I mentioned to my girlfriend that I was hoping to run more mink traps next fall. She ended up ordering me a few dozen Bridger 1.5 specials and of course I am thankful. However, I have read that many people say they are junk compared to roughly the same price Duke traps. I am just curious if they are really that much lower in quality and harder to tune? Any honest info would be great. Thank you

I bought a couple of the Bridger 1.5's to try out. I haven't used them yet. But just holding them and fiddling with them I wouldn't say they're junk...

They might not be a Cadillac but I'm not ready to label them junk... Not until they've been put through their paces anyway.

Mike

I do not know why anyone would call them junk, they are a very good trap, I have been using them a couple of seasons now for fox/coon with no issues. They have held every animal that has stepped into the jaws so far (mostly coon/possums) and the levers have even stayed pretty straight when my Duke levers have bent or twisted here and there. I like the thicker jaws of the Bridgers and they are already void of the sharp edges that Dukes have on the jaws also!

They are not junk. I love them for coon and fox, and have held a few coyotes in them too. The Duke 1.5 might have been dukes best trap but quality of a Bridger in my opinion is still better.
I run some of each and I generally have been putting dukes where I think things could get iffy on theft. Dukes will hold catches but I don't cry when I lose one like I do if I lose a Bridger. Chain is better on Bridger (straight link vs twist) and swivels are better too (thicker steel than dukes). You will find the springs hold up better over time too.
You are going to get a lot of different opinions on here on traps. Use them, find out how they best perform best for your usage on your line.
Personally I won't buy another Duke foothold but I'll use what I do have where I do use them. I do like Duke body grips though. Most of our line is land sets with a few pocket and water sets.
I only buy Bridger footholds for coon, coyote, fox and cats now. And hey I'm not so much a fan of Bridger bodygrips, eyes are a little too small on the smaller models makes em hard to set right. Give thiose 1.5 specials a try, they are a nice trap that will serve you just fine.

Jim

They are not junk at all. I only have a few but they work well. The jaws are great on land. I am not sure I would want to run a couple of hundred in the water though. That smooth jaw face could be a problem in the water which is where the Dukes narrow jaw face really shines.

I really like 1.5 specials, all traps need some tuning and with these I file the end of the dog so that there is almost no creep past the night latch hump and I have a few that are dedicated rat and mink traps that have a little weaker springs. In Indiana coon season opens a week before rat and mink so most of the coons on the areas I trap get removed and are not a real problem as far as getting in my sets.

I went to buy some for testing a few years ago...then noticed the rounded jaw face. No thanks for us muddy coon trappers. This is where the Duke jaw will always shine.

I'm sure they work just fine for other critters.