I'm 72 yrs old and I use Duke 1.75 and never had a coyote get free. Another trick I've used is to get a dead cow, horse, etc from some of my farmer friends and use it for bait. I have caught 2 coyotes at a time using this set-up! I put 6-8 traps around the dead animal and put up a game camera so I can see how coyotes are reacting to the site. My traps are just far enough apart that they don't touch. This bait site will last 6-8 weeks depending on cold weather. I have caught all my coyotes with the coyote tripping 2 traps. I have the site located on my farm so I can drive by and check traps without leaving the truck. Every coyote had a trap on a front paw and usually a back paw. The BEST bait is a skinned out Beaver nailed to a tree. A dead beaver is hard to fine where I'm located. One last thing I notice is a male will bark at me when I walk up and a female will try and hide her head. Sure wish I had some way to put photos with this comment!..... Happy trapping!
Held a lot of coyotes in a duke 1 3/4, gotta base plate em and throw a couple swivels in with better chain but for a budget trap a little tinkering does fine
This guy needs to watch the series of Management Advantage. They have awesome stuff for coyotes. Always give a like to someone trying to dispatch coyotes as I raise livestock and have lost dozens of calves to them.
I'm in Indiana and the offset mb550 is the biggest and toughest trap we can legally use for yotes'. I've tried the rest and I really like the quality of the mb's. Good comparison.
To clarify my statement of two years ago; Along with the #2s I used a 12"chain and usually a stake in common use way back when. If you put a 3 foot chain on a trap that allows the critter to run 6 feet and often is the cause of a pull-out.
Duke came out with a 550 and it's a pretty good looking trap. I haven't had a chance to put them in the ground yet, but it's basically a copy of the MB550
Good review and useful info. I'm a brand new trapper and thus am weighing the pros and cons of various traps I might want to buy. Here's how I see it. First, I have yet to meet a single trapper that actually takes an MB550 or any other trap straight out of the box and sets it in the ground for coyotes or bobcats. As good as that trap may be, trappers I know still work on them Many cut off the rods as you mention to keep the chain from entangling in them. Then they add a shock absorber, plus more chain, and more swivels for those extra parts. With the Dukes or other traps, they still work on them in many ways too. Such modifications include laminating the jaws, maybe adding a base plate with a center swivel, replacing the chain, night latching, putting on a shock absorber, adding swivels and adding more chain. The point being is NO ONE really makes an "out of the box, ready to go" coyote trap, at least judging by the fact that hardly any trapper uses any trap without doing SOMETHING to it. I cannot understand why someone doesn't take every single one of these modifications into their design process and build a trap that has it all. Everyone cuts a corner to save a buck in making their traps, forcing the trapping community to waste time working on the traps anyway. As a newbie, I am not in love with trapping enough to want to constantly spend time working on traps. I want a turn key solution that is built rock solid and strong enough to handle any coyote without damage. This is the 21st century! There's no reason to still make and sell 18th century style traps! Heck, the manufacturers could even dye and wax the traps before shipping them. There's no way to truly defeat the nose of any canine. They will always be able to smell even the smallest amount of odor and know there is a trap buried a half inch under the ground. So there's no benefit to a trapper thinking that dying and waxing his own traps is going to make them any more scent free than the manufacturer doing the job. I've watched video after video where seasoned trappers working every day on the trap line keep having their traps dug up or snapped by animals. I'm convinced there is no practical way to make and keep a trap totally scent free therefore having the trap already dyed and waxed before sale isn't really going to disadvantage a trapper any more than they already are disadvantaged by the power of a canine's nose. Just my 2 cents; feel free to differ.
Now you bring up some good points regarding traps. I think you have to look at stock cheap traps as an item that works but have potential to work better. If you watch Robby Gilbert on trapping time tv (available UA-cam) he traps with a non modified duke 1.75 all day. He doesn't even night latch them. Truth is as trappers we are always looking for an edge to catch more fur. So the modifications have come along to help and make our catches go up. Truth is, and I have been guilty of it many people think the trap mods are what catch the fur when in fact they should be focusing on location, trap placement, and other fundamental elements of trapping. If you don't want to mess with modifications don't. Traps work stock and as long as the trap is appropriately sized is perfectly ethical and capable of catching fur. Just buy some traps and get out there and have fun. Don't get wrapped up in all the hype and just get out there and have fun. Thankyou for the comment and good luck out there!
