a shotgun and a shovel? sorry, this sounds like bull.
(aside, the day my grandparents came to visit me at college, my grandfather told me if any of these "long haired idiot boys" bother me, to call him up because he has a shotgun and a shovel and will take care of it. and then he looked me dead in the eye and said "i mean it." and walked away.).
What do you have in the trap? The only thing that worked for us was tuna. Every time, the trap would have a mad as fuck raccoon waiting for us in the morning.