Caught this yesterday.



I used an aldridge.

Very good. Nice sized bear too!

Nice! Did you haul it home in the hated side by side?

Nope! This is from another location. The SxS bear is still in the woods.

If you get some time, could you show us the foot snare set itself? There's talk of Wisconsin allowing some sort of foot snare tool for bear. Also, what caliber is your dispatch weapon?

Thanks, Frank.

Can you sell the gall? -- Hal

We haven't been able to sell gall bladders for quite a while now. The sale of them made bear trapping profitable. But the actions of idiots made them illegal. I believe that Asian countries now farm bears for their galls.

I've used everything from a .12 with slugs to a 30-06 to dispatch bears. The one in the photo was killed with a .22 mag. It is a very efficient caliber. A .22 can be hit or miss if location on the skull is off.

I'll try to get photos of the traps. There are several models to choose from. I lost one aldridge this year. I had a bear and now I can't find it. Sometimes a bear will toss it a long ways or bury it in the catch circle. I searched with a rake and a metal detector to no avail. It has orange tape on it ....

I've checked a few places to buy another but I haven't found any yet. Most people are using M-15's in buckets. There are also the Belisle foot snares and a few others. Some guys use 280's and 330's. I'm tried with little success. And if you miss, the bear doesn't come back! There is even a trigger attachment that you can buy that converts a 330 into a foot snare trap. I have not tried it.

How are they using large body grip traps?. Doesn't your equipment need to be approved species by species?

The law says that you must use a tool designed to catch the animal with a snare by the foot.It also says that steel jawed traps and neck snares (spring season only) are illegal. Neck snares are permitted in the fall.

A larger body grip is set so that lies flat on the ground. A snare is loosely tied to the upper jaw. When the animal sets off the trap, the snare closes on the foot as the trap is shaken off by the bear.

The SzS bear got shot at, and missed, by a cottager. It might be a few days before it comes back - or it might not come back.

Do you cable the snare to a good sized, healthy tree? I know nothing about bear snares, but I am guessing that your average bear can pull any stake that has ever been invented. And, how long is the fastening device? I am sure you don't want to find a bear in your snare, running around on 10' of lead. And--- when caught, are they usually docile or are they ready to eat you ?

Ron