Sir,, you have said what I believe too and said it much better than I probably could. I believe trapping success begins first and foremost with a keen understanding of animal behavior, even to the point of knowing what the animal is most likely to do when confronted with a set. Next in importance in my mind is identifying good trap locations that will expose the trap to the most animals passing by and also enhance the probability of a catch. The trapping fundamentals you mention are next in importance. The type of set to use, where to put the trap in the set, how to bait and lure the set, how to make the set more noticed by the animal such as with call lures nearby or feathers, etc. all play a critical role,, as does attempting to control your scent at the trap site. Get any of those many things wrong and you likely won't have very good catch success regardless of what trap you use. But get them right, and I feel most any trap that will snap and hold is going to produce a catch. I have approached trapping with an open mind to experiment and to question the long held dogma of trapping, some of which goes back centuries to a time when people didn't know all that much about the characteristics and behaviors of animals. As best I can tell, most of the legendary early trappers with boat loads of fur were primarily having such good success because they were largely trapping in virgin territory where animals had never encountered a human or a trap before. Anyone can be successful when they are just picking the low hanging fruit. Now days here in the eastern section of the US at least, it is hard to find trapping locations that have never been trapped or hunted before where an animal has never encountered a human or a trap. Many animals have been caught and released making them extremely wary of traps. Others, like coyotes and raccoons tend to hunt in groups and so have seen their hunting partners get caught in a trap. Thus even if they haven't been caught themselves, the develop a keen understanding of what a trap is and what it does, which I believe they pass along to their young. In short, trapping today requires a lot of savvy to defeat the animal's natural sense of caution along with its knowledge of what traps can do. I see it as being like fishing. A good fisherman can consistently be successful catching fish regardless of the equipment he has to use. Trapping isn't like auto racing where any tinkering with the equipment that can add a little horsepower is going to win races. I feel all the trap modifications being done are helpful but in the end don't necessarily affect the catch rate all that much. The size of the trap jaws and the size of the pan however do seem to make a big difference. Needless to say,, common sense tells me if the pan is larger the animal has a greater chance of stepping on it. I do think it is deficient for manufactures selling to the trapping industry to not produce traps with larger pans. They have to know that the larger pans are attested to by many, many trappers so why don't they make the traps that way to start? I'd really like to put a manufacturer on the spot in front of a national trapping convention and ask them to explain why they think their small pans are the right size. I don't think they would convince a single trapper with their answer, if indeed they even have an answer. This industry is bizarre in the way it works! I'll check out Robby Gilbert's channel. Thanks for that info.
@@TrehanCreekOutdoors thankyou for the comments, and sharing your take on trap modifications. I agree with larger pans and jaw size. Why a company would make a trap pan with a tiny kill area I dunno. Check out chip Davis from expand a pan inc. He sells pans that attach to existing traps. I have never used them but heard alot of good from his product from others.
Very familiar with Chip. We are from the same home town and his parents were in the same Sunday School class with me for a number of years. Good people. Chip is also the current president of the trappers association here in Mississippi. He is well known and highly regarded. And I have only heard good things from his products from others too. Maybe one day a major trap maker will buy Chip's business and incorporate his pans into the basic trap product. I hope so. Sure would make it easier to just take the trap out of the box and have the larger pans already installed. Since T. A. Duke, one of the Duke Trap Company founders, is also in the state trappers association, maybe one day the two will strike a deal and a better trap will be born!
NEW QUESTION for anyone! The traps I inherited are all probably about 30 years old & never used. They include jump traps, coil and long spring. Will they have lost spring strength? Is there a way to test? Thanks.
Back in the day 45 years ago: victors 1.75 and victors 2.0 were what I used.. adjusted the traps never used out of box.. added longer 5 ft chains for the 2,0 for coyotes... adjusted the night latch Never lost animals because of traps!! Trap placement makes the difference.. catching toes something was wrong with your sets.. not a lot of choice back then.. so I recommend buying the best trap you can afford.. just my opinion
Dukes started to make the duke 550 which is the exact same as the mb 550 but it’s got a square pan. There also making duke 650s which is the bigger version of the duke 550. And now there producing an 850 which is a bigger version of the 650. I suggest using the 650 in the Midwest or the 550 depending on the size of the coyotes
Where to begin? 😁 IMO, buying inexpensive (cheap) traps is false economy. Buy the best you can afford and be done with it! Again, IMO 😁..........buying “cheap” or inexpensive may seem like a bargain at first glance. However, your time has value, often more than you think. Never mind the expense of having to replace parts......it’s crazy. You buy a trap, then have to replace the base plate, chain, maybe weld something....it’s nuts. The Bridger #3 Dogless/offset is great example (or the #2 if the law doesn’t allow the #3) buy it.......go set it and get on with your life! It’s cheaper......way cheaper.....in the long run. Right now it’s under $14 per, by the doz. By the time you dick around adding a base plate, replacing the chain, and buying the parts for the Duke, you could have been done (and often for less) and in the ground somewhere.........catching fur! ☠️☠️☠️ Your time is worth something, whether you thinks it’s fun or enjoyable now, it’s time wasted that could have been better spent elsewhere (like with family?) than modifying traps. IMO....😁 Trap hard, the only easy day was yesterday! 😎
If they are the old low lever style, with square jaws, then you better get different traps. If they are the round jaw trap, your probably ok to use them on yotes and cats.
100% agree about the 1.75's being too small for coyotes. MB 550's are my go to any more. I had a farmer run one over with a tractor last season, absolutely no damage! I started with Bridger #3's and moved to the MB's. I have a video of how I prepare my MB 550's on youtube.
I went to long springs. Sleepy creek #2 longs perfect for fox . But if coyote gets in it he will be there in morning. Run only 2 traps sleepy #2 longs and Sleepy #3 longs with big paws pan when targeting yotes. Longsprings bed like a dream.
Cold weather is a pain I use waxed dirt. Bigger traps are easier for working with winter gloves too. Four coiled helps get the jaws out of the ground fast in frozen ground as well. I catch alot of coins in k9 sets and I typically get really good pad catches even with the bridger jaw size.
