For you who trap beavers....what brand 330do your recommend? I have found lots of info on the type of trap but not much on which brand! Seems lots of folks us the duke 330 but whats the difference in the duke compared to the victor or bridger?

You get what you pay for!

I never dwelled on brand. I bought mine at a hardware store in Brundage and they never failed. I caught several eating my summer plots next to a beaver pond. I was surprised they were able to get their heads in it. It killed them tho. I pit up a 2' fence with an opening . I killed the heck out of'em coming thru the opening. I killed more there than off the slides I put them on. I always anchored them with the chain, but none ever took a step.

If you're going by the book, 330's are illegal in Alabama, above water at least. I think jaw size has to be less than 5 or 6"

Why would you set a trap for beaver or otter that wasn't at least partially submerged anyway?

If you don't want to educate animals set 330's completely submerged with a dive stick. Even that will still make them square shy in time.

Footholds on drowners are as close to perfect in the water world as you'll come. You can catch the old, wise ones in a foothold when all else fails.

I am real limited on water trapping knowledge, so what footholds do you like to use for beaver? On the second point, I asked an officer at a trapping class my son took a few years ago about the conibear regulations for 330 and he said the regulations say it must be "in water". Doesn't say submurged, half submurged, quarter submurged,it just says in water. He said you just had to make sure the water didn't recede enough so your trap ends up on dry land. I am sure it's open to some discretion but that is at least one officers take on it. I believe he was the chief enforcement officer at the time but it's been a few years ago.

The law doesn't specify anything other than "in water". Like I said though unless you want to educate animals set them completely submerged unless there isn't any other option.


Good footholds for beaver are the CDR's, TS-85's, MB 750's or a #4.5 long spring. Running these on drowners are probably the most effective and least likely to educate beavers before you catch them out.

I've got beavers that have beat down paths to a corn field from a creek. Coulda killed em with a 330 there, but not legal.

North40R, would you mind sharing how you set up drowners? Also where do I find the state laws on water sets? I have been looking and cant seem to find anything?

(1) Trap Specifications - no land set leg-hold trap having a jaw width
exceeding 6 inches, leg hold trap having teeth or serrated edges
along the inside of one or both jaws, conibear trap or killer type
trap with jaw width exceeding 5 inches or snares (except powered
foot snare with a maximum loop of 5 1/2 inches) can be used to
trap fur-bearing animals on land. Any person trapping fur-bearing
animals in the State of Alabama must carry with him a choke stick
while running traps. When legally trapped fur-bearing animals are
dispatched with a firearm, only standard .22 caliber or smaller
rimfire firearms may be used.

i read the article about land sets but have found nothing about what is legal or illegal in water?

I'll snap a few pics tomorrow. Just finished setting up a beaver job and I'm tired. It's too hot for waders. Lol!

Basically anything is legal in water. Snares, conibear of any size and any size foothold. I haven't ever read anything different in any regulation I can recall.