While the pin was there for a reason,it was a non-needed reason.I have used stop loss traps for longer than I care to admit to(A guy hates to say he is getting old).For a lot of those years I used the pins religiously.What I found was ,when I lost a rat--it was do to the pin getting hung up and not allowing the guard spring to activate. I removed all my pins, I now have a guard spring that fires every time.And while some believe this will throw a rat from a trap--I have not found this to be the case. Removal of the pin has not hindered my coon catch either,at my rat sets.
Coy ,you are right,we have to use what works for us while following the rgulations for our state.
Tom

What style do you guys prefer? The kind where the stoploss is on the spring and folds(sets) away from the spring or the version where the stoploss rests on the opposite side of the trap and when you set it it folds toward the spring?

me three! BTW Tom i sent you a message on go2gbo..

For those that use the stoploss or if you do not and how you use them is up to the user . I know for trapping there is really no worng way . because we all have our onw way of doing things and as long it works do not mess with it .Like Bogmaster it works for him the way he use them . Then you have someone else that it will not work for them I under stand what he say about the pin . I had that problem at first then i just found my own way to make it work and then went from there.

Whatever works for you do it , myself I am with bogmaster on this one I don't see one reason to use the pin, always a chance for something to get hung up and not give the spring a chance to deploy if the pin is used.

austinp,

I'd love to hear more about finding the travelways of muskrats. Any info you give here is appreciated.

I too never use the pin. vicor rd pan is my trap of choice....Wynn

Ya I don't understand trapping inside the house ,kinda like people using them to jump there snow machines , I guess if your looking to kill every rat in the marsh . The stoploss I just add three feet of chain and replace the trap ring with a heavy orange zip tie , this doesn't snag on the trap pile ,and makes it easy to spot , I don't use the pin if the springs are still strong , I always take a mix of traps , don't buy the duke stoploss there junk , the pan tension can't be controlled and the loss part doesn't even work ,they do make a great rat trap after cutting the guard off

no worries... that's impossible. hut trappers only take a percentage of all rats present, just like any other tactic. When ice is 6" to 18" thick, trying to work thru the ice becomes real slow-going rat work at best

The trappers in this state would see you put in jail for setting like that, switch to baited conibears when the ice gets thick , trappers need to respect the animals not take there house away from them in the dead of winter .

Pesky critter--please don't speak on issues you have no knowledge of.Your ignorance on hut trapping is way to evident in your posts.It makes you sound more like an anti than a trapper. They also speak against things they don't understand.
Tom

x2

I have a couple of #1 jumps that are stop-loss. Is it just me, or is that a pia to set? I am not sure that I can even set it correctly as I have no experience with stop-loss. Does anyone have a picture of one set that they could post?

x3

The Dakotas allow hut trapping. The Dakotas don't run out of rats. A baited coni through the ice might work--but how do you plan to get through two feet of ice to set it???

Here's what happens: cut the hole in the hut, place trap, plug hole. First muskrat in gets caught. All the others that want to be in there then enter the hut and do just fine. You can pull your traps, come back two months later, and trap the same huts if need be. There will still be a bunch of rats using them.

Well you better stay where your at then , it doesn't fly here . The trappers here in this state would never let lazy methods like that fly . There's no need to explane how to destroy a muskrat house ,

Pesky, did you ever thank they wouldn't stand for that around you because it's illegal?

It is illegal to:
Molest or disturb or set a trap in the internal compartment of any structure such as a lodge, hut, push-up, house, hole, nest, burrow or den of a badger, beaver, mink, muskrat or raccoon, whether occupied or not, or molest or destroy a beaver dam, except under a DNR Wildlife Damage Investigation and Control Permit.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10363_10880-31600--,00.html

Lazy methods?

Trapping huts is TEN TIMES more work than open water trapping!

Again Pesky Critter--please do not respond to things you have no knowledge of, all you are doing is showing off your ignorance.
Rat trapping in huts is very hard work--surely not for the lazy.This method of taking rats is also very strictly regulated.All material removed to gain access into the hut,must be wetted and placed back ,to plug the hole made to set the trap.This keeps the hut from freezing up. I am not explaining this for you(pesky critter), I am explaining this to others who have seen your posts,and may actually think you have something of substance to say.
Tom

It is illegal here and will keep it illegal , one thing about living in the part of the county that has the highest grade of rats there a resorce . We protect that resorce , cutting a hole in the side of a rat house because your to lazy to cut a hole in the ice , sounds nuts to me . When you guys need coons what you just go cut down a den tree