@@PebbleCreekOutdoors i looked up the model online and according to the manufactured website its for Coyote and Bobcats. The traps dirty and has white hair stuck all over the bottom. Im going to use some brake clean and clean it up and soak it in vinegar then get some black primer and prime it and spray it with some black engine enamel. Havent used it. Just playing with it right now. Ive trapped a few sticks and broom handlea so far. Lol. May just hang it on wall
@@TeamTopKick Yeah that should be an awesome trap to hang up or use. If you want to make your traps look all old school watch my video on waxing and dying traps.
Yeah I have caught coyotes on Duke #2 but that's about as small as I usually go. I have had a couple coyotes pull out of smaller traps so I dont like to use them. Cost of 550s are a factor but there are other options available to fit most needs.
Those 1.75 victors would have worked fine if you had 4 coiled them and they were off set. I won't buy a trap if it is not off set. In my neck of the woods, rules say , i can't use a trap with a jaw spread greater than 5 5/34 inside. I catch coyotes steady in them. The mb 550 rc offset work great, and, they come 4 coiled. For beginners the others work.. And it does teach you how to modify if thats what you want..??? Like you , i have learned over time, .......i don't wanna spend that much time on traps.. I WANNA BE SETTING TRAPS!!!!!!! Good video..!!!!!
Are you using stock 1.75's? A stock 1.75 is a fox trap if you ask me. However if you are in an area with yotes a 1.75 with offset reinforced jaws and a long chain may be more effective (at that point I'd rather have a bigger trap because I've put enough money into the 1.75s to justify buying a coyote specific trap.
Yes this is a good point. I have never lost one in Ohio with Victor 1.75 or even my MB 450's which are 1 1/2. The thing is when I got my Victor 1.75 they were given to me. I switched the springs out to new ones and they were allot tighter than the stock springs they came with.
Fnt sells center locators. Bought those yrs ago for the duke 3s and 4a I had. Solid steel product you attach to the trap frame. Has 4 small tabs you just bend down and your good to go
You keep saying how cheap the Duke trap is, but if you figure in the base plate/center swivel to be welded onto the bottom of the Duke, the dog and pan modification, the replacement of the trap chain with a #2 or #3 machine chain plus a couple of good quality swivels and maybe a shock spring, just to make the trap coyote ready, then you have jacked the price way up, and would have been better off to buy a high quality trap to begin with.
If you weren't holding coyotes then your pan was too light. A coyote can easily set off a 6lbs pan. The heavier the man, the more commitment it takes to set off the trap, the deeper the catch. Haha even have greys setting off my 4lbs cat set. My theory with the small trap is smaller trap bed, less disturbance. Pan is the kill spot, not the jaws. So you have about the chance with a smaller trap as a larger trap. Also when you're packing 4 traps up a mountain to set a rim for cats, 4 small traps is easier to pack then the large traps. Any trap will hold a coyote, you just have to know how to set up the trap to do so. I use everything from MB450s (favorite coyote trap) to sleep creek #4 double longspings. Ive caught everything in those traps from small grey fox to mt lions (no lions in an mb450 yet) The only time ive had something pull out is when I don't set the pan tension right and end up catching a toe. Next season I'm testing out some replacement enlarged pans for the Bridger 1.65s for my cat line. I'll be running a few dozen of them and will definitely be setting for coyotes as well.
That is very true my Victor's were night latched a little light so I may have been getting toe catches. I would be left with tuffs of hair in the trap. That happened multiple times so in my frustration I removed them from the line and replaced with larger traps. Problem solved! You bring up my suspicion though that it may have been my tension. I will look into it further. I do however stand with larger traps to do the job. I'm a truck trapper so weight is not an issue. Larger traps also tire critters faster and lead to smaller catch circles and less fur damage. Solid arguements can be made on both sides, and thats the beauty of these discussions. I also will say no matter how good the trap it doesn't make up for properly tuned and placed traps. You bring up some good points I wish I would have covered in the video. Thank you for explaining it here for everyone.
What become of the Victor #2 double coil?? For 30 years I caught everything the Adirondacks had to offer with nothing more. As in any trade/endeavor tools do not make the man!!
Yeah I know what your talking about. After this last trapping season I have some different opinions on traps I will probably do another video in the future.
QUESTION FROM NEWBIE - On another vid I saw pan tension should be about 3lb for coyotes - thoughts? The guy used a plunger tool to set the tension. I plan to get one and do that.
@@rudysroots2789 F&T and Minnesota Trapline have baseplates with a D ring. I welded them on. F&T also has a good supply of Duke parts. Also added offset laminated jaws and 4 coiled.
@@53kills I welded #9 wire and moved my chain to center, then spot welded my jaw ends cause they kept popping the jaw from the body. Just get the Duke 550 dog less.....my Duke 550s came with a Bridger pan. So I bought a Bridger dog less and seem to be the same. Time will tell. If I used 30 Duke's, next year I'll likely replace the screws that hold the pan on at least 3. No big deal till you got traps without pan's. I got a trap part box and it's not from anything but Duke. Probably because I like Duke but that #3 was only a beaver trap for me.
