Armadillo Trap- rare

[Sonny Sixkiller 39]

The Gibbs Live Muskrat Trap!

[mitre 550]

Looks good never seen them before and I don't think uk will have them they seem like medieval or Tudor time styles good sturdy made and springy metal 

[mackem 31,813]

It’s a bit over-engineered for a muskrat.

[fireman 11,677]

Interesting thing for sure and nice one for showing us it....

[mitre 550]

Something different from our rat traps

[fireman 11,677]

22 hours ago, mackem said:

It’s a bit over-engineered for a muskrat.

Yeah but it's cool and we all want one eh  ...

[mackem 31,813]

40 minutes ago, fireman said:

Yeah but it's cool and we all want one eh  ...

Back in the day teenagers made enough cash to buy a truck trapping muskrats,imagine carrying 50 of those

[mackem 31,813]

Done a little research on these traps,they were designed for catching muskrat alive to restock marshes when fur prices were high.Nowadays the trap in good condition will fetch $1200

 

[comanche 3,400]

19 hours ago, mackem said:

Done a little research on these traps,they were designed for catching muskrat alive to restock marshes when fur prices were high.Nowadays the trap in good condition will fetch $1200

 

It's  got an HG Wells/ Steam Punk vibe ,love  it.  Do you know when they were made?

[mackem 31,813]

2 hours ago, comanche said:

It's  got an HG Wells/ Steam Punk vibe ,love  it.  Do you know when they were made?

Early 1900's,the muskrat is actually caught in two traps,a foothold and the cage,the cage rises out of the water so you can see you have a catch,crazy eh?

Wiebe Trapline Adventures (@wiebetraplineadventures) • Instagram reel

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285 likes, 1 comments - wiebetraplineadventures on February 17, 2026: "Gibbs Live...

 

[comanche 3,400]

7 hours ago, mackem said:

Early 1900's,the muskrat is actually caught in two traps,a foothold and the cage,the cage rises out of the water so you can see you have a catch,crazy eh?

Wiebe Trapline Adventures (@wiebetraplineadventures) • Instagram reel

WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM

---

285 likes, 1 comments - wiebetraplineadventures on February 17, 2026: "Gibbs Live...

 

Thanks for that. Rising out of the water,it gets  more 1930's sci fi by the minute. And  I was wondering why the pictures clearly show jaws around the treadle when it was billed as a live-catch trap .

I guess if  it goes a bit wrong a three legged muskratscan still breed

  

. 

[mackem 31,813]

1 minute ago, comanche said:

Thanks for that. Rising out of the water,it gets  more 1930's sci fi by the minute. And  I was wondering why the pictures clearly show jaws around the treadle when it was billed as a live-catch trap .

I guess if  it goes a bit wrong a three legged muskratscan still breed

  

. 

The jaws release as the trap rises so the muskrat is safely caged,like something from a HG Wells muskrat movie.I wonder how much live muskrat fetched to restock a marsh?

[comanche 3,400]

35 minutes ago, mackem said:

The jaws release as the trap rises so the muskrat is safely caged,like something from a HG Wells muskrat movie.I wonder how much live muskrat fetched to restock a marsh?

Well ,sad sod that l am ,l just found a contemporary article  about Mr Gibbs.   Ordinary brown  pelts fetched 50cents to 1$ . 50 . However black pelts fetched  2$ . At one point Mr Gibbs was selling  breeding pairs of  black musk rats for 50$ !

This had dropped to a mere 25$ a pair at the time of the article .

As a sideline the meat was sold either as "marsh rabbit" or ....terrapin!

[mackem 31,813]

6 minutes ago, comanche said:

Well ,sad sod that l am ,l just found a contemporary article  about Mr Gibbs.   Ordinary brown  pelts fetched 50cents to 1$ . 50 . However black pelts fetched  2$ . At one point Mr Gibbs was selling  breeding pairs of  black musk rats for 50$ !

This had dropped to a mere 25$ a pair at the time of the article .

As a sideline the meat was sold either as "marsh rabbit" or ....terrapin!

I have never seen a black muskrat,but the normal brown ones are in most waterways and ditches local.The trap is as complicated as they come,read about the light