There's a knack to using steel screen on ANY trap.....and IMO, it's worth the aggravation.
On the Pipe Set, I probably get as many questions about steel screen usage as I do all the other parts of the set.....
I like the steel screen for ONE main reason: Its stiff enough to hold up my cover. Some guys say: Fiber glass holds up my light grass covering just as well. Does it? What about after some rain, or an inch or two of snow? With the steel, its right where I left it.
All screen types allow moisture to pass through, so I cannot highlight that attribute as solely owned by steel.........
On my traps, I don't view steel screen as a way to increase the trap's kill area. The pan on my Jakes is already big and there's no value in doing so. Other traps would benefit from a larger kill area that steel screen may provide.......
My traps are Jakes, which honestly is a DREAM trap to run screens on:
* Pan sits low, well below jaw levels.
* Jaw posts are riveted, and those rivets provide ideal place to tuck two sides of the screen
* Loose jaw allows for easy placement, but even BETTER, because the loose jaw rests on the cross piece, the screen also sits at this meeting point, so you won't be pushing the extra screen down into the trap bed and BANG!!!! trap goes off due to too light pan tension.
There's more, but I know everyone WON'T be running Jakes this year, so you will have to play with it to get the knack out of the way. BUT, that said, YOU NEVER WANT THE STEEL SCREEN (or any screen for that matter) on the top/outside of the jaws of you trap. Inside only and tucked under the jaws.
When I ran traps with dogs, I did like The Beav:
Slide screen into trap with jaws closed before setting. Sorta lining it up with your eyes.
Push down levers, open jaws, and if screen is in right place, flip dog over jaw and push firmly down into screen while pulling the pan UP into set position. You will HEAR the screen tear where the dog and pan meet. With trap in safe position, I'd then move the pan up and down make sure no screen fibers pinched in between this connection.
I've cut "V"s out, popped holes, or just cut ONE slice with scissors in that same spot. All will allow you to connect the dog and pan.
The "pop thru" method DOES have a benefit of locking the screen in place and therefore NOT having it slide around on the pan or in the jaws. You may or may NOT want that, but it does prove beneficial if you DO want to increase the "kill area" on your trap
Zagman
Mark is right on the ease with the Jakes. I bought 2 Jake traps and with the pan and jaws sitting so perfect,screen is a dream. I have tried to cheat and not use the screen with my Bridgers, but any frost or rain or snow you get and the grass justs ends up weeping down around the pan and it sticks out like a sore thumb.So this summer screen will be cut and will have to work on my pipe dream traps.
