New Duke 550-OS Pro Series. Expected availability June 1.

I’ll try to post a pic later. It’s up on Facebook and on minktrapping.com.

Looks like a nice trap, curious on price

Ooooooooo the comments on FB are already great lol

Seems to me MTP has a good reason to sue over this copy cat of the mb550

Why don’t they copy a belisle?

Please

Price?

Bill told me street price is $169-$179 a dozen.

I cannot believe how many on Facebook think this is fake. I never joke about sex, money, or traps.

Yeah I was just reading the comments on the PA trappers group on Facebook. What a bunch of morons.

Still got to change out the swivels.......

This has got to be a joke...

nothing on their web site. why post it on farcebook first?

Don't know if I want to comment here,waiting for somebody to holler APRIL FOOLS

Wish they would have copied the sterling 500 @ that price. I guess for an extra $25 or so I'll stick with the MB's.

Well...Duke did copy the Bridger 2...

Swivels look ok to me.

If this is the real deal....I see a bolt head. The frame must be gusseted like a real 550.....

What about jaw spread is it the same as the MB 550.

I’m pretty sure everything is the same as an MB 550 with the exception of the square pan and other minor details.

My thought exactly. Surely one of Dukes employeea could come up with an original name.

I believe the Beav said they were and that it would be out shortly.Thats why I'm suspicious about this post.

Photo looks edited or photoshopped

Might just be a proto photo. IDK

Duke....the Savage firearms company of trapping.

This Is no joke they will be out by this convention season.

Not to digress too much but what did Savage do?

The only thing that is keeping me believing is those swivels. It would take a lot of work to photoshop those thin things in there, and would take a lot more thinking the we know Beav can do to think out that small part.

That's what my post was about. The pictured trap still had Dukes crappy swivels (which I always replace).

Same price as the MB if you find it on sale (cabelas) or used. Seems like a lot if guys will stick with the MB at that price. Around 150/dz they would move a lot more i think.

im not a duke fan but they have been around the block a time or two and outlasted several good trap manufactures. Kbs were ten times the trap of any duke, but dukes still going! The square pan will be enough to fight copy rite infringement. Their #2 square jaw is a knockoff off a bridger /northwoods. Appears to me duke has it out for cavens. I cant imagine their customer service can be half as good as mtp.

Help me out, which part of the MB550 is patented?
At first glance all the parts look like things that have been used forever, by many trap builders.

I heard that duke was also going to be coming out with a step down paws i trip pan # 2 trap this year.I heard Duke was working with Ed a few months ago on both traps but I haven`t heard for sure if they are moving forward with both traps or not.Have you heard anything on that Coonduke?

I just hope they have a BIG stock pile when they do go on the market.

I don't use 550 only because I don't like traps that small but my experience with Duke foothold isn't good I lost enough cats in 1 season outta there copy of the #2 Bridger that I could have bought a couple more dz no bs traps there quality of metal is sub par to amircan steel by far

I'm am probably gonna stick with mtp.

I'm going to stick with MTP until they improve their trap...thereby ruining it. I love the MB 550.

wonder what the jaw spread is? same as the MB550? I have and use several dozen MB550's wish they had a bigger jaw spread but they are a great trap

Is it so far out of the realm of possibility for MTP to be wholesaling the parts of the MB's to Duke, and then Duke working some mass production magic to still build the traps and make a profit on them?

Not sure if that is happening, but I don't see why not. Then MB would still be making a bunch on the MB trap design.

That Isn't happing.

Isn’t the 550 part mean the jaw spread is 5.5 inches, mb450 have a 4.5 inch jaw spread...same goes for the sterlings and kB 5.5. Isn’t that where those numbers come from? So a bigger jaw spread would mean to get like a mb650 I believe. Also people were saying that they copied the name 550 cause of the MB’s but they are just saying the size. I’d definitely try them

MB 550 is 4 3/4 inside , a victor 1 1/2 is 4 5/8 inside.

10-4. They look good either way.

You gonna try some Beav?

The trap also has a stainless steel dog.

probably not, but every trap manufacturer has there own private steel company right ? Never heard anyone say Duke and Victor traps look the same Anyway I hope the new traps sell well cause i'll be buying the cheap used duke 1 3/4s

Has Duke ever in the history of the company, ever come up with their own design for anything? You know besides cheap swivels and junk chain.

I have almost enough small traps,
would like a Duke Pro T-shirt though.

I have a Duke T shirt. It has a Coon on It with DP on It's foot.
I will be getting some Of the New 550s. I really thought they would be here by know.

Shirt probably be a foreign made knock-off

You can't hardly find a shirt Or a hat that Is made In the good old USA. My Marine Corps cover was made In China.

