzz give me 1 and a half coils with sliders ill catch beaver in 95 percent of snapped traps

I have been catching Beaver with #3 ever since I started trapping. Front and back foot, as long as there is enough water to dround them in your good. Jon

oh Buzz !! you can teach me how to beaver trap if it makes you feel better

im serious man ... i dont get to mess with em too much anymore ... i think they all packed up and moved away ... well, at least the ones that didnt die did

I want to thank every one for their information and the repartee ... and I am glad there was no blod spilled ...LOL!

Now we will see if an "Old Fart" like me can put the info to work and catch a couple of beaver ... Thanks again ...

Oh yes, for those that are curious about the photo in my signature ... I was an actor and that was from a stage performance in the early 1990s .... Garry-

I use #3 Bridgers since I can double duty them as yote traps too. I use about 4lbs pan tension, and short chain them to a drowning slide. Set for front foot,but have caught them by back foot too. Use bump sticks as mentioned to get them to put those feet down. I've also added what I call a crawl over stick on occasion.It's just a short water logged stick about the thickness of a toilet paper tube, just before the trap. I think it's helped in shallower water to get them to step over it, right into the trap. Setting for a front foot in fluctuating water makes more sense to me personally, since a deeper set trap set for a backfoot would really be deep with rising water, but the shallower set would still have a chance. Definitely agree with the trap being set to one side and turned with the dog to the side.That made all the difference in the world to me when I started trapping beaver. As much a pain in the butt as they are to flesh, I still love trapping them, HATE carrying them up slick muddy banks, but love trapping them. Best of luck

In the fall I dont care if I catch coons so I run 2.5-3 lbs of pan tension, in the spring 3.5-4 lbs to avoid non targets.

It is obvious that you have never tried long chains, the mountain men almost wiped out the beaver with long chains running on ave 6 traps a day . Too many guys have a phobia about live trapping beaver it can be done !! Just because you haven't done it don't mean it cant be !! I will leave it at that.



I agree with you there.

Buzzy most of the beaver I take are filling there stomachs with willow not corn. I do use snares, but my favorite foothold is a #3 even though I own alot fo them high $$ traps 660s, 12X10s, & #5s of all types, give me a #3 and long chain.

why would you use 6 ft. of chain and what gauge or kind of chain? how do you place your poke sticks or how far in front of trap? 4 or 5 pounds of pan tension, may cut down on nontargets but not much, if your after beaver with beaver lure and sets,that is mostly what you well get

I am guessing that you havent used castor in the spring much, rats and coon are all over that stuff I have even taken yotes in late march with castor. And yes 4 lbs of tension will stop MOST coon and I have yet to get a rat in one. I used to get a dz or so in a month before using any tension.

Buzzy i wanna trap down south where ya can set a trap about anywhere and pick em up ... all those channels, ditches, small streams, etc .... here in my area, its a bit harder, add to that there arent any left

how do you go about using poke sticks for a front foot catch

I like a berm of clay/mud more than I do poke sticks but the idea is the same. A beaver swims with its front feet up against its body when it hits the bank or what it thinks is the bank it drops those feet down and walks in to your set instead of swimming- wammo right in to your #3 long chained trap

I have seen the same problem Buzzy mentioned. And that is why its almost a waste of time putting swivels on my beaver snares. The beavers are usually wrapped around something between the swivel and the beaver making the swivel useless.

A dead beaver at the end of a drowner can't escape! A live beaver at the end of a chain still has more than a fighting chance.

how deep do you set for a front foot catch? should the mud be heavy like clay? i dont think sandy ground works good,it runs down on trap,or is to soft and small when beaver hits it, sometimes they come charging in. i have used rocks with some success, how much water should be over the top of the mud in front of trap?