Duke dog proof traps have let me down. I believe that the last 2 nights I have had a raccoon in the trap and they managed to pull their leg out, anybody know any modifications that will make it work? I may have to go with the live trap instead.
There's a first time for everything I guess, never had that one happen before. Maybe you have an "educated" coon using a stick as a tool to scoop out the feed? That would be a story.
Yesterday I opened the hole so the trap would pull out of the ground when the coon pulled thinking the coon could not get the leverage needed to gets it's paw out. Looking at the ground around the trap they was an epic struggle and the coon escaped. First they were eating deer feed and giving the trail camera the finger, now they are taunting me by escaping the trap. I am going to have to brush in the live trap and see if I can get a few that way.
The cold trigger may be scaring off the coons too. You can try sliding a marshmallow over the trigger inside the trap...may help.
Last night the trap was on the coons leg, they are pulling their paw out, weird because I did an online search and could not find a single review about raccoons escaping the trap.
I plan on putting the trail camera on the trap, I tried last night but chip said no images but the trap was moved and you could tell there was a tussle. If there is a person that can walk up and get a coon out of the trap without getting mauled I want to see it.
I think dog proof traps can be released with a simple rod at arms reach. I wouldn't put it past an animal activist, they have more gall than brains anyway, lol.
I will look for foot prints but I doubt it but then again I imagine a coon in a trap is loud as hell.
I might move the trap down by the lower food plot see if the results are different. That camera is dead battery wise and it looks like the bucks are shed so I won't put new batteries in it till June.
Yeah I don't know, probably just a weird coincidence that may never happen again. Probably something simple, hard to imagine a coon getting out of one of those things though without just chewing off it's own foot. A more experienced trapper may have some insight to share, I've only got a few seasons experience with the dog proof traps. A lot of old trappers could probably tell you exactly what the problem is and how to fix it if the problems persist. I'd definitely set up a trail camera over it just to kill my curiosity
The thing I have learned with dogproof traps is to not have anything in arms reach of the coon to grab onto. Once they get ahold of something solid, they can get enough leverage to pull out of the trap.
I think this is the case of what happened and how the coon escaped, no foot prints. I have never had a problem with tresspassers. I am going to move the trap to see if I can get a better place for a set. If that does not work I will switch up traps. I need to thin the herd before they start having babies.
Are you setting the trigger deep into the dog? I'm just wondering if you are getting toes catches and that is causing the pull outs... A good solid catch on a DP should be pretty damn hard to pull out of. I have had one instance where a coon got enough leverage to pull a double stake and walk with my DP but I have never had an actually pull out. Maybe try some #2's. How often are you checking the sets?
