coyote trap selection

[charlie75]

Looking for advice.  I have some victor #2 square jaw traps with and mid chain swivel and a double stake swivel.  Is this trap and set up good for coyotes?  I had a couple of pull outs so I am doubting my traps.  Would it be worthwhile to 4 coil them or should I be looking at a new set up?

[mospurs]

While that trap is an excellent mink trap on a slide wire.

Don't spend money making a silk purse out of a sows ear, it's not a coyote trap.

[trapshooter25]

Try replacing the springs with music wire springs because victors don't have the best springs

[gunsmoker 29]

i would go with at lest a number 3 trap or like a mb550 and go with 4 coil fast and big thats the way i likem lol

[luked]

I have about 2 doz if the victor #2s also I put music wire springs on them and I'm gonna use mine for coon this year on some sets we are doing here
that's about all they are good for the Bridger #2 and 1.75s will get the most use on my predator sets

[tjm]

Charlie, if those are the old low lever vics, they were marketed as fox traps and I guess some folks did OK with them before coyote came. Problems are; levers don't come high enough to lock up with a big coyote foot in them and the frames are thin which lets them bend easily and jaws hooked from the out side seem prone to pop out. They can be remade to hold a coyote but the cost in time and parts doesn't justify it.
As spurs said they'll work well for mink, some minkers say they are a favorite.
I'd go shopping. Or run a water line.

[stevep]

Throw on some chew guards and those old thin vict #2 make a smoking awesome coon catcher. I have 3 dozen all done up just for that and will do another 3 or 4 dozen when this craze is over and I can go back to buying them for 2-3 buck each instead of the 5 that people think they are worth.


Steve

[tjm]

stevep, that will work,and I have turned a few into usable 1.75 (which is the what frame the was, any how) and at a couple bucks might be wort the effort, but I still don't think it's a go to coyote trap. Think how many cheap MBs will be on the market when the bubble pops. Even if the fur market stays as it was in June, I think there will be traps in the pawn shops this time next year. Like the gold rush, the ones that get rich are the ones selling supplies in these boom days.

[ozarkmountainman]

Two years. Then we (TRAPPERS) will be makin' buys.

Dale

[ozarkmountainman]

And I give trappin' supplies away. Just ask my customers...

Dale

[tjm]

Pay shipping out of your pocket too, Dale? That always seems to cost more than the product.

[charlie75]

Thanks all. Never thought of these as a mink or coon set. I have been running a lot of dog prof traps for coons and I have dozen or 2 of bridger 1.5 that I was going to put on slides for mink and coon. Stevep how did you put on chew guards. These victors actually must be a little newer as the jaw hooks on the inside. I read in Michigan outdoor magazine or somewhere to set them up the way I have them but I know I had 2 pull outs for sure last week. I have held a couple yotes in them but as I am learning it sucks and I lose confidence when I lose a catch. On a side note I am hooked so when prices drop the MB used will too.

[charlie75]

Ok so what does everyone think of the Duke number 2 offset for coyote. Obviously just about everyone I talk to says go with MB550 offset. I really should spend the money and maybe I will but what would be the next trap down the line that folks would suggest?

[bigjohn]

I'd go with the Bridger line before the Dukes,but that's just me.The Bridgers are pretty much a copy of the Northwoods I use and I never had a problem with them.I believe the Bridgers now come base plated which helps from having the trap frame bent up from coyotes.

[login]

I bought some duke 1.75 offset and used them last year. All I did to those was base plated them and added swivels, never had a pull out.
Speaking of pull outs, how is your pan tension set, are you gettin a deep pad catch or just toe catches for them to pull out. Are they rolling your set? I have held many coyotes in 1.5 before because of my pan tension.

[stevep]

For inside lams I. Just use a little bit of 1/8" steel rod welded in where it won't get in the way of the pan but so that its low enough that it will keep a coon from getting its snout inside so that they can't chew themselves.

Steve

[trkyslyr]

Oct 27, 2013 9:08:26 GMT -6 login said:

I bought some duke 1.75 offset and used them last year. All I did to those was base plated them and added swivels, never had a pull out.
Speaking of pull outs, how is your pan tension set, are you gettin a deep pad catch or just toe catches for them to pull out. Are they rolling your set? I have held many coyotes in 1.5 before because of my pan tension.

X1000!!!!! all my yotes last year were caught in DUKE 1.75 traps... If a bridger is a northwwoods, and a northwoods is a Duke with a square jaw, what is a Bridger? HMMMMM, A DUKE WITH SQUARE JAWS!!!!!

[bigjohn]

Not sure where you come up with a Northwoods being a Duke,not even close.Don't see many big numbers guys running Dukes on their coyote lines.Must be a reason for that,don't you think?Try to find some #2 or #3 Northwoods.They are scooped up as fast as they are advertised on trapping sites.Just a better built trap,same as the Bridgers.

[trkyslyr]

I have a Northwoods... It is the exact measurements as a duke, same type metal, same thickness, same length, etc... That's how....

[bigjohn]

I guess from your experiences,you believe this to be true.I won't argue with you because in your mind you believe it to be true.Have a good one.