Winter and Spring Trapping 
(Continued from page 47) 
a place on the ice for a hole. Do not 
get where the water is too deep. If 
the current is swift, so much the bet- 
ter. Take two stakes and between 
them nail a board. just large enough 
to hold the set. Push the “stand” 
through the hole in the ice so the plat- 
form is about six inches under water, 
Next lower some coarse salt tied in a 
sack. Put the trap on top this. Mink 
passing the opening are almost sure 
to try and enter the open water. In 
doing so, they are caught. Naturally, 
it is best to stake low on the “leg” of 
the platform so the fur bearer will 
drown soon after being taken. 
The pelt hunter will realize that if 
the hole is made as late as possible 
in the day, the more chances are that 
ice will not form until mink have had 
a chance to move about. When visit- 
ing the place next day, open the hole 
if necessary again. Sets like this are 
almost. sure to get results provided 
there are fur bearers near and care 
is exercised in the preparation. 
Professional pelt hunters never 
overlook narrow places in_ small 
streams where the water is reasonably 
shallow. They generally drive down 
stakes early in the year or later, put 
rocks, etc. in place so as to form nar- 
row lanes through which the current 
runs. It is well known to them that 
mink will travel under the ice and 
when the weather is cold, traps are 
in place to get the game. Try this 
method at likely spots in case signs 
indicate the presence of fur bearers. 
The muskrat will be the most profit- 
able of all animals to take. The pelts 
are at their best in late winter and 
early spring. The amateur, even 
though he knows this, never attempts 
much in the way of trapping, simply 
because he does not understand the 
methods to employ. Really, the mus- 
quash is not easy to take in cold 
weather because it does not move 
about freely. In some localities, spear- 
ing is resorted to but the damage to 
houses has been so great that it is 
now prohibited by law. Those who 
wish to propagate the animals are 
not interested in this method of get- 
ting skins, especially since “speared 
rats” never bring top prices. Fur- 
ther, great practice and not a little 
skill are required also. The true pelt 
hunter prefers to depend upon his sets 
for his game. 
Frequently, traps may be placed at 
the entrances of dens or houses when 
ice covers the streams and lakes. Even 
this is illegal in some places. When 
such is the case, one must content him- 
self by seeking water trails in and 
near feeding grounds which muskrat 
(Continued on page 64) 

In Marsh, in Field and at the Traps 
1924 was a year of achievement 
for TC. Smith Guns 
1924 was a year in which the sportsman literally bowed in acknowl- 
edgment to L. C. Smith achievements in shotgun manufacture. 
He found that the new L. C. Smith Long Range Gun, specially cham- 
bered for the new 3” shell, would extend his range from 15 to 25 yards 
and that it was the hardest hitting gun on which he had ever pulled 
trigger. 
At the traps, in 1924, L. C. Smith guns scored repeated wins all over 
the country. In the Grand American Handicap the name L. C. Smith 
was repeatedly associated with the winners in the important events. 
The answer is that the L. C. Smith gun of today, with forty years of 
experience in gun manufacture behind it, is more than ever before the 
gun the sportsman requires. It matters not what your gun require- 
ments are, there is an L. C. Smith gun that will meet them. And 
remember—no matter what you may pay for a firearm you cannot 
buy a more efficient or more serviceable gun than L. C. Smith. 


° 
Write for catalog 319. 
HUNTER ARMS CoO,., Inc., Fulton, N. Y. 
McDonald & Linforth, Pacific Coast Representatives 
Call Bldg., San Francisco, Cal. 
Export Office: 50 Church Street, New York City 





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