Fast capture stories

I know everyone got one , what is the fastest time you have caught an animal and how?

Let's hear your story and make sure to leave in all the interesting parts.

Was setting coyote traps on an old dead end road that a farmer was disposing of his dead chickens and eggs on. Set a trap close by his dropping off spot and went on down the road setting. Came back thru about 30 minutes later and had a coyote in the trap at the drop off site.
My wife and myself went and run traps about 11 one night and had a coyote in one of my traps, I put him in the cage and ran the rest of the traps. At 4 the same morning I ran traps again and had another coyote in the same trap, 2 coyotes in the same trap within 5 hours, Have not been able to do again.

This should be interesting, especially for the water trappers. I’ve read some on here that set a 330 and walked to the next spot only to hear the first set go off and see splashing. That would be cool. Waiting to read on this one…

Caught a mink in a conibear while still holding on to the trap.
Caught three muskrats in about two minutes. While holding on to trap. I had stepped into a run on the bank stuck my hand in it, got bit, quickly set trap stuffed in den promptly caught three rats, bang, bang , bang!!
The mink story is much longer and involves me screaming like a girl in a horror movie.

Tell it GUK!!

Have had that happen several times...

Caught a grey fox within an hour when setting a new property. Had to drive by that trap to get back to gate. Reset trap and had another next morning.

Caught otters (twice) before I could finish setting up a farm. Heard one of those get caught.

Watched a bobcat walk down a logging road, around a curve where I had a dirthole set I had made about an hour earlier. Switched my truck off and waited, about 150 yds away. Heard him when he got caught.

Best one was a beaver job in an 8 acre pond where I had got down to only 1 or 2 beavers left. I decided to set the lodge entrances with 330s on tall supports. Paddled out to lodge and placed the 330 down in front of most obvious entrance and fastened cable to a log. Two paddle strokes away and a big metallic swooosh!!! The wake rocked my jon boat. When the commotion stopped I paddled back up and removed a very large male.

About 15 years ago my son and I were trapping muskrats in the slough across the road from our house. It was warm enough I wasn't using gauntlets. Checked about 4 or 5 sets and got nothing and after just a couple steps along the shore I decided I wanted to move the last one I checked. Stepped back and grabbed the 110 and the stake and felt something sink its teeth into the side of my hand. I yelled to my son "Something bit me!" and pulled my hand out, tearing a small muskrat's teeth out of the side of my hand. He must have come out from under the bank and into the 110 in the couple seconds it took me to take a couple short steps. In my wildest dreams I would not have thought a muskrat had gotten in there that quick.

Checked the rest of our sets, picking up a couple muskrats, Dear Old Dad bleeding like a stuck pig. He had opened me up good so had to go to the Doc for 5 stitches.

Moosetrot

B’ver in a 330 in a run while positioning trap. Twice b’ver in under ice bank hole while setting the second hole. Many times marten on my back trail within an hour or 2 of setting

Stopped to visit with one of the landowners who was very happy with my success keeping the muskrat population down, and he mentioned the downstream neighbor was looking for someone to trap on his part of the creek.

I said sure I'll go talk to him sometime, and the first guy asked if I mined if he gave the neighbor my cell number. I said sure , and after visiting a little more went to check the sets I had already put in and add a few more.

So there I am , standing in just over the knee deep water along a beautiful overhanging bank ,that was like a muskrat super highway, with a set 1 1/2 coilspring in my hand, when my phone rings.

I set the trap down , not really where I wanted it , just on the edge of the water . Answered the call, and before he had fully introduced himself, a muskrat stepped in the trap I had just set down.

The trap might have been out of my hand for 5 seconds. luckily I had it on the drowner cable and the weight in the deep water , because I hadn't even put the top side stake in.

I told the caller, that was the neighbor, that I would call him back in a few minutes.

Took care of things, got the trapped placed where I wanted it and called the neighbor back and explained what had just happened, he laughed and said, " well ,it sounds like you're just the guy I need down here "

I have been trapping there ever since, and it is one of my best properties

Many times over the years , on both those properties, I would be setting up the first time for the season, and have a muskrat or two on the way back to the truck, in less than 30 minutes or so.

I came outta the bunkhouse ready to set traps at a ranch one time and five coyotes were standing there, paws held high, turning themselves in.
The ranch owner only thought he had 4.



I mighta dreamed this though.

Holding the coni when a rat hits it.

Walking a stream setting mink and coon traps, I saw where a hunk of dirt had slipped off the bank making a nice little trail with long grass hanging over it. I pegged in a 110 and moved about 10 yards up stream and was about to put in a blind set with a coilspring when I heard a noise and looked back there was a buck mink in the 110. He had to be right there while I was making the set and snuck through beside me in the long grass. Probably 60 seconds from set to catch.

Set a #330 in a beaver run and had a beaver in the trap before I walked away.

Couple times while trapping through the ice with 110s, I placed the trap in a muskrat run and had the trap go off in my hand while I was positioning it. Pulled it up and there was a rat in it. That happened at least 2 or 3 times when trapping through the ice near muskrat huts.

I set a #3 into a low bank trail where there were coyote tracks jumping over this little drainage through a field. Thought I’d nab one when the went over and had feet hitting that pan at full stride, blind set.
Looked easy.
Walked down the edge of field a ways to put in a dirt hole set to mix it up.
Walked back past my first set and it didn’t look right. It was only about 15 minutes after I’d set it. Had a male mink by the face and both from feet. He hit that pan and the logger trap acted like a body gripper and he didn’t even move it from the bed just killed it right there. So reset it and walked back to the truck with a mink and my fastest catch. I was laughing to myself at how cool that was.
Jim

I was setting 110s on my way out on the marsh. Only had a dozen, that took me about 50 feet out when I turned and came back. The second trap I had set had a rat in it still struggling. That was maybe 10 minutes from the time I had set it.

