Is there any reason or situation that I would need a long spring trap vs. a coil spring. I haven't been trapping long but I am having a great season by my standards. I'm about ready to completely commit to mb 550 just no experience with long springs. Here in Georgia thanks.

Not really down there, but if you could find one that would float now that be handy I think. Lol

To be honest, other than just the enjoyment of using Longs, probably not in my opinion. Longs are easy to stabilize in muck water trapping though. I like to use them for Coons, but I'd rather trust a coil, a big coil at that for beaver. Coyotes, longs are fun, but you have to dig more soil.


If it were my money I'd buy 550s and maybe a few #3 DBL for giggles and for nostalgic reasons

For water, you can't beat a #2DLS at a pocket set. Quick to stabilize, quick to drowned.....plus I just love to use them

Coils are a lot easier to bury.

In Georgia? Probably not. Out here I’ve used them in a few situation like setting on large rock surfaces and fencing/blocking/guiding them hard to get cats where bedding a coil spring would have been impossible. They’re also nice in freeze thaw conditions as they’re much less likely to freeze down. I like them situationally and would say my line consists 95% of coilsprings and 5% DLS. They’re good to have as the few things they’re good at they do extremely well.

What Lurp said: "They’re also nice in freeze thaw conditions as they’re much less likely to freeze down."

That's been the conditions around here this year. I have some exposed trap sets out for cats and I'm having zero issues with my longs, but my coils are a pain in the rear! I've made small blocks to keep them up off the ground, but then they wanna wobble, so I'm stuffing sticks and rocks under the jaws and levers to try and stabilize them. Gonna start phasing the coils out and go with all longs eventually.

Lurp, I'm surprised you only use them 5% of the time over there in your neck of the woods.

90% of my coyote traps are Dls. As far as harder to bed, dont see it. Will take a #3 Dls over a coil spring for a coyote every time. If I use coils it’s a full modified Bridger #3 dogless.

I really like using Dls for my cat sets....I use #4 just because I had them for beaver but I think it's kinda overkill....
Any members using #2 Dls for cats?

Last season I ran a lot of my line with expanded pan DLS as I was primarily targeting cats. This year I ran more of a mixed line and have been just running mostly coil springs with an occasional DLS on very rocky ground. I find my MB650 with a roofing shingle paper clipped to the pan does the majority of what a DLS will do outside of a few specific circumstances. It also didn't help that I bought all new pit pan systems for my DLS and was in the middle of swapping them all out when the season snuck up on me so now i'm stuck with much fewer DLS than I usually have. I will probably run a few more next season once my DLS arsenal is back in the game. For some reason I have a soft spot for a nice western cat in a DLS, nothing looks as good.

Longsprings don't freeze down as easily (when the bottom of the spring is frozen down the longspring will still work). The longspring beds easier (I've come to the conclusion that more dug up traps are dug due to an animal stepping on the corner of a trap and its moves than most people think). Longsprings have the advantage in holding power as they lock up better. Its easier to add a big pan to the longspring than the coilspring. When pulling traps, I see more caked mud in and around the coils on a coilspring than on a longspring trap. I find it as easy (sometimes easier) to set the longsprings (the #2,3,4 sleepy creek in particular).