Old Traps

[earth-thrower 490]

9 hours ago, Nicepix said:

I'm not sure about it being THE original type of Duffus trap. I read somewhere once that there were several variants and I seem to recall that the type I have is a later version. I could be wrong. It has been known

I have used them both in my garden. Can't get on with the Fenn, but the Duffus has caught. I think the Fenn might be better on those shallow tunnels where the mole has made a reverse furrow by pushing up the turf. Just cut two slits for the trapping wires and a small hole for the trigger and leave the body of the trap above ground. I think the newer version with the Talpex type trigger would be better for deeper tunnels.

 

Its interesting you say that about 'original duffus variants',...cause, there was some right good threads about that , few years back, now. A collector, had catalogued & provide photos on here, of all them variants, & possibly provided in what order, date wise, they were produced (cant remember, fully). So, i wouldnt be surprised if your presumption, is correct.

Edited April 11, 2021 by earth-thrower

[Ken's Deputy 4,456]

9 hours ago, Nicepix said:

I'm not sure about it being THE original type of Duffus trap. I read somewhere once that there were several variants and I seem to recall that the type I have is a later version.

 I somehow missed this

Yes. Bit loose of me, of all people, to refer to an " Original " trap. (Smacks wrist) From a Collectors stand point, I mean't as opposed to anything that later used the same basic design and look. (Don't forget; There was nothing at all like the Duffus until the Duffus arrived)

Also? Yeah. " The Original Duffus "? Are we talking about the one he made, in his arm chair. With a pair of Gilbo's and some galvy?  The first ones he made on a jig? The first so many hundred to come out of the factory? What ever.

I'm just trying not to laden the conversations here down with terms that would mean nothing to the vast majority. Would just muddy the waters. And make it look like I'm trying to be clever.

  Two facts: 1. I was never really that deeply into Mole Traps. I have the Fenn Mole Trap data ~ and actual traps ~ because they were Fenn traps. I honestly couldn't even tell you how long a Duffus is.

2. Your trap has " Duffus " stamped on it. It's a Real Duffus. Rocking horse.

[Nicepix 5,650]

8 hours ago, Ken's Deputy said:

 I somehow missed this

Yes. Bit loose of me, of all people, to refer to an " Original " trap. (Smacks wrist) From a Collectors stand point, I mean't as opposed to anything that later used the same basic design and look. (Don't forget; There was nothing at all like the Duffus until the Duffus arrived)

Also? Yeah. " The Original Duffus "? Are we talking about the one he made, in his arm chair. With a pair of Gilbo's and some galvy?  The first ones he made on a jig? The first so many hundred to come out of the factory? What ever.

I'm just trying not to laden the conversations here down with terms that would mean nothing to the vast majority. Would just muddy the waters. And make it look like I'm trying to be clever.

  Two facts: 1. I was never really that deeply into Mole Traps. I have the Fenn Mole Trap data ~ and actual traps ~ because they were Fenn traps. I honestly couldn't even tell you how long a Duffus is.

2. Your trap has " Duffus " stamped on it. It's a Real Duffus. Rocking horse.

The 'original' Duffus didn't have metal barrels. But the first ones put into mass production did. That was the success of Duffus traps - they could be mass produced. However, after Duffus himself sold the company, the new owner still stamped the traps "Duffus & Son" so I have no idea whether the trap I have is from the time that the Duffus family were running the company or after. My mate got most of his traps and shooting stuff from a company called Farmstar near Doncaster, but he can't remember where the tunnel trap came from as he also was give a lot of stuff by other people. 

It is irrelevant really, as the traps, the Pentax ME-Super camera  and the Mitchell 440A fishing reel will all remain with me as keepsakes to remember the good times that we had when he was in better health.

 

[Ken's Deputy 4,456]

2 hours ago, Nicepix said:

The 'original' Duffus didn't have metal barrels. But the first ones put into mass production did. 

 Didn't her use cut down plastic pipes for the prototypes? Your saying that makes it seem logical. But, I have this fleeting snatch of memory .....

There wasn't a little documentary made about him, was there?

It could have been a damn well written article I read? It could be a complete trick of the mind. It's just that I have this strong impression of a guy moving, rather than a photo.

And some sort of shack / shed at the bottom of his garden. I specify that because I seem to remember it was quite away from the house. It wasn't a typical, six by four, pitched roof garden shed either.

Be fascinated if any of that rings any bells with anyone.

