1877 Eagle claw mouse trap

[Pitchy]

Made a replica of a 1877 Eagle claw mouse trap today, deadly trap and cool.





A video of a original in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQwtu0uR-9A&t=88s

[M. M. Wright]

Aw man, that is way cool! Gotta look for me one of those. Liked that video.

[FWiedner]

I always wondered about that old saying about "building a better mousetrap".

After watching this video and some of associated You Tubes, I got a clue.

Peoples been wantin' to kill mice for a long time, and have put some serious thought into it.

Some really inventive devices.

[GunnyMack]

I have a .32 door jamb gun that I use as a mouse trap.
10 gr of FFFg, paper towel for wadding, #11 cap with a tea bag full of peanut butter on the trip lever and BOOM ! All ya find is chunks of mouse scattered all over the garage.

[Pitchy]

Thanks fellars, I put some cheese on the trip and have it set but of coarse there won`t be a mouse within a 100 miles.
GunnyMack that sounds cool, remember the game getter they're antiques now and spendy if ya can find one.

[Ji in Hawaii]

Aloha Pitchy, Your skills never fail to impress me, fabricating that "medieval torture device" does not look like an easy task. Thank you for sharing that.
I am a longtime fan and subscriber of Shawn Wood's YouTube channel, always look forward to "Mouse Trap Mondays" especially when he features antique mouse traps. I am amazed by how many people over the last 400 years have been trying to "build a better mouse trap".

[Pitchy]

Thanks Ji, yep I found his website about a week ago he builds and has some nice traps.
A dependable good working trap is the walk the plank trap, I bought one on ebay last night to test out.
I also bought a few wood Victors that I plan on putting a row of nails around the bottom edge.
My eagle claw didn`t turn out as good as I would of liked it doesn`t open up as far as it should but when all ya have to go by is a picture and vid.
Here`s a good website too.
http://rickcicciarelli.com/traps.html

[.45colt]

Too Cool Pitchy...We have loads of mice thanks to the oak trees outside. My job to catch them is never done.

[Pitchy]

Too Cool Pitchy...We have loads of mice thanks to the oak trees outside. My job to catch them is never done.

Thanks pard, have ya tried one of those walk the plank on the edge of a bucket, or ya can put a pop can on a wire across the top and put peanut butter on it.

[GunnyMack]

As soon as I get real internet access back I'll watch the video- that trap has me thinking!! Wonder if it would work on chipmunks that are living in my shop walls!?

[Pitchy]

Another rare trap I made a few years ago, never caught a mouse in it though.
Mouse goes in the back then trips the door then goes along the side and enters the wheel and when it turns he can`t get out.
GunnyMack they made a bigger model that probably would, they also used that trap for catching fish.

[Old No7]

Both of those are neat Pitchy!

That last one reminds me of the Trojan Horse!

Maybe it's a Trojan Mouse....

Old No7

[Pitchy]

Both of those are neat Pitchy!

That last one reminds me of the Trojan Horse!

Maybe it's a Trojan Mouse....

Old No7

Thanks, it was called the mouse mobile, they sell for a couple grand if ya can find one.
I found one Eagle claw for sale on the web that was missing the trigger assy. and they want 1750.00 for it.

[.45colt]

Pitchy, I did try the bucket of water with the soda can spinners. only caught a few much to my surprise. some of these buggers are really talented and actually get the peanut butter off of a victor standard mouse trap without setting it off. last year I tried two of these and they work very well. not as cool as yours though.http://www.victorpest.com/victor-tin-ca ... indow-m308

[Pitchy]

I have one of those also and they work good but I like to kill them, I think the walk the plank trap will work good when I get mine I`ll test it out.

[Sixgun]

Pitchy,
You have more energy than me......beautiful work...as always.......beings that I am half Italian I tend to take to lazy approach.....this mouse trap really works, ...24/7 and the only thing as far as maintenance is concerned is a handful of cat food.

In 43 years at our house I can honestly say I have never seen a mouse in the house......many in the barn..big mommas....rats



Mean!!! Twinkles is in her perch

[Pitchy]

ya Six that`s the ticket all right but I like setting my trap line and making different traps.

