I am posting these for Maddog47

This cat was caught in Minnesota yesterday after a new snow fall.


This cat was taken 10 days ago.


For those wanting a picture of my coni boxes and the pas I use.


Great looking cats Maddog47!!

That last pic is awesome.

Beautiful Cats

ugly trapper

Nice cats MadDog...

Wondering what you are baiting/luring with??? Also, are those 220s?

Maddog is busy preparing for the MTA Winter meeting tommorow.

I would guess those are 220's but he does catch cats in 160's often.

His bait of choice is Beaver fleshings. I am guessing he uses Gusto at most sets but also sure he mixes it up a little with other lures. I think the pan is critical to his success as is the open back on his boxes. Gives the cat the feeling he is entering a tunnel. Cats do not back up well so I am told.

Flagging is important as Cats hunt with there eyes !!

Man is fast becoming one heck of a cat trapper !!

Those are some really neat pics!

If we ever have a 'most ugliest person on trapperman' contest i know who im voting for, lol.

I bet that set would work great on possum too! lol.

Cory's assesment is correct.

1. All bait is beaver
2. I use 220's and 160's and neither one outdoes the other.
3. Back of boxes are open with 1/2" hardware cloth.
4. Greatest part of success is due to wooden conipans rather than trigers.
5. Final is location, location, locatiob

Gary,
Those are great pictures..... send them to Kyle for TW. Write an article too. I know you have it you. LOL
Kraig

Thanks for posting some awsome pictures. Nice job maddog

Cool pics, really nice lookin cats

Great Cats

Those are sweet pics, like has been said , the last is the best. I would love to see more !

What are the trigger pans made out of? metal or wood?

Where do you buy them?

I had this in the old Trapperman Archives. Glad I kept a copy of it! Might want to put this whole post back in there Mods.



Posted by j. morris (Member # 3746) on 05-07-2006 12:02 AM:

Here are some pics that I uploaded for maddog47. I will let him fill in any needed info.

Check out this post that we had going the other day about coni's and cats. conibears for bobcat







[ 06-03-2006, 12:56 PM: Message edited by: j. morris ]

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Posted by 2poor (Member # 2222) on 05-07-2006 08:23 AM:

Earth to Maddog come in Maddog.

You going to explain the benefits of using the pans or are you going to let the pictures speak for themselves ?

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Posted by maddog47 (Member # 3241) on 05-07-2006 08:59 AM:

2poor

These pictures are posted through the willingness of Jerry Morris. I have been asked to supply pictures via the thread on conibears for bobcats. These are my pictures but I lack the knowledge of posting them, so I sent them to Jerry and he posted them.

I have great success using these pans because it opens up the body gripper entrance. The cats are more willing to stick their heads in the box vs. the standard triggers. I swear that cats feel the standard trigger wires with their whiskers and back out. I also beleive that cats will shy away from any obstruction hindering their entrance. The beauty of these wooden coni pans is any animal from weasels to coon, fisher, marten, skunk, mink etc will trip them. If you read the article done in the American Trapper last month on me you will notice we took over 20 weasels with this system in our boxes set for cats. Smaller animals like weasel, mink and marten will put their feet on the pan and whamo, right around the neck/head. Larger animals like bobcat, coon and fisher seem to trip the pan with their chins or chest. Instant death. I prefer to use these home made wooden pans vs, the metal ones as the animals are more likely to make contact with wood vs. metal. I make no claim to be a know it all, this system just works well for me. I limit on bobcats each year so if it works for me it will work for you. I will be happy to answer any question. One thing I must add however is if your not setting on location your not going to have success with anything you use.

Gary

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Posted by Madtrapper (Member # 1276) on 05-07-2006 09:03 AM:

That's very much like I do it Gary, but on 120's for mink and Marten.

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Posted by dayooper (Member # 4357) on 05-07-2006 09:18 AM:

How do you set those for coon? Do you prop the front up just like in the pic or do you try to get the front higher? How deep is that box? Coons ever try to just rip the screen off the back? Thanks

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Posted by 2poor (Member # 2222) on 05-07-2006 09:32 AM:

I have had the raccoon work the boxes from the back on occasion. To discourage this I have piled some brush over the box and made sure some of it was in the way of them working the set from the rear. I do have less problems with reach in's when using the pans vs wire triggers.

