Has anybody here modified their pan on their foot traps, to make the surface area larger, in hopes to have target animal step on pan easier?
I've read somewhere that guys have installed the box cover to an electrical box, onto the pan. I'm just wondering how this is done? Do they weld them on to the pan? I think I read that someone used rivets to attach.

If anyone here has done this, and have pics, could you please share? The traps I would be doing this to, are MB 550's.

I'm not a fan of it except for exposed cat sets.Learn to position and guide.

What do you mean, by not a fan of it, can you explain? I guess I just thought it could up a guys chances, but I'm a new guy to trapping, so I'm not sure what works and what doesn't. I do understand the importance of position and guiding them, but if I only get one shot at a cat on my trap, I guess I was just hoping to up the odds of him hitting the pan.

To put a big pan on a coilspring you have to have the pan notched so it doesn't get lifted up by the levers when the trap fires. If you just stick an electrical box cover on a 550 pan it will cause major clearance and trap function problems. Much easier to big pan longsprings.

ahhh, I see now... I did find a couple of them on google image search, and yes, I see what you are saying now. Probably not worth it on a mb 550 then.

Personally I like enough clearance between the jaws and the pan the target animal cant be stepping on the jaw and the pan at the same time.

My thoughts exactly,Yes Sir.That trap in particular,has a well proportioned jaw spread to pan sized ratio.The paw should be centered in the jaws not standing on them.

So, are you guys saying that you could actually hurt yourself or miss cats because of that, not having the paws centered in the middle of the traps?

If you are setting your traps for cats and the traps are exposed sets,they work,as the cat sees the pan as a spot to step,assuming you also have the set well blocked in.A member here,Lazarus,uses them with success,in NV.I believe his are from Mike Kelly ?

ok, but not a covered set? Thanks, I'm learning.

I've never used the expanded/over-sized pans. It looks like a good idea, as far as a bigger surface area to fire the trap, but this idea kept me from it:

The MB 550 is what I run mostly. I bed mine or run them with exposed pans. And, as Taximan mentioned previously, the MB 550 is a well proportioned trap, with a decent size pan to begin with. Guidance is the key to getting them on the pan.

Go to Mike Kelly's site (WildRiverTraps I think) and see what he has to offer.

I make the pan for the 550 everyone is talking about.

The pan can be found here:
https://www.wildrivertraps.com/products/mb-550-expanded-pans-dozen

Instalation instructions:
https://www.wildrivertraps.com/blog...tall-a-weld-on-expanded-pan-on-an-mb-550

Excellent, thanks Mike!

I own a bunch of mb550’s but you won’t find one of them that doesn’t have one of those pan’s pictured above attached to it.

They work great but to each their own.

Ditto

Chip Davis makes some nice pans for 550s Ive added knockout plates to longs numerous times. And doing so my tripped empty trap count has rose significantly! Honestly I think its a killer idea if you add pits first to get a positive pressure. I'm sorry to say but miles triggers don't add enough tension! When you can hammer squirels and rabbits consistently your pans are set way to lite! I traded all my longs for that reason alone.Pits or just go ahead and buy sleepy creeks and I think a guy would be rewarded more often. Chip does a good demo explaining why he believes a firing trap don't throw a foot. And I tend to agree with his thoughts. But wont stiff screen wire achieve practically the same results? with less time and money.Joe that's a wild looking walk thru cat set. On a warm nite opies would be waiting in line but I see its potential as well.

I second Mike Kelly's trap pans. They fit the 550s perfectly and have been know to catch 1 or 2 cats here in Nevada haha. Here's a pic of his pans on a 550 and Bridger 1.65. For some traps he has total replacement pans like the one on this 1.65, others you have to weld. A couple people ask me if I knew of any expanded replacement pans for the 550s because they don't have a welder, or don't know how to weld, so I experimented with using pop rivets. Takes a little more time then welding, but it seems solid. I still have to see how sold they are.



https://www.wildrivertraps.com/