My father introduced me to the art of trapping when I was just 10 years old. I remember walking the edges of rivers checking the sets that he had made and seeing him bring home red and gray fox. When I was 12, I took a safety course and got my trapping license. The first year my father did most of the work setting the traps, while I did the baiting. As years went by he stopped trapping but I continued and by definition am now a professional. Whenever I had the chance to trap where someone else was setting, I studied their sets and made mental notes of what worked and what didn’t. I was offered an opportunity in my teens to trap raccoon with a neighbor who was very well known for his trapping ability. The first year I trapped with him, I caught ten raccoon. He later showed me some sets for trapping beaver. In this article I will share some knowledge with those interested in trapping furbearers. Many of these furbearers can be used as a meat source too, with proper cleaning and cooking. Before trapping make sure you have a valid trapping permit and check local laws regarding which baits are permissible to use.
We will first discuss small and easy game, the muskrat. These little critters are pretty easy to catch and offer both source of food and soft fur. The easiest way to locate muskrats is to search along muddy creek or pond banks. Muskrat make a 6” diameter hole into the bank for their den. In ponds with fallen trees or stumps they will often make a house out of dead grasses, reeds and pond scum. I have found that muskrat dens are much easier to trap than houses. If you locate a den, house, or run where you can clearly see that they are swimming, you can set a fast and easy connibear trap. Connibear traps are the fastest and most humane way to catch and dispatch animals. Connibears used underwater will grip the body of the animal and hold it, allowing the animal to drown in a short time. I try not to use connibears on land as they most generally will kill anything that gets in them, including animals not intended to be caught. As mentioned earlier I find muskrat houses difficult to trap because of deep water, difficulty in locating there entrances and the possibility of scaring them off. I will often set leg hold traps to catch these house living muskrats when they are on floating logs they use for a toilet, or under a tree they use for a feed bed. A feed bed will usually be found under an overhang, in tall grasses, or under a tree so that they will be protected from flying predators. Feed beds will be located in shallow water normally at the water’s edge and will look like mowed grasses. I find apples make great bait for muskrats and often you’ll find slides and runs under apple trees along rivers and ponds.
Muskrat are skinned in a tub fashion. Make a slit from their inner leg to the vent, then make a ring around the tail. Make another cut from the underside of the tail to the vent. You can then simply work the fur down toward the head, pulling and cutting. When skinning take care not to pull too hard on the muskrat as you may rip his stomach open. Use your knife to cut the tissue holding the skin to his body. When you get to the front legs, just pull them through, and the skin will tear, leaving little leg holes. Once to the head you will have to cut holes for the ears and eyes. Once you are done skinning, stretch the fur by placing it on a commercial metal wire stretcher or on a homemade wood stretcher. The meat from muskrat can be used like beef as they are herbivores. I prefer to grind it and cook it.
The next water-dwelling furbearer I would like to discuss is the beaver. Many of the same principles of trapping muskrat apply to beaver. Beaver also make dens and houses. Their houses are made of mud and sticks. In my state it’s illegal to set a trap within 25 feet of a house. The connibears for beaver are much bigger, and special care should be taken when setting them. If you get caught in the trap, you will not get out on your own. Never fasten a large trap until you have finished your set, in case you get caught and need to go for help. You can set connibears in runs (large muddy cuts in the river or pond bottom), and in front of dens (again in my state if the den has sticks on top it’s considered a house). Leg hold or pan traps can be set where beaver enter and exit the water. You can bait beaver with poplar tree branches.
To make this set drive several fresh cut 3”-4” diameter sticks in the bank where water is shallow. Put smaller branches behind the larger sticks. Using a knife peel some bark away from the sticks so the scent of the poplar sap can be picked up by the beaver. Push two sticks into the bank in a “V” shape parallel the water so to guide the beaver into the trap. I will usually place a small rock in front of my trap (beaver swim with the legs facing backward, when they bump into the ground, they place both front feet down to support themselves), by placing the rock you can be assured the beaver will bump it and place his feet in your trap. Otherwise you may just catch his chest hair and educate him.
