ANYBODY EVER USE THE 11X11 OR 11X12 SAUVAGEAU BODY

Snare One is selling the Sauvageau bodygrip traps, and was wondering if anybody has used them, has pictures of them in use. Considering buying a #550 and a #440 and comparing them. Can't use a trap with a jaw spread 13" or over here in AK. Got a few beaver locations where the beaver shy away from any blocking, but catch them using just a #330 with two thin support sticks, figure the bigger Sauvageaus would fill up the runs better since I use no fencing.

Great traps! Have used there 220 mags and 330s mags....very impressed... I like their trigger system.

Maybe you Canadian fellers would have more info on this.

I use some of the 2001-12's and they cover a big area and are very effective traps. I like them. CD

I have one of the smaller 6 inch models and it is deadly on otter, I am planning to buy more of the Sauvageous.

They are a trap that will last you a lifetime.Also the LDL.I use mostly LDL's but I have a couple of original prototype sauvageau marten traps from 1989 That I got for a field tests on a Marten study,and the springs are as strong today as when I got them.

I have a dozen of the. 11X 12 magnums, and they are awesome. I have caught lots of beaver, some otter and a mink in them . Well made, great trigger , but pricey.

How is the trigger on the Sauvageau different than on a Duke? Never seen one, and would like to know. Would be neat to see pictures. does anybody know of U. S. stores that sale them? I've only been able to find one store in the U. S. that carries them, "Snare One".

Sterling fur and tool has them also

Dave from YouTube (Trappers World) uses them in some of his videos. He likes them. I am going to order some Sauvageau 330's from The Snare Shop and add them to my inventory.

They are extremely well made..You know you got a quality product in your hands when you pick them up.I bought 24 of them originally.one was stole the 1st week I set them.I think I had 3 empty fired traps in all the time I have had them.Taken a least 1200 hundred nusiance beaver in them with no repairs.One area I do work in a 3 inch rain raises water 12 feet as all the drains are tied into that waterbody.Those traps take a beating when they get submerged like that.Only thing I don,t like is they are speed-dipped.

They are one of those traps that are seldom empty if they are tripped. They are deadly on beaver and otter and if a muskrat or mink swims through one you will find them in the trap.

I just got 3 of the 11x12s last week and set them on some state land for a ADC beaver removal project. I think we got them all but in the process one of them was sprung and empty with the jaw bent like a C. One of the others was bent as well after a catch. I like the idea of a little larger than a 330 but I never had a 330 bent up. Seems like the jaws are too soft, at least on the run I got.
Rut

Be careful with the cable attachment clips that go on the spring. I had one pull apart on me. Luckily I caught it and pulled the trap before I caught anything in it.

Alex

Love my eleven inch sauvageaus.

My version of the last supper. I have a dozen of the 11x11 and 1 of the 11x12. Im going to pick up a few more. They pay for themselves pretty quick by all the catches they make that other traps would miss.

I really like the 11x11s it's a rare day when they are snapped and empty! I don't know how many rats I've caught buy the tail.

I am looking at getting a half dozen as well as a half dozen belisle 330's to try when I can part with the money.

Like the MB 750's, I just got to see for myself if they are as good as advertised.

I finally got some Sauvageaus, and trapped with one this past season. I purchased a new 220 to start off with, and my trapping partner and I set it for marten. It caught 4 in two months. Love the 4 way trigger on them. After the season ended, I traded a Canadian member for (3) of their 11x12's and (5) of their 160's. Looking forward to using them this coming season.

I never have gotten any. I wish I would have because I heard that the price recently skyrocketed. I believe I heard that here on Tman.

Way over priced almost 500 a dozen with the current beaver and otter prices on the fall I cant see ever profiting from the extra exspense. Im struggling to believe the belises can make up for the extra exspense

I am with you. I can buy 3 dozen Bridger 280's and have them shipped for a few dollars more or I can buy 2.5 dozen Bridger or Duke 330's for about that price. I can't see how over the life of the traps I am going to catch more fur with 12 of the Sauvageau than I will with 30 Dukes or Bridgers. I haven't handled the Sauvegeau's so I may be way off base but it is hard to believe.

Pretty much a mb 1216 except more exspensive mb 1216 379 a dozen. I own a few of the mbs but cant say I will ever have the opertunity to try the others

Yeah, it's a shame the price went up. Glad I got some before it did.

