Kris and Lee's Beaver Trapping Adventure!

KrisB

Ten Pointer
Lee (lasttombstone)'s neighbor was having beaver problems on a pond of his and gave us permission to trap them. We went there yesterday evening and set two 330s Lee has. We set them at the beaver dam at two places where we made holes with a tater rake so the beaver would come along to repair the holes and hopefully get caught in the traps.

Lee called me today with good news and bad news. The bad news was one of the 330s was gone! A beaver must have taken it with it. The good news was there was a beaver in the other trap!

Drove over to Lee's this evening after work and we went out to the pond. We found this guy there and got it out of the trap and back to Lee's house before we froze to death! Lee weighed it and it weighed in at 25 lbs! We put it in a trash bag and I took it home, dried it off with some towels, then managed to hang it up from a ladder to dry overnight.

Skinning and fleshing and butchering starts tomorrow and that will all just be me, with some help from another trapper who I'll mention in the next post. Thank you is nowhere near enough, but THANK YOU to Lee for making this beaver trapping adventure happen in more ways than one!
 

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lasttombstone

Kinder, Gentler LTS
Well, I'm no trapper, that's for sure. Just a dabbler but I have kept the beavers out of my pond. Any errors here are all mine. I'm just glad to have the opportunity to help someone along that has shown such interest in outdoor activities. I count it as a blessing for me. I have lost a 330 before but it floated back up in a couple of weeks. Just have to keep an eye on the pond for a while.

Next project, wing bone call making, start to finish.
 

Woods and water

Ten Pointer
I bet that 330 is close. I don't know if you have otters but most of the time when my traps chains are pulled tight it's an otter , they move fast and are often caught around the hind quarters. Glad y'all were successful
 

KrisB

Ten Pointer
More news! We reset the one 330 last night and Lee just called me and said now we've got a 37 lb beaver!!!!!!

I have not started skinning the first one yet because of some delays, but will either start it now or after I go pick up the second one. Lee pulled the trap so we don't catch anymore. I am going to be super busy today and tired as anything this evening!

But I am beyond thrilled to have some success and be able to start learning how to skin, flesh, and put up beaver pelts and butcher 2 beavers to try some recipes with!
 

KrisB

Ten Pointer
That's a mighty fancy skinnin' shed in that first pic.;)

LOL It's the only spare room in my house. I use it for storage (house used to be a real estate office, which means some interesting features or lack thereof, such as not having closets) and hanging up laundry to dry.

Now it will also be my fur shed! Closed off the vents last night and it feels significantly cooler in there compared to the rest of the house. Here's hoping it works out!
 

timekiller13

Old Mossy Horns
This is one of the coolest threads I have seen in a while on here. Congrats on the first catche(s).

I used to trap in college and I can remember how excited I was the first time I walked up to my set and I had caught something. Truly a unique experience.
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Yes this is an awesome thread. I trapped on the Haw River from somewhere around 1973 or so till 1985 or so along with a friend of mine and we now both live and work in Wake Co and dont have the time to trap. lots have changed since then but hoping I can run a line after retirement. luv these threads.
 

41magnum

Twelve Pointer
inquiring minds need to know
Was the hole you made in the dam repaired?, where the trap disappeared?
If so, your 330... COULD have been used to plug the hole.
 

lasttombstone

Kinder, Gentler LTS
Nope. At least not that I saw. It had about 8 feet of cable on it and there was no sign of anything. Just my stob that the loop in the end of the cable was "supposed" to be looped over. Not a large hole to close back up anyway... Just pulled some of the mud and grass off the top about 6 inches down and less than a foot wide. Once we get what is in there out, I'll be able to open the drain pipe back up and the water level will drop at least a foot and I might spot it then.
 

bag12day

Six Pointer
Contributor
LOL It's the only spare room in my house. I use it for storage (house used to be a real estate office, which means some interesting features or lack thereof, such as not having closets) and hanging up laundry to dry.

Now it will also be my fur shed! Closed off the vents last night and it feels significantly cooler in there compared to the rest of the house. Here's hoping it works out!
Kris when my wife and I first got married and lived in a small 2 bedroom apt in Fuquay I got painters plastic sheet and spread on the floor of the extra bedroom, closed the Heat vent, opened the window and stuffed sheets/towels in gaps under the door. We didn't have much money at all and I would wait until it got good and cold for a week or so the forecast said and I would go on our annual deer killing since killing 5 deer was cheaper than the grocery store. I had one of those aluminum rolling clothes racks like dept stores use and I would quarter my deer string on coat hangers and hang them in that spare bedroom to dry age until I could break it down and take some to store in the freezer at parents or in laws. If there's a will there's a way. Set a thermometer in that room and just be careful that you don't let your critters get too warm or the hair will slip before you skin them.
 

KrisB

Ten Pointer
The adventure continues! I got to talk to QBD today, who was at Lee's when I went over to pick up the 37 lb beaver. So we all hung out and talked trapping and went up the road to get hot dogs and talk more trapping and then came back to Lee's and finished talking trapping and I took the 37 lb beaver home! Had a great time and learned a lot!

Long story short, I started skinning the 37 lb beaver at 4:00 pm today, stopped at 6:45 pm for a break and food, and got back at it at 7:45 pm and just finished skinning that beaver at 9:30 pm! Also saved some of the meat so I can hit up YanceyGreenhorn for some recipes! My back is killing me, I'm tuckered out, and I have to clean up the room and the knives I used. I am hoping it will be OK to skin the first beaver (the 25 lb one) early tomorrow. It is still hanging from the ladder and that room is very cool.

