Wolf and Coyote Trapping: An Up-to-Date Wolf Hunter's Guide / Giving the Most Successful Methods of Experienced "Wolfers" for Hunting and Trapping These Animals, Also Gives Their Habits in Detail.

by A. R. Harding

A Snow Set.

The bait should be cut into small pieces and tucked into the sides of the snow mound, where it will be out of sight of the birds. Brush out your tracks as you go away and the wind will soon erase every vestige of signs, leaving the snow as smooth as it was before the trap was set, but the mound will freeze hard and no amount of wind can drift it away.

Such a set will remain in working order as long as the weather stays cold. A fresh fall of snow will bury the set for a short time but the wind storm that always follows a snowfall will blow all loose snow off the mound, leaving just a sufficient amount over the trap, as that will be sunken somewhat below the level. The human scent will also pass away in a short time.

This set is practically the same as setting a trap on the level and scattering the bait about, the only reason for setting it on a mound being that it will not be buried by the falling snow.

While the set described does well where wolves are making an occasional trip across the country, for places where the animals are plentiful, some other methods must also be employed.

If one can find where the wolves have killed some animals and are feeding on the carcass, he will note that they have trails where they approach. One may put out a large bait and they will beat a trail about it at times. These trails make excellent places for snow sets.

The best way to make the set is to fasten the chain of the trap to the end of a long pole clog, and having set the trap, split the end of the pole and pinch one of the springs in the split. Now slip a clean paper bag over the trap and stand the pole and trap against a tree somewhere in the neighborhood of the bait, for a day or more, to allow the foreign odors to pass away. This is not always necessary, but it is best. Then go and make the set by pushing the trap under the snow in the wolf's trail, standing as far away as possible and without touching the trap, or the end of the pole that it is fastened to. If the set can be made while it is snowing, or just before a light fall of snow, so much the better. After the trap is set walk back stepping in the same tracks and brushing the footprints away with a bunch of evergreen boughs tied to a stick.

This set is good if the wolves are visiting the carcass regularly but will not remain in good condition very long, as a heavy snowfall will put the trap out of commission.

One of the professional wolf catchers of the western mountain regions, gives the following set: "When there is snow, I cut a piece of soft cloth, white preferred, the size of the jaws, when open, and lay it over the trap, being careful not to let it get into the corners, next to the springs; then cover lightly with snow. The cloth will prevent the snow from getting under the pan of the trap and thus prevent it from springing. It is also a good plan to put a brace under the pan, so that the birds cannot spring the trap. A small forked willow will do, but a better plan is to drill a hole through the pan, near the edge, and place a match, or a tooth pick slanting through the hole to the bed of the trap."

"I use the No. 4 Newhouse trap with long chain, for coyotes and wolves. The bait, I cut in small pieces and scatter all around the trap."