Edward Snow from
Porcupine Mountain, NB shows that a Moose has so much more
value than a good steak. He found the young bull abandoned as
a calf and raised it along with his draft horses. He
experimented working it along side of and training it with his
horses. The moose, named "Grunt" now outperforms the horses in
weight pulling ability. Next summer, Mr. Snow plans on
entering "Grunt" in some of the local horse pulls around the
region.
All right.......it
was starting to be a pretty good story, but we'll level with
you. It is actually a fake picture. Somebody with some darn
good graphic skills and maybe just a little too much time on
their hands created the picture by using several images put
together. But, we thought it was pretty neat just the same and
thought we'd include it here.
Removing Oil From New Traps
To remove oil &
grease from new traps, soak them in a mixture of vinegar &
water for several days. Remove them from the mixture and let
them sit outside for a few days. They will take on a light
coating of rust and be perfect for dyeing or dipping.
Destroying The Myth Video
The National Trappers
Association's video, Destroying the Myth, explodes the heart
of the anti-trapping strategy by exposing it as false. Now you
can watch the video by clicking on the play button below.
Do you wear gloves when pelting
and handling fur? As much as we like to think trappers are a
tough breed, wearing disposable latex or vinyl gloves make
sense. Years ago, it was never even thought of to wear any
kind of gloves for skinning and preparing pelts. But, as
biologists, scientists and health officials learned more about
diseases that fur bearing animals can carry, trappers started
to think maybe the idea wasn't so bad after all. When you
think about rabies, raccoon roundworm, sarcoptic mange,
distemper and a host of other diseases that are common in
furbearers, it kind of makes a person wonder how they have
managed to avoid coming in contact with them before now.
If you ever have a chance to take
an intensive information session on wildlife diseases, jump on
the chance. Guaranteed, it will really open your eyes and make
you re-think skinning bare handed. A box of disposable gloves
usually runs around $10 and contains 50 pairs, pretty cheap
health insurance when it comes right down to it.
Night Latching To Tune Your Traps
Just like you can tune your
vehicle for better performance, it is also possible to tune
your traps to perform better. Adding a Night Latch to your
restraining traps can improve several aspects of trap
performance. It decreases pan travel so that the trap fires
sooner, giving a hair trigger effect but still maintains the
pan tension so it does not go off prematurely. It also makes
it much easier to get the pan to sit level...every time the
trap is set. Thirdly, it makes the trap work so much crisper
when it fires.
The modification can be done very
easily with a vice and a flat metal file.
Place the pan of the trap in the
vice to hold it firm and steady. Experiment with different
positions until you get it placed in such a way that you can
comfortably file the notch. You shouldn't even have to remove
the pan from the trap.
Just above the regular notch in
the pan, gently file a notch 1/16 of an inch deep and 1/16 of
an inch high. That's all you need. File very lightly, the
metal will come of much easier than you think and it is easy
to ruin the pan.
Place the dog in the vice with the
end pointing straight up. File an angle on the end of the dog
with the bottom side of the dog being the short side. 30
degrees works well. Be sure to file the angle square and
straight. Before filing, check to make sure you have the angle
pointing the correct way. If need be, use a pencil or marker
for a reference.
Set the trap to test the night
latch. If you place the dog in the original notch, then gently
pull down on the pan, you should hear it click into place.
When it clicks, it is ready to set.
If the pan still sits a little
high, using a pair of vice grips or slip joint pliers to close
the curl on the trap dog slightly will lengthen the dog,
making the pan sit lower.
The diagram below is for reference
purposes. A standard pan and notch is shown in the top image
with the night latched pan at the bottom.
Ever Wonder How Beaver Pelts Are
Dressed?
Click the Video below to see what
happens to your beaver pelts after they are sold.