"pinch pans" for mink/rats

[calvin]

Do you use that same setup for K9s, Tman? Isn't zero pan travel and hair trigger the same? or is it just zero travel with more tension?

One issue I have with the short notch is that sometimes I want more travel (winter hut trapping and coon trapping) so I think I/m trading something here and there with a trap that goes off the same everytime. The mink pan allows me to adjust by sight and a guy would be surprised at how much a hair trigger you can get with the mink pans.

Yes, to each their own. What works well for one doesn't always work at all for another.

[264mag]

Not a mink trapper but why not run the 1.75 trap?

[thorsmightyhammer]

to each is own- I'm not against the bigger pan, but again, I simply don't like that pan trigger connection

How can you not like it?

You ever try them?

I was a bit skeptical about pinch's at one time as well.

Kasper got me looking at em and after talking to quite a few other guys that use I thought what the hell.

Now its all I use for my situations.

[trappnman]

I guess it would be calvin- but hair trigger to me means on a sliding trigger, set to the very tippiest end with minimum tension- whereas no creep on a short notch, still imparts some tension. while I would suppose not alway,s but to me hair trigger implies an unstable rap.

my 1.75s and 2s are set up with a short notch- but a stiff pan. Or at least stiffer than a 1.5 pan that I want free falling- on the 1.75s, I want it just being able to stay up on its own.

the #3s are dogless, and in a way, dogless is a short notch system as well.

if oyu wanted ot really mess with them, and set thme up as mink jtraps with weaker springs, far less tesnion, it would be a decent enough mink trap- but quite honestly, its hard to fault the 1.5 as just an all around best on water for me.

I don't want "weak" 1.75s for mink and "strong" 1.75s for coon and coyotes, becasue the personal confusion as slight or heavy as that may be, just doesn't offer me enough, imo, advantage over a 1.75.

I think what happens in water calvin, and I set my mink/rat traps in 1" or a little more of water, is that you have some bouyancy , and maybe they are pushing down.

I like you have never watched this- have seen a few rats caught, but that was just there and bang-

but look at it like I said earlier, the success ratio of rats over successive nights should give a good indication of the traps worth.

now you do have me thinking- not about the pinch pans because I don't like em (for the very reason some do- its all personal preference) and don't have the corrosion problem, but about a bigger pan.

but still- is it the size of the pan that makes them work better for you calvin- or the sensitivity? I would have to guess the sensitivity of them- because if that rat is crawling all over te trap, he's hititng thep an.

[trappnman]

if you are talking about the old style victors, and the style of the sleepy creeks, with that flat edged pan, where you slide the trigger under it- I just dopn't like it in any way over a short notch. I hate dicking with them, many times i have to take off gauntlets to fine set, and I don;'t like thep an creep one must give thme to aovid hair trigger.

all in all, I've never but any such again.

now- when I said i never used them ,I thoughth you were talking about something else- but when I saw the pci kellyp osted, thne I knew exactly what was meant, and I knew exactly why I don;t like them.

again- to each their own.

in additon to not liking the set up, plus calvins stating he wouldn't go to them if trapping my waters, and my thoughts on a stock pan vs one a red hair bigger- and it adds up to not for me.

[lumberjack]

Now im confused, how can you have a hair trigger with some pan creep?

[Rally Hess]

Kelly,
I'm with you on the 1.75 pans for sure. Been doing that for years as my 1.5 got weak, rather than respring them I'd use the 1.75 pan to indicate they were for use as rat and mink trapping. By using them they also give you more "leverage" by being longer but move the pan a bit out of center and closer to the loose jaw.
I believe you said you still like the old Pinch pan Victors, but are you using them as a coon trap? At one time I owned 20 dozen of the old Victors, and could get rid of them fast enough once the bolt on pans came out. I had to replace 23 pans in one season of coon trapping. Put a spot of weld to keep from losing the remaining pans, and ruined more than a few trying to do that with an old stick welder. LOL

[trappnman]

lumberjack- if I confused you, it was inadvertant- you cannot have pan creep, with hair trigger

[kelly]

Oct 2, 2011 21:02:11 GMT -6 Rally Hess said:

Kelly,
I'm with you on the 1.75 pans for sure. Been doing that for years as my 1.5 got weak, rather than respring them I'd use the 1.75 pan to indicate they were for use as rat and mink trapping. By using them they also give you more "leverage" by being longer but move the pan a bit out of center and closer to the loose jaw.
I believe you said you still like the old Pinch pan Victors, but are you using them as a coon trap? At one time I owned 20 dozen of the old Victors, and could get rid of them fast enough once the bolt on pans came out. I had to replace 23 pans in one season of coon trapping. Put a spot of weld to keep from losing the remaining pans, and ruined more than a few trying to do that with an old stick welder. LOL

Rally;

I do catch coon in them when they get into my mink sets but they are usually down and out on the slide wire. Haven't lost a pan in quite some time-I pinch/squeeze the tabs together behind the post-they are much harder to come off that way.

