Every season I seem to find myself obsessing with the pan tension on my traps. Is it to much, is it not enough, will I miss a coon , will I toe catch a yote ? and so on. Is pan tension really just a way of keep no targets out of sets ? Are "floppy" pan less effective ? I try to set mine by feel and give it just enough to keep the pan from falling and end up with between 1 to 2 lbs. when measured on a tester. Any insight on the topic ? -Thanks

Bob went is polar opposite of a lot of guys. He takes is soft catches out the box and turn up the jaw tips and adds a chestnut stake swivel. Said he uses the pan tension that the spring puts on pan do and that's it. Guy catches more critters in a week than most do in a season so he know what he's doing

In my opinion pan tension is important. i like to have 2-3 pounds on my coyote traps, because I want the coyotes weigh fully committed to that step before the trap fires. This ensures the trap grabs as high as possible on the foot and prevents pullouts. If pan tension is too light you end up with toe catches, misses, and even traps that just go off on their own with a little rain. I have caught plenty of coon and fox with that much tension. In this market, if it isn’t big enough to set that 2-3lbs off, better to just let it get away anyways.

I've had to catches with no pan pressure, had them with higher pan pressure. I really have no idea what poundage any of my traps are. As long as they don't have much creep in pan movement, I'm good to go.

I obsess over mine, too. Why not? I don't want to miss ANYTHING. Fur pays for the gas...whatever it is. I set mine to as close as 2# as I can get. I can brush the cover around over the trap without it firing.

Last year I used 3# at the recommendation of several here, and I missed 5 fox because of it. That's almost a hundred dollar bill. Yep, I like mine light...and all the same.

I trapped for a lot of years before I ever found out that there was such a thing as pan tension. The Victor long spring's pan not only flopped up and down it flopped sideways and in any other direction you can name. Those traps caught millions of critters,. Some used Miles Trigger mod to aid in keeping the traps set and facilitate a crisp firing, but most trappers just set them.
Bobw may be onto something as his coyote numbers are roughly 100 pelts every week from 50-60 traps, or so I have been told by guys that know him. In his video, he clearly demonstrates how floppy a pan can be. . Video
So, yes imo, if you give more than about ten minutes thought to pan tension, you are over thinking it. A short clean break is what you should be thinking about and when you find tracks on your pan, adjust the tension lighter. Spend your time money and thought on how to get the coyote to test that pan tension.

The pan is not what makes the target animal commit. Look and leaves or toe catches or backside approaches are about set construction.

I set me pan tension just barely enough to hold pan up by its self. Very few toe catches here. If a coyotes foot is touching the pan when the trap fires I have a hard time believing he is fast enough to react and lift foot any amount before trap catches him, whether he has a half pound on pan or three pounds on pan. Now maybe if u want to try and avoid skunks or possum then maybe try heavier pan tension.

My 2 cents , the lighter the pan tension the bigger the kill area is, but the trap can't fire from the weight of the covering. BW figured that out a long time ago.. Pan tension isn't the cause of toe catches, 2 toes with good swivels their yours! Strong springs and a good lock up cures most toe catches, period... If you get above 2.5 pan tension your missing fur..