[OldWin]

Nice work Lenn! I've never seen those before.
We have a mouse trap in these parts that doesn't need to be re-set. Leave em in camps and such when nobody will be there.
Take a water bucket and fill it half with water. Run a piece of wire between the handle eyes with a beer can hung from it by the wire length wise through a hole in the bottom and top at center. Put peanut butter around the middle and a paint stir stick up to the edge of the pail at the eye.
Mouse gets out to the can for the PB but the can rolls and with no grip he goes in the water. Takes his last swim.
Works over and over.

[Pitchy]

Thanks Jay, yep I`ve made those and they work good, I mentioned it back a ways, the walk the plank trap does the same thing but fancier.

[GunnyMack]

Best mouse trap I ever had or saw was my Jack Russell. He could hear ,smell, feel anything alive. He was going nuts in the garage one day, just rooting through the recycling containers. I couldn't figure out what he was after until I saw a lone mouse inside a vermouth bottle, the bottle was in a 5 gal bucket.
Didn't matter what it was he hunted it. Cats,squirrels,rats ,coons, opossum(Pennsylvania road otter)deer( got his butt kicked a few times!) and even chased bears! He trees on once for 4 hours, I got tired of the barking went out to get him when I realized he had girdled the tree!

[Pitchy]

Yepper those animals are born hunters, our Snoopy dog would tree a stripped squirrel and sit there and bark for hours.
If he got hold of one he would shake the thing till it expired.

[Pitchy]

Built another trap from Shawn Woods website, remodeled the trigger mechanism a bit.

[OldWin]

That's neat Pitchy. I've never seen any of these. Must have been living under a rock.

[Sixgun]

That last one sure is a mean looking contraption....I can visualize the spring come snapping down......pow! I got you m.f!

Knowing how good you are with these things, I can only imagine what you hold in store for trespassers. ---6

[Pitchy]

Thanks guys.

[OldWin]

That last one sure is a mean looking contraption....I can visualize the spring come snapping down......pow! I got you m.f!

Knowing how good you are with these things, I can only imagine what you hold in store for trespassers. ---6

Haha yeah!
Pitchy's house of horrors!
When word gets out, there won't be a mouse within 20 miles of his place!
Keep up the good work, Lenn.

[Bill in Oregon]

Lenn, I had no idea of the rich history of mousetraps. I was surprised at how well that four-hole French trap worked in Shawn's video.
Your version of the Eagle Claw sure looks purposeful!

[Pitchy]

Thanks Jay and Bill.
I have one of those round traps Bill, they work good.

[Pitchy]

Modified Tomcat trap.

[OldWin]

Haha slick!
I just went over in my dad's back garage yesterday to check his "trap line". Got one, so I re-set. Gotta keep em out of dad's old Jeep while its hibernating.

[M. M. Wright]

Lenn, I bought several of those tomcats and never caught a mouse unless I put peanut butter on that bait paddle but I like your mod. We just keep a couple of cats in the house. Still a few mice but they stay hid. Once in my shop I killed a rat with a Colt SAA in 44-40. DRT

[piller]

Terriers of any kind are born to hunt.

[GunnyMack]

So Pitchy have you baited your eagle claw repro yet?

[Pitchy]

So Pitchy have you baited your eagle claw repro yet?

I have three traps set including that one, considering we have a couple foxes living under the barn and a couple wild cats I think they're getting all the mice.

[GunnyMack]

So what you are saying is you need to scale that up to fox/cat size so you can test the mouse version

Yes having predators about sure helps control the vermin. I know that after my JRT went to the happy hunting grounds the chipmunk population breathed a sigh of relief and then BOOMED!

[Pitchy]

Yep ole Snoop dog raised havoc with the ground squirrels, he would act tough and chase after a ground hog or stray cat until they stopped running and hissed at him then he would come running back yelping with his tail between his legs.

[GunnyMack]

Not my JRT- if whatever he was chasing stopped he would hit it full bore, mouth first snapping & snarling!! Didn't matter if it was squirrel skunk or bear!

[Pitchy]

But he`s a little bigger than Snoopy Snoop tore up squirrels good.

[piller]

Our Rat Terrier, Masked Marvel, has killed several rats and a few squirrels. I haven't seen one in months.