Favorite mink trap? sorry for another mink thread

[BigT]

Mink trappers, I have another question for you!!

I just used my coon traps this year, 1.5 coils. These were new traps and very crisp and strong. It was hard to set a hair trigger so I did have some pan tension and none the less missed some mink.

If you had to pick your favorite mink trap what would it be?
List your top 3 so I have some options.

I am thinking Victor #2 Square jaw, what else ??

[iowatiger]

You have seen my hodge-podge of traps!! I think any trap that closes tight and has no gaps in the jaws will work. I love the #11s and will always like them when coon are around. You have seen proof that the 1 1/2 long gets em super high. Also Victor 2coil gets em high and puts them down quick, esp when they get caught by the head! I like the 1 1/2 coil too. Heck, I like em all!! Sorry I didnt help much.

[BigT]

I know you like them all but I am thinking top shelf here. I think the #11 is too small of a target area. I like the #1 1/2 LS BUT even though these are mink specific traps coon will get into them and I saw a few pull out in them on you! The 1 1/2 CS is the most versatile trap out the I beleive so yes that will work just fine but again I want to catch every mink that comes too my set !! Ya right..........

Take notes Nick I am setting you up for the mink kill next year!

[Nick C]

Just in my small experience, I really like the Duke 1.5 coil.

But prior to this season have a taken a decent amount in #1 longsprings.

Are we talking mink specific? or waterline specific? Because even making mink specific pockets, I still took over 30 coon in a week with the trap half in the pocket and half out. And I dont know how many mink trappers that take a lot of mink, that arn't taking a decent amount of coon too.

If mink specific I think it would be hard to beat a #1.5 or #1 LONG Spring. Seems those have perfect tension, which is basically a hair trigger on them.

What worried me for awhile, was the fact I was taking Duke 1.5's, and literally opening the box up, loosening the pan bolt and making sets with them. I think I filed pans on 2 dozen earlier this fall when messing around, and those literally had hair triggers and actually made setting a few a hassle, because they were so light, when I'd set the trap down and "adjust" it, they would set off. But the out of box Dukes worked well, from what I saw....

I was also running a few Bridger 1.65's, that I will be getting rid of. Had one catch a mink toe 2 days in a row. And had a few other that had toe catches on mink. I'm not sure why, maybe a fluke, as I was only running like 8 of them. But after the toe, 2 days in a row incident and 2 other mink toe caught in them, I'm leary with them now, could be bad luck. THEN again, I caught a few mink buried in them as well. I think, the way I had the trap bedded in the pocket, with the toe catches, was catching mink on the approach to the hole, and they would set off the trap, and the lever would come up on their chest/chin area and lift them up while the trap was going off, which would bring their feet up too. That's my theory, But who knows???

[~ADC~]

If I knew it would be only mink then a #2 DLS would be my first choice. They bed solid in mud, get a good high grip, and weigh enough to drown them fast even in shallow water.... that said I'm a firm believer in the #11's for an all purpose water trap. I've heard of people saying you get a bigger kill area with a 1.5 coil over a #11 but actually if the mink don't step on the pan it doesn't matter how wide the jaw spread is. So, with the #11's pan pan bieng almost the same size as the #1.5 coil....

I do know you need fewer mods on a #11 than a 1.5 coil to make them the best they can be.

~ADC~

[Nick C]

Sooooo ADC, the mink you catch must step perfectly on the pan every time??? ;D ;D

[~ADC~]

Dec 18, 2008 22:58:29 GMT -6 Nick C said:

Sooooo ADC, the mink you catch must step perfectly on the pan every time??? ;D ;D

If they didn't step on the pan the trap wouldn't go off, suprised you didn't know that.