Yeah bigger traps can be used for their purposes longer. I applaud people who want to save a few bucks and go with the minimum but in the long run bigger quality traps wont disappoint.
You left out the best trap for coyote. A #3 bridger. Far better trap then the Duke. Also 4 coil them. They bust through the ground way better. Especially when it gets cold in the midwest.
Bridgers are good but I have never bothered with 4 coiled traps. I know four coiled traps are stronger and faster but I haven't honestly found a coyote or any animal in Nebraska that has been able to pull from a duke #2 or larger. However where the quality traps really shine especially when it comes to coyote is durability. The flimsy dogs and pans on Duke or similar traps have to be adjusted after catches many times. I have always recommended trappers that are starting out buy cheaper traps like duke and over time as they grow or lose traps to theft they replace with better equipment. I say that for a couple reasons, the sticker price for one. Traps can get pricey and most beginners don't want to spend 10-15 dollars on top of the line traps. Also I think there is something to be said about learning to trap with stock equipment. New trappers need to learn how to work with traps, learn modifications such as night latching and leveling the pan. These are all good skills in my opinion every trapper should grasp in the first years of trapping. Thank you for the comment and for stopping by!
3lbs just isn’t light enough, I seen them pull away just off loose dirt which causes misses. We have all seen that foot print right on our pan. I don’t set for just coyotes though. I want to catch it all.
I never cut the rods shorter. I saw on someone elses video to bend them down and it gives you more anchor points to the ground. I dont know if it helps to stiffen the springs up but I catch coyotes, cats and fisher with Duke 1.75 but I modified by baseplating and then I also saw to bend the jaw tabs up which does make your jaw spread a bit smaller but nothing will pop the jaws from the body of the trap. Just something I picked up on form another video.
@@PebbleCreekOutdoors I guess everyone has their personal preference. We will see how the Hear Bridger 1.75 hold up for yotes this year. Well I hope. Seems we have more canines this year than last.
You bet everyone has their own traps that work for them. I bought a bunch of bridger #3s for this year, I am liking the jaw size on them and how easy they are to tune up stock.
I'm 72 yrs old and I use Duke 1.75 and never had a coyote get free. Another trick I've used is to get a dead cow, horse, etc from some of my farmer friends and use it for bait. I have caught 2 coyotes at a time using this set-up! I put 6-8 traps around the dead animal and put up a game camera so I can see how coyotes are reacting to the site. My traps are just far enough apart that they don't touch. This bait site will last 6-8 weeks depending on cold weather. I have caught all my coyotes with the coyote tripping 2 traps. I have the site located on my farm so I can drive by and check traps without leaving the truck. Every coyote had a trap on a front paw and usually a back paw. The BEST bait is a skinned out Beaver nailed to a tree. A dead beaver is hard to fine where I'm located. One last thing I notice is a male will bark at me when I walk up and a female will try and hide her head. Sure wish I had some way to put photos with this comment!..... Happy trapping!
Held a lot of coyotes in a duke 1 3/4, gotta base plate em and throw a couple swivels in with better chain but for a budget trap a little tinkering does fine
This guy needs to watch the series of Management Advantage. They have awesome stuff for coyotes. Always give a like to someone trying to dispatch coyotes as I raise livestock and have lost dozens of calves to them.
I'm in Indiana and the offset mb550 is the biggest and toughest trap we can legally use for yotes'. I've tried the rest and I really like the quality of the mb's. Good comparison.
I'm glad I found and watched your video, I almost ordered the wrong traps ! Great Video
To clarify my statement of two years ago; Along with the #2s I used a 12"chain and usually a stake in common use way back when. If you put a 3 foot chain on a trap that allows the critter to run 6 feet and often is the cause of a pull-out.
Duke came out with a 550 and it's a pretty good looking trap. I haven't had a chance to put them in the ground yet, but it's basically a copy of the MB550
I use the duke 550 pro they're very similar to the MB550 good traps I love em Thanks for sharing
What about the newer duke #2 square jaw trap and the Bridger #2 fully modified all great traps too
I have duke #3s & #2 four coil & 550s but like the 550s best!
I like the #2 dukes with square jaws 4 coiled, they're small enough to not damage fox feet, but they hold coyotes and bobcats just fine
You bet keep an eye out I will probably be doing another video on some new traps I fielded this year.
Good review and useful info. I'm a brand new trapper and thus am weighing the pros and cons of various traps I might want to buy. Here's how I see it.
First, I have yet to meet a single trapper that actually takes an MB550 or any other trap straight out of the box and sets it in the ground for coyotes or bobcats. As good as that trap may be, trappers I know still work on them Many cut off the rods as you mention to keep the chain from entangling in them. Then they add a shock absorber, plus more chain, and more swivels for those extra parts.
With the Dukes or other traps, they still work on them in many ways too. Such modifications include laminating the jaws, maybe adding a base plate with a center swivel, replacing the chain, night latching, putting on a shock absorber, adding swivels and adding more chain.
