I’m a hobby trapper looking to buy a cage trap. I was looking at the options and price range is fairly big, say from $50 for a Havahart to $85 for a Tomahawk of the same size (12.75 x 10 x 32) both made with 12 gauge wire. What would I be getting for that $35? My main target in mind is for fisher this winter but I would also use it for coon close to buildings and possibly try for gray fox. Thanks!

Forget the havaharts or any trap you can get at the hardware store. Especially for anything bigger than a skunk. Coons and even groundhogs are notorious hardware store trap breakers.

Williams traps as well as the Tomahawk traps are good!

As long as I think there’s a reasonable difference in the two I’m fine with spending the money, I just thought I’d check with experience. The Williams trap website says that the door opens when you roll it over. I assume that’s something you would do to release an animal but that you have to release the door somehow or a simple trap rollover would free the animal?

Yep it is a nice feature for non targets

A lot of these single door cages these days have sliding release/bait doors to make it easier. Personally I wouldn't use a door that doesn't have some kind of spring mechanism to keep the doors from opening if they roll. I don't want to have to stake down a trap to keep it from rolling.

Stay away from the bottom of the barrel, Tractor Supply/hardware store traps.

Good cage traps start with cages like Safeguard and Tomahawk, provided you buy the professional versions. I don't consider the lock ring, gravity door traps worth buying. I've tried them and you can get better traps for the money. They work but others work better.

Then you get into the premium cages. I'm not going to list all the custom trap builders out there but doing a little searching will give you plenty of reviews.

And to go back to the beginning, don't count out the Havahart traps. Some of their top of the line traps are just fine. I've been using some for a dozen years now without problem.

As far as I'm concerned, those sliding rear doors are a must.

And yes, I make my living with cage traps.

I’ve had the Williams traps that I store outside for the last twenty years . Flawless! I recommend highly!

The only thing I do not care for on some gravity/washer lock traps is they close with a bump sometimes. The wickenkamps are designed not to do that and I really like them.

Where can you get the Williams traps. I have one that I really like but can not find anywhere to buy more

Williams gave me some distributors contact Info but hey are all out of michigan

Any help on contact to retailer would be GREATLY APPRECIATED

Been using Williams cage traps for more than 20 years. I like them. Lately, I’ve been buying the smaller Ztrap, top trip cages. There’s no, “smart-coon-reaching-over-the-pan” to worry about. My partner says he’s taken adult coon up to 30 pounds and up to 3 kits at a time with his top trip models. I still like my Williams cages but I like the top trip cages too.

For those who like the gravity/washer lock traps, I'd suggest looking at the Freedom Brand traps. I bought a few when they first came out and was impressed. The wire isn't top of the line but the frame is. The thing I like the most is how low the pan sits and how sensitive you can get it. They also have a bait door.

A pan that sits low is very important to me. Even though I use a lot of Safeguard traps, it has always annoyed me how high the pan sits. Tomahawk is a little better with this but Freedom Brand has them both beat by far.

Sounds like you need to connect with Little Wolf Trapping Supply from Manawa, Wi. He makes an awesome coon/fisher cage. I think I paid ~$40 two years ago. He's on facebook, but I don't think Brian has a website. Great guy, solid products.

Yes stay away from cheap tractor supply cages for coon.
I can show you pictures of detroyed ones and even one that the coon literally chewed an escape hole right out the back, the wire didn't hold up and the thin aluminum pans were mangled beyond repair.
Possums and housecats are all those are worth using them on.
Invest in good solid cage traps that will work, hold a coon, and last you more than one catch.
There are a lot of good reputable makers on here.
Jim

What cage trap would you recommed buying for mink?

I can vouch for this as well. Every tractor supply live trap I’ve owned I have had to spend time fixing it after every catch. It’s worth the extra money to buy a quality trap.

Darren Peel at Trap and snare makes very good cage traps 440-497-8699.

If you are handy at all a cage trap is very simple to construct. Been making heavy duty cage traps for nearly 40 yrs. and never even had any damage except that they chew on the entrance tunnel a little. The front end of the trap is constructed as a tunnel from treated lumber. It doubles as a shelter and hide area. Very simple trigger design works very well.

Many moons ago I made 25 of these and placed them with homeowners with coon problems where leg holds were off limits during the season. Made a bunch of new friends and caught a ton of coon that would have otherwise gone unharvested.

Something to think about. Not all coon are the same size. This is kind of dependent on the part of the country you’re in. A big Minnesota-Wisconsin-Dakotas-Michigan coon is 25 pounds and up. Thirty pounds and up are real possibilities as well. Southern state coon are all going to be smaller. LeRoy Renno, who is from Pennsylvania, says there are close to a dozen different species of coon in the US. I guess that means they come in all shapes and sizes.

I've got a friend that keeps buying TSC cage traps. After a couple coon they are wrecked. He gives me the wrecked traps and I pull out whats left of the door and treadle and make them into 220 cubbies. Killed a lot of fur in those converted cages. I'm still trying in vain to get him to buy a decent cage trap.

I talked to Brian at Manawa, WI based Little Wolf Trapping Supplies today. He's a cage making expert, as anyone who attends the Marshfield rendezvous knows. He said his fisher cage works well for mink if ya set it at a hair trigger. So ya don't need a tiny cage for mink, though there might be certain instances where folks find a 5x5 cage desirable I guess. Brian's cage works well for coon, so it's quite versatile.