what kind of traps do you like best

i like the mb 650 and 550 i think they are best trap i have ever seen i am going to swich all my old traps to them nexy year tell me what you guys think

I am kind of partial to Bridger, i have bridger,montanas, northwoods and dukes, they all catch cats, mbs are good traps from what i have been told, just couldnt afford them, the are about 8-9 dollars more a trap than a bridger,i say, use what you like, not what someone else tells you is good

hey rsch3, let me know when you get your new traps and where ya be trapping. lol
Those are really going to hurt the pocket book when they start disappearing from all that public land.

I'll stick to the bridgers and old northwoods. When you trap public land don't need to get those expensive type traps stolen.

Besides liking the kind that always has a big tom bobcat that has a belly that wraps from one side of his back bone to the other, I guess the type would be a coil spring. I've always been used to using #3's and #4's, but after some chit and chat with Bucksnbows, I'm buying a bunch of #2's. He made the statement to me that a #2 and even a #1.75 will hold a Mt. Lion, and he is right. I used to every once in a while catch a Mt. Lion in a #2 double long spring when I was trapping grayfox and coastal bobcats, so I'm giving in a shot. The #2 double long spring has a 4 3/4" jaw spread, and the #2 coil has (depending on brand) a 5 3/8" to 5 5/8" jaw spread. Stand to reason that the most important step in trapping is Trap Placement, with Pan Tension next (of course this is my opinion). I have noticed that the larger traps can sometime result in more leg damage, and if you catch a small cat that you would want to normally turn loose, this may not be an option due to leg damage. Food for thought............

So far I like the long springs the best for exposed sets. As far as coil springs, Bridger has the best value.

I'm like some of the others on here in that I have run Bridgers for many years. That said - last year I bought two dozen of the Duke #4 4x4 offsets for 100.00 a dozen. After tuning them up they went into the ground last fall. They caught and held coyotes and cats just as well as the Bridgers. This winter I ran across a killer deal at the local farm & ranch store on five Duke #3 offset coil springs for $2.98 a piece. I checked with the woman (who I've known for quite a few years) who works in the sporting goods department to make sure they were not mis-marked and she assured me they weren't. She said they must have been on clearance. I almost felt guilty walking out of the store with them - almost but not that guilty. Anyway about a week later this woman called me and told me that while stocking shelves they found the remainder of the dozen in a box on the top shelf and they would sell them to me at the same price if I wanted them. I'm lucky I didn't get a speeding ticket on my way down there.

I look for a good solid trap and at the right price I don't mind tinkering with it to make it that way.

Thats a killer deal..........I have half a dozen Duke #3 and like those too. Do you 4 coil your coyote and cat traps? I used all mine stock at first, but then I noticed they would not push through frozen ground barley at all. Also in some areas the clay would almost cement then down when it was dry.

Sweet deal jkelly i sure hope if i keep livin right i can get rewarded like that : ) . All kidding aside thats a sweet deal and i agree if the price is right you don't mind putting in some extra sweat equity.
Since i'm a newbee i am workin on borrowed equipment for now and so far so good i put down 24 sets this season of some old Montgomery #2 dog on's and #4 dogless managed 7 cats ,11.grey's , 2 coyotes , 5 ringtails ,3 kit's and 1 badger ... well there is the one toe that i was left as a parting gift but i couldn't find a buyer.. go figure.
I was really eye ballin those Bridger #3's fully modified but.. that old dogs thing... sure wish they were made in the USA...just sayin.
Those 34 yrs as a Union Tinner dont fade fast.. But i guess if i look under the paint of that Dodge i drive its not pretty either.. I digress

Has any one used those Sleepy Creek brand?

I think for the price Duke can't be beat! If you got a little more greenbacks then bridger for sure. I have so many diffirent traps that I can't count them all. Like Jkelly says they all need some tuning but they all catch cats and dogs. Adjustment of the pan and trigger are VERY important.

I am still learning a lot... but I really the the MB650 & 550s I know they cost a little more but I love the catches I get with them...well above the pads on my yotes. I really the the 550s they come ready to go out of the box (just dyed and waxed, didnt even have to mess with pan tension or anything) I am only running long spring with the enlarged pans exposed on cats sets. This year I ran a lot of #4s but am switching to mainly #3s for next season. I absolutely love the PIT systems for the long springs as well.

Its just like the trucks. I like Chevy and some like Fords and Dodge I mean Fiat?? If you have them adjusted right you can catch them on a old #3 victor jump trap.

Correct me if I'm wrong in this statement, "Its the trapper, not the traps that catch the animals." By this I mean you can have the best trap made, but set at a bad location, set with too much cover over the pan, pan not adjusted properly, trap placement at the set was incorrect and such will end up in a lot of effort putting in the set and checking it without any success. Am I wrong? Knowledge is power when it comes to trapping, and you can never have too much knowledge. Learn all you can from whoever you can. Some will be useful and some won't. Do what works best for you and catches the animals, and file away the rest. Who knows, if you are a "thinker" someday some of that filed away knowledge will help you make better or more catches.

Well said ridgeback and bucksnbows

I have always been partial to the ones with a cat standing in it.

For cats, live traps. I can set them almost anywhere (even around farm houses) and I don't have to worry about someone’s pet dog, cat or even their children and if it isn't the cat that I am wanting to keep, I simply roll the live trap over and release the animal. When they are set a long way away from where anyone lives, the cat, coon or whatever animals wander into the live traps are setting there waiting for me whenever I show up. I don't have to get into a big hurry to check the traps early in the morning, like when I am trapping coyotes.

I second that elkantlers. Only thing that cold make it better was if the cat standing the the trap had $100 bills in its mouth.

Ridgeback740, all my cats had 6 or 7 hundred dollar bills in their mouth.

Lucky you, mine only had 20's and 50's.