The point being is NO ONE really makes an "out of the box, ready to go" coyote trap, at least judging by the fact that hardly any trapper uses any trap without doing SOMETHING to it. I cannot understand why someone doesn't take every single one of these modifications into their design process and build a trap that has it all. Everyone cuts a corner to save a buck in making their traps, forcing the trapping community to waste time working on the traps anyway. As a newbie, I am not in love with trapping enough to want to constantly spend time working on traps. I want a turn key solution that is built rock solid and strong enough to handle any coyote without damage. This is the 21st century! There's no reason to still make and sell 18th century style traps!
Heck, the manufacturers could even dye and wax the traps before shipping them. There's no way to truly defeat the nose of any canine. They will always be able to smell even the smallest amount of odor and know there is a trap buried a half inch under the ground. So there's no benefit to a trapper thinking that dying and waxing his own traps is going to make them any more scent free than the manufacturer doing the job. I've watched video after video where seasoned trappers working every day on the trap line keep having their traps dug up or snapped by animals. I'm convinced there is no practical way to make and keep a trap totally scent free therefore having the trap already dyed and waxed before sale isn't really going to disadvantage a trapper any more than they already are disadvantaged by the power of a canine's nose.
Just my 2 cents; feel free to differ.
Now you bring up some good points regarding traps. I think you have to look at stock cheap traps as an item that works but have potential to work better. If you watch Robby Gilbert on trapping time tv (available UA-cam) he traps with a non modified duke 1.75 all day. He doesn't even night latch them. Truth is as trappers we are always looking for an edge to catch more fur. So the modifications have come along to help and make our catches go up. Truth is, and I have been guilty of it many people think the trap mods are what catch the fur when in fact they should be focusing on location, trap placement, and other fundamental elements of trapping. If you don't want to mess with modifications don't. Traps work stock and as long as the trap is appropriately sized is perfectly ethical and capable of catching fur. Just buy some traps and get out there and have fun. Don't get wrapped up in all the hype and just get out there and have fun. Thankyou for the comment and good luck out there!
Sir,, you have said what I believe too and said it much better than I probably could. I believe trapping success begins first and foremost with a keen understanding of animal behavior, even to the point of knowing what the animal is most likely to do when confronted with a set. Next in importance in my mind is identifying good trap locations that will expose the trap to the most animals passing by and also enhance the probability of a catch. The trapping fundamentals you mention are next in importance. The type of set to use, where to put the trap in the set, how to bait and lure the set, how to make the set more noticed by the animal such as with call lures nearby or feathers, etc. all play a critical role,, as does attempting to control your scent at the trap site. Get any of those many things wrong and you likely won't have very good catch success regardless of what trap you use. But get them right, and I feel most any trap that will snap and hold is going to produce a catch.
I have approached trapping with an open mind to experiment and to question the long held dogma of trapping, some of which goes back centuries to a time when people didn't know all that much about the characteristics and behaviors of animals. As best I can tell, most of the legendary early trappers with boat loads of fur were primarily having such good success because they were largely trapping in virgin territory where animals had never encountered a human or a trap before. Anyone can be successful when they are just picking the low hanging fruit.
Now days here in the eastern section of the US at least, it is hard to find trapping locations that have never been trapped or hunted before where an animal has never encountered a human or a trap. Many animals have been caught and released making them extremely wary of traps. Others, like coyotes and raccoons tend to hunt in groups and so have seen their hunting partners get caught in a trap. Thus even if they haven't been caught themselves, the develop a keen understanding of what a trap is and what it does, which I believe they pass along to their young. In short, trapping today requires a lot of savvy to defeat the animal's natural sense of caution along with its knowledge of what traps can do.
I see it as being like fishing. A good fisherman can consistently be successful catching fish regardless of the equipment he has to use. Trapping isn't like auto racing where any tinkering with the equipment that can add a little horsepower is going to win races. I feel all the trap modifications being done are helpful but in the end don't necessarily affect the catch rate all that much.
The size of the trap jaws and the size of the pan however do seem to make a big difference. Needless to say,, common sense tells me if the pan is larger the animal has a greater chance of stepping on it. I do think it is deficient for manufactures selling to the trapping industry to not produce traps with larger pans. They have to know that the larger pans are attested to by many, many trappers so why don't they make the traps that way to start? I'd really like to put a manufacturer on the spot in front of a national trapping convention and ask them to explain why they think their small pans are the right size. I don't think they would convince a single trapper with their answer, if indeed they even have an answer. This industry is bizarre in the way it works!
I'll check out Robby Gilbert's channel. Thanks for that info.
@@TrehanCreekOutdoors thankyou for the comments, and sharing your take on trap modifications. I agree with larger pans and jaw size. Why a company would make a trap pan with a tiny kill area I dunno. Check out chip Davis from expand a pan inc. He sells pans that attach to existing traps. I have never used them but heard alot of good from his product from others.
Very familiar with Chip. We are from the same home town and his parents were in the same Sunday School class with me for a number of years. Good people. Chip is also the current president of the trappers association here in Mississippi. He is well known and highly regarded. And I have only heard good things from his products from others too.
Maybe one day a major trap maker will buy Chip's business and incorporate his pans into the basic trap product. I hope so. Sure would make it easier to just take the trap out of the box and have the larger pans already installed. Since T. A. Duke, one of the Duke Trap Company founders, is also in the state trappers association, maybe one day the two will strike a deal and a better trap will be born!