I took pictures at many stages in the process, but I am too tired to post them now. So, here is a picture of the beaver pelt just after I finally got it off the carcass. Will take it and the other beaver pelt to QBD's tomorrow afternoon to flesh it since I was totally unprepared tools-wise for beaver fleshing and boarding.

Big thank you to everybody in the trapping community who have been so kind answering my many questions and giving me encouragement. And thank you to y'all who are enjoying this thread! Made my day for the second time reading the nice replies after I just got done with that beaver.:D

Whew! What a day!
 

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rodman

Ten Pointer
Kris it has been close to a year since you stood in the rain all day at the NWTF workshop. You have had a full year of learning since then huh?👍
 

KrisB

Ten Pointer
Kris it has been close to a year since you stood in the rain all day at the NWTF workshop. You have had a full year of learning since then huh?👍

Yes, a full, rich year of learning! And it all started at that NWTF turkey hunting workshop! I wonder what the other people who went to that workshop are doing now!
 

Aaron H

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Some unsolicited comments on catching beavers. No real reason to change what works BUT those 330s are tough and you sure need to keep a clear head when you set them- they can hurt you. A 280 costs less and is plenty to catch a beaver and easier to set and offers a bit less risk. Way easier and better in my mind than either is snares. I've caught a bunch of beavers in snares and they are perfect for any place a beaver leaves or enters the water, also SO cheap. Just my thoughts. Congratulations on your good beginning
 

lasttombstone

Kinder, Gentler LTS
No problem Aaron. Kris only had stuff for muskrat and I had two old 330s from some years ago so we are just using what we already have instead of spend more. It must be the rust on those 330s or something but they sure seemed harder to compress than they did the last time i used them, probably 10 years ago.
 

KrisB

Ten Pointer
Good news! It only took me an hour and a half (8:00-9:30 AM) to skin the other beaver this morning, probably because I skinned it on a table instead of the floor (the table didn't seem sturdy enough for the 37 lb beaver). Messed up a bit at the end, but I think it came out OK.

Both beavers are skinned now and I will flesh them this afternoon and put them up. If all goes well, I plan to ship them off to be tanned by the professionals. :)

The adventure continues....Thank you, Lee! :)
 

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KrisB

Ten Pointer
Update: Both beavers are fleshed and boarded and will dry over the next week.

Big thank you to QBD for teaching me fleshing and boarding! We got one beaver done and a good ways on the other beaver this afternoon, then I had to go to meet a family member for supper. QBD very kindly finished the beaver and boarded it for me. Can't say thank you enough!

Will update the thread again when the hides are dry and then when they get back from being tanned.
 

YanceyGreenhorn

Still Not a Moderator
inquiring minds need to know
Was the hole you made in the dam repaired?, where the trap disappeared?
If so, your 330... COULD have been used to plug the hole.
I thought the same thing. And the reason I thought it is bc I went thru this exact scenario as a brand new trapper and you told me about it. Went back the next day and sho’ nuff, 330 was plugged in the dam break
 

YanceyGreenhorn

Still Not a Moderator
The adventure continues! I got to talk to QBD today, who was at Lee's when I went over to pick up the 37 lb beaver. So we all hung out and talked trapping and went up the road to get hot dogs and talk more trapping and then came back to Lee's and finished talking trapping and I took the 37 lb beaver home! Had a great time and learned a lot!

Long story short, I started skinning the 37 lb beaver at 4:00 pm today, stopped at 6:45 pm for a break and food, and got back at it at 7:45 pm and just finished skinning that beaver at 9:30 pm! Also saved some of the meat so I can hit up YanceyGreenhorn for some recipes! My back is killing me, I'm tuckered out, and I have to clean up the room and the knives I used. I am hoping it will be OK to skin the first beaver (the 25 lb one) early tomorrow. It is still hanging from the ladder and that room is very cool.

I took pictures at many stages in the process, but I am too tired to post them now. So, here is a picture of the beaver pelt just after I finally got it off the carcass. Will take it and the other beaver pelt to QBD's tomorrow afternoon to flesh it since I was totally unprepared tools-wise for beaver fleshing and boarding.

Big thank you to everybody in the trapping community who have been so kind answering my many questions and giving me encouragement. And thank you to y'all who are enjoying this thread! Made my day for the second time reading the nice replies after I just got done with that beaver.:D

Whew! What a day!
Welcome to the addiction
 

YanceyGreenhorn

Still Not a Moderator
No problem Aaron. Kris only had stuff for muskrat and I had two old 330s from some years ago so we are just using what we already have instead of spend more. It must be the rust on those 330s or something but they sure seemed harder to compress than they did the last time i used them, probably 10 years ago.
Heck I’ve caught some big beavs that barely fit in a 330. Good on you for stepping up and helping out our friend and new trapper. I’d love to drop a buncha money on new stuff, and sometimes I definitely do. But sometimes I’ve gotta just work with what I got. Ten year old traps and you got some beavers, some memories, and may have changed someone’s life. I will agree with Aaron too tho, snares are fun and cheap. Good change up if they won’t go near 330s. Awesome story
 

KrisB

Ten Pointer
We went this afternoon and reset the 330, but it looks like no beaver has come by to repair the hole in the dam we left. We may have cleaned them out!

Took a few pictures of this afternoon's set and of the dam.
 

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sears303

Spike
Very cool!! Any ideas for cooking them up? I read a lot about cooking game meat and also used to be a chef. I'd be super interested to see what you make with them and what you think. Keep us posted!
 
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