Page 154 - The Lost Ways

The Types of Traps You’ll Use for Beaver and Muskrat

There are two main types of traps that you’ll use when trapping for either beaver or
muskrat: foot hold and body grip traps.

The foot hold trap is normally used along land-based trails that lead to the water. Body
grip traps are most often used for underwater trails, which we will discuss later.

The foot hold traps don’t need any teeth because the animal being trapped is so small
that any teeth may just sever the leg instead of trapping the animal. The body grip traps
don’t have teeth either, because they grip a large part of the body and would put lots of
holes in the pelt.

There are several other types of traps, such as snare—which may be illegal in many

states—box traps, and more. The biggest reason box traps never took off in popularity is
that it was pretty tough to put 100 of them on a mule and go set your trap line, whereas
getting that many foot hold or body grip traps on your pack animal would be doable.

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