[mnarcher]

Calvin,

so whats the trick to getting them bent correctly?

[CoonDuke]

I would bet if enough guys showed interest, Duke would produce a 1.5 pinch pan.

[thebeav2]

oh, ok- now i understand-

I have some old victors like that, plus the SC are similar if not identical.

I persoanlly don;t like that system, but do understand why some like pan travel, cause you almost have to with these.

and i guess the reason I don't like them, is because you DO have to mess aorund a little getting them set right, whereas a short notch is the same every time.

interesting though that so many prefer them-


Messing around? All traps need to be tuned It's just the way It Is.

All my pinch pan traps are set up so all I have to do Is slide my thumb under the pan pull It down till It makes contact and It's set perfect every time. NO MESSING AROUND PERIOD.

[thorsmightyhammer]

Oct 17, 2011 10:41:09 GMT -6 CoonDuke said:

I would bet if enough guys showed interest, Duke would produce a 1.5 pinch pan.

He better hurry up todd, if/when caven gets the 1.5 bridger worked up there is going to be a pretty good 1.5 pinch pan on the market.

[kelly]

Oct 17, 2011 19:31:24 GMT -6 thorsmightyhammer said:

Oct 17, 2011 10:41:09 GMT -6 CoonDuke said:

I would bet if enough guys showed interest, Duke would produce a 1.5 pinch pan.

He better hurry up todd, if/when caven gets the 1.5 bridger worked up there is going to be a pretty good 1.5 pinch pan on the market.

4 years ago I thought the Bridger 1.5 was the "best" on the market. Loved the night latch dog so much I bought 30 dz of them. Had them all laminated, worked them all up for the season only to find out they didn't hold sh&t because of the design flaw with the jaws so down the road they went. If Cavens correct this design flaw and maybe make the "pinch pan" slightly larger I will buy them again becasue evedrything else I loved about the trap.

[calvin]

I really liked the Bridger 1.5 design as well. Yep, a slightly bigger pan and jaws that hold coon and I/ll go back to them. I sold mine as well but in hindsight, I wish I would have kept them for rat traps. Just a matter of time before Caven fixes them, I/m sure.

[rk660]

Lots of advantages not really notices till you use them a while, then become more apparent. I think less tension on say new 1.5 duke due to smoother pivot points. New dukies have a plenty of tension for rats stock out of box IMHO. Easyer to visually set pan travel, whether you prefer long or short pan travel. Simple setting-can set blindfolded and never snap fingers if wanted. Practical result in field is easyer faster setting even with gauntlets on.
Im running a lot of bridger 1.5 w/ pinch pan and dimple in dog. fastest easyest setting trap Ive ever used w/ the dimple Ive found.

[calvin]

I sold off my bridger 1.5s due to coon issues. Now I wish I had them back for the rats.

After a season of using the pinch pans on the Duke 1.5s, I am very glad I spent the money and time installing them. I had concerns that they wouldn't catch coon as well. I was wrong and believe I get more coon catches with this pan vs the stock pan. A friend who also tried them thinks the same.

Was trapping rats with a buddy who had stock pans on his Dukes. I had to resist the strong urge to toss them over the boat after dealing with them for a day. Was right back to rat loss because of them. No matter how loose you set them they stiffen up once in the water any time. I/ll never use a stock pan on a duke 1.5 again. First thing out of the box that pan goes and gets a mink pan. I only wish the bend your own pans came pre bent exactly the same everytime. The pivot point can be slightly different ( thus a different feel) when doing it by hand.

[trappnman]

interesting to hear that calvin- I can honestly say, I experience no such problems with the duke 1.5s that are shortlatched-

I defintely had trouble with the 1.75s stiffening up in water, even when shortlatched..... but the 1.5s seem ok- however, the doz or so sleepy creeks I run, DO get stiff when in water a while

[rk660]

I find the opposite. 1.75 seem to have less tension, easyer to get less tension, than a duke 1.5. im guessing more leverage at end of longer pan is main reason. I just hate setting the damm things for rats--make my thumb hurt at end of day!

[thebeav2]

100% correct Rk the longer throw creates less pan tension. I think the longer spring levers on the 1.75s make them easier to set then a new Duke 1 1/2. May be a bit tough to set but the results are worth It.
I had all or most of my 1.75s set up with a center swivel connection. What a pain setting them on the stools but never seemed to bother the rats. Just changed them all back to the end of the trap frame.