Sifting Snow

What is the best way to sift snow over your trap? I have seen a few posts That talked about making a large wooden spoon just wondered what some other techniques might be. This is my first time at land trapping in the snow.

I use my dirt sifter to sift snow.Throw in a clump and use your hand to grate it back and forth over the mesh.This works well if your using snow with a crust on it,powder snow will work good also,the wet packy snow doesn't sift to well.It tends to pack to the inside of the sifter and clog up the mesh.

Skinner69, thats kinda what I thought also just use my sifter but then I thought maybe the snow would stick and wouldn't go through. I'm going to give it a try this year just never trapped in the snow.Like I said I did see posts on using this big spoon but I will be walking some distance and less to carry is better. Thanks for the Info.

I just use my dirt sifter.Works fine for me.

quick tip on sifting snow, keep your sifter in the cold, not in the warmth of your vehicle, dont use your hands to handle the snow while you sift, use your sifter to scoop the snow up with and sift from higher up, so the snow, has a chance to let the cold air freeze dry the snow, for lack of better wording on its way back down.

another tip is unless you have an extended cold front forcasted, its not worth diddling around sifting snow, as you will be spending more time being frustrated with crusted trap beds than its worth, better off with methods and sets that are a little more maintenance user time friendly in freeze and thaw conditions....jim

When sifting snow sift it from as high as possible. Don't bend. Stand up straight. You want the snow to be cold when it hits your trap. (Boy does that sound stupid !) This is to avoid crusting.

I guess the friction from sifting melts it a little. That extra 2 feet before it hits the ground gives it a chance to freeze up again.

Musher is right handeling snow with your hands or even with a sifter will warm it up and cause it to crust on your trap. use a steel spoon or spaltula to handle the snow and avoid sifting and keep it as cold as the outdoors in otherwords keep it in the back of the truck or on the snow machine not in the heated cab or under the hood

Well they are all right except you need to know that to sift snow over a set you need DRY and I mean dry snow. Experenced trappers know that when snow is disturbed it will bind togeather different than snow that settled from falling naturally. If you have snow that is dry to begin with and sift or spoon it from as high as you can[to airate it] and the trap is a cold as the outside temp [certainly below freezing] it will cover a trap nicely............ how the trap is bedded and what is over the top of it is another whole story!!!!!! Here in Maine we have to pick the storm correctly ........... for a natural cover of snow if you are setting just ahead of the storm. Sometimes it comes perfect; and its just to bad for the coyote........... but lots of times it is too wet and after frontal passage the temps drop and you got a crust and non functioning trap!!!! Good Luck!

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