Coyotehunter.net

For those of you who are getting into trapping as i am i have a tip for you. When i received my new traps the first thing i did was put them in the dishwasher. I ran the cycle on high heat and loaded it up with detergent. When the cycle was done my conibears already had a light coat of rust on them. The footholds had a little spotty rust on them. The metal was really dried out. With the metal being so dry i feel that the dieing process should really take to the trap. It was quick, easy, and no mess. I put the swivels and and j-hooks in the silverware holder and washed them also. When i was done i ran a empty cycle and it looked like i never even washed traps in it. When i modify them tonight i will post pics of how much they rusted. Any other tips that someone has feel free to let me know cause i am a rookie at this trapping

I'm assuming the misses was gone

LOL

I made the mistake of washing my traps in the diswasher infront of the wife! I got the longest stare down of my life. It did work good, and the dishwasher looked good at the end

she was around and doesn't care if i make a mess as long as i clean it up. On the other hand i did get my a$$ chewed when she got home and i had all my trapping supplies layed out and it smelled like a skunk ( I told her it was the smell of success and i dont think she understood) Then it took me a while before it clicked when jamie told me the smell was in the cardboard boxes

LMFAO

Those boxes smelled terrible! Got to love coyote hunting!!!

Are you just doing conibears or are you doing foot hold also. On the conibears if you are painting them or using a speed dip you may want to put some tape over the trigger notch and the trigger to keep it clean. Happy Trapping, Dave
Dont forget to get tags on the traps also.

I am running all leg holds, good reminder on trap tags, I usually forget something as important as that

I have been rotting down some horse back straps and it is getting to the point that I am going to have to move the operation out of town. I have 2 neihbors who's bedroom windows are only 20 yards from the back of my garage now. They just built the townhouse and now people are moving in. I love the dishwasher Idea, I use the pressure washer at the car wash.

I also use the car wash or just a bucket of soap, let sit for a day and then hang for a week and then speed dip them. i usually touched up the triggers with a file and would do this after speed dip to clean off trigger and clean up the burres ect..

I've used the car wash and aslo just dug a hole and threw them in there with some water to let sit before boiling.

Lyonch, did you ever take pics. of the finished product from the dishwasher? I might have to give it a try if it worked out well for your dying.

1shooter i did not take any pics of them. The dishwasher was used to get the grease off the traps and help start the rusting process. There is something in those detergents/soaps that really makes metal rust. After they were done, they had to sit outside in the summer for about a month before they were rusty enough to be ready to die. the one thing that will rust a trap faster than anything is some good old fashion rain then sun. Make sure you put everything togther on the traps and then wash them. I made the mistake of having to wash all of the parts seperately . It was no big deal, but it was a pain in the backside. Also modify the traps after they are done rusting. After modifications or made then dye and wax them and then set pan tensions. Once thats all completed, you will have a trap that is ready to be bedded.

1shooter, you can also take them to the carwash and spray them down really good, then just leave them outside for a couple of weeks, and they will be nice and rusty.

I tried the dishwasher and it worked great for my conibears, and only worked ok for my foothold trap. The conibears took dye really well and will have to try rusting the foothold trap again. I need to have a light coat of surface rust over EVERY part of the trap, right? I think I'll try taking the foothold trap to the car wash to see what kind of rust I can get from it. That #3 duke is a tough ruster! I plan on putting out a bucket set or two today, will let you know what I find!

my footholds took a little more time to rust than the conibears. The footholds are made of a different steel than the conibears. There are a lot of different grades and methods that go into steel manufacturing. You will need a pretty good layer of dust before they take the dye. the first time you dye them they wont come out as nice as the conibears do. After they are used for a season, you will notice they come out a lot darker the following season. The fastest way to rust something, is to introduce some vineger in the equation and that will start the process quite quickly.