Thanks to Jerry for posting the pictures.

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Posted by maddog47 (Member # 3241) on 05-07-2006 09:57 AM:

Dayooper,

I set ecactly this way for coon as well as bobcat. The coon hit the wooden pan with their chest. The top of my boxes are 24 inches, the sides are 18 inches. Bait goes all the way to the rear which stops them from reaching with their feet. I have never had problems with coon ripping the back of the box open as they see through the back from the front.

Gary

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Posted by Beaverpeeler (Member # 728) on 05-07-2006 12:07 PM:

Maddog, are those pics of 160's?

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Posted by bobkat (Member # 3805) on 05-07-2006 12:47 PM:

Gary, Are the pans drilled for the trigger wires? How do you attach them? What is the angle or do you have a side view to see the angle? Bob

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Posted by maddog47 (Member # 3241) on 05-07-2006 04:10 PM:

Beaverpeeler,

These are both 220's. The 160's look identical. Bobkat, the pans are drilled through and the trigger wires slide rite on and are then bent horizontal to hold in place.

Gary

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Posted by maddog47 (Member # 3241) on 05-07-2006 04:12 PM:

Almost forgot, The angle on the top two pictures is acceptable but I prefer the angle on the picture of the box more so. Remember to raise the front of your box up about 3-4 inches with a branch or log.

Gary

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Posted by trapperjoeAK (Member # 6136) on 05-07-2006 05:13 PM:

What are you using for the wood, and do you drill all the way through? I have used the metal ones, but I like how that looks much better. Thanks for the very informative thread.

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Posted by maddog47 (Member # 3241) on 05-07-2006 07:12 PM:

Trapperjoe,

I prefer to use a hard wood like oak. You can get it free when they remodel older homes. Old baseboards and trim from these old homes are excellent material. Soft wood like pine and balsom are easier to work with but coon and fisher will break them often. I drill all the way through the pan and slide the pan through the triggers, then I bend the excess triggers horizontally. Next bend the pan to the degree of your preference.

Gary

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Posted by Mountain Cur (Member # 4237) on 05-07-2006 07:30 PM:

Thats pretty neat, I wonder if it'll work for mink down here in the south?

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Posted by casey (Member # 6507) on 05-07-2006 10:12 PM:

Looks great, But do rats and mice ever fire them?

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Posted by Sparky (Member # 882) on 05-07-2006 10:40 PM:

I like the idea of this set, however us in VA can't use a cubby with a conni bigger than 5" useing a bait that will attaract a dog. That pretty much rules out cubbies with connibears.

Sparky

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Posted by maddog47 (Member # 3241) on 05-08-2006 08:23 AM:

To answer both questions,

Have caught plenty of weasels and squirels but never a mouse or rat. As for the 5" law in VA I would suggest you use 120's in the plastic paper tubes you see on roads. Scotty Waldorf who posts on this forum has a great market for them. Send him a pm.

Gary

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Posted by Nelacres (Member # 7113) on 05-08-2006 09:01 AM:

Maddog47, I read that article and loved it. Thanks for posting the pics. You said to prop up the front of the box, which front, where they stick their head or where the bait goes. Thanks sometimes I'm blond.

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Posted by Trapper7 (Member # 629) on 05-08-2006 01:43 PM:

Thanks for a nice post and for all the other good things you do for trappers, Gary.

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Posted by maddog47 (Member # 3241) on 05-08-2006 02:33 PM:

Nelacres,

No question is a dumb question. Those who have something to share with others to help our sport grow and prosper would rather questions be asked than have somebody do something wrong. To answer a good question you want to raise up the front of the box which is where the body gripper sits. The reason I raise the front is so the bobcat is not bending or crouching. If he comes in eye level standing straight up on all four legs he is more apt to enter the box. Trapper7 I thank you for your compliment. To be able to do the little bit I'm able to do to help preserve this great sort for generations to come is an honor in my book.

Gary

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Posted by bobkat (Member # 3805) on 05-09-2006 03:34 PM:

Sparky, I don't think marshmallows and grape jelly or honey would be considered dog "food". You can use Super Maple also.

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Posted by dayooper (Member # 4357) on 05-19-2006 06:05 AM:

I notice the dog is on the bottom and against the wood, it looks fairly stiff...does that cause a problem with the trap firing?