Saying that? It could even have been a featurette on one of those regional, tea time programmes? In that case, we probably are well and truly sunk

[earth-thrower 490]

4 minutes ago, Ken's Deputy said:

 Didn't her use cut down plastic pipes for the prototypes? Your saying that makes it seem logical. But, I have this fleeting snatch of memory .....

There wasn't a little documentary made about him, was there?

It could have been a damn well written article I read? It could be a complete trick of the mind. It's just that I have this strong impression of a guy moving, rather than a photo.

And some sort of shack / shed at the bottom of his garden. I specify that because I seem to remember it was quite away from the house. It wasn't a typical, six by four, pitched roof garden shed either.

Be fascinated if any of that rings any bells with anyone.

Saying that? It could even have been a featurette on one of those regional, tea time programmes? In that case, we probably are well and truly sunk

I was just about to ask , could he expand on that ?(his statement you quoted),....so "plastic pipes for the prototypes" ? aye,..a could believe that, alright ? Apparently, when the earlier catchers used the full wooden barrel mole trap,...they realised if they adapted it into two halves, you then have the wooden half barrel,....which was a bit easier to set, than the 'full barrel' ( i know through practical experience, of using Bob Merrins wooden whole barrel,type, presently) Of course its also said, that these wooden ones were the forerunner,... of the metal Duffus ?     (actually Bob favours HIS own plastic version, of the full barrel,...easier to construct & more durable than its wooden counterpart,...but im a traditionalist & prefer to use my wooden versions.  lol)

[Ken's Deputy 4,456]

This is what I was hoping for, see? Stimulate a bit of bloody discussion on this dead hole!

[earth-thrower 490]

19 minutes ago, Ken's Deputy said:

This is what I was hoping for, see? Stimulate a bit of bloody discussion on this dead hole!

A will tell you, (even though ave been moling 28 year, started at 24 years old) when i learned about Bob & his plastic mole trap, etc ,....a thought , 'old mole isnt even gonna enter, never mind traverse, no plastic pipe, to get caught !'  lol  ,......how WRONG a was  ! ha ha

Edited April 12, 2021 by earth-thrower

[Ken's Deputy 4,456]

I very much doubt thirty years ago would even be anywhere near far back enough. But, I have to ask;

James Bateman, in his '71 work, " Animal Traps and Trapping " mentions ~ and shows a museum display mock up of ~ I believe it was a Monmouthshire (?) mole trap. Clearly considered archaic, even by then.

Mind bending bloody thing! Basically a little, wooden run through tunnel with a trap door beneath it.

Mole, supposedly, trundled through. Fell out of the trap door. Landed inside a big, earthenware urn that some lunatic had dug a bloody great pit and sunk it in!

Now, as previously stated; Mole traps weren't really that big a thing with me. I've never really been a moler either. But, even just typing out the above, I found myself envisaging it and thinking:

'Hang on! So, you dig a bloody great hole and plant this clay pot in it? Then, you put this bit of wood with holes over the top?

Maybe I'm missing something here. But, I'm envisaging something very much like this: " Φ ". See? So, how come the rest of the field doesn't just fall into the pot, either side of the wooden tunnel?

Any way you look at it? Hell of a drama over one or two moles, surely?!

Imagine doing That for a living!

 

[earth-thrower 490]

1 hour ago, Ken's Deputy said:

I very much doubt thirty years ago would even be anywhere near far back enough. But, I have to ask;

James Bateman, in his '71 work, " Animal Traps and Trapping " mentions ~ and shows a museum display mock up of ~ I believe it was a Monmouthshire (?) mole trap. Clearly considered archaic, even by then.

Mind bending bloody thing! Basically a little, wooden run through tunnel with a trap door beneath it.

Mole, supposedly, trundled through. Fell out of the trap door. Landed inside a big, earthenware urn that some lunatic had dug a bloody great pit and sunk it in!

Now, as previously stated; Mole traps weren't really that big a thing with me. I've never really been a moler either. But, even just typing out the above, I found myself envisaging it and thinking:

'Hang on! So, you dig a bloody great hole and plant this clay pot in it? Then, you put this bit of wood with holes over the top?

Maybe I'm missing something here. But, I'm envisaging something very much like this: " Φ ". See? So, how come the rest of the field doesn't just fall into the pot, either side of the wooden tunnel?

Any way you look at it? Hell of a drama over one or two moles, surely?!

Imagine doing That for a living!