I have had good luck with the Duke #2 square jaw traps. Much heavier than even my duke #3 traps.
Use those 1.75s for fox. Awesome fox traps.
Sleepy creek 1.75 coil spring not good for coyote?
NEW QUESTION for anyone! The traps I inherited are all probably about 30 years old & never used. They include jump traps, coil and long spring. Will they have lost spring strength? Is there a way to test? Thanks.
I've caught coyotes in all 3 of those traps. None had a problem NOT holding for me. Located in TX.
Nice review
Back in the day 45 years ago: victors 1.75 and victors 2.0 were what I used.. adjusted the traps never used out of box.. added longer 5 ft chains for the 2,0 for coyotes... adjusted the night latch Never lost animals because of traps!! Trap placement makes the difference.. catching toes something was wrong with your sets.. not a lot of choice back then.. so I recommend buying the best trap you can afford.. just my opinion
Nice video man!
Awesome video as always
+Marshall Hurt thankyou
Dukes started to make the duke 550 which is the exact same as the mb 550 but it’s got a square pan. There also making duke 650s which is the bigger version of the duke 550. And now there producing an 850 which is a bigger version of the 650. I suggest using the 650 in the Midwest or the 550 depending on the size of the coyotes
Love my Bridger #2 dogless. Just got 3 more
A great trap on starting budget is the Duke #2 SQUARE jaw 4 coil...will hold coyote and beaver.
I have some regular Duke #2’s that I use for raccoon would they hold a coyote?????????
@@Gage_Outdoors hell yeah! All day long they will hold!! Bobcat to! I use them as bobcat traps and those things jump all day long
@@t.g_buffington that’s great to here. Thanks
Where to begin? 😁 IMO, buying inexpensive (cheap) traps is false economy. Buy the best you can afford and be done with it! Again, IMO 😁..........buying “cheap” or inexpensive may seem like a bargain at first glance. However, your time has value, often more than you think. Never mind the expense of having to replace parts......it’s crazy. You buy a trap, then have to replace the base plate, chain, maybe weld something....it’s nuts. The Bridger #3 Dogless/offset is great example (or the #2 if the law doesn’t allow the #3) buy it.......go set it and get on with your life! It’s cheaper......way cheaper.....in the long run. Right now it’s under $14 per, by the doz. By the time you dick around adding a base plate, replacing the chain, and buying the parts for the Duke, you could have been done (and often for less) and in the ground somewhere.........catching fur! ☠️☠️☠️ Your time is worth something, whether you thinks it’s fun or enjoyable now, it’s time wasted that could have been better spent elsewhere (like with family?) than modifying traps.
IMO....😁
Trap hard, the only easy day was yesterday! 😎
You make some very good points. Same principles apply with any tool, you get what you pay for. Thank you for your comment and for stopping by.
Once you go “Dogless”, you’ll never go back! IMO.😎
i know a guy in london ohio who uses nothing but duke 1 1/2s . he cought 23 yotes one year and 31 the next year just on his farm.
QUESTION FROM NEWBIE - I inherited a bunch of Victor #2s. Thoughts on using these for Eastern Coyotes? Bobcats? Thanks.
I haven't used victor #2 much but if they are similar to dukes #2 I would say absolutely. Long spring or coil?
@@PebbleCreekOutdoors Coil, very old never used. Actually Victor Oneida on th epan.
@@zone3adk872 I see you could buy coil replacement kits from a trap supplier to bring them back to top power if needed
If they are the old low lever style, with square jaws, then you better get different traps. If they are the round jaw trap, your probably ok to use them on yotes and cats.
No b.s traps! Hands down the best out there. Made in America in Montana.
I actually have a couple dp traps they make that I bought from them. Havent fully tested them out but I like what I have seen so far.
100% agree about the 1.75's being too small for coyotes. MB 550's are my go to any more. I had a farmer run one over with a tractor last season, absolutely no damage! I started with Bridger #3's and moved to the MB's. I have a video of how I prepare my MB 550's on youtube.
Very nice yeah I am slowly acquiring MB 550s but I still like modifying dukes and victors to run better.
I went to long springs. Sleepy creek #2 longs perfect for fox . But if coyote gets in it he will be there in morning. Run only 2 traps sleepy #2 longs and Sleepy #3 longs with big paws pan when targeting yotes. Longsprings bed like a dream.
thank you.
Thank you for watching
QUESTION FROM NEWBIE - Much benefit to 4 springing a 550?
Faster out of the dirt, more holding power. Mb 550 doesnt need it in my opinion. I don't add springs I just replace them if they go bad.
MB 550 where I can find
Nice vid!!!
+Mitch G. Thankyou
when the weather gets cold I move up from #3 dukes to #4 dukes, I don't mess with the little ones anymore!
Cold weather is a pain I use waxed dirt. Bigger traps are easier for working with winter gloves too. Four coiled helps get the jaws out of the ground fast in frozen ground as well. I catch alot of coins in k9 sets and I typically get really good pad catches even with the bridger jaw size.
i know I'm quite randomly asking but do anyone know a good place to stream new tv shows online?
@Solomon Elisha Lately I have been using FlixZone. You can find it by googling =)
Why?
dont cut off the spring rods... bend them down. helps with bedding the trap.
