Trap Settin' Tips
Government Nuisance Trapping - Part III
Quick one for today... One of the questions I regularly get from new trappers is how to set a large 330 conibear quickly and safely. To answer, there are a few different methods:
You can he-man strength the 330s like the youtuber “330 Maniac” does (This one is not for me, despite my best attempts);
Leverage store-bought trap setters (These are a little too big and heavy for me as I often am walking miles into the back country for some of my sets);
Or, use a setting rope.
My preference is the third option. It is lightweight, easy to use, and you can reset your 330 conibear springs in a jiffy. To start, you need to place your unset trap at your feet in front of you on solid ground, and then:
Feed the rope up through the bottom eyelet of your first spring and up and through the top eyelet.
Grab the rope and take it back down to the bottom eyelet and then re-feed it through (going up again) that eyelet one more time until your rope has made a loop around both eyelets with the left over poking through the top eyelet facing the sky.
Take your foot and step onto the rope that is come out from the bottom eyelet and then grab the top rope (the one sticking out from the top eyelet) with your hands.
Pull the top rope strongly and it will close shut your spring.
Reach down with your free hand and set your safety latches.
Pull your rope out and repeat the same actions on the other spring.
This setting approach works well for me in all sorts of environments... snow, rock, soft dirt, anywhere really... It also helps me avoid needed to bring in excessive heavy equipment to my trapping spots — a win-win for me!