Cabela's clothing Is made in China.

that's my feeble attempt at sarcasm Beav

I have tried just about every trap out there. Have good luck with all of them I have tried. I don't understand why these type of posts have turn into a bashing. If you don't like them, then don't buy them. It is another option for trappers to try. It is a post just to inform people what is coming out and a little info on them.

Well said.

Years back at a rondy fur buyer Theresa gave me a Duke hat.
When Coal bank came around I told him,
nafa was here and left your top lot hat and handed it to him.
Looked like he was going to beat me up haha.

Alright back on topic, only three pages?
Bashers must be asleep at the wheel.

I will like to give them a try when they come out.

Nah, they're like that kid in school who pretends to yawn and stretch so he can see your test answers lol.

Traps have been copied from the beginning of time.
The first DP was a copy of the back hole mole trap. Big deal get over It.

It is a big deal if you're the guy whose design they are stealing. The box trap guy, the grizz guy, now the caven's.

So John Deer stole a combine design from massy Ferguson and Mossberg stole a gun design from Winchester and everyone Is using the combustion engine. It's not stealing If there Isn't a patent on It. It's called competition.

There you have it. I asked before if Caven's trap had any patented parts. Looks can not be patented. Nor can prior art.

So naive . Every company on the planet does it. Every car/truck, motorcycle, shoe, bicycle, bow, gun, electronics, etc manufacturer has a team that buys, rips apart, dissects, measures and copies anything of value on their competitors product. I saw this when I worked for Ford Motor Co and when I raced various brands of motorcycles.

Do you really think all the MBs/ Bridgers were original ideas?

I know an American Trap builder/Designer that runs only Duke 1.5s on his trapline.

Who's that Calvin

My older Vics are so close to 4 3/4" that you would say they are. That's why years ago I called 550s 1 1/2 size traps and had all kinds of people angry, the consensus was that 550s look as big as #2s so they must be as big as #2s. They do gain a bit of "kill area" by being elongated. The 550, 650 is outside dimension I believe; but, it's been several years since I measured one.

I would like to see a 600 size designed like a 550 (not 650).

Naive lol, you didn't prove my statement wrong. Just callin a spade a spade. Duke is like the old Electra guitar Co. They flat out copied the Les Paul and got sued for it, then changed the bible headstock to a wave headstock to get from under the law suit, and they did. They were at least good knock off's made in Japan. I am all for the free market and freedom. Duke consistently copies others work and gets'em made across the pond using crap steel. Hopefully they copied the MB better than they did the #2 Bridger square jaw (dirt gap and d-ring) lol.

22...the Bridger square jaw is a Northwoods COPY.

Want more bridger/ MB copies? I won't but there are plenty.

I agree Beav. However when you blatantly copy others designs, consistently, and produce them overseas to purposely undercut the people you copied it from, well, that's dirty pool to me. But that's just me. Our trapping community is pretty small, if this sort of thing don't bother ya, then rock on!

Yep, both made across the pond. And who is the American trap builder who only uses Duke 1 1/2's?

Did you ever have a D ring fail? Did you ever have a Duke trap where the lack of a debris gap lost you a critter?
I have actually used these traps and never have I had any issues with the issues you commented on. Bill even sent me the new D ring clevis's I'm still catching coyotes in those traps and the replacement parts are still in the bag.

Are all traps brands made with American steel? Most everything to day Is made out of foreign steel.

X2

I tested the D-ring as have others, they were junk. There were a couple guys that had pics on here showing the bad D-ring, one guy lost a trap due to it. Why on earth would he send out free replacements if there wasn't an issue lol. As far as steel goes, it's all about the amount of carbon in the steel.

Cast jaws and dogless please, I'd buy the first 10 dozen.. I'll wait on the Duke 550s until the coyotes test them for a season or two..

Duke, like any( say car manufacturer) have good models and bad. Some of us remember the old Duke #220s...Junk (they changed them per request). and others use the homerun Duke 1.5 on an epic scale just because they hold critters better than any other 1.5 on the market. A lot of other models in between...in about every manufacturer. Kind of like saying all Fords, Chevy's or Dodges are junk. Just shows narrow mindedness.

Many of us know the trap builder I talk about. If you don't know him, there's probably reason.

if someone gets one of these in their hands, would you be kind enough to post a pic with a tape measure on it


thanks

Hey Mr. Beav, any chance that Duke will make copies of the Sterling MJ 500?

Nott that I know of. But next time I talk to Mr. Bill I'll ask him.

I wonder if the guys at mtp know about this.

of course not they don't look at facebook or websites

I emailed Bill at Duke this morning and this is his reply.

"Thank you for your message this morning.

Yes, we are developing this new trap.

While I haven’t seen the post you are referring to, there are some pictures circulating.

I assure you, you will like this trap.



