Catmandoo - Maybe those raccoons now taste like chicken?
I don't know about tasting like chicken, but I'll bet there's a few in these parts that taste like aquamax....
Scott, I've heard the same thing on muskrat hides. Now if I can only remember where I stored those fur stretchers 30 yrs ago!
FCTex, you haven't experienced all life has to offer until you've walked up on a fully enclosed wooden box trap with it's door closed. 50% anticipation and 50% pure dread. Standard procedure in our family was to circle said trap 2-3 times, then nudge it with your foot while listening intently. No noise required that you lift one end, checking it's heft to see if there was, in fact something in there and not just a false alarm. If you were alone, you moved right into the extraction phase. If, by some chance, you had a buddy, or cousin with you, who was interested in this technique, then you might shake the box, thereby "priming" the animal for it's removal by said cousin/buddy. At this junction I preferred to move well off to one side, under the pretense of having a better shot at the fleeing animal, should it somehow escape the grasp of the extractor.
Instructions would then be issued to gently lift the end of the box trap containing the entrance, slightly raise the sliding door, and reach in and grasp the animals hind legs and, with a firm grasp, withdraw it while simultaneously raising the trapdoor completely. I should mention that the traps were constructed so that the narrow confines prohibited the animal turning around, so the hind legs were always presented for grasping. Curiously, this major design flaw also meant that the business end of a skunk would be in a perfect position to extract revenge for it's overnight incarceration.
If everything went as it should, there would be a rabbit in the trap, and a quick rap on the ears with a 2' piece of broom handle meant the excitement was over.
However, if what was withdrawn turned out to be, say, pretty much anything other than a rabbit, then the excitement had just begun. There might not be fresh game for supper that night, but there would be plenty of laughter at holiday gatherings for years to come.
