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Post by ohiyotee on Jan 18, 2008 14:22:36 GMT -6
well I'll go against popular opinion here with the #3 double long spring. Modified i think i makes one of the best coyote traps out there, Honestly though i don't own any of the other mentioned traps but the fact that i don't feel a need to speaks for itself. If i think about what i have done to them it might not be practical for the guy that is not handy. pawsipans base plated and laminated inside heavey chains and 3 swivels d ring chain in the center offset The one main reason i went to the double longs is that they are a no brainier to bed , you can literally drop them in the ground and start sifting. As for red fox i have a 3 /16th off set and that is real good for the reds a little tight for the coyote's but i like the reds better. I could release almost all the reds in very good condition . as an experiment this year i started to test the holding power of them and after dispatch i would pull on the leg with everything i got. and could never pull a ayote out of one of them the only way was to pull hard enough to tear the foot off and that was only possible with a toe catch. Also one should consider jaw spread and i would go to a four if it was legal here so i am limited to the 3.
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Post by billmeyerhoff on Jan 18, 2008 14:29:17 GMT -6
On an MB650 the pan extends to a point directly above the fulcrum. Most other brands of traps don't do that. If you set your pan tension at the center of the pan, the pressure necessary to set off the trap will increase quicker on a 650 as you approach the fulcrum than on other traps and when you are directly over the fulcrum the trap will no longer fire.
I only have a dozen 650's and prefer to use smaller traps because of the number of non-targets and percentage of fox to coyotes. I started out setting the pan tension the same as I do on my other traps and soon found out that I had much better success running no tension at all. This still results in fox catches high on the leg.
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Post by Zagman on Jan 18, 2008 14:54:57 GMT -6
I went through every trap mentioned and then some.....
I like the Jakes and Sterlings for every reason mentioned, the icing on the cake being this:
No year to year trap maintenance!
Wash and go (wax or dye/wax)......this is a HUGE thing to me.
No bent dogs, no replacement coils, no pan and shank adjustments.
I will say that I do notice that Jake springs SEEM to hold their initial strength longer than the Sterling, but due to lever lock up, probably not a big deal.
I sent 26 Sterlings back to Glenn Jr because I thought they were "weak" (relative term). He was tickled when he got them since they were originals, from the first run of Sterlings in 1976-1978.
He put them on some kind of machine and tested them and sent them back to me with NO new springs, as they all retained over 80% of their original spring strength based on his testing.
BTW, some of those crude, mean, stainless steal dental tools are just perfect for scraping the wax and crud out of the fine gun notches both the Jakes and Sterlings. Doing this insures no sore fingers.
My tip of the day! LOL
I'd have no problem going all MB's, but got rid of the few I had since I already had Sterlings and wanted to limit trap brands.
I like setting the Jake better for safety's sake, but like bedding the Sterling better due to the locked down jaws.
I have been known to just go out to the barn and stare at traps, and I really like looking at these in particular.
Zagman
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Post by cameron2 on Jan 18, 2008 15:58:27 GMT -6
I thought I was the only one that went out and stared at my traps. . . . .
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Post by trappincoyotes39 on Jan 18, 2008 16:20:29 GMT -6
I guess I have set Sterling's soo long I don't notice any problems with setting them? I like my Bridger's alot to in areas of theft concerns. I make them fool proof by adding PIT and reinforcing the dogs with key stock. Clean them up, dye and wax and ready to go. Zags those sterling springs are top of the line, I don't know of any other trap that can retain spring strength like they can for sure. I have many old ones and they have the snap of traps that are just a few years old. Again not foreign made American made springs.
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Post by 3n on Jan 18, 2008 16:35:37 GMT -6
well I'll go against popular opinion here with the #3 double long spring. Modified i think i makes one of the best coyote traps out there............... I like'm to!
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Post by trappnman on Jan 18, 2008 16:37:37 GMT -6
well...with a name like 3N- you got to love em...LOL
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Post by trappincoyotes39 on Jan 18, 2008 16:54:18 GMT -6
3-n, they hold coyotes well, the problem I hated is 1. To small of jaw spread for my likes.2. Takes a much larger bed to set them in. 3. You still have to worry about pan tension, takes more work.4. They don't have the power of a 4 coiled trap to break through cover. 5. In slop they attract alot of gumbo/mucky junk.6. Uneven ground or tight to a bank makes getting them bedded a pain also. They have held and caught a pile of coyotes through the years, but that was before trap advancements.
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Post by 3n on Jan 18, 2008 17:04:12 GMT -6
I'm a dinosaur ;D
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Post by kyboy on Jan 18, 2008 17:10:57 GMT -6
I like 650's probably best of them all and Ive had and trappeed with about all of them. Ive never had a track on the pan of an unfired 650 yet, may happen tomorrow but it hasnt yet. Ive been a fabricator/welder all my life, even while a LEO for the govt. Fabricated leverl 4 crash gates and all kinds of safety vestments for the D.O.D...Point is I know good metal, good craftsmenship and whats on the line when somethings made. When I pick up a trap that I think is subpar for the job I just wont set it. Ive had popped jaws and warped baseplates befor(when yotes first came in here) but I wont ever again. If a trap I buy dosnt come they way I want it it will be befor i set it. Just the way I look at it. It just absolutly sickens me to see a piece of equipment, any piece of equipment that wont do the job its suppose to do. I dont mind working on traps to a point. In all honesty though they should work like their suppose to when you buy them You dont buy a saw or a truck or a TV then have to "tune" it up to make it work right do you? Ill bet that most folks wouldent buy a tool that didnt work like it was suppose to and then keep it instead of taking it back. You wouldent want to have to work on it to make it do its job. If I made something that didnt work right guess what? It would have been sent back to me to make it right. Like I said I dont mind it because thats for the most part the nature of traps now a days but in all honesty it shouldent be.
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Post by ohiyotee on Jan 18, 2008 19:53:13 GMT -6
if your good not a problem LOL. .everyone says that but i think it is minimal difference . Agree that's why i posi them . very possible i really can't say yes that is true simple to avoid that situation
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Post by hoytviper on Jan 19, 2008 7:57:25 GMT -6
thanks for all the info.
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Post by coonhangman1 on Jan 19, 2008 8:45:53 GMT -6
I thought I was the only one that went out and stared at my traps. . . . . I'm afraid you're not alone. They're.....they're....they're beautiful......
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Post by trappnman on Jan 19, 2008 8:53:03 GMT -6
stare at traps? LOL- might as well stare at a box of nails.. and by conincidence, I have both old nails and old traps in the living room.....
but I can sure sit in the shed and look at fur for hours...
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Post by coonhangman1 on Jan 19, 2008 9:31:06 GMT -6
I agree Steve, nothing more awe-inspiring than a pile of fur.
The more trappers I meet and hang out with, the more I realize how much respect we have for the animals.
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ltd
Tenderfoot...
Posts: 30
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Post by ltd on Jan 19, 2008 12:16:56 GMT -6
For the price of the mb and jake I will stick with the monty and the montana. I can set more traps and owen more, then I have more to stare at in the off season and when they are stollen I will still be mad but If someone stole a mb or jake I would be in jail. On public land there is always I place you know is hot I would rather put a montana then a 20$ trap. Just my opinion.
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