Foot Hold Traps for Muskrats - #1 vs #1.5

[HunterDave]

I have to buy some traps for my floater boards and I want to go with footholds so I can use them in push ups during the winter. From talking to fellas and from what I've read on here, the Sleepy Creek #1.5 long spring traps seem to be the most popular. I checked Halford's and they cost $16.15 each if you buy 12 or more.

Halford's also has Duke #1 long spring traps but they only cost $8.55 each for 12 or more. I know that I'd have to add some weight to the trap to make sure that the rat stays under water, but at half the price of a Sleepy Creek #1.5, it's not an issue to me.

Are those Dukes any good or are they just going to cause me grief?

Are there other options that I should consider?

I think that I know what I should do but I'd like to cover all bases before I spend my money. Thanks.

[6tmile]

I have been using 1.5's Duke long spring for quite a few years now on rats, They work good. A couple I had to tweek the pans on, but for the price they work great. I picked up 3 dozen Duke #1 coil springs NIB at a garage sale a couple of weeks ago for 20 bucks for all of them. Her husband passed on a few years ago and she didnt need them. She was also complaining about how there was to many yotes on her farm. I now have free range on 6 quarters of land for hunting and trapping.

[6tmile]

Double post.

[nube]

If I was to do it over again I would do stop loss for in the huts. They are heavier and can tangle up better and if by chance they do not drown then you won't have an wring offs. I know after this last year of hitting rats real hard I will be doing very limited amount of hut trapping if I can help it. The only huts I plan on are the small shallow sloughs where die off will happen anyways. I plan on hitting the open water hard when I can and once things freeze up it is coyote time

[6tmile]

Originally Posted by nube

If I was to do it over again I would do stop loss for in the huts. They are heavier and can tangle up better and if by chance they do not drown then you won't have an wring offs. I know after this last year of hitting rats real hard I will be doing very limited amount of hut trapping if I can help it. The only huts I plan on are the small shallow sloughs where die off will happen anyways. I plan on hitting the open water hard when I can and once things freeze up it is coyote time

That is so true nube. I also dont do huts much at all unless the land owner wants them all gone. I find I have better luck putting a drowning set through the ice on one side or another baited with carrots or orange surveyor ribbon. I bought an old 8'' eskimo ice auger for this and it works great.

[bill9044]

I am the same boat as nube I don't hit the huts I wait til open water and giver. If you screw up and don't seal the hut really well it freezes then you lose some of the rats that have been living in there. Yes they can move into another hut but everyone has seen in the hide an over crowded slough. Those cute little fur balls are mean.

[HunterDave]

Great suggestion about the stop loss, Nube.....I hadn't even thought about them. I see that Halford's has Duke #1 long spring stop loss traps for $11 each if you buy 12 or more.

Does anyone know if I'll have the same issue with having to add weight to the trap as I would with a regular #1 long spring trap?

I have a large slew/lake that I'm going to trap rats at in the Fall with float sets, colony and submarine traps. I think that it'd be hard to even put a dent into the rat population but I'll leave it alone and not trap there again until the Spring.

During the winter I have about 2 kms of lakefront on Lac Ste Anne to trap push ups and there are a lot of them. I have a trailer to stay in out there and so far I have permission on 6 quarters of land to set snares for coyotes.

I'm not sure if I'll even be able to trap push ups but I'd like to have that option after I'm done using them on my float sets. Maybe I'll suck at snaring coyotes and instead of spending my time skinning them, I'll be trapping push ups for rats.......LOL!

[nube]

I find in huts that it is not just the weight that keeps a rat from drowning. I am not 100% on this but with all the weeds they either don't dive or just climb back up. Sometimes the chain just gets caught up on weeds on the way down and doesn't give them enough length. In those cases you will loose half of them from wring offs. With Stop loss no worries on it and they will drown if they get down and if not then you will still have them with no loss. The trap will pay for itself trust me. One thing you need to make is I have a lone shovel handle and on the end a 3 prong garden hand rake which I welded an extra prong on. When I opened a house I would clean the dive hole out and also as deep as I could go under the water. I use the wet weeds from this to fill the hole I dig to get into the hut as it will freeze and be the best to not freeze the inside of the hut. This also makes it easier for a chain not to catch up on weeds and provides deep water for a rat to drown fast. It works for me.

[HunterDave]

Thanks Nube! I think that I'll go with the Duke #1 stop loss traps then. I'll just attach a little bit of weight on the trap to make sure that they stay under water. They are mainly for my float sets but I might as well get something that works well in push ups.

[H380]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

Great suggestion about the stop loss, Nube.....I hadn't even thought about them. I see that Halford's has Duke #1 long spring stop loss traps for $11 each if you buy 12 or more.

Does anyone know if I'll have the same issue with having to add weight to the trap as I would with a regular #1 long spring trap?

I have a large slew/lake that I'm going to trap rats at in the Fall with float sets, colony and submarine traps. I think that it'd be hard to even put a dent into the rat population but I'll leave it alone and not trap there again until the Spring.

During the winter I have about 2 kms of lakefront on Lac Ste Anne to trap push ups and there are a lot of them. I have a trailer to stay in out there and so far I have permission on 6 quarters of land to set snares for coyotes.

I'm not sure if I'll even be able to trap push ups but I'd like to have that option after I'm done using them on my float sets. Maybe I'll suck at snaring coyotes and instead of spending my time skinning them, I'll be trapping push ups for rats.......LOL!

Check Dakotaline again for traps .. $69.95 US / dozen ..these guys are hard to beat .Thanx again to AO member northbuck for sending me there way .

[nube]

Dave I get all my leg holds on the Trapperman forum. If you watch for a week or 2 you can get a steal of a deal on some traps especially now that the fur prices have dropped. I got 4 dozen #1 victors from one guy for $3.50 a trap. I saw some stop loss on there the other day I think if I remember right. I also tried a #3 last year in a hut. I know they are a bit big but I caught a rat and it sunk no problem. #2 jump traps would be perfect and used are very cheap as well. Perfect for a float set as well. Just some thoughts

[HunterDave]

Is this the ad that you saw, Nube?

"40 victor #1 long spring stoploss rectangle pans. All in working condition. Traps need to be dyed. $5.50 each plus flat rate shipping."

I checked on the shipping cost from NY and it looks like it cost about $55 to ship. That comes out to $8.25/trap shipped if I don't get hit with Customs duty.
I didn't see much of a savings on buying #1 leg hold traps in the US and getting them shipped vs buying them at Halfords.

Now I have to make a decision. A #1 Duke Stop Loss at Halfords will cost me $11 + gst. I'm thinking that I might just as well buy them and be done with it.

Any last words of advice before I pull the trigger on this purchase?

[john316]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

I have to buy some traps for my floater boards and I want to go with footholds so I can use them in push ups during the winter. From talking to fellas and from what I've read on here, the Sleepy Creek #1.5 long spring traps seem to be the most popular. I checked Halford's and they cost $16.15 each if you buy 12 or more.

Halford's also has Duke #1 long spring traps but they only cost $8.55 each for 12 or more. I know that I'd have to add some weight to the trap to make sure that the rat stays under water, but at half the price of a Sleepy Creek #1.5, it's not an issue to me.

Are those Dukes any good or are they just going to cause me grief?

Are there other options that I should consider?

I think that I know what I should do but I'd like to cover all bases before I spend my money. Thanks.

I use Duke 1.5 coil they are heaver than the long spring so they bring the rat to the bottom and keep them there

[HunterDave]

Thanks! I purchased Duke #1 long spring stop loss traps. So far, no issues with them.