When using flat/pan traps you need to make drowning sets, as beavers will simply chew off your stake and leave with your valuable trap. I make a wire slide using a 90 degree bent washer with a hole drilled in one side. You need to position the washer so when pulled down the wire it will slide freely but when pulled backward it will bind and not slide. Stake the wire to the bank on one end with a metal post. You can use cement blocks, a burlap bag filled with rocks or any other means for the other end but make sure the deep end of the slide is at least 3” deep and heavy enough a beaver cannot pull it out. I once walked up on a livid 55-pound beaver that had pulled my drowning set up onto the bank. Every tree, shrub and piece of grass in a 6’ diameter had been chewed, spit on and put in a pile that he was sitting on top of as if to say, “I dare you to mess with me!” To dispatch a live beaver I prefer a .22 short out of my H&R 9-shot revolver. The .22 Short bullets enter the skull but do not exit and does less damage to the pelt and in a survival situation less damage to the meat.
Beaver will often have fleas so keep them away from your body and dogs. I place mine in a contractor style garbage bag followed by a three-day deep freeze in my chest freezer before skinning them. You can also use flea and tick spray by spraying it into the bag and then sealing the bag. Beaver are skinned differently than muskrats. To skin beaver, ring their tail then lay them on their back. Make a single cut from head to tail and peal the skin around to the back side. Once you’re past the legs hang the beaver by his tail and work the skin off the back. The back has a lot of gristle and works hard. To process beaver you need to flesh them out by removing the fats and meat from the skin. Then stretch in a circular pattern on a piece of plywood. Cook beaver similar to beef, they are an herbivore as well.
Raccoon will be the final animal I’ll discuss. They are a curious animal and are relatively easy to catch on land and water. I prefer to trap hillside seeps (wet springs) and river bottoms. I use natural cubbies such as uprooted trees, or stack stones to make a cubby. If trapping along a stream with a high muddy bank, I make a pocket hole cubby by digging a 10” diameter hole at a 15 degree upward angle. Use your hand to smooth the entrance of the pocket cubby so it looks like something has been using it. For bait I use Jack Mackerel, a marshmallow and some homemade fish oil. To make the oil I place several small feeder fish chopped into 1” chunks into a old jar. Leave the jar in direct sunlight with the lid on loose (this allows for the oil to outgas, keeping it bug free). When baiting my set I place a spoonful of meat on a rock in the back of the cubby then make a small hole in the top of the marshmallow with your pinky finger. Put your fish oil in the center of the marshmallow (this keeps the oil from evaporating or running off the rock) the white marshmallow servers as a visual attractor to the raccoon. You can also use Jello powder at sets to draw in a raccoon and make him work the set more giving you increased time to catch him. I place a pan trap in the entrance of the cubby or pocket hole (preferable covered by 1” of water). If no water is available take care where you kneel and what you touch so your human scent is not left behind. Cover with leaves or a thin lay of dirt. Fasten your trap with wire to a drag so they can get away from the set without destroying it. I have used some set locations for several years allowing them to look more natural over time. I have also just placed a pan trap in shallow water with a piece of aluminum foil over the pan.
Raccoon are curious and grab for the shiny object (make that 102 uses for aluminum foil). Raccoon can also be trapped in blind sets on trails by placing the trap on one side or the other of a stick they need to step over. This assures a clean front foot catch (though you may catch any animal traveling the trail). I have had deer set traps off this way before. Skinning a raccoon is similar to skinning a muskrat with the exception that you keep the tail. Ring all four legs then make a cut from the underside of the legs to the vent. Make a triangle type cut around the vent and continue the cut up the tail. Then work the skin off the animal. To pull the bone from the tail use a clothespin or a tail puller and place around the bone and pull down. The fats on raccoon are very flammable. I have heard of people using the carcasses for heat. The oils could be used to coat boats from leaks, canvass tarps and oil for lighting. I have no idea how the smell would be from the oil light. The meat can be cooked and should be cooked thoroughly as they are omnivores and eat both meat and wild edibles. Most people I know bake raccoon and place the meat chunks on a cookie rack above a plan so the fats drip off (can be used later). If the animal appears to be mangy or have distemper, there is a possibility of rabies and I would dispatch of the creature and bury it where nothing could dig it up.
Many other animals can be trapped using the above methods and most are skinned using the tub type discussed. Snares can be used as well but 95% of the time anything caught in a snare will be dead upon arrival including domestic animals. You can feed the meat of animals to pigs as well but again rabies could be transferred so make sure the animals your trapping are healthy. For a beginner looking to get started I would recommend reading Guide to Trapping
