Imbra Traps and Mink?

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Phil and Woodga? You keep showing is the massive hauls, from experts like yourselves.

 

Er,.your mixing me up with other folk Ditchshitter...

I never show 'massive hauls' ...in fact,..I rarely show feck all....

 

 

:whistle: That was meant as a pat on the back, mate. Born of what I know of you guys, regardless of all this forum malarky. 'Happens, Phil; The very picture I had in mind - from you - when I made that statement was the one where (I believe you were talking about, quite possibly it was taken at?) a 'Butlitz' type camp. You'd been sorting rabbits, entrenched beneath the chalets. Flashed up a shot of yourself, moving right to left. Long gun under your right arm and more rabbits than I could squeeze into a sack in your left. Made a lasting impression on me, that one.

 

As for Woodga ~ Passed Master of what's 'Not Rocket Science'; Surely we all remember his scottish five bar gate shot? Mind blowing!

 

Niether of those shots, I believe, were published to belittle or sneer at others. And it's in the same vein that I'm continuing this 'little' illustrated Diary of a Trier. Rats, mice, squirrels, moles, stoats, weasles? Been there. Done that. What of it? But mink? Never been close enough to have a go. Now I am. I'm proving f****ing useless, to date But I have the gonads to reveal my pittiful failings, worts 'n all,

 

Why? Because I want to prove to the new comers and the youngsters who come here that we're Not all born genetically coded to know what we're up to. Books can't teach us everything. We Must get out there and try, try, try again. Well; I'm Trying

 

 

 

 

Moomin300uk and Wicked Weasle? Thanks for your kind words of support and encouragement. Thanks for taking the trouble to post them. They hadn't gone unnoticed or unappreciated It's guys like you I'm keeping this up for ~ sod the ribbing! If only you too are enjoying this ride even half as much as I am? Then Let's Rock!

[SINDASOX 255]

Er,.your mixing me up with other folk Ditchshitter...

I never show 'massive hauls' ...in fact,..I rarely show feck all....

its always deleted before i get there

 

 

.... ....Yeh, and before i get there.... ....

 

SINDASOX

[Phil Lloyd 10,736]

Life sucks,.. :11: :11:

Maybe next time,...but ya gotta be quick...

Ps,.You ain't seen me,.right...

[J Darcy 5,871]

Very enjoyable thread guys....

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

 

 

 

 

 

 

:whistle:

 

 

 

[pegandgun 51]

Snare the little feckers,you will catch more and its easier

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Well, I left this entire thread alone yesterday. I was hoping " Beelzebub " there would be working away in his personal library, finally resigned to having to demonstrate to us all, ~ in his own words and pictures ~ just how much success his 'Hands On Experiance' has availed him. But, no. Just one more side comment You read that " Crap " book, B? How about your personal review? :whistle:

 

 

P&G: For a man of your own training and experiance, I'm sure snaring mink must, by now, be second nature. For my own part; No one's ever showed me how. I - as yet - have no snares. I can find no instructions on making or setting such snares. I'm not in the habit of going about leaving loops of what ever wire I guess might do the job, littering the countryside, either. I grew up around that sort of thing. We've all found the veritable bent coat hangers, pegged to the ground outside a rabbit hole. What makes you think I'd think I could do any better, without a shred of guidance?

 

No, sir. I don't mind putting a foot off the beaten track of my own experiance ~ like going after these 'New one on me' mink with traps I do understand. But filling the ditches with randomly bent wires of varying guages? That's be a trip out into the wilderness and I'll not inflict that on this countryside.

 

So saying, I checked my traps earlier. I also checked the post box. Nothing in any of those. Now I've checked this thread and todays date. I put those traps down on the 7th Two weeks is widely considered to be plenty of time to see if anything's happening or not. Not much is, is it? I did get another 'Beelzebubs Badger' yesterday. What we ignorant Bog Billys call " Hares ". But that one ~ I'm so relieved to say ~ truly demonstrated the charm of Morgan; She hit my Imbra and ..... well: I guess it was just my own lack of concentration and later close inspection that saved her. Rather than any mysticism. The damn Safety Catch was on For her? I wouldn't have wished it any other way.

 

But there we are. The ground's now lifting with leveretts. Saw one smashed onto the road the other day. I don't target hares and I'm simply not connecting with my targets, the mink. Go back to the start of this thread and it's right there, for the record: I did all this as an experiment. It was a hands on test. I hoped to learn and, maybe, benefit others from my findings. I think I have, don't you?

 

We now see that Mustalids Will cross naked steel. Even as much scrap metal as a Juby. That, I feel, is worth knowing for sure. We also have a salutory lesson in why we should Always thoroughly secure our traps down. Even the most efficient Killer types. It's Not always the other man who has a visit from a hungry scavanger. That damn Juby was a thirty quid trap! But, perhaps most importantly, the later events here show how Non Target Species must be protected, at all times, during our operations. I've killed one hare and near as damnit took another one out of the pool. All in all? My entire experiance has proven a miserable failure. Please learn from it and don't attempt to better it in similar fashion.

 

Ok. I'm having a spot of back trouble right now, so I'll not be humping any wooden boxes out there ~ though John B etc's 'See Saws' would negate most, if not all of my above problems. I'll be lifting my steel today. I've learned quite enough now. I'll also be checking my post box again tomorrow. I'm expecting 'reinforcements' Maybe then we can start all over again in a new 'experiment' and perhaps even the commentators above will chime in with some well observed, constructive and helpfull comments, from their own wealth of Hands On Experience?

