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Questions on "double C" hog trap
#6156916
01/27/16 03:17 AM
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 374
StretchR
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 374 |
Thinking of building a hog trap to reduce the population at my lease. I like the double C corral shape. The sample that the TAMU extension built in a YouTube video is giant!
So, the questions. I know, bigger is better, but how big around is big enough? Tied to that question, what is the minimum height for the corral? The compromise is either size OR diameter. Five-foot tall utility panels are about $50 each. On the other hand, 50" panels are about half that price.
Would a larger, but shorter, pen be better than a smaller, but 10" taller pen? Would a strand of barbed wire around (above) the top of the 50" pen keep pigs from jumping out? Or should I go with taller panels but a smaller corral?
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Re: Questions on "double C" hog trap
[Re: StretchR]
#6157008
01/27/16 03:58 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,162
flintknapper
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,162 |
Single 'C' design works well enough, but regardless the design you choose make it as large as you can afford to do.
I won't put up a pen trap that is less than 20' across, larger is better.
My recommendation for panels is 4" x 4" x 60" x 16' utility panels (Tractor Supply and other Farm stores carry it).
The smaller 'mesh' size will prevent all but the smallest piglets from escaping and the added height will greatly discourage climbing and jumping by the adults.
I've been trapping hogs for over 25 years and I abandoned shorter panels (48"-50") long ago. Hogs can jump higher than you might think and more than a few will 'climb' the panels. Often they get one or more of their hind legs caught in the last set of squares (at top) and end up dangling until they die from the stress of struggling.
A short panel makes them think they can 'clear it' and they will try it repeatedly. With a taller panel they normally give up quickly and start looking to the bottom of it for a possible escape route.
Barbed Wire at the top is not easily seen or recognized as a deterrent, but they can see panel squares.
I know the cost is greater for 60" tall panels....but it is much better to build it right ONCE...than to invite escape.
Save up...if you have to, buy the best panels you can find. Place T-Posts no farther apart than 7', a group of adult hogs can really SLAM your trap panels when they run.
When you check your trap...approach it slowly and let the hogs see you slowly advance. They are less likely to panic and cause the entire group to run headlong into a small section of your trap.
A SLOW approach normally results in them 'milling', a few will run into the panels.
The rounder your pen...the more likely they will 'mill' (follow the outline of the pen).
Best of luck to you.
Flint.
Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
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Re: Questions on "double C" hog trap
[Re: StretchR]
#6157618
01/27/16 05:00 PM
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 494
hornet527
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 494 |
go with the taller panels
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Re: Questions on "double C" hog trap
[Re: StretchR]
#6157942
01/27/16 07:58 PM
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 374
StretchR
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Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 374 |
Flintknapper, thanks for the detailed advice. It looks like it will just be another trip before I can buy the panels.
Hornet, looks like the extra foot might make some difference...
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Re: Questions on "double C" hog trap
[Re: StretchR]
#6158009
01/27/16 08:35 PM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,162
flintknapper
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,162 |
Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
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Re: Questions on "double C" hog trap
[Re: StretchR]
#6158095
01/27/16 09:25 PM
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 374
StretchR
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 374 |
Unless my count is off, that IS a 5-foot (60") panel. Do you now use something even taller, or is the rare pig that can get to 5-feet worth the risk?
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Re: Questions on "double C" hog trap
[Re: StretchR]
#6158297
01/27/16 11:35 PM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,162
flintknapper
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,162 |
Unless my count is off, that IS a 5-foot (60") panel. Do you now use something even taller, or is the rare pig that can get to 5-feet worth the risk? I use a 5'panel, the picture shown is also 5' panel (not my trap), the point (related in my previous post) is that shorter panels 48"-50" encourage more attempts at escape. Even if you have 5' panels some hogs will climb it, but most will be thwarted. The pic is just an illustration of what I have found...using 48" panels, before switching. I've also had game pics of a certain number of hogs in the trap (at the time the door closed) and then found fewer hogs in it when I checked it. Clear evidence that some were escaping. Bent panel tops and hair on the panel tops...indicate escape/attempts as well. This happened not infrequently...when I used 48" panel. When mature hogs see a 48" panel...escape looks much more 'doable' and some will repeatedly try to jump or climb it. The taller panels (while not escape proof) make a big difference in my experience.
Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
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Re: Questions on "double C" hog trap
[Re: StretchR]
#6158317
01/27/16 11:47 PM
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Joined: May 2015
Posts: 4,140
Dalee7892
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 4,140 |
What we did on a round pen was use the 48" high and then took a heavy fence 36" added to the top. This was cheaper than the 60" panels. Did tie the upper part, tie wire, to the panels below. Still when started to shoot they tried everything to get out.
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Re: Questions on "double C" hog trap
[Re: flintknapper]
#6158344
01/28/16 12:09 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,162
flintknapper
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,162 |
Although this set up (mine) is not as wide or long as I normally make them (set up in a lane) you can get a good idea of the height of the panels (at 5'). These pigs have only been in the trap for about 5 minutes (I tripped the gate by hand from a tree stand) and have already settled down. They know they can't escape. Below is a blurry picture I took of a small hog (perhaps 45 lbs.) that kept trying to jump out of the trap. In the pic he is not even at the apex of his jump and you can see that he would have gotten his front legs over the top of a 48" panel. A larger, more powerful hog might do so...easily. This pic represents what I normally build (the smallest trap I will erect). And just for fun....don't forget the 'Corn Arrow' (;
Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
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Re: Questions on "double C" hog trap
[Re: StretchR]
#6158569
01/28/16 02:16 AM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 11,904
Simple Searcher
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 11,904 |
Good advice flintknapper I have had a lot of problems with deer getting caught in traps. I finally built a few open top traps, like the one pictured below, 4' sides. I keep a game camera on the traps and as far as I know I have never lost a hog from one of them. I have had several deer on camera and pictures of them jumping out. A few fawns could not make the leap and I let them out through the 8' door without issue. The double upper rail acts as a better deterrent than I thought, even the big pigs that have leapt at it have fallen back to inside. They cannot get their lower feet in the mesh to climb. They will leap and get their front feet over the rail and then the back feet were just kicking in the air, it is funny to see. This trap comes apart into 4 pieces and stacks up like plywood in the bed of the truck. I might loose a high flying flintknapper pig someday but deer getting out is a good thing for us.
"Man is still a hunter, still a simple searcher after meat..." Robert C. Ruark
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Re: Questions on "double C" hog trap
[Re: StretchR]
#6158674
01/28/16 03:06 AM
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 374
StretchR
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 374 |
Great pictures! I won't get a trap built this weekend, but maybe soon.
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Re: Questions on "double C" hog trap
[Re: flintknapper]
#6158745
01/28/16 03:52 AM
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Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 13,614
1860.colt
emoji colt.45
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emoji colt.45
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 13,614 |
like your traps, sir... Bigger the better....
i'm postaddic
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Re: Questions on "double C" hog trap
[Re: StretchR]
#6159066
01/28/16 02:14 PM
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Joined: May 2015
Posts: 4,140
Dalee7892
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 4,140 |
Anyone ever thought about tilting the fence panels inward on an angle?
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Re: Questions on "double C" hog trap
[Re: Dalee7892]
#6160015
01/29/16 12:57 AM
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Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 13,614
1860.colt
emoji colt.45
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emoji colt.45
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 13,614 |
Anyone ever thought about tilting the fence panels inward on an angle? In the Dakota's bucking corrals slant slightly out wards, saves on knee's when bronc hugs the fence...
i'm postaddic
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