Last year, though a rare occurrence, I had a woodchuck give me the slip, avoiding/springing all I threw at him before the constant pressure, in the end, forced him to vacate the property. He had even sprung a 160 Conibear and a foot hold trap, which had never happened before. This was a first. But, that’s the nature of trapping, a series of firsts. However, this spring was a new year, starting with a clean slate. Having enjoyed great success with our small 9x11x18 inch double door, wire trigger cage traps for a decade, while sometimes catching chucks in minutes, it’s easy to take for granted that it will always go that way. Once in a while you get a surprise, so you just bide you time and wait for the right moment to capitalize on an opportunity.
At any rate, having observed others catching woodchucks in the oversized 12x18x39 beaver traps via online posts and photos, a situation presented itself for me to use a beaver trap for that no good chuck from the year before. I got a call that the chuck had once again dug out a crater under the steps. With only a large 12x18x39 inch beaver trap in the truck I had a good excuse to give it a shot. As usual, I put in positive den set over the hole, utilizing the larger trap in the same manner as the smaller traps. Being so wide and an inch taller, I had a lot of confidence in the larger trap. This trap was anything but intimidating, big 1.5×1.5 inch mesh with lots of room, nothing to make him nervous. The outcome would be quite different this time. In a short 20 minutes after setting the phone rang, “you got him,” redemption.