~ADC~

[4fur]

You and iatiger experienced the extremely rare phenomenon of catching a large number of mink in the absence of coon here in Iowa, IMHO. Normally if you use baited sets you can expect to catch more coon than mink so you need a coon trap that will also take mink which is the #11DJ in non-drowning situations and the 1.5CS on a drowning wire. 1.5CS will work better for you if you work them. Modify them like minnow does and bend the trigger down slightly if you like working in the shop. But at least file the trigger and square up the pan notch on the Dukes you run. Add an inline swivel, and shorten the chain if using drowning wires. Good mink traps need zero tension and a very hair trigger. At baited sets, pan size is way over-rated. You had good luck with your traps right out of the box, Nick; you'd had a lot better luck IMO if you would have spent less time on the Hill and more time in the shop. I'm guessing iatiger had a lot more problems with pull-outs on coon the couple night they ran with his older traps than you did with your new Dukes?

[iowatiger]

Heres my 2 cents again. I dont like those big "mink pans" I want the mink to be dead center if possible to set the trap off. I dont want him 1/2 inch away from the edge of the jaws and setting it off. If the mink steps on my little #11s pan, its almost dead center. Plus any longspring trap has little or no restriction to let the minks leg get buried. The coils have all that stuff in the way. Dont get me wrong, I use coils and catch alot of mink in them, but I have caught alot of fur in longsprings. I plan on adding more of all the styles of traps were talking about. I miss and lose coon more than I should. I will be changing my ways a little in the coming years.

[iowatiger]

More 2 cents... I know setting up sliders is a good thing to do, but I will more than likely never do it. I run all traps as early and as soon as possible. If I lose coon, thats the way it is. I have at least 2 foot of extra chain on most of my m+c traps. I like the extra weight and have a choice to stake it full chain or stake it half way in the chain through the swivel. In looking back at the mink Ive caught, I would say the Old Victor #2 coil is awesome for mink, but on the other hand is the worst coon trap unless a slider is set up. 75% of the mink I catch are in very little water and setting a drowning system up is not gonna work. Ive had coon in the #11 at 3pm, still waiting for me. I know some coon can work the levers of a coil, but no way a good strong 11.

[dblcoil]

My favorite mink trap would be the old square jaw No. 2 Montgomery. Heavy trap, easy to set with a hair trigger, built much better then the traps now days. Too bad they don't make em anymore, if they did, I'd have a couple hundred. Hardly ever had a live mink in one, even in one inch deep water. Next choice would be the 1.5

[furgood]

I"m going to change this thred to bodygrip for mink for a little bit, and my choice is a 220 duke. I catch 25-30% of my mink in them. I will set up those narrow 3-4in deep trickles with the trigger wires spred and on the bottom(top of wire just above or below the surface). I also use them in bottom edge sets. I leave 1 safety on making resets fast. They bed fast, cover a larger area than 110s and don't force me to carry a setter like some 220s.

[4fur]

Dec 19, 2008 21:28:36 GMT -6 furgood said:

I"m going to change this thred to bodygrip for mink for a little bit, and my choice is a 220 duke. I catch 25-30% of my mink in them. I will set up those narrow 3-4in deep trickles with the trigger wires spred and on the bottom(top of wire just above or below the surface). I also use them in bottom edge sets. I leave 1 safety on making resets fast. They bed fast, cover a larger area than 110s and don't force me to carry a setter like some 220s.

Hmmm...and what planet did you learn this trick on? ;D Sounds good, furgood! You haven't sold all those Duke 220's have you, BigT?!

[minnow]

Ok Bigt,

I have two traps I like.

A simple 110 , add a 4way swivel to the chain just after the spring, cut the large ring off the chain & add 3ft of wire to the end of the chain. Spread the trigger into a V shape. Simple but it works

The best Mink trap for my trapline is a 1.5 Duke coil spring, Laminated jaw, 1.5 music wire spring, extra swivel in the middle of the chain, dog bent down slighty over the jaw, welded pan post, welded j hook, dog file burr free, pan hole drilled out for larger brass screw & nut, washer add if needed to pan post to remove any slop in pan post & pan shank, 4 way swivel with a nut welded on the end of the chain for the 3/32 drowner cable to pass threw. Pan drops freely on its own, I do not center swiveled chains on the traps. I do not have any pull outs with this traps in or out of the water.