 

Aye , your not wrong, helluva lot of effort, to try & get your moles, that method ?  lol,.....but it WAS used, (or something similar) i learned ( & possibly as far back as the Roman empire, too !,....cause examples were excavated,etc),.....these 'pots' or whatever, had a small hole in them too, to let water drain out, it seems.  Jeff Nicholls, is the man, who done alot of research on this sort of stuff,........controversial,...Mole catcher, he is,....ha ha ha ,......(& to some on here, as well ! ),....but still PROBABLY,..the most intelligent mole man, ive come across ?  (i said that once before on here, & one or two scoffed at it,....thats fair enough,....but 'water off a ducks back to me'  lol,......although, i will say , hes not without his faults, too)

[Ken's Deputy 4,456]

I wouldn't bother too much about peoples opinions of others either. All a bit subjective, that sort of shit. I'm more interested in the preservation of factual things.

I'd far sooner we preserve knowledge of the vital details of, say, the " Fenn Mk I Vermin Trap ", rather than say, the 'fact' that I ~ personally ~ tend to offer my opinion that it looks like it was made out of coat hanger wire.

Imagine a future world in which all that anyone can say of an icon of British trap history is that; " I remember, some bloke on the internet used to say he reckoned, " It looked like it was made out of coat hanger wire."

'Yes, but, what did it actually Look Like???'

" Dunno, mate. All lost in time now. Load of coat hanger wire, I guess? "

 

And yet, I fear we're rapidly sliding that way. Just consider this thread and its satellites People'd sooner listen to facebook.

[Ken's Deputy 4,456]

Found this interesting: Link to ebay below. Looking for Micky's unlinkable Juby. For the record, when my link vanishes, following any sale, the seller reckons it's a clipping from 1951.

Linky.

Here's the picture shown / offered:

 

 

 Now, I'm showing this shit only because, as a one time deadly serious Trap Collector, I ~ even now ~ find it interesting. I put it here in the hope that, maybe some day, someone else with a deep interest may find it and learn something.

Meanwhile, here's one of the three MAFF shots of it:

 

 

What absolutely fukking Fascinates me, however, is how This design is, to all intents and purposes, a slightly modified " Marriage Trap ". The one I mention, above, and show on my own site.

I've also since dug out the Patent of the 'Marriage' / " Wawn & Wannacott " trap. That one was patented in 1929. Ten to fifteen years before Mr Miller had his epiphany in the Thai jungles.

Of course, we'll never know, now. But; Lest we forget.

[Nicepix 5,650]

I think the sunken jar method was of Roman origin. The jar had holes just below the neck to allow water to escape so the trap didn't fill up. When you look on youtube at how the French pro's dig a trap site for a pair of Putanges you would think they were burying a bus let alone a trap.

 

[earth-thrower 490]

4 hours ago, Ken's Deputy said:

Found this interesting: Link to ebay below. Looking for Micky's unlinkable Juby. For the record, when my link vanishes, following any sale, the seller reckons it's a clipping from 1951.

Linky.

Here's the picture shown / offered:

 

 

 Now, I'm showing this shit only because, as a one time deadly serious Trap Collector, I ~ even now ~ find it interesting. I put it here in the hope that, maybe some day, someone else with a deep interest may find it and learn something.

Meanwhile, here's one of the three MAFF shots of it:

 

 

What absolutely fukking Fascinates me, however, is how This design is, to all intents and purposes, a slightly modified " Marriage Trap ". The one I mention, above, and show on my own site.

I've also since dug out the Patent of the 'Marriage' / " Wawn & Wannacott " trap. That one was patented in 1929. Ten to fifteen years before Mr Miller had his epiphany in the Thai jungles.

Of course, we'll never know, now. But; Lest we forget.

Again, thanks for posting this, mate. Really, interesting stuff. Im very late, at trying rabbit catching (too busy with moles for years) But, i did start to learn with a few Fenn mk6s, last year. Some of the other folk on here, who have done alot more rabbit trapping, etc,....im sure will appreciate this. Apparently, as has been conveyed before,  by experienced folk, the imbra & juby rabbit traps, were meant to be well up to the job ? So who in their infinite wisdom, decided that these traps were no longer suitable, for it, or whatever ?

[Ken's Deputy 4,456]

7 minutes ago, earth-thrower said:

 Apparently, as has been conveyed before,  by experienced folk, the imbra & juby rabbit traps, were meant to be well up to the job ? So who in their infinite wisdom, decided that these traps were no longer suitable, for it, or whatever ?

Give me a moment, while I go back to page 5, I think it is? And bring you the discussion.

[Ken's Deputy 4,456]

Fukk it. Page 4! Go back to page 4, mate. Katch asks about Jubys and Imbras. It kicks off there.

Edited April 12, 2021 by Ken's Deputy
WTF?!