First catch of the season...

[Coulter]

Not the greatest catch ratio (2 out of 14 traps) but its a start Just a couple smaller sized coon.




And the final result...the one on the left was a small male and still pretty blue...the oone on the right is a little bigger but female. She is a little bit ahead in the primeness stage as you can see from the color of the leather


I love this time of year
Steve

[FinsnFur]

Yeah the ones a tad blue aint it.
You sure did a nice job of cleaning em up

Keep em coming, I'm lovin it.

[centerfire_223]

All right you trappers, I have always wanted to learn how to trap and I have bought about a dozen traps. Most of them are Victors ranging in sizes 1 1/2 to maybe 3, I haven't looked at them in a year. What my first question is, how do I get them ready for setting. Right now they are rusty looking, not frozen up rusty but just a brown color.

I was wanting to make a small line behind my house and let my son work it with me.

[Coulter]

Thanks Jim...I take a lot of pride in how my fur is put up. Not much we can do about the little blues though. If I wait longer to set steel I run the risk of being snowed out in this neck of the woods. I got two more today, just a couple more small ones. I have to find them big ones, I klnow they're out there. I left the camera at home due to a nasty rain snow mix.

CF223...It sounds likle your traps are right where you want them to be...with a light rust. There a lot of things you could do with those traps, but there is one thing you should do - get yourself some logwood crystals or speed dip and get a good coating on them to protect them from further rust. You could also use sumac, or walnut hulls or a variety of other material to accomplish this. Then comes the decision to wax or not. With speed dip it is not necessary, but you will need to allow plenty of time for the traps to dry. There are a lot of other variables to consider as well, but I'm not saure what your target species is or are. Shoot me a PM if you need anymore help.

Steve

[nailbender]

 Keep 'em coming Coulter! My camera took a dump so I might not have any pics for awhile.  Got some out today.
   
    Centerfire those 1 1/2's aren't gonna get any rustier underwater,  set 'em. Too late for the fancy stuff now. Can't catch anything in the shed!

[centerfire_223]

I am planning on giving it a try, but our season doesn't open until January 1. So I still have some time to get things together.

[nailbender]

  Didn't realize you were so far south.  You've got plenty of time to tune 'em up and dye and wax then. We'll probably be knee deep in snow by then.

[MELSDAD]

Thanks for the pictures, that is a very neat looking skinnin' job you did there.

[northern coyote]

you split the tails?

[Coulter]

Absolutely...the inside of the tail needs to dry as well. If you don't split it they will rot.

Steve

[Buckrun]

Man those are nice looking. I wish I could figure out how to get mine that square on the bottom. I am getting close though.

I got 1 coon and 2 possum this morning. Remade a bunch of sets that were hit and missed catching. I now have 2 sets out for fox. But it has been raining all day so don't have a lot of hope they will catch anything tonight.

Steve

[northern coyote]

ah, I gotcha, I always just split low enough to tug the tail bone through, course I just roll'm up in a bag and put'm in the freezer before sale too

[OKTrap]

Congrats ...