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After reading through a few other discussion regarding the fenn mk6 being the only commercially available rabbit trap, in which to set in holes, and with many regarding it as being far less humane and simply not for the job as the jubys and imbras were, I thought a discussion on what would make a more effective, yet lightweight design, possibly taking features from all the traps mentioned above would make an appropriate and possibly, interesting topic.

anyone with suggestions on what they believe makes the fenn not so ideal for the job and how it could be improved (possibly the ideal design for a mk2 'rabbit') and what makes the imbras and jubys absolutely powerhouses of rabbit killing machinery, please feel for free to put your opinions forward and get the ball rolling

Edited by hedge wanderer
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Well two things come to mind. First of all killing power. Have you ever set a Juby? Man those springs are powerful. I tend to use my bodyweight through my feet to set them. A fenn you could nearly do it one handed. Second thing that comes to mind is the length of the jaws, and catch placement. Think the Juby and Imbra are designed to catch the upper body and neck area, where as the Fenn Mk6 usually catches  mid body on a full grown rabbit. More often than not those jaws can't make it round the whole body either.

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So a modern imbra design, built with lighter metals would probably be a way to go. To me it seems that what made the imbra and jubys perfect for the job is the curved jaws which really produce a scissor like action. Might have a go at producing some lower power prototypes with this jaw feature.

and what would be people's thoughts on a choker style trap?. Im sure there was a trap years ago designed with a steel choking loop.  Have to have a look around for a picture and what it's name was. Also, I think there may have been a trap which worked similar to those bavarian mole traps, in which a spring loaded bar, when fired, pushes the mole up against a loop, killing it rather swiftly.

thoughts??

 

Edited by hedge wanderer
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A "stop thief" trap designed for rabbit sized creature using a choking loop.

A "Douglas improved humane trap" utilizing a spring bar which pushes against a loop similar to a Bavarian mole trap (third image). Surely with a stronger spring, this could be a good design??

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Well a snare type trap would be out of the question, because choking an animal is now seen as inhumane. Why even the modern fox snare must be used as a restraining devise, and not a choking devise. 

 In this day and age, you need to put humaneness as first priority when designing a trap. Sometimes this can limit trap design, and so leaves you with various obstacles to overcome, to be able to achieve what you invissioned in the first place.

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Indeed true about choking being in humane but possibly a similar idea just with more force behind it to cause more of a instant death. Similar to how the imbras kill. I think the curved imbra/juby jaw shape is the way to go. All that is needed is to make it lightweight yet durable enough for use in the field. 

Any thoughts on how the mk6 could be improved i.e. Jaw shape etc as I believe the power is there just the power is being used on too large of a surface area as said by someone on another thread. I noticed how everyone rates the mk1 rabbit so I believe it is a jaw shape thing as I believe the mk1 and mk6 are the same power but correct me if I'm wrong

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Good post this, ....even though im no rabbit trapper, myself, I would love to give it a go , in the right situation however,...but one thing I've always pondered is how do you overcome every Tom Dick & Harry,...out with dogs, & ferrets,...taking the opportunity of investigating the rabbit burrows, for the chance of a chase or a kill, etc ?,.....(never mind normal dog walkers, & people's pet cats, in the vicinity of warrens) so am I right in thinking the scope for utilising them, would be limited ?

Edited by earth-thrower
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That is something I also wonder about. I know of ferrets being caught but never really heard of incidents with dogs.  Dogs seem to just sniff a hole and never seem to try and dig out the rabbit, from dogs I've seen around holes anyway. I guess if a terrier chases a rabbit down a trapped hole, it's most likely going to be triggered by the time the dog reaches the trap ?

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13 hours ago, hedge wanderer said:

That is something I also wonder about. I know of ferrets being caught but never really heard of incidents with dogs.  Dogs seem to just sniff a hole and never seem to try and dig out the rabbit, from dogs I've seen around holes anyway. I guess if a terrier chases a rabbit down a trapped hole, it's most likely going to be triggered by the time the dog reaches the trap ?

Yes, & also you find here everyone who's interested knows where all the rabbit holes are (historically too, as all the info is passed down over the years, through the generations, etc, even old warrens were they have died out !)...& the chances of traps & captures being discovered, & stolen would be high,......

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