Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4378229
03/14/14 09:56 PM
03/14/14 09:56 PM
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 497 PA
pick65
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 497
PA
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Dave: Have to add one more to your list! Try Leon Wickenkamp.
pick65
Last edited by pick65; 03/15/14 12:15 AM.
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4378238
03/14/14 09:59 PM
03/14/14 09:59 PM
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 32 OH
Eric Arnold
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trapper
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 32
OH
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Dave,
I'm surprised with the Tomahawk comments. Have you talked with Greg Smith about your issues? The professional series are extremely durable. I can stand on the 5 x 5 x 16 chipmunk trap and not only does it support my weight, but it still works afterwards. I cannot say the same thing about the Safeguards.
Trapperjim,
In terms of the best trap, there is no correct answer. It will depend on target species, how they are used and how you treat them. Instead, I'd recommend asking yourself if you need gravity door or spring door traps. As a general rule, gravity door traps are cheaper and Williams makes a very sturdy affordable trap. The biggest issue I can say about gravity door traps is that they are all 1 x 1 wire (at least those I'm familiar with).
If you're looking for 1/2 x 1 wire look at the professional series from Tomahawk, Safeguard, and I also classify Advanced and Comstock in this category. The wire tends to be thicker and the traps are made to handle more captures and abuse. Of course, this also means that you'll pay a lot more for these than for regular series and off brand (TSC) names.
Another factor to think about is if you want a pan/treadle system or a wire trigger system. Wire triggers are great for blind and walk through sets, but you may find it easier to bait pan/treadle traps.
Also, look at specialty traps (especially for squirrels). WCS, Fields Development Supply, and Tomahawk all offer multi-catch traps for squirrels. Some require nose cones and are easy to swap out trapped animals with fresh cages while others get mounted directly to the structure and have to be removed before another can be put in its place.
You can check past issues of WCT Magazine as well as doing a search here for past threads where this topic has been discussed.
Eric Arnold Publishing Editor W.C.T. Magazine Editor The Fur Taker Magazine
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4378559
03/15/14 01:25 AM
03/15/14 01:25 AM
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 12 Western Montana
ADCofWMt
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trapper
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 12
Western Montana
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LOL Dave, I was at work when this thread was started and as you know my recent health issues have had me rather distracted.
I prefer the Comstocks. I have limited experience with most of the others. Tough traps. As Dave mentioned the Tomahawks I have recently gotten, don't really seem to be built much better than the other cages I could buy here in town. But to be fair I will wait until I have taken a couple coon in them to really give an opinion.
Just because something is legal doesn't make it smart.
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4378856
03/15/14 09:45 AM
03/15/14 09:45 AM
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Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 0 Trumbull county, Ohio
coonwacka
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trapper
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 0
Trumbull county, Ohio
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Comstocks (depending on size) are powder coated. I am getting ready to order some soon. If you purchase Tomahawks powder coating is 15% extra. I'm frugal minded like that, especially just starting. So, being Paul mentioned, they are both made by Tomahawk I'm really leaning toward the Comstock... Unless, I keep reading this thread.
Dave @ All Catch LLC. CNWACO
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: pick65]
#4378989
03/15/14 10:57 AM
03/15/14 10:57 AM
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 492 somewhere in the middle of MT
DAVE SALYS-CWCP
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trapper
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 492
somewhere in the middle of MT
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Dave: Have to add one more to your list! Try Leon Wickenkamp.
pick65 I know about Wicks but 90% of my cages are spring loaded, locking doors, that's what works for me. I have several Advanced that aren't lockers but they are species specific for me.
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4380375
03/15/14 10:29 PM
03/15/14 10:29 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 8,349 NWWA/AZ
Vinke
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 8,349
NWWA/AZ
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add clips to anything and adjust as needed...........
Slightly used Shoes 4 sale
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4380412
03/15/14 10:39 PM
03/15/14 10:39 PM
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 30 St. Louis area
Dave Schmidt
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trapper
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 30
St. Louis area
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I have a coupla Hilltop coon traps. Very, very tough traps; separate bait door, gravity-lock catch door. Don't know if they're still available.
ALL OUT Wildlife Control
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4380602
03/16/14 12:15 AM
03/16/14 12:15 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 8,349 NWWA/AZ
Vinke
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 8,349
NWWA/AZ
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It is the trapper,,,,not the trap........
Slightly used Shoes 4 sale
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4381455
03/16/14 02:18 PM
03/16/14 02:18 PM
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 0 Ohio
Holt
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trapper
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 0
Ohio
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4381464
03/16/14 02:29 PM
03/16/14 02:29 PM
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Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 0 Trumbull county, Ohio
coonwacka
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trapper
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 0
Trumbull county, Ohio
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"coonwacka, just for you I'm going to give my impressions of the Havahart. We have about 15 of the old style coon-sized Havaharts. Those are the ones that have a mesh door, not a solid one. They still work well after 20 years.
