Cage traps have become a favorite for catching Bobcats and Foxes, growing in popularity as methods and cages improve. Some trappers have shared their positive experiences using the new improved, fast closing, powered, double—bifold door cage traps with patented wire triggers. One Washington trapper in snow country tells of having 12 bobcat cage traps set during a storm, 8 guillotine door traps and 4 powered, bifold door traps. After the storm passed the bifold traps held 3 bobcats, while all 8 of the guillotine door traps were empty, doors frozen solid. Another trapper found his bifold door trap missing from the site. First believing the trap had been stolen, he soon found the 21 inch tall double door trap some 60 feet away containing a 40 pound mountain lion. Both trap and lion were in fine shape.
Predators will often “hole up” during bad weather, waiting to hunt as soon as a storm passes. This is when traps are at their worst, often buried in snow, saturated with water or frozen in. If a trapper can keep sets working through the rough weather he will enjoy the greatest chance for success in catching hungry bobcats and foxes that move after a storm.
Live cage traps have been a way of life for quite some time now in many states where conventional traps are illegal. However, even in states that do allow the use of foot hold traps, some trappers still choose cage traps over footholds for a number of reasons. We have heard more than one trapper utter strong words, “Even if they gave us our footholds back, we wouldn’t use them,” actually preferring cages to conventional equipment, but why?
First, a cage trap is essentially a prefab cubby, an all in one unit that holds the bait, while it captures animals. Though cages are more to carry in, setting takes very little time, only a few minutes. Additionally, a well hidden caged bobcat is often less visible to passers by in traps that can be kept working through freeze and thaw. In snow country where daily temperatures fluctuate back and forth above and below the freezing mark, traps have to be covered and or designed to function when dampness turns to ice.
Many manufactures offer single, gravity operated, guillotine door cage traps with a pan that can freeze up and fail. Both doors and pans can freeze solid, as if welded, as predators enter and exit traps freely. Even single drop down door traps with pan triggers can freeze. Mounted well off the ground, the reliable Comstock wire trigger is not prone to freezing down like a pan, but will perform flawlessly, even in several inches of snow. The wire trigger system shows unequalled consistency not always found in pan traps that can be temperamental.
Never merely duplicating equipment others have made just to sell product, when Comstock Custom Cage offers new traps in the line up its because they have real and practical advantages over existing equipment. Comstock has been the leader in cage traps, especially double door traps. Never built to catch up, this line of cage traps has led the way by taking on the hard job of engineering double door traps first as they have from day one nearly 10 years ago, with single door traps to follow. Double door traps offer the most versatility because they can of course be used with bait in single door mode or used without bait in trails.
Bobcats run trails and paths for long distances, making trail sets with double door traps a preferred method. Traps are brought to the bobcats rather than hoping to bring them to bait. Comstock bifold double door traps are superior to other door systems because these internal doors tuck neatly up against the roof inside the trap when the trap is in the set position. This means the entire trap can be covered with a tarp or plastic to protect from icy conditions.
More advantages, traps can be slid into tight areas without worry of fouling from brush as there are no external components to catch on branches. Moreover, these traps will fit nicely into small culverts. Spring powered, the doors close much faster than standard traps to lock up at middle and bottom. Because of the bifold door, these traps will “flush mount” against flat surfaces. As an added bonus the bifold traps are made 18, 21 and 24 inches high, which means the largest trap is several inches taller than what most offer.
Tomahawk is doing a great job making these new, user friendly traps for us in both single and double door models that will nest inside each other to save a bundle on shipping. With two more firsts, these are the only double door traps with nesting capabilities and the only powered door cage traps that can be nested. Now lighter, requiring fewer welds to construct in a rugged trap, the latest changes in engineering have made the trap even better.
Call or email Jim and Judy for more info on these cages and to place orders. 518-792-2371