The #2 victor makes a good trap in spring sets & small trickle creeks or just in fount of a running tile. Big pan & High grip, Again attached to a drowner.

Ive sold most of my #11 traps, However they had one advantage vs a coil trap. If the water level dropped exposing trap & it was freezing conditions it does not freeze down like a coil trap will. You still have a trap working.

One of these traps is the perfect trap for my trapline, sometimes use all 3 at one location or any combo of them.

Last season I pulled some stroung long springs out of a box to use on a extending a trapline I was on. I had set 40 traps from that box out with
long chains & using a t bar stake in deeper water. Wow a big mistake to bring those traps out to use. It was discouraging to have had so many pull outs. Mink were caught but was not used to all the pull outs. I pulled that line early due to to much pull outs.

The time you spend making your traps the best they can be, will only put money back in your pocket. I enjoy working on my traps & glad to do so!

I'll have my son help me post some picture of what Im talking about.

Minnow

[BigT]

Well, I have been sorting through Eds 400 Victor #2s and have found alot of very nice traps with my name on them. I am going to try and get about 10 dozen and work the hell out of them this summer so they are finely tuned mink trapping machines. I am going to weld a chew gaurd on them for the coon that do find their way into them. I love the big pan and tall jaws for sure.

There are 2 different styles of Victor #2s. One is a taller narrower aversion and the other is a shorter wider version. I have been sorting all of the taller ones for me as it seems with the higher levers there is no wiggle room between the jaws( I put my thunb in a couple to try them out and could not pull it out and I tell ya what it was really hurting, worse than my new Dukes I think).

I will post some pics when I get around to modifying them!

[Nick C]

I had a friend modify over 2 dozen of some old victor #2's. He put a chew guard on them. I dont know if they were low lever or high lever, or if they were weak or what. But he had several coon pull out of them, like more than 15 coon pull out of those traps. He thinks the chew guards he welded on, were sort of the throwing the coon outta the trap. Not sure if they were low lever or weak springed or WHAT. Just sayin is all, don't kill the messenger. ;D

[4fur]

You already have a gazillion fo these.



If you're so insecure about trap placement put some Barker mink pans on them. Dyed and waxed all but the weakest 1.5 LS make excellent mink traps. And where you so far north that you have coon typically den up 10 minutes or so after the season opens, you really are just minking anyway.

[BigT]

I agree with you Wayne BUT, when I was out with Bob he had alot of traps pulled tight to the end of the chain with no animal in it. He will by no means tell you his traps are all strong spinged though. Now I am by no means an expert but a tight chain in my mind would have to be a coon pulling out. The 1 1/2 LS would be a very nice mink specific trap but even though the coon do den up we still caught a few coon. We ended up with 76 mink and I think we caught 40 coon. We lost a few to stake pumps which will not happen to me again, going all pogo next year and consider how many "may" have pulled out, our catch may have been in the 50s to low 60s. This means that if we would have had 1 more nice coon day it could have been a 1 to 1 ratio.

Now not being a seasoned vetern this is my 1 year opinion. The mink season ended way too early this year. The cold is not a factor in catching mink because with a little effort and a few miles one can find some open water all year long. The snow is the major deterrant. Drifted over creeks and tiles are impossible to trap. Looking back at most winters in the last 5 years this had to be the worst for snow for us. I would say more than 50% of our winters we have little or no snow till January.

Nick, I do not see how the chew gaurd could throw the coon out unless it was welded too low on the jaws. The low lever Victor #2s dont have near as much clearance or holding power as the high levers. If a coon does not get thrown out of a 1 1/2 CS or a #11 LS I just dont see it happening enough to calculate it as a risk. I could be wrong maybe someone with alot more knowledge can elaborate.