If you bend them down, can they be bent back up for 4 springing?
Good review. I'm more a fox trapper. I like the Victor 1.75. Would you be interested in selling them ? I'm with you for coyote. Thanks for sharing
The 2s bed better
NO BS, Bridger #2 Dogless and Sterlings MJ600 are the top three IMO
All good traps, no bs makes a great product.
My buddy gave me a MB-650. Are these a good trap?
I've never used one but lots of guys love them. I think that's a pretty big trap for beaver n such
@@PebbleCreekOutdoors i looked up the model online and according to the manufactured website its for Coyote and Bobcats. The traps dirty and has white hair stuck all over the bottom. Im going to use some brake clean and clean it up and soak it in vinegar then get some black primer and prime it and spray it with some black engine enamel. Havent used it. Just playing with it right now. Ive trapped a few sticks and broom handlea so far. Lol. May just hang it on wall
@@TeamTopKick Yeah that should be an awesome trap to hang up or use. If you want to make your traps look all old school watch my video on waxing and dying traps.
@@PebbleCreekOutdoors ill check it out
Great video. I would never use anything smaller than a 550 for coyotes. I'm in sheep country, and wouldn't want to take that risk.
Yeah I have caught coyotes on Duke #2 but that's about as small as I usually go. I have had a couple coyotes pull out of smaller traps so I dont like to use them. Cost of 550s are a factor but there are other options available to fit most needs.
Those 1.75 victors would have worked fine if you had 4 coiled them and they were off set. I won't buy a trap if it is not off set. In my neck of the woods, rules say , i can't use a trap with a jaw spread greater than 5 5/34 inside. I catch coyotes steady in them. The mb 550 rc offset work great, and, they come 4 coiled. For beginners the others work.. And it does teach you how to modify if thats what you want..??? Like you , i have learned over time, .......i don't wanna spend that much time on traps.. I WANNA BE SETTING TRAPS!!!!!!! Good video..!!!!!
Good point thanks bud
I have never lost a coyote in a 1.75 Victor . I'm in Michigan and get some coyotes in the upper 50's.
+Jim Walker I know they can hold coyotes but I lost a couple and for me that's not ok. So I switched to larger traps that always hold them.
I use 11/2 and have no problem in SD.
Are you using stock 1.75's? A stock 1.75 is a fox trap if you ask me. However if you are in an area with yotes a 1.75 with offset reinforced jaws and a long chain may be more effective (at that point I'd rather have a bigger trap because I've put enough money into the 1.75s to justify buying a coyote specific trap.
Yes this is a good point. I have never lost one in Ohio with Victor 1.75 or even my MB 450's which are 1 1/2. The thing is when I got my Victor 1.75 they were given to me. I switched the springs out to new ones and they were allot tighter than the stock springs they came with.
Hey jimmy walker, where in michigan.?? ,i am in michigan also, looking for a mentor close to me,,,
They make offset Duke #3’s too. To center swivel them simply open the j hook and put it through the whole drilled on the baseplate under than pan.
Yeah those are good too. I plan on buying some #4's too for beaver and even coyote.
Fnt sells center locators. Bought those yrs ago for the duke 3s and 4a I had. Solid steel product you attach to the trap frame. Has 4 small tabs you just bend down and your good to go
The duke #3 is the foothold I mainly use for beaver. Do use the 4s too but I like setting those for coyotes much more than the 3s
You keep saying how cheap the Duke trap is, but if you figure in the base plate/center swivel to be welded onto the bottom of the Duke, the dog and pan modification, the replacement of the trap chain with a #2 or #3 machine chain plus a couple of good quality swivels and maybe a shock spring, just to make the trap coyote ready, then you have jacked the price way up, and would have been better off to buy a high quality trap to begin with.
If you weren't holding coyotes then your pan was too light. A coyote can easily set off a 6lbs pan. The heavier the man, the more commitment it takes to set off the trap, the deeper the catch. Haha even have greys setting off my 4lbs cat set. My theory with the small trap is smaller trap bed, less disturbance. Pan is the kill spot, not the jaws. So you have about the chance with a smaller trap as a larger trap. Also when you're packing 4 traps up a mountain to set a rim for cats, 4 small traps is easier to pack then the large traps. Any trap will hold a coyote, you just have to know how to set up the trap to do so. I use everything from MB450s (favorite coyote trap) to sleep creek #4 double longspings. Ive caught everything in those traps from small grey fox to mt lions (no lions in an mb450 yet) The only time ive had something pull out is when I don't set the pan tension right and end up catching a toe. Next season I'm testing out some replacement enlarged pans for the Bridger 1.65s for my cat line. I'll be running a few dozen of them and will definitely be setting for coyotes as well.
That is very true my Victor's were night latched a little light so I may have been getting toe catches. I would be left with tuffs of hair in the trap. That happened multiple times so in my frustration I removed them from the line and replaced with larger traps. Problem solved! You bring up my suspicion though that it may have been my tension. I will look into it further. I do however stand with larger traps to do the job. I'm a truck trapper so weight is not an issue. Larger traps also tire critters faster and lead to smaller catch circles and less fur damage. Solid arguements can be made on both sides, and thats the beauty of these discussions. I also will say no matter how good the trap it doesn't make up for properly tuned and placed traps. You bring up some good points I wish I would have covered in the video. Thank you for explaining it here for everyone.
