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antler trap

Huckleberry Finn

Senior Member
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135
[video=youtube;pAxKlJWvr9M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAxKlJWvr9M&feature=player_embedded[/video]

Fixed it for ya.
 

Gern186

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
10,171
201
NW Ohio Tundra
Ok, so what happens if the bucks antlers aren't ready to come off yet? Here are my thoughts, sorry if it offends anybody.

The deer gets caught in the chicken wire and a struggle ensues. This is a very BAD idea for a number of obvious reasons. An antler will only come off when it is ready to come off. There are a lot of other antler traps that can be made just as cheaply that won't risk injuring a deer.

This slob should call this the "lazy man's antler trap" instead of the poor mans antler trap.

I have an idea fat boy......try walking around and find them where the deer naturally sheds them. It sure wouldn't hurt him any to walk a few miles.

Here is an idea that is just as easy and maybe cheaper......take 2 bales of straw and place them at 45 degree angles to each other. Then place your corn on the inside edges of the "x". Same theory, but you won't have to worry about a buck getting tangled up in a bunch of wire.
 
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Kujo

Junior Member
157
0
Maumee, OH
I agree with gern. DO NOT USE CHICKEN WIRE!

Place your bait pile inside some brush, or by a bunch of trees that have branches lower to the ground. That way the bucks will still need to hit their antlers on the brush or trees, but it will not harm the deer.
 

swamp_donkey819

Junior Member
good ideas from both of ya i guess now that i look at it that way it would be more of a deer trap rather then a antler trap, like i said i like walking around looking for em gives me another reason to be in the woods, i seen one that was worese then the chicken wire to where it looked like a cattle feeder i mean if the deer were to stick his head in one of those and and antler would catch and the deer panicked that could lead to a bad outcome right ?
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
Ok, so what happens if the bucks antlers aren't ready to come off yet? Here are my thoughts, sorry if it offends anybody.

The deer gets caught in the chicken wire and a struggle ensues. This is a very BAD idea for a number of obvious reasons. An antler will only come off when it is ready to come off. There are a lot of other antler traps that can be made just as cheaply that won't risk injuring a deer.

This slob should call this the "lazy man's antler trap" instead of the poor mans antler trap.

I have an idea fat boy......try walking around and find them where the deer naturally sheds them. It sure wouldn't hurt him any to walk a few miles.

Here is an idea that is just as easy and maybe cheaper......take 2 bales of straw and place them at 45 degree angles to each other. Then place your corn on the inside edges of the "x". Same theory, but you won't have to worry about a buck getting tangled up in a bunch of wire.

I totall agree, Chad. Chicken wire, IMO, is not a good idea for antler traps. Think about this... How shitty would you feel if you walked up to the trap and, instead of finding his antlers, you find the deer you've been chasing all season tangled up and dead in your 'poor man's antler trap?' That would be absolutely terrible.

I made my own antler trap a couple years ago and posted a thread on the 'other' site. I'll have to dig up some pics this afternoon and post it up here. It utilizes bungie cords instead of chicken wire, that way the bucks that aren't ready to shed aren't going to get tangled up. I never even pulled it out of the barn last season, but I may have to give it another try this winter.
 

Beentown

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,740
154
Sunbury, OH
I didn't watch this guy because I couldn't stand him.

I have used and made antler traps out of different materials. I think those thinking chicken fence is going to kill them are sensationalizing it a bit. Deer are around fences all the time. Hell, all of our properties are fenced. In 30 years we have had one incident...a fawn impailed itself on a fence post.

If the posts are properly driven and the fence is mounted tight it is not going anywhere. The deer is eating in front of it not fighting it. The concept is to give resistance so an antler that is ready to fall off where you want it to.

I am having a hard time putting my thoughts down (been sick) but the odds of killing a deer with an antler trap made out of chicken wire are slim, like Powerball slim. Fences are part of a deers everyday life.

Beentown
 

rgecko23

*Supporting Member*
7,466
0
Massillon, Ohio
I totall agree, Chad. Chicken wire, IMO, is not a good idea for antler traps. Think about this... How shitty would you feel if you walked up to the trap and, instead of finding his antlers, you find the deer you've been chasing all season tangled up and dead in your 'poor man's antler trap?' That would be absolutely terrible.

I made my own antler trap a couple years ago and posted a thread on the 'other' site. I'll have to dig up some pics this afternoon and post it up here. It utilizes bungie cords instead of chicken wire, that way the bucks that aren't ready to shed aren't going to get tangled up. I never even pulled it out of the barn last season, but I may have to give it another try this winter.


I remember that, wasn't it with bungee straps or something like that?
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,741
274
North Carolina
I don't think that trap is strong enough to hold a deer even if it gets stuck in it, that buck will rip it too shreds IMHO.....
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
Here's one that I made... It's only been tested for a short time and so far has never "caught" any antlers. Might have to give it another try this season.

Pick a spot with an overhanging limb...


Screw an earth anchor into the ground...


Slide barrel slot over earth anchor and shove a steel rod through the earth anchor to hold it down...


Run bungie cords from the barrel up to the overhanging limb...


Wahlaaaa! Homemade antler trap with 50# of corn installed. :)
 

Schu72

Well-Known Member
3,864
113
Streetsboro
I have also heard of guys stacking hay bales to create a "V" formation. Then drive rebar through the bales to keep them in place and then set a gravity/tube feeder in the "V". The antlers are constantly making contact with the bales and hopefully fall off.
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
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I don't think that trap is strong enough to hold a deer even if it gets stuck in it, that buck will rip it too shreds IMHO.....


Agreed.. Although there are better ways to do it I don;t think it will kill a deer. It's a thin wire that'll hold a chicken but not a deer. Worst case a deer gets hung in it and gets to carry around some wire for a couple weeks until they actually shed. :smiley_chinrub:Would be easier to find matched sets if they were tangled together though. lmao
 

Gern186

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
10,171
201
NW Ohio Tundra
Agreed.. Although there are better ways to do it I don;t think it will kill a deer. It's a thin wire that'll hold a chicken but not a deer. Worst case a deer gets hung in it and gets to carry around some wire for a couple weeks until they actually shed. :smiley_chinrub:Would be easier to find matched sets if they were tangled together though. lmao

Oh, it won't be the wire that will kill the deer, it will be the infection from all the razor wire cuts to the head and pedicel of the antler that will kill him.....:smiley_depressive:

Trust me guys, there are better ways of getting antlers than this.
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Oh, it won't be the wire that will kill the deer, it will be the infection from all the razor wire cuts to the head and pedicel of the antler that will kill him.....:smiley_depressive:

Trust me guys, there are better ways of getting antlers than this.

I could see it causing extreme damage if you set it in say November... But a little wire in the rack a couple weeks before he sheds shouldn't cause too much devastating damage. I agree however there are far better ways and i would never do this.. But i don't think it's Armageddon either.
 

Beentown

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,740
154
Sunbury, OH
I have never seen any proof that an antler trap has caused damage. I just don't see it happening. Is there a chance of an issue? Sure. It is less of a chance than them getting hurt on fence rows or old equipment laying on the ground.

Beentown
 

bthompson1004

Member
1,238
100
NWOhio!
I was thinking about using the blue plastic drums, but thanks to BigSlam asking me about antler traps, I found this thread and i kind of like the chicken wire idea...can set multiple locations for increased opportunity for much cheaper also.