The heck is going on in here.

The heck is going on in here.

I'm curious. Did Sterling's have anything to say about MB when the 650 came out? Asking for a friend. People are going to buy the trap they want regardless of naming or what it looks like. I just find it ironic everyone getting bent out of shape about Duke when the MB 650 is a knock off of the MJ600. For the record I probably won't buy any Duke 550's and will continue to buy MB550 but the attempts to burn Duke at the stake are interesting to me. I guess when Tim came out with the MB 650 no one was worried about the Sterling's livelihood after reading this post. Live by the sword die by the sword.

How about those Sterling MJ 600's .. Heck of a Trap.. Just saying...

How about those Sterling MJ 600's .. Heck of a Trap.. Just saying...

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.

Because I love a good practical joke, and considering the time of year, something in the back of my mind keeps whispering that this might be one of the greatest April Fool's day jokes ever. I am waiting until midnight on Monday to make any comment. I don't really know anyone involved, and have only spoken to Mr. Caven briefly at a handful of conventions over the years, but anyone who has been shot with a shotgun and maintains his sense of humor enough to call himself an official field tester for that shotgun shell is perfectly capable of this kind of EPIC April Fools day joke. I really, really hope my gut is right.

The heck is going on in here.

Were trying to figure out if we have a really great April fool's joke going down or another Hatfield/ McCoy thing going down. And Beav is in the middle of it. The FBI is investigating put we may need a Marine if shots start getting fired.

Every time I have visited the Sterling site, the traps aren't available. You can only add them to your wishlist. MTP traps are always in stock and it's a short wait time for a quality product. I'm sure the Sterlings are great, but I've not been able to order any.

I think we are all having our chains yanked for the upcoming April 1st festivities. Shenanigans are afoot. Maybe....hopefully....

So what is it for those who have been around awhile and are in the know?? Is the MB650 a knock off of the Sterling MJ 600 or not?

[quote=Northmocats]

Yes they are a heck of a trap.
44mag that is a new 600, they are still being made today 45 years after the first ones. Not sure about the start date of the 650s.

So what is it for those who have been around awhile and are in the know?? Is the MB650 a knock off of the Sterling MJ 600 or not?