green
HOME
ABOUT US
NEWS
ORDER INFORMATION
PRODUCT STORE
TRAPPING
PHOTOS
VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS
SPECIALS
INDUSTRY LINKS
CONSERVATION LINKS
TESTIMONIALS
2011-2012 CATALOG
PRODUCT REVIEWS

sep
Online Shopping lock

sep


sep
Privacy Policy
Shipping Info


sep
Thank you for shopping
Minnesota Trapline
Products online! We
appreciate your loyalty!


 Minnesota Trapline Products, Inc. Trapping Tips

Trap Preparation

Generally, all traps need to be cleaned of their factory oils. A few common ways to do this is to rinse them off with a pressure washer, taking them to the car wash, or putting them in a dishwasher. The next step would be to let the trap sit out in the yard to begin the rusting process. If you would like to hurry this process along you can soak the traps overnight in a bucket of water and vinegar or salt water. After the traps have rusted you will want to dip or dye the traps. If you are a water trapper you may want to use a dip as it gives a bit harder protective coat and will decrease the time it takes for the traps to rust again. Land trappers mostly use a dye because it is mixed with water instead of gas therefore there is less smell on the traps. Most trappers choose to wax their traps because it protects the traps from the moisture that causes traps to rust and it also provides a lubricant that will let the trap fire faster. Body grip traps should not be waxed because it makes the traps hard to handle and there is a better chance it could go off when trying to set it. Below to the left is a picture of dying traps using the red logwood powder. Below right is a photo of waxing freshly dyed traps.

Minnesota Trapline Products Trap Tips Minnesota Trapline Products Trap Tips




Staking Systems

Picking a staking system is very important. You need to pick a staking system that will be efficient for you and suitable for your trap line. There are three major kinds of staking systems. The "disposable" stake, rebar stakes, and drags. We carry several styles of "disposable" stakes. Minnesota Trapline Products is the sole distributor of Fox Hollow's Super Stake and Finned Super Stakes. The benefits of the Super Stakes are that they are light weight and have optimal holding power. We strongly suggest using these for large animals but they work great for all species. While the Super Stakes and Finned Super Stake fit into the "disposable" stake category, we pull, retrieve, and reuse nearly 100% of them. Another advantage of the Fox Hollow stakes is that they act as a strong trap theft deterrent. Unless a trap thief has a bolt cutter or the proper tools they will not be able to steel your trap. The cheapest way to use the Fox Hollow Super Stakes and Finned Super Stakes is to attach cable to them. While this is the cheapest method you are stuck with driving every stake to the same depth to avoid having a cable stub stick up. If you are always trapping in the same area with the same soil type this will not pose a problem for you. We trap several states with vastly different soil types and want one system to work in all areas so that we are not redoing our staking system before every trip. Our choice is to attach 16" of American made #2 chain to our Fox Hollow stakes. Starting from the stake end we attach the stake end to the chain with a mighty hook and weld the mighty hook. On the other end of the chain we attach a crunch proof swivel and weld the J-Hook shut. This system allows us to put the stake end 16" down in loam or sand and yet only go to a depth of 10" in the heavy red clay of the south. If we hit a rock at say 12" in Minnesota we can quit and our chain will lay flat in the trap bed whereas with 16" of cable we would have a 4" stub sticking up.

The other types of "disposable" stakes that we carry are the Berkshire stakes and the Pogostick Anchors. The Berkshire Stakes come with three different type of ends; standard, heavy duty, and soft ground. Both the Berkshire and the Pogo Anchors are very fast, cheap, and light weight. Good for fox and coon. Another type of anchoring system is a drag. Drags are good for hard ground that you can't get a stake into, keeps the animal from tearing up the set, and gives the animal the chance to move which keeps them away from the eyes of other humans.

The last type of staking system that we carry is the rebar stake. Rebar comes in different sizes and we also offer a size with a T-top. Rebar is very convenient for water trapping, especially the T-bar Stakes. Another plus about rebar, is that they are compatible with most swivels located at the end of the traps chain. You may want to consider treating your staking systems like you have done to your traps. This will keep them from rusting as well. Below is one of multiple options people can choose for staking.

The option below is a chain stake with a spot welded mightyhook. You can add this to the existing trap chain, we recommend using a HD swivel like the Crunch Proof. If using this method you may want to add shock spring for power displacement absorption.

Minnesota Trapline Products Trap Tips




Trap Tagging

Trap tags are a law for most states. We offer two different types of trap tags. One of those being write your own trap tags. These trap tags are a thin metal that you can write your information on with a pencil. The other type of trap tag is the imprinted copper trap tag. These tags are made of copper and have your information stamped into them by a printer. Before you order make sure the type of tag and the information you are putting on the tag is legal in the state you are trapping in. Each state has different laws and the information can be found at the states' Department of National Resources website. Below shows the imprinted trap tags and two options of how to attach them.

MTP Traps

MTP Snaring

Minnesota Trapline Products Trap Tips


Other Traping Links:
Copyright Minnesota Trapline Products, Inc. Website Design by E*Tap Marketing. Contact Us | Order Information | Shipping | Site Map | Privacy Policy
green