coyote trapping

[Cam]

All right lets get the ball rolling,,we are going to start the first topic off with coyotes, What your favorite foot trap,,mod or standard,
snares,lenght;cable size,1x19 or 7x7,dispatch springs or regular
ram power or free hangers,belisle foot snare.
lets here your thoughts.

[Cam]

Who is going to start this off?

[oldyote]

I use the rams with 3/64 with the breakaways. I have learned to love them. Very seldom get a bad catch because if you catch them bad they are usualy gone .

[white316]

I have never used a ram yet.

[robocop]

I want to buy some coil spring foot traps for coyotes,
so far i've been looking at the#3 bridger 2 coil os
is this good or should i go bigger what other options do i have
price wise.I don't want to go over $ 20 per trap

[catmando1]

I like to use MB traps 550's, and 650's, and Montana Special #3's. Personally I like them fully modified. These traps also double for use as my bobcat traps.


Robocop-- Really, the bridger #3 will work just fine. But I would consider the kind of weather you will be trapping in as if you will be haveing freezing weather, snow, frost, etc., the 2-coil traps may not be able to come up through that stuff quick enough in order to hit the animal deeply and cleanly. Without 4-coiling, they many times will delay in fireing, or fire slow, causing a missed animal or a marginal grip on the animal that may allow it to pull out.

Having said that, the price of a modified bridger is roughly the same as many other traps that are considered expensive. MB's come modified to varying degrees, and are ready to go straight out of the box, no adjusting needed. Not true with the bridgers, or any other trap out there exept for sterling, which are MUCH higher. If you do decide on a modified trap, time saved and cost wise you will not come up with a better deal then the mb's, even if you do the work yourself, cost and time will still be very close, making the mb a logical choice. I prefer the 650 over the 550 because the pan tension is adjustable. I also like Montana's, but the cost of them are still comparable with mb, but are not built as heavy. MB are a super heavy trap that will last a life time, plus your kids life time. This is not a commercial, I just have done alot of extensive study and price comparisons to know the mistakes I made in purchases in the past. They are the best deal for a modified trap. If you do not want a modified trap, any will do, but I would choose the bridger, or reg. montana.

[robocop]

Can the 2 springs be added with out to munch trouble to make them 4 coiled,

[catmando1]

on the bridgers and the montana's it is extremely easy. All you do is get the springs, and put them on. one end of the spring goes under the front part of the cross piece, the other end goes behind the lever, just like the original 2 springs, only on the front of the trap. Just don't trim the spring pin back on the front and it is super easy. I did all my own montanas, and i did a bunch of bridger 1.65's too. The mb's , for coyote, I would stick w/ 550's or 650's, and I would buy them 4 coiled as it is more complicated to install them yourself. I think 650's only come 4 coiled. By the way I think one of the other important modifications is center swiveling. it gives your trap a holding advantage, and it is easier on the animal. The bridger comes not base plated, but has a type of center swivel set up where the montana does not.

Really though, if you do go 4 coil later, you should consider laminating the jaws. The extra power of the springs needs to be distributed over a larger area. It holds better and again is MUCH easier on the animals. In order to get the benifits of weather related 4 coiling, a person should also consider the animal. Also esp. for coyotes, they fight a trap hard, sometimes bending the traps base, plus four coiling puts extra strain on the base, so beefing the base up is a very good idea, which will include a nice d ring for center swiveling.That is why I said earlier that the mb is the way to go because by the time you spend the money modifying a bridger or a montana, you could have bought an mb. Plus you don't have to do the work, and they don't need adjustments, and are a way better built trap. I know I felt the way you probably do now at one time, and I did not think I needed all that. I went ahead and bought traps unmodified. But in a very short time I begin to realize more and more the need to run modified traps, esp if trapping coyotes, or bobcats. So I had to turn around and modify them myself, and i spent as much or more modifiying them along with the original cost, to have bought mb's. And I had to do the work, and the traps are no where close to being what a mb is. Do some checking and price comparisons. best deals I have found are with "F&T furharvesters trading post" They carry virtually everything, also you can find montana mod. parts at "Shmitts enterprises". Please do some home work and don't make a costly mistake like I did, it will save you in the long run to really figure cost and worth of traps, with price comparison. Also I like the dogless design so the dog never is there to "throw" your animals foot out of the trap as it fires.


bridger #3 dog on




montana #3 dogless


mb 550 dog on


mb 650 dogless

[robocop]

catmando1 thank you for the insite you are 100% correct
I found a supplier that carres 4 coiled #3 bridgers for $ 2.50
more a trap.he also carries MBs but only in 2 coiled.
those mb s look like a well built trap

[backwoodsman]

Our yotes run a little smaller. We have alot of coons, fox etc too that stumble into our yote sets so we go with smaller footholds. Fur work heavily modified 1.5coils, 1.65coils, 1.75coils and still on occasion a no.2DLS or even rarer a no.2 coil. Cant and havent used snares. We mainly use heavy/bulky drags. Summer ADC work we use 1.5 coils mainly with offset jaws, few 1.75 offsets. Tried the rubber/padded jaws for fur and ADC work but didnt have alot of luck with them. Those MB's and semi custom traps look good but never could really afford them in the numbers we use. We've had a few we got in trades etc over the years and the ones we handled and used were clearly a well built trap and well worth the money.