We will see next year how they work. I am definetaly going to use them so my test will show. If they dont work how I want I will have some darn nice traps to sell HAHA.

[4fur]

Dec 25, 2008 21:20:34 GMT -6 BigT said:

The mink season ended way too early this year. The cold is not a factor in catching mink because with a little effort and a few miles one can find some open water all year long. The snow is the major deterrant. Drifted over creeks and tiles are impossible to trap. Looking back at most winters in the last 5 years this had to be the worst for snow for us. I would say more than 50% of our winters we have little or no snow till January.

Seems to me like the freakin' wind has been blowing for a month. And of course drifting the snow. Low levers were older model than the high levers. Higher levers hold better due to physics. New springs will make them both strong traps again.

[BigT]

Ya I guess you are right Wayne. It is not the snow it is the wing blowing the snow. Heck even a foot of snow would not do to much but an inch with a 30 MPH wind is the nasty!

[iowatiger]

Ever since I started buying everyones leftover traps from the 70s, I have owned about a dozen of every trap made! I have always used my coils on the mink and coon line. I also use some of the stronger 1 1/2 longs. I started using the #11s about 7 or 8 years ago, and I rarely have an animal"pull out" I cant say that about my other traps. I think it has alot to do with me setting toooo much of a hair trigger for mink. I have alot of traps streched tight, either up the bank or in the water with no fur or any sign of any animal at all! I figured it was coon and just part of setting hair trigger for mink. Through the years I have caught at least dbl the mink over coon. I will start to change my ways as coon can be caught easier and bigger #s. If I could only own one trap and nothing else in my inventory, it would, with no CONTEST, be the #11. Give em a try!! I also like the smaller pans, not the huge "minker pans". I want the mink to be somewhat centered when he sets the trap off, not 1/2 inch from the jaw.

[three]

I would not consider this a favorite nor the best mink trap but a good compromise for long spring traps. The idea is to have the animal pulling towards the power of the trap instead of away from it. I have held some pretty big 'coon in #1 LS using this set up. The extra swivels have to help the LS also.

[4fur]

Good post, three! Do you drill a hole for the J hook? Any disadvantages to this set up?

[Kelly]

One of the first coon longliners to break the 1000 mark used nothing but #1 Blake and Lamb longsprings. All of his traps were converted to the above chain hookup method. Previously, he used this trap and setup for mink and caught a bunch of them per year, too.

[three]

Dec 26, 2008 12:36:22 GMT -6 4fur said:

Good post, three! Do you drill a hole for the J hook? Any disadvantages to this set up?

I had to drill all of mine for the j-hook. This set up takes some getting use to because you are placing the spring in opposite direction you usually do. This is a minor problem for most sets. I place the spring inside of the pocket.

[BigT]

I have some of my 1 1/2 LS equipped like that but do not like turning the trap backward to bed it. I seem to fumble around with it a bit and setting a hair trigger is not easy when you have to hold the trap backwards and shove it in a hole.

[three]

Dec 26, 2008 17:35:12 GMT -6 BigT said:

I have some of my 1 1/2 LS equipped like that but do not like turning the trap backward to bed it. I seem to fumble around with it a bit and setting a hair trigger is not easy when you have to hold the trap backwards and shove it in a hole.

This is the disadvantage I was try to explain(not very well). It just takes awhile to get use to. I really like this set up on 1 1/2 LS. Bigger jaw spread more weight.

[Kelly]

Who says you have to handle them "backwards" and bed them with the spring inside the hole?

And another thing, "hair trigger" is the cause for more sprung traps than any other single thing a trapper can do in the process of trapping. Even great mink takers like Bud Hall and Gerald Schmitt believe in setting half notch.

[afoxj]

another good trap i used was a one and a half blake and lamb long spring. i even used them on fox sets when i ran out of coilsprings and wanted to extend my line.