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Posted by maddog47 (Member # 3241) on 05-19-2006 08:22 AM:

Push the two springs down until the bottom jaws raise a quarter inch. I should have checked the dogs position before taking the photo. Sorry.

Gary

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Posted by Macthediver (Member # 191) on 05-19-2006 10:00 AM:

Any statistics on using this set up on garden munching rabbits? Living in town I'm always trying to knock them off discreatly. Can't have them spining on a chain. I run a few threw plain 110s but some seem reluctant to stuff their melon in one for some reason. 160s have to have the wires close enough that it might as well be a 110. This looks like it might make a rabbit dive right into a 160???

Mac

The pans are made out of wood. The pictures posted of my 220's set and ready to go are from last year via another request. Imhave caught cats with the metal ones but much prefer the wooden ones as the wood is more natural to a cat. I honestly beleive that a cat shies away from standard triggersbecause they touch them with their whiskers and it is unnatural. With my wooden pan system they stick the head in to smell or bite the beaver meat and it is lights out.

One item that I accidentaly onitted and what I beleive is 75% of my success is the flagging I use. Cats hunt by eyesight, not smell. I use Magnum martin on the wings and gusto inside the box.

Hey mudrat, your only calling me ugly cause I exposed you with your two pet possums when you were a kid in 1990. Folks may not know this but Jackie asked for a pony for his birthday and his mom gave him two possums she found in the garbage pail, told him they were ponies and he played with them for 6 months before a local trapper caught one and the other was turned into road rash. Poor Jackie aint been the same since.

Gary

cool pics. especially like that one in the coni

Hey MadDog,

I built two of the these boxes today to try out here...They should work good on grey fox as well...I will report back with some pics.

Cool pics!

good looken pics.

I as well hammer the cats pretty good in boxes with Belisle 220's. As Maddog said, flagging and a good call lure with a good handful of white turkey or fowl feathers thrown about, if it is legal where you are at. And pans not trigger wires! I also use a piece of fur with a plastic eye ball hanging in the back of the box. I have caught several cats with both front feet inside. Honest to god "lunge" inside of the box.

I tried with buckets and had piss poor results. I changed 3 things. 1. Went to a box 2. Elevated the front about 4" 3. Wire meshed the back. Not sure which one made the most difference but now catch cats in them on a very steady basis. Just another tool on the line for me other than a big flashy dirthole, which I still feel is my #1 cat taker.

Jerry

I always love your pictures Maddog. Thanks for putting them up.

nice bobcats!
congrats maddog47

them are some nice pics

Maddog, how big are those wooden pans? Your boxes are 24" deep by 18" high? You drill your holes at a angle into the wood and bend the out?

coalminer.

No,no!!!! The top or shall I say the roof of the box is 24" long to better word myself. The two side boards are 18" long. The height or inside diameter just fits a 220 or if I'm using 160's the inside diamter just fits a 160. The wooden pans are 4" x 1.3/4" Drill your holes straight through, slide wire triggers straight through and bend horizontal to pan. When I sent Jerry the photos I took they should show what I'm explaining, if not take a look at the third picture of the cat wearing the 220 for a necklace and you should get an idea. I do bend my pans up to approximately a 45 degree angle.

Gary

Thanks Jerry for posting and saving them for all of us....

mtbadger

purty kittys

Old Madddog is proving to us all that cats can consistently be caught in Conibears. With cats near 40# hanging in his fur shed every year. May not be the most effective method in all states but it sure fits the bill in the North Country.

Nice

Excellence pictures!!! and great info

Maddog, I am with you now, had a senior moment. I plan on trying some coni's for coons using 160 Belisle's. We have to keep our coni's in the creeks here in PA. What brand of coni's do you use and like?

VERY nice!! Great job!

Coalminer,

I prefer the BMI brand myself. Would use all Belisles if I had 2poors or Wheelers money. BMI is a tough conibear to find so will probably be doing some conibear studies this summer.

Gary

I will have you know 2poor can only afford Duke traps !

Rat or Maddog, The coni is 220? What are you using for bait? Thanks

Sorry, read only are few comments and I jumped right in with a comment without reading the rest. Questions answered. Another question maddog, are cats as standoffish when it comes to human tracks, scent, etc around the boxset (baiting the trap)? I don't think this has been asked. Thanks.