We expect availability by June 1.

Pricing will vary from dealers, but we anticipate retail prices from $169-179 and possibly lower at conventions."

I am sure they do and are prepared to make money selling them just like they do the other Duke models.

This Is what I know. If a dealer buys the MB traps direct from MTP there Is very little wiggle room where they can make any money when they re sell. So Duke has come up with cheaper version Of The 550 where a dealer can make some money and that should come back to benefit the end consumer. The dealers have already been notified by Duke Traps and I'm sure orders have been placed. so everyone In the trap selling business Is aware of the new traps and the price structure. So at a $170.00 per dozen price to the trapper that's about a $30.00 savings per doz from the MB 550s sold by MTP.



The UPS truck hasn't stopped at the house yet. LOL

MTP rocks

haven't,and won't touch another Duke after my bad experience with their #11's.

PCR. The #11 is ONE model in the Duke lineup. It's the worst model I've tested so far (sans their old #220s which they fixed). Again, all manufactures have good models and some not so good. But agreed, the #11 needs to be re done.


More options is always good for the consumer. It will be interesting to see If this new 550 compares to the MB. I've always liked the square pans, personally.

They know....

Mr. Bill just texted me and said the traps are now being photographed and he would send a pic as soon as It was done.

Just to bring in the human element into this. Rob Caven designed this trap when he was 15 and it has been all his baby. One of their 550 builders who has been with them for many years called Tim at midnight when he saw this on trapperman. He has a new baby and of course is concerned for his job.

can't talk for anyone else but that definately seals Dukes fate with me.

I'll stick with MB myself. It's not like I run many traps anyway. If they had made it a 600 like some of the folks mentioned it would be cooler, and not an exact copy.

its a cut throut world out there, some one is always trying to under cut someone

I might make the price of used mb 550 fall some.

[quote=pcr2]MTP rocks

haven't,and won't touch another Duke after my bad experience with their #11's.[/

X2, I've been a customer since Tim and Nancy started. Be interesting how this all plays out. Rob sure hit a home run.

Honestly 25$ a doz more gets your made in America stamp and that's 1 fair yote to make up for the extra coin. I've bought various blends of traps. The 550 hands down needed less tweaking than any other brand I've tried. Many needed nothing. MB for me. Nothing against Duke it's just how I feel.

I never have seen a duke trap I have liked. I don't like the feel or sound of the metal. Somehow I ended up with a dozen in a trade and you can't even give them away in this area.

Mr. Bill Duke donates quite a bit to kids and supports our trapping community tremendously. I appreciate all he has done. His traps have always filled a needed niche of a low cost trap for those beginners and others that don't have or maybe just don't want to spend much. But, I am having a hard time seeing Duke in the same realm of the higher end traps. I think the small difference in price will have most still buying MBs. Just my half cent worth.

Do you need my address to send them to me?I`ll pay shipping.

I'm a big fan of the MB550 personally. It's a lot of trap for the buck and that's the reason it's done well I believe. Plus, even used, they hold their value pretty well, and there's always folks looking for them it seems like. It's pretty obvious, if you've handled many traps, that there's a lot of copying and tweaking that has gone on during the history of traps. I'd say Duke's 550 trap is gonna be what you pay for, less of a trap than a MB550. Kind-of like the MB650 is less of a trap than a Sterling 600, except the gap between the Duke 550 and MB550 is probably bigger. We'll see...

Any of the Dukes I have had, I pull the swivels and use them as water drowner locks.

I hear ya on the cheap chain. Bought some 1.5 coils and 3 of them in the box had defective chain links.

What I would like to see from Duke is their 110's-220's have a BMI dinner bell style 4 way trigger. Can't beat a Duke 160 for rats and the dinner bell 4 way would only make it a lot better IMO.

I think the patent protection period on a piece of equipment is 17 years. I’ll bet the 17 years on the MB550 is about over making it fair game for Duke to copy. A patent doesn’t grant protection forever.

Buy American

No made in America stamp on MB 550

Think he meant figuratively. The literature says Made in the USA

are they cast jaws? or was i just hoping.

Just to put a human element into this. During one of Minn trappers conventions a Canadian wanted 10 dozen of their design that can be used in Canada. Tim went back and together the two worked till 3 am and came back the next day with the order. Now if that is not service, MADE IN AMERICA OVERNIGHT what is.

I am a Duke fan and a MB fan. The Duke 1.5 coils and 1 coils never have been a problem for the thousands of coons or rats harvested. When I got hit by a thief and they took 30 some traps in a night, I was glad I had Dukes and not MBs out there. Sucked it up, went on...Just how many liners are out there running a few hundred mb 450s for rats or coon? Before DPs I'd venture to say over half the fur in the US was caught with Dukes. Plain and simple economics drives even trapping.