Then they came out with the solid door which the raccoons would grab a hold of and twist and let themselves out. Then they came out with the two door cage that was long enough to catch alligators but didn't spring very well. Then they came out with the "one hand set" cage which was so named because the raccoons could let themselves out with one hand.
We own lots of Havaharts because customers are constantly giving them to us. If I every figure out how to make them work well, we will have a lot more cages for the guys to use, but don't hold your breath."
Thank's Paul! Why was the solid door put in production then? I'm assuming cost but was it just a marketing ploy, people thinking they must be stronger? LOL I was wondering why mine are getting harder to set the trigger. Door twisted!!!
Last edited by coonwacka; 03/16/14 02:43 PM. Reason: quote
Dave @ All Catch LLC. CNWACO
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4381672
03/16/14 04:32 PM
03/16/14 04:32 PM
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 30 St. Louis area
Dave Schmidt
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trapper
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 30
St. Louis area
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I got a solid door Tom, bought it from previous employer (who got out of wildlife control) and have used it lots with good success. (That having been said, since then I've paid better attention to Wink's advice.) I think the coon grabs the sides of the door - cuz that's the only place he can grab it - and finds that it gives a little. He doesn't know that the torque he can exert is highest at opposite ends of an object (but he learns that pretty soon), and ...well, you know the rest!..
ALL OUT Wildlife Control
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4382384
03/16/14 10:20 PM
03/16/14 10:20 PM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 25,599 Georgia
warrior
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trapper
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 25,599
Georgia
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Coon are absolutely the worst to deal with. Pound for pound armadillos are stronger and harder on cages. Where coons have the dexterity to grab and bend things or unlock locks dillers brute force there way out. Slanting lock bar doors are especially vunerable if the top of the cage can bow. They get down low on the door and push until the top flex enough to allow the lock bar catch to rise enough to let the lock bar fall forward. The other vulnerabilities are cages without internal frames. I once had a safeguard with a bottom rear corner pulled into the cage about three inches almost as if the diller was turning it inside out like a sock. Now that said coons are worse on wire triggered traps as the trigger wire almost becomes a sacrificial part for catching coons. Dillers pay the trigger no mind.
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4384971
03/18/14 09:44 AM
03/18/14 09:44 AM
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 69 Central Ohio
Dirk Shearer
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trapper
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 69
Central Ohio
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I have used Williams traps for about 20 years and am very happy with them.
About 15 years ago I had an AR vandal go through a job site and literally smash nine of them, which is very difficult as I can use them for a short step ladder. They looked like a "V". I was able to pry them apart a bit with a 2x4, put a floor jack inside, and pry them back into some semblance of shape. All but two were returned to a functional state. The "fixed" traps went out on high risk sites and I only have two left, the rest have been pilfered.
We really put these traps through the mill and had to replace the wire on some of them. In fact, I was so pleased with the traps we redid I had my guys do almost every trap we had, adding 1/2 X 1 on the lower 6 inches (we were really slow this winter). This should reduce the amount of debris in the traps speeding up resets and cleaning traps, thus reducing labor costs over the life of the trap.
Dirk E. Shearer, President The Wildlife Control Company, Inc. "Cause if you won't put your real name on it, you probably shouldn't hit send"
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4384982
03/18/14 09:51 AM
03/18/14 09:51 AM
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 30 St. Louis area
Dave Schmidt
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trapper
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 30
St. Louis area
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Yeh, them Williams' are tough - and sublimely simple, too. Sorry you had to have that happen, Dirk; what's the rest of the vandalism story?
ALL OUT Wildlife Control
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4385335
03/18/14 01:17 PM
03/18/14 01:17 PM
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 377 New York
Jim Comstock
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trapper
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 377
New York
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In comparing traps, ring door traps to a solid lock up angled door traps, the consideration primarily resides in roll overs. If a ring door trap can be staked, wired or pined between structure it is a fine trap, but it does take a bit more time and consideration in setting with worry if the trap does not remain upright. The door on the ring door locks up well, but if it rolls over, the animal is gone, while the solid lock up on the angled door traps with lock bars is all but escape proof, no extra work or worries in setting either. A story was told of a sow that rolled a piglet down the road in a solid locking trap, 50 yards, without damage to trap or piglet.
For those who like the versatility of a double door trap to work in any position or in positive sets, double door traps are not readily available and have not been promoted in ring door traps.