Id really like to say I own and have used them but im not holding my breath on finding any at a garage sale. I don't doubt they are a quality trap! Belise are 300 a dozen im having trouble swallowing they are 200 a dozen more capable

I wouldn't use them in water with a lot of current, as I think their touchy trigger would be prone to set the trap off, but I don't plan on using them for water sets anyway. I plan on using them on land where they will get a covered with snow in wolverine boxes, and I want the wolverine dead every time one sets the trap off, very soon after being caught. Wolverine are high dollar furs, so selling a wolverine for $300, and only making $255 because you used a Sauvageau or $265 if you used a Belisle, is a lot better than catching hair, because a wolverine pulled out out of a trap with weaker springs or a larger gap between the jaws when it's fired, or having one that's dead, but worth a lot less due to struggling for a few minutes before dying and breaking guard hairs off. Wolverine struggle more than land caught otter in a trap. I had an otter get caught in a #330 Belisle I had set on top of the ice guarding a hole that otters had been using to get under the ice, and it got suitcased, managed to pull it's head out due to having a fat butt, and went almost 100 yards away to another hole before expiring (Had it attached to a 10 foot drag pole due to their being nothing in the snow or ice to fasten it to.). That Belisle held it's butt though. Not many traps would have done that. Trapping otter on land in snow and wolverine is a whole different ball game from using conibears in open water or under ice, where the animal usually drowns if it's not caught very well; when you're trapping on land, the trap has to kill them, and if you have a weak trap that can't kill a wolverine or otter quickly, you have a good chance of damaged fur, or worst case scenario, a pull out. If you've ever skinned an otter or wolverine, you know how thick their neck muscles are. Most of the holes through the ice around here are too big for a #220 or #280, so I use a #330 for otter holes. My trapping partner and I caught two wolverine last year, both in #280 boxes. One was caught in a Bridger perfectly, right behind the skull, and struggled for a minute, possibly two before expiring, thankfully with no damaged hair, and the other was caught in a Belisle, again right behind the head, but didn't even take up the slack in the cable, it expired so quickly. I think #280's are the perfect size for otter and wolverine, as it will usually catch them right behind the head, but many times the ice hole the otter are using is too big for a #280, and several times last season wolverines circled a conibear box, but wouldn't put their heads in a #280. Going to use these Sauvageau 11x12's this coming season if that happens again. Hopefully the bigger opening will entice them to stick their head in.

That is sound reasoning.

The lions share of my otter come in just enough water to cover a 280 or even less. I try to avoid setting on dry land for otter of at all possible because of singe. Of course I am a long long ways South of Alaska and I suspect that singe from exposure to the sun is more of a problem here because of the amount of daylight and intensity of the sun along with higher air temps. I have walked up on enough otter caught on dry land that made me cringe before I get within reach of them because of obvious singe to know I want to keep them wet if at all possible down in these southern latitudes.

The majority of the otter I catch in the Bridger 280's barely move the trap at all. I have caught a couple by the tail in them and they were there waiting. I was planning on trying the Belisles and the Sauvegeau for a fair comparison. I will still try the Belisles but I can't ever see myself outfitting myself with 10 or 12 dozen of them. I guess I won't know until I try them. I still may order a few of the sauvegeau traps just for a fair comparrison. Man it would be a kick in the stomach to arrive to a set to find one of those things swiped.

As a few members here are fond of pointing out, you don't know what you don't know. And I want to know.

Not to change the post topic just thinking out loud here....Shane what is the difference in having an otter on land alive or/dead and having an otter ride in the the back of the truck for hours until you get home to process? AND then after ...skinning... place otter on beam them on a board?? Confused on singe///help

Your otter are singed before you catch them. And that's a fact.

Any otter trapper with any experience know that Shane is spot on.
Any raw otter left in strong sunlight or near any other dry heat source will singe.
Otter fur is prone to singe because of the cross section of the guard hair-it is flat not round like other animals.
Otter fur will singe naturally in late winter from exposure to the stronger sunlight,as well as wear and tear over the winter.

Some are. Some are singed after they are caught too. Guaranteed. I made the mistake a few times of turning a very nice straight haired otter into a singed frizzy haired mess by letting them ride in the back of the truck on relatively warm sunny days. Not anymore.



Not much difference in one being caught dry in the sun and one riding in the back of the truck unprotected. That is why I keep them damp even in the back of the truck and they are always covered.

I keep them damp during skinning and fleshing as well.

Let two otter or otter pelts dry to the touch in a cool dark place. Dampen one and leave the other dry and set them in the sun. You'll see the difference. Or you could just keep one wet and covered in the back of the truck while the other one is not.

Thanks guys ...good info...still haven't caught one but this info will surely help when I do.

Wrap them in a wet towel as soon as they are removed from the trap.. Beautiful fur Mike. I can trap 1 a season woopy

Thanks 'gbus...saw sign two years late in the season...set it up heavy...nothing.

Waiting is the hardest part, coarse Iv'e only caught 3 so I ain't no expert LOL

Set a few 100 beaver sets and the otter will be there.

WE have otter In the north but nothing like In the south. Here In WI we may get 1 otter tag but In the south there unlimited. I have never applied for a tag here In WI. I've trapped my share In the south.
Best 2 months were when I caught 82. And that was during the $140.00 average years.

You would have to work 3 or 4 avg size rtl's here to catch 80 otter.

There are more otter here on the Lower Yukon in the tundra lakes along the Yukon than anywhere else in Alaska I've trapped. And there are a lot in Florida. They are my favorite animal to trap that lives in both places.

They are my favorite too. I would love to trap a wolverine.

Don't tell people that...they'll buy my stock out !

Yes, 550 , have 'em, use 'em, love em !