 

You'd better exhale now, John B

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Oh. That's alright then I thought for a minute there you were after my mortal soul. In fact, if I take a deep breath and blurt out the horrible truth of the matter: I was a bit miffed that you never even seemed to notice what I thought was a side splittingly funny skit! All that work, creating that 'Book' and no one even commented on it. I was gutted!

 

Anyway, whilst it's just about run its course now, the whole point of this thread was that - in this exact scenario - I patently Didn't have a clue what I was doing and just thought it might be fun for others to look over my shoulder as I Tried. Two main experiments being the use of Juby and Imbra traps completelyuncovered and, secondly, their use against mink.

 

I guess what we've all seen 'proven' here then is that mink may or may nor cross a naked foot plate. Hares (presumably young, inexperianced ones?) most certainly will.

 

I like that. Now, if ever I'm in a pub and some hero starts pounding on about, " You'll Never catch a Hare in an Un Covered Trap!!! They're Not That stupid! ". I'll be the guy who can say; " (Cough!) Excuse me, mate ..... "

 

Just waiting for the postman to come. Then I can start again. Maybe P&G will guide me then?

[woodga 170]

dodgy things those mink snares pactice makes perfect :11: we are awaiting your next venture with baited breath at least if you lose one or two it wont break the bank GOOD HUNTING ALL WOODGA :ph34r:

[john b 38]

Don't stop mate - I've heard BBC3 want to make a documentary on this

 

Get a camcorder !

[foxdropper 17,092]

That mink will be a doddle now that hes a pensioner :11:

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

It gets even more excrutiating!!!

 

Today, having checked the last remaining four 'safe' traps I've left down (two each, Juby and Imbra. All guarding drains I can't see even the most looney leveret going near) I got on with my life and then headed out to hitch a lift into town. And, as I waited, Noel ~ my other neighbouring farmer ~ came along and told me he'd heard a 'squealing', down the track, earlier that day. Turned out it sounded like he was talking about one of my sets, so off I went .....

 

As it happened, it had nothing to do with my traps and, alough I'm fasinated, I didn't have time to search about for clues as to what had gone off. I did however look more closley than I normally do at one of the sets. This is a double Imbra set. One trap at either end of a c. 8" concrete drain, beneath a gate way. And, just for fun, I'd put a fresh hens egg on the inside of one of the traps.

 

Bloody egg's been smashed and eaten! Something has gone right over the pan of one of those Imbra's and got at the egg. Then sallied back out again, unscathed!!! I'm completely lost!

 

Ok. Let's examine the evidence: Both safety catches are well and truly Off. Short of springing them, these traps are - as far as I can tell - fully functional. Why didn't the trampled trap fire??? No. Buggered if I know either!

 

It could be rust? But the springs on the double action Imbra (these are the earlier models, where the single spring pulls on Both jaws. If you know your Imbra's, you'll know what I'm talking about) are plenty strong enough to kick through any ammount of rust which may have formed on a covered trap inside a month. Both traps should be functioning fine. The catches are brass. So no chance that these have siezed either.

 

Seems to me there's only one thing for it: Ditch Shitter Error! Might I have been a bit distracted, when I set those traps? Might I have simply set them too heavily??? Well, if I say so myself; I'm an absolute bugger for a fine set. My own biggest failing is that I always tend to set a trap so damn fine that 'atmospheric conditions' will fire the thing before a quarry ever finds it. I'm a demon on mice and would defy anyone to set finer for them. Why / How then could I have ballsed up so badly on these Imbra's? You tell me!

 

Ok. All I can add is that the egg was pretty much 'in situ'. It had been moved to the left a bit. But that's about all I could tell. Oh, and it had also been pretty comprehensivley demolished. Yet it was placed a good six inches behind the pan of that trap and there was precious little chance of anything getting round or over those jaws, or the plate between them.

 

What in hell's happened This time?! Anyone got a clue? Because I'm blowed if I have

 

Anyway, I touched nothing and went on about my business. It's dark and dank now and I'm off to look in on the Chat. Tomorrow I'll go back and check both traps over. I'll also set another egg. See it our phantom thief fancies another pop at it's crafty game.

 

One thing's for sure here: This time it was no bloody leveret!

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Debrief then: Bloody Hare, obviously - sadly.

 

Either way, it's hit that trap between about 20:00 last night and 15:00 today. And something or someone has helped themselves to it - trap 'n all. Are we beginning to see a Patern emerge here???

 

Badger? 'Obviously'. I have some slightly 'off' hunks of meat in the freezer. I might as well sling one down where that trap was. Johnny won't want it. Billy would. Then we'll see.

 

 

Epilogue:

 

 

Anyone remember that incident? I had a Juby trap taken and all that remained was some hare fur. That was weeks ago.

 

I've just come back from one of my little wanders about the land here. I was just mooching along a hedge when I came across a whole heap of spoil brimming up out of an over grown ditch. " Badger sett. " I noted to myself. Few yards on my beady eye spotted a trace of fur, in under the hedge. Believe it or not, even as I knelt to closer examine what remained of poor Puss, I never, at first, noticed my Juby trap!

 

Yep. And I did toss a huge lump of gone over meat down on that trap site. Three days later it vanished. I can just see the badgers squabbling over that one too. Till the victor bundled off to eat that prize, under the hedge, fifty yards away and closer to the safety of home.

 

Oh well. At least I got my trap back.