Agreed, armadillos and coon are without a doubt the worst on a trap, one pushing the other grabbing, in the "heavy duty class" of animals. Though rabbits, skunks, opossums and others fall into "light duty" animals, coon, armadillos and woodchucks can be really rough on the equipment. When we first set heavy framed traps for armadillos we crossed our fingers, but 17 armadillos later without issue or trap damage, we were confident we were on the right track. Coon reached through 1x1 on doors at times and pulled lock bars back until a trapper said he used 1/2 x 1 wire, which was a simple quick fix making this configuration essentially escape proof for light and heavy duty animals.
The mark of a good trap is not only trap that catches, but holds and also holds up to whatever the animal dishes out without suffering damage.
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4385474
03/18/14 02:40 PM
03/18/14 02:40 PM
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,785 Georgia
Kirk De
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,785
Georgia
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For those who like the versatility of a double door trap to work in any position or in positive sets, double door traps are not readily available and have not been promoted in ring door traps.
I tried selling ring locking doored traps with a wire trigger several years ago. Only made and sold about 60. They were cheap to make and sold them that way. Made a double door and a single door. The final proto types were very good ,but there were so many folks that had no idea how the wire trigger worked, they were not profitable to carry at the time. Just didn,t sell well. Mine were 18" tall and 12" wide. Part of the problem with a tall unpowered door was the door itself. Just too slow especially for a double door. I could have put springs on the doors but other designs have worked much better, when it comes to speed of the door closing. Even made a double catch with ring locking doors. The prototype is at my house. Even made a proto type that had springs that slid down the rail instead of rings. Just wasn,t as practical as what is available now. The reason they are liked so well has been price. Williams has had the price low and made a very good trap of that design. The difference as Jim alluded to is the versatility of other designs.
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: Dave Schmidt]
#4388595
03/20/14 09:50 AM
03/20/14 09:50 AM
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 69 Central Ohio
Dirk Shearer
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 69
Central Ohio
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Yeh, them Williams' are tough - and sublimely simple, too. Sorry you had to have that happen, Dirk; what's the rest of the vandalism story? Well, we were doing a population reduction on a property that has raccoon problems all the time. I set multiple locations throughout the property, mostly by dumpsters, wanting to hit it hard and fast. The vandal just went dumpster to dumpster. Threw about seven or eight in (the trash guys hauled them that day too ). Smashed the others. He didn't find the ones that were not by dumpsters fortunately or the loss would have been higher. Must have been a pretty big dude too, or tried to use them as a trampoline. Anyways, I salvaged what I could. There were security cameras too, but they were fakes. I was really looking forward to seeing the footage and catching the culprit. We have a couple Comstocks too and certainly like them!!! Boy would I ever hate to lose a number of them though.
Dirk E. Shearer, President The Wildlife Control Company, Inc. "Cause if you won't put your real name on it, you probably shouldn't hit send"
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: trapperjim30557]
#4389349
03/20/14 05:44 PM
03/20/14 05:44 PM
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,785 Georgia
Kirk De
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,785
Georgia
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those cat style traps will not hold up to coon well. sure one here one there, but not day in day out. I think you need to have a frame design to even be considered a coon trap. as for dillos, aint seen one up here in mn yet Most cat style cages are made with Galvanized before welded wire. You need GAW wire of good quality to be strongest. Also most put a clip every 4 inches and a ring every 4 inches. Not enough for coon in most cases, over time, on any trap. Use very good wire and clip every other inch with a ring over the first clip and where there is no clip and you won,t have problems. It prevents the seem from peeling with a rough coon. Like the picture: This is what we do. We also put a ring every inch on structure. This is a beaver trap: notice the heavy rings on side and key points. This trap is not designed for the beaver to be in the trap more than 24 hrs unless it is a drown set. The larger-taller the trap the easier the beaver is on the cage when left alive in the trap for a period of time. Same with most animals in a cage trap. That is why Vinke made a post saying just add rings. I believe he was just referring that if you can,t buy the quality, buy what you can and strengthen it up to get by until you can.
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Re: what is the best brand of live trap to buy?
[Re: Kirk De]
#4389825
03/20/14 10:06 PM
03/20/14 10:06 PM
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 56 Frankfort, Ky. USA
trapperpaw
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 56
Frankfort, Ky. USA
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I second tomahawk,comstock, kirks trap, and the williams. The tomahawk professional and Kirk's traps will adversely affect or effect whichever is correct your gas miliage but they will make sure you have the money to buy more gas. I have made trap covers out of old political signs, sheet metal etc. but I could have saved time and money buying the plastic covers from tomahawk.
Sleep'n with an animal..I can help. Do not use both feet when testing the depth or temperature of the water Your Friend, Paul Brooker
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