Look at k9 extremes..good traps
Will do
What about Bridger! # 3 modified!
Very good trap, I have one that is 4 coiled, offset, and laminated. Pricey though.
you forgot to tell about the small ears on the set lever on the mb. kind of hard to set
Yeah they aren't as easy as other traps but that built in night latch is worth the trouble in my opinion.
Yes harder to set but manageable when set empty. Trying to unset a mb on a catch and release kind of scary.
@@teeadam45 I would agree on catch and release
Bridger dogless 3 off set night latch
What become of the Victor #2 double coil?? For 30 years I caught everything the Adirondacks had to offer with nothing more. As in any trade/endeavor tools do not make the man!!
Yeah I know what your talking about. After this last trapping season I have some different opinions on traps I will probably do another video in the future.
Great to hear. I inherited a bunch and will be trapping the ADKs.
duke and victor 1.75 work fine for coyotes, you pan tension was probably way too loose and toe catching them
QUESTION FROM NEWBIE - On another vid I saw pan tension should be about 3lb for coyotes - thoughts? The guy used a plunger tool to set the tension. I plan to get one and do that.
Zone3 ADK that will work good
Just got to the point in the vid where he says 3 lb.
A Virginia coyote is rarely under 35lbs but I catch them up to 60lbs. They will destroy a Duke number 3 without mods.
I caught some big ones with stock #2 and #3 Dukes. The #2 got bent. No issuses with the #3
@@53kills you have a base plate on those #3s?
@@rudysroots2789 F&T and Minnesota Trapline have baseplates with a D ring. I welded them on. F&T also has a good supply of Duke parts. Also added offset laminated jaws and 4 coiled.
@@53kills I welded #9 wire and moved my chain to center, then spot welded my jaw ends cause they kept popping the jaw from the body. Just get the Duke 550 dog less.....my Duke 550s came with a Bridger pan. So I bought a Bridger dog less and seem to be the same. Time will tell. If I used 30 Duke's, next year I'll likely replace the screws that hold the pan on at least 3. No big deal till you got traps without pan's. I got a trap part box and it's not from anything but Duke. Probably because I like Duke but that #3 was only a beaver trap for me.
Old traps get week but I'd never use any thing smaller that a #2
Yeah bigger traps can be used for their purposes longer. I applaud people who want to save a few bucks and go with the minimum but in the long run bigger quality traps wont disappoint.
@@PebbleCreekOutdoors check out Murray trapping supplies get 4 coiled #2 dukes for 100$ a dozen yea they are not top of the line but plenty sufficient
@@andrewmorris9280 I'll check that out
You left out the best trap for coyote. A #3 bridger. Far better trap then the Duke. Also 4 coil them. They bust through the ground way better. Especially when it gets cold in the midwest.
Bridgers are good but I have never bothered with 4 coiled traps. I know four coiled traps are stronger and faster but I haven't honestly found a coyote or any animal in Nebraska that has been able to pull from a duke #2 or larger. However where the quality traps really shine especially when it comes to coyote is durability. The flimsy dogs and pans on Duke or similar traps have to be adjusted after catches many times. I have always recommended trappers that are starting out buy cheaper traps like duke and over time as they grow or lose traps to theft they replace with better equipment. I say that for a couple reasons, the sticker price for one. Traps can get pricey and most beginners don't want to spend 10-15 dollars on top of the line traps. Also I think there is something to be said about learning to trap with stock equipment. New trappers need to learn how to work with traps, learn modifications such as night latching and leveling the pan. These are all good skills in my opinion every trapper should grasp in the first years of trapping. Thank you for the comment and for stopping by!
Traps kimath kitana
3lbs just isn’t light enough, I seen them pull away just off loose dirt which causes misses. We have all seen that foot print right on our pan. I don’t set for just coyotes though. I want to catch it all.
Who to bay
Ick specially! ROTFLMAO!
I never cut the rods shorter. I saw on someone elses video to bend them down and it gives you more anchor points to the ground. I dont know if it helps to stiffen the springs up but I catch coyotes, cats and fisher with Duke 1.75 but I modified by baseplating and then I also saw to bend the jaw tabs up which does make your jaw spread a bit smaller but nothing will pop the jaws from the body of the trap. Just something I picked up on form another video.
I have seen people do that too, bending the spring bars. I suppose it works, just don't like bending a trap up if I don't need too.
@@PebbleCreekOutdoors I guess everyone has their personal preference. We will see how the
Hear Bridger 1.75 hold up for yotes this year. Well I hope. Seems we have more canines this year than last.
You bet everyone has their own traps that work for them. I bought a bunch of bridger #3s for this year, I am liking the jaw size on them and how easy they are to tune up stock.
@@PebbleCreekOutdoors good luck this year!
Nothing from China is ready to go save your money lol
Duke are the cheapest trap over sea crap!
Dukes and bridgers are junk, too much to do to them to make them work,,,,mb 650 all the way with 4 coils and offset,,,mike drop....
4 coil or go home