The Grizz Trap is 20 years old today.

On December 3rd 1998, the 7 prototype Lil' Grizz Get'rz DP Traps each held their first coon. After testing for 7 days, ended up with 47 coon. What turned out to be solution to a problem I had faced on the coon line ended up with the possibility of maybe this DP trap might well work for other trappers as well. To say the Grizz Trap concept was a success is an understatement. The Grizz Trap design ushered a new way to trap coon 20 years ago and it is still great to see that the concept that I came up with is still going strong today. Thanks to everyone that made the Grizz Trap such a success.

Gary

Nice mile stone

It's still a great trap!

Happy Birthday

Only ones i have, or will use!

Seen your demonstration at the Illinois convention up somewhere north of Bellville or Collinsville Illinois area. Still going!!

I put cat food in one Saturday night, had a coon waiting for me Sunday morning! Great design.

never forget the first time i seen one at trapper conv maybe minnesota or iowa.. anyway i picked one up and gave it a little squeeze and said man must need some kinda setter... the lady behind counter grabbed it and said heres how ya do it and set it... lol i could have crawled in a hole... if ya put some effort to it ya could set it...

I don't think it's hyperbole to say the Grizz revolutionized coon trapping. Years ago, I bought a bunch from some ole boy in Loose Creek, and it totally changed my methodology.
Thank you, Gary.

This type of trap made a coon trapper out of everyone.

Gary
Thank you for what you have done for coon trapping. This trap has opened many doors for trappers all over this nation to areas that could not be trapped without using cage traps.
The time it has saved is also remarkable. As much as I loved water trapping I love dry land trapping coon much more.
Your trap will go down as one of the greatest for coon. IMHO

I remember well the adds , when it was coming to market and remember the first ones I seen at an NTA convention, seems like yesterday but it sure wasn’t lol

This makes me feel old.

. X2!!

How cool! Certainly will have it's place in trapping history along with Frank Conibear and Oneida Victor/Newhouse who revolutionized trapping. Quite an accomplishment. Thanks

Gary -

I want to personally thank you for not only your contribution to trapping but also to research and wildlife management. You were instrumental in me obtaining my MS with your traps for development in my thesis about 14 years ago. As well, you provided the equipment and knowledge for much of the BMP research at the time and allowed trapping to expand with new methods that proved to take into consideration animal welfare. I have never asked but often wondered how often you worked with Dave Hamilton and the rest of the research folks and believe you even had the trap approved for use in Canada. If you would ever like to give us a historical account - I am sure I am not the only one who would like to hear it.
Thanks again,
Keith Donaldson

Bought one of the first ones sold at the Mansfield Ohio NTA convention Still have one, Still have the Tshirt they gave out if you bought a Doz. traps. Great trap wish I had more.

Thank you Keith and everyone who posted on this thread.

Since it has been 20 years, I will give a historical account how, when and why the Grizz Trap was invented. Dave Hamilton played a part in the Grizz Trap timeline. Will take a little time to remember everything and get it posted here on T-man.

It all started in the mid 1980's. ...

Gary

Crazy thing ive seen with them is here in the deep south more deer hunters use them than trappers, never thought id live to see the day deer hunters turned into trappers, they use to hate us, lol.

Just wish they had been invented 40 years ago instead of 20! Id be retired now!

I remember the fur boom of the late 70's early 80's. Everyone around my neck of the woods had either dogs or traps. When the season was on, talk at school was how many coon you trapped or run with dogs that past evening. There were plenty of clashes between trappers and coon hunters each trying to do their thing. Coon trapping was simple fish on a stick or slap and go sets, very few pocket sets were made. Traps of choice for coon was any trap that would stay set. I started out with 1.5 longsprings, graduated to 1.5 coils then later on to #11 dbl's. The majority of water sets were staked solid at the waters edge or wired off to tree roots and such. Trapping info was local furbuyers, Fur - Fish - Game or The Trapper. Al Gore hadn't invented the Internet yet......

There was no such thing as catch and release back then either, a good silver possum was worth $11 green.

More to come....

Yeah Gary, you start talking about those times and as much as I loved trapping and the fur business its remembering all the special people I got to know because fur had value that makes the whole thing one of the most important parts of my life. I'm sure you and many others feel much the same way. The story of your remarkable contribution to trapping and wildlife management is a true American success saga. I remember well when MiltonLiesemeyer first told me in his fur shed that Chuck Boelkes had told him about a whiz bang coon trap one of his helpers had come up with. The rest is history! Thanks for the ride, God willing coon fur will someday shine again!

Awesome and they keep on catching. Congrats Getrz

Congrats Gary! Very people have had the impact on trapping that you have. You should be very proud!

Jayme

Congrats Gary! My friends Jim and Joel up here kind of got me into trying the trap. I was ahead of the curb using them when most trappers were still skeptical of their coon catching ability . What a great invention I consider you The Godfather of DP trapping and everyone else followed

Congrat's, Gary. Your trap is a great achievement. I started trapping about a decade ago when my twin boys were 8 or 9. I bought a few dozen Grizz traps when they were $240/dozen. You then helped me with some info and product for magazine articles, etc., and were wonderful to work with and I always appreciated your help getting me and my boys into trapping. I've bought more since, and trap a fair amount of public land setting at least 4 or 5 dozen on a long weekend. I can sleep easy knowing that trap is specific enough to avoid problems with other public land users and I love trapping coons. Your trap has helped trappers be able to use them in areas where other traps just wouldn't work for fear of non-target catches. For that, all trappers should thank you. I certainly do!!! Great job and great trap!!!

Thanks for making them. I still use my old ones and they are my favorite. Great trap and super quality.

Milton Liesemeyer was a very good man. He spoke in a soft voice and always had a good story to tell when he brought a load of coon to get put up at B & B Fur. Milton was warmly called " Uncle Milt" by the crew at B & B. Had a lot of respect for Milton and still get reminded of him when I drive by his old place off of Hwy 50. Chuck Boelkes was my Mentor. I worked for Chuck for 20 years....will never forget the good times....will never forget Chuck either.


On to the story....

The late 1980's I changed over to using drowners for coon as I was working full time at a regular job and didn't want to deal with dispatching live coon. My use of using 1.5 coils and staking at the waters edge left a lot of desire in regards to animal welfare.....that was one reason for changing to drowners. The early 1990's were a turning point for me. First change was converting over to #11 dbl's for coon. Trap change was due in part to plenty of local coon hunters....I got along with the majority of them and their biggest concern was of course....catching their dogs. Once I showed them the small jaw spread of the #11, most of the guys thought it was okay. I had to make coon sets along waterways next to deep water and pinch points that dogs would go around but coon could go through. Everything worked fine....it's really fun to dig pocket sets under root wads in a canoe above deep drop offs. Pocket sets for coon worked great....as long if it wasn't raining or if the water level didn't change much or you didn't have to deal with backwater from the Missouri River. Weather, water and ground conditions when making pocket sets a person just delt with. Pocket maintenance was a daily ritual.

In early 1993 I read an article in the T&PC that changed everything. ...

More to come.......

Gary