Donny,

Very tough question to answer. What I have found is the answer for the most part is "no". One thing I'm strong on is checking my boxes every 3 three days to be sure the voles, mice, squirells, etc have not cleaned my bait out. This obviously means going up to the box. I have foot tracks all over the snow. This has never stopped cats from being caught, HOWEVER, I have had cats approach within 10 feet or so of my boxes and leave. WHY???? Were they reluctant to approach because of the tracks, did the wing fluttering above the box bring them in out of curiosity, were they just not hungry enough to pproach,did my call lure bring them in out of curiosity, perhaps they were just being typical fickle cats. But overall I will say that foot prints do not bother 90% of the cats. As for human scent, absolutely not. They are not afraid of it. I dont wear gloves when setting my conibears, I bare handed use a stick to spread call lure on my wing and toss it either in the box or on top of it. Little to no attention is made by me when it comes to human scent.

Gary

Maddog47,

Thanks for the indepth explaination. I'll be definately setting up some coni boxes this weekend. Haven't heard of too many cats in my neck of the woods but I'll give it a try and see what I get. Thanks again, very informative.

Post deleted by Kre

Does anybody sell the wood triggers?

Contact Todd Roggenkamp my trapping partner at 218-768-5653

Gary

MADDOG47 do your traps get dyed with or without the wood pans on them? and do your wood pans ever crack in half when the trap fires?

Thanks for the advice and photo's...

330-Trapper, Pine City

Maddog, thanks a million for sharing this. I knew I read it the other day, then couldn't find it again! Got kinda scared as I'm dying to try out some boxes next year!

MODS PLEASE ARCHIVE THIS POST!!!!!

Great post and thanks for posting these pics it gave me some ideas on what I needed to change on my bobcat boxes! I had a wood back on mine and now I changed it and it looks much better. Great job on those cats I just hope mine will be as succesful. Thanks OT

nice guys!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maddog47, How does this trigger look? ... I know the picture is fuzzy, sorry!

What size of conibear is that

It's a 220 Belisle, best bodygrippers I've ever used!

thats nice guys next year im going to make some conibear boxes.What are the dimesions and stuff?

I'd also like to knoe some dimesions

18" long with a 25" top, 1x10's squared to just be large enough for the trap... this box works well with a 220 or 160 Belisle I haven't used them for Bobcat like Maddog has...(yet) but will next year. I didn't put a bottom on it so that the animal will walk into it on the same surface... I used hardware cloth for the back.

Maddog47 is the pro at it though... you should ask him for more about cats... I've only used mine for Coon and fisher

very nice guys , ive tryed to trap cats in the buckets and i couldnt keep grinners and skunks out of 'em

very nice guys , ive tryed to trap cats in the buckets and i couldnt keep grinners and skunks out of 'em

Im dieing to try some out next year ,I wil be busy this summer preparing snares , traps , and makeing them boxes !!


Gary i also wan tto thank you for your help !!

shoofly

Since so many people are interested in this and it's back up top I thought I would mention as I have in the past to be very selective in where you put these boxes. Know your area before you start putting boxes such as this out any old place. Along with this, in areas such as mine, the trapping territory is literally changing from year to year with more and more people moving into the area and moving out in the middle of nowhere so to speak. Just because it was OK to set a particular trap in spot "X" one year doens't guarantee it is safe the next year. You MUST take these things into consideration for the future of trapping. Happy trapping. ScottW

Good piont Scott!

shoofly

I agree 100% with Scotty. Scott is a good friend of mine who I proudly trap pine marten with. We (especialy 2poor) tease Scotty an awful lot for being what most trappers consider OVERLY cautious where he sets his body grippers. If all of us followed Scotty's method we would not have the pet vs body gripper confrontations we have. As trappers we have as much right to set our traps as people have running their dogs. After all has there ever been a pet just ruuning loose that was caught in a trap? Heck no, you'll never have a pet owner admit to that. In the interest of our future use of body grippers I agree with and support Scotty's words.

Gary

Scotty

Very good advice Scotty. Even living in a very rural enviroment we are often faced with challenges when choosing locations. Making those good decisions is important to the future of the sport.

Set a 220 in a unsafe location in Scott's neck of the woods and chances are you will get a phone call from a very polite young man asking you to reconsider the location. A young trapper trying to preserve the sport for future generations while still enjoying his time in the outdoors.

Cory