Trap in hand when a muskrat swam into it. It's happened twice to me both times by son was there to witness it. Most memorable of the two was when I was trying to set one of my great grandfathers traps. Old trap completely square jaws with a wire trigger that kind of wraps around the jaw and leaves an open hole for the dog. I try to set one of his a year for nostalgia. Anyway, I'm setting a lead going into the bank and this thing will not stay set. Trips every time I try to place it in the hole. I'm getting mad and my boy is laughing at me and telling me to stop messing with that old trap when I go to set it for the third time. Same result, snap. He is rolling laughing at his point and I start fussin and cussing and rip it out with a rat in it. My boy goes to hollerin and I look at him and say, "See, Pop-pop's trap has still got it."

Great stories. Thanks

Great stories...Once set a snare in a trail while trapping in S. Indiana and had a coyote in two hours.
My favorite is my first time on the beaver line with my friend Irv Schirmer...we were setting up an adc job.
I was greenhorn and Irv was helping me start out. He was showing me how he set up 330s in bank dens
using wooden lathes for stabilizers. As he was pounding a lathe in a beaver came out of the hole and got
caught between Irv's legs. I thought to myself, "This beaver trapping looks easy."

I was setting a foothold on a drowning rod for beaver. It was a mound set on a frozen lake that had begun to thaw. There was 6’-8’ of open water all around the bank. While making the set a juvenile beaver popped up on the surface several feet from me. It then swam to within an arms reach and watched me make the set. Once I finished the set I climbed up on the bank and the beaver dropped under the water. I felt a little bad about that one. I walked just out of site from the set and sat down. Within a minute or two I had caught the beaver.

I was trapping a Marsh in Oconto County Wisconsin when the Conibear in the run coming out of the Hut caught THREE different Muskrats while I was trying to set leg Holds on the trails going up onto the house. I think I kept scaring them out but do not know for sure. Another time I was deer hunting in the same County and had just set an Otter Trap in the Peshtigo Brook area and while easing away looking for deer watched and Otter walk into the Trap at a huge Pocket set baited with a can of Sardines!!

Was doing some spring ADC work for beaver and the LO took me down to a new pond he wanted me to trap. I set two 330's while he watched and then stepped back to talk with the LO. As we visited we seen a young beaver come down stream and into one of my traps. The LO was very excited about seeing this and within a few days had work from several of his neighbors.

That's what happened to me. It was late afternoon. I was in the process of making a castor set with a 330. I opened the jar of castor when a beaver popped up. He was very upset and was hissing, chirping, etc. He watched me put the 330 in front of the castor mound I had made. As soon as I stepped away. He swam right into the 330 without any hesitation.

I gotta couple of my own. This was doing ADC jobs which tend to have more chances of things like this happening. Disregarding the run in the house and grab 'X' animal jobs -

1) I was doing a gray squirrel job. On a ladder setting a positive capture trap to a chew hole in the soffett , just get the last screw holding the trap on , the squirrel pokes his head out a little bit to see what is going on , I slap the roof real hard. It scares the heck out of it and it goes right into the trap. The screwgun was in my other hand.

2) I was doing a groundhog job. I had set 4 traps in this lady's backyard. I forgot the bait and had to go home to get it. On my return , I see one of the groundhogs in the middle of the backyard and start to walk towards it to see which way it goes. It takes off. , I follow in hot pursuit. It heads right to one of my traps near a hole. It runs past the hole heading for the neighbors yard but runs right into the cage trap. I am right behind it and I slapped the door shut. Customer was watching the whole time.

3) I was doing a Norway rat job at this house. Turns out the neighbors had some large snakes and were feeding them rats that they raised. But they moved out and let the rats free which caused a problem for my customer. I was setting rat traps in the fake rock enclosures. Set one , set a second one about 5 feet away , was in the process of setting a third and I hear the first one go off. Opened it up and it was a double with 2 juivie rats in it. Customer was right there with me. We were high fiveing like we just won a football game.

I had a job removing nutria from a small 9 hole golf course. I could use conibears, or foot traps, but had to wait until dark to set, and pickup before they opened in the morning. Several times I would set several traps, turn around in my golf cart, and chase a nutria into the trap. It would take me about an hour and a half to set, then I would check all before leaving for the night. I always had two or three by then. I had a beaver swim between my legs and into a den, while I'm standing there with a 330 in my hands. No catch though.

I had a muskrat get caught by and take a 120 conibear, as I set it, out of my hand.

Keith

I watched a marten chasing a rabbit on the skidoo trail once while I was out setting marten traps.
The marten caught the rabbit and killed it in the usual way-a bite to the spinal cord behind the skull.
I ran up the trail and the marten tried to drag the rabbit to the bush line,but dropped it in the deep snow and went up a nearby spruce tree.
I picked up the rabbit,took it back to the sleigh,tore the head off it,stashed the body of the rabbit for lunch,and put the head in a marten box and wired a 120 to the box,set it and took it back the 20 yards or so to the spot where the marten dropped the rabbit.
The marten was still in the tree screaming at me once in a while.i went back to the sleigh and sat down and had a coffee from my thermos.
I waited about 10 minutes,the marten finally came down the tree went straight to the box and stuck his head in the trap.
Over the years I have watched mink and beaver get caught in traps as well as a few other marten.