No animals do that it is a long standing myth. Only raccoons chew and its on the toes below the trap jaws where they have went numb.

Some animals, muskrats mainly, twist around in the traps if held alive and will twist out but, they DO NOT chew their leg off.

~ADC~

ADC, thanks for pointing that our to our young trapper friend here.

And jimby is right. I read the artciles and books of probably one of the greatest mink trappers of all time and he has a very simple philosphy: KISS. Not the the metal band, but this: Keep It Simple Stupid! It's genious.

Now, I don't want a big ol' debate here, but I'll throw a few pointers out for the blind sets: 1. Look for natural pockets. Put a trap or two on each side. 2. A culvert is an AWESOME set. All you need is a 110 or if theirs water deep enough to drown a mink the simple 1 1/2 coil is perfect. 3. Grassy trails leading from bridges is a good spot too. Placing a 160 in the trail is great. 4. Fallen logs across strams are not only hot spots for coon, but also mink, so place a 160 there.

Bait theft: My experience tells me,that small rodents, coon and shrews clean out pockets. I heve never dug a pocket deeper than a foot, so coon may be reaching in and stealing my bait. But Its not worth worrying about,After putting bait in a hole the smell will linger intill you re-bait. Mink can get in and out of pockets without getting caught and might take the bait.

Great photos...ack

Ack, those photos remind me of my tapping area, I just love seeing those dirty trails through the snow. Are you doing anything to keep your 110 from freezing to the ground?