I can't believe that a Caven Is about to lose his job over a new trap hitting the market, There are all kinds of trap companies introducing a different type of trap and I haven't seen MTP closing the doors. In fact as new traps come out they are selling them so I don't see any reason to panic.
I'm going to buy some new Duke 550s and see how they work.

Yes they will have cast jaws and a stainless steel dog.

He didn't say Caven was the one worried about HIS job.

If it's made by Duke it's a copy, sometimes a good copy but most times it is inferior to the original. Cheaper does not always save you money in the long run. To bad Duke can't come up with something others would want to copy but if all you make are cheaper copys of others work why bother.

i'm gonna buy some real 550's cause i already know how they work.

I get It. But do you really think they are going to stop building MB550s.

That little I'm worried about losing my job post was well played. Especially the new baby part of It. LOL
I hope he stays employed and His new baby will be Ok.

Thank you to our friends and customers that have had our back. One of my main issues with the Duke 550 and one that I haven't seen addressed in this thread is the fact that Minnesota Trapline Products has been one of the largest dealers of Duke traps since day 1. Literally millions of dollars worth of Duke traps have crossed our packing tables over the years. In my opinion we represented the Duke Brand well for decades and got a knife in the back for our trouble. Forgetting everything else, this in itself to me is inexcusable, immoral, and a slap in the face.

No, Minnesota Trapline Products won't be stocking the Duke 550 as some have suggested. In fact being we mean so little to the Duke Company we will closing out all Duke traps and products over the spring and summer. Thanks again to our friends and customers who are supporting us in this. Tim Caven

Dang straight!!

I know you don't care for me Beav but please leave my employees out of this. We have 3 men that do nothing but build 550's every work day year round so of course they would be concerned.

X2...

I need to order some 550's and more 450's now, and if MTP ever builds a 350, #1 size trap I can use for muskrats and coon, I'd buy that also.

I may be the only one, but I've always assumed Beav worked for Duke traps. Maybe that is what I get for assuming.

I've not always agreed with you Beav, but always respected your knowledge and what you bring to T-man. But that was disrespectful. I don't think Mr. Paul or Mr. Caven deserved that. Reckon you'd rather have a American feller with a family lose his job while a dozen chinamen celebrate getting a job. Good grief.

I own an assortment of trap brands, Duke, MB, Northwood, No B.S., Montgomery, victor, But over 50% of my coyote traps are standard duke #2's with OS jaw. I have caught many coyote and cat in them never with a bad catch or a loss. I always inspect all my traps thouroughly before they go in the ground and on all the dukes I will admit I have changed the pan tension screws. But for 9$ a piece I'll keep changing screws. I see nothing wrong with them. I do understand they aren't american made, which is unfourtunate. But if i can buy 2 or 3 of them for the price of one 550 or 650, that makes plenty of sense to me long as they arent losing me animals. Don't get me wrong, the MB traps and simillar American made brands are definatley sturdier and a better made trap. But if you can't afford spending 20+$ on a single trap they are a great value. Where I trap I have to set some areas where there is a possibility of theivery, and losing 9$ is a loss I can afford. I do love my 650's and especially my no B.S traps for their ability to come out of frozen ground and the strong lock up, but like I said out of many animals, and some very big and aggressive male coyotes and tom bobcats,I have never lost an animal or even had a bad catch in a duke trap. As for this new model, if they are still half the price of a 550 then that sounds like a great deal, however if they are the same price, I will stick with MB's simply for the fact they are U.S. made. As for all of you that hate duke traps, I would be curious to know if you have actually lost animals because of them or specifically what is wrong with them other than just disliking them for the sake of disliking them. Also, I really only speak for the coyote size coilspring traps as I havent used any others besides #1 coils for marten which work great for me.

What trap is the MB-650 designed after?

I don’t think the Beav means any disrespect to anyone , he’s just an old crotchety leatherneck that likes to stand up for his preference of trap. I for one have used the dukes and don’t care to spend that much time getting a trap ready to catch a coyote, I will keep buying the mb’s !

over under, how long until this thread is locked or deleted?

I say 15 more posts.

I'm hoping it doesn't get deleted. I think some very good points are being addressed here for the benefit of trappers.

I too will stick with the MB 550’s they are worth every penny

I too have traps from a wide variety of manufacturers. Too, I'm a cheapskate. However, because of the extreme quality of the product and the phenomenal customer service from MTP, I'm pretty much not buying any trap for wolves and coyotes from any other outfit. MBs only.

Looks like I need more of Tim's stuff. Build a dogless 550, please.

I have been wondering that too though this thread. I thought the MB 650 was a knock off of the sterling but not being too knowledgeable about either trap I didn't say anything hoping it would get addresseit's own it's own.