Do the springs lose their strength when they are stored with them being compressed? Just been curious about this topic. Thanks! -Bryce

I'm always in the mindset to keep them sprung to release tension off the springs.
i just have always done it and most all my coni's are still decent. rust is the enemy of all traps.

Right or wrong, the safeties are on, on all my BG traps unless they are set to catch animals. Never noticed any ill effects from it. Much easier to stack and store.

X2^^^^^^. Common sense tells me I'm not doing it right, but my traps have remained strong doing it stored with the springs hooked. Not gonna change now!

If they don’t hold their strength you need to unload them. I never release the springs on mine and I have some BMIs that are older than a lot of the “experts” on here. They still hammer beaver and otter.

I'll add this. Metallurgically speaking, spring steel is formed during the cooling process the steel (the best spring steels are medium to high carbon steels, you can make spring steel out of other steels but they will not hold their original shape as well) and are created with a high yield strength. Or in other words they "remember" the shape that they are cooled in, this will allow them to compress or extend and "spring back to their original shape. In a technical sense, leaving a spring in anything but its relaxed state will add stress to the spring and therefor will weaken it (eventually). As an example, think of all the old pickup trucks you have seen that the old rear leaf springs just don't quite hold it like they used to, this is caused by the weight of the pickup and the loads that it has carried over the life of the spring. It is hard to say how long a spring can be compressed before it becomes so weak that it will no longer perform its intended function, but they will loose strength by being stored outside of their relaxed state (but you'd probably never notice a difference unless you were specifically testing for it.)

X3

and X4

I always have mine open and never loaded. What is the best?

I store them however they come when I pull them for the year. If the trap fires before I set the safeties, I just leave it that way and will reset it next season.

I have a bunch of Belisle’s, Duke’s, Bridgers, and Victors. But I was just curious which is better on the trap spring. I have always been told to leave them unloaded for the best performance.

It doesn't seem to matter. If u leave safeties on they will b ready next time and they stack nicer in the crates. My buddies that trap alot (couple states) with hundreds of traps let them cocked from yr to yr.

one would suppose all things lose strength over time and the ones that work the most go faster however I have the first 330s I ever bought cant believe that's close to 50 years and most of their lives probably were compressed while they are weaker that what you buy now they still stop large beaver in their tracks with little or no signs of struggle How new products react I cant say but if some of them lose a little strength it wont disappoint me one bit

I think it depends on the trap. I leave all my Belisle springs hooked. I got rid of the few Dukes I had, but noticed their springs seemed to lose strength, so I always left them sprung.

I always do not let the spring be compress that is how I always done it since I trap. I have gone to a estate sale years ago and there was some 220 there. The springs was compress with the safeties .I undone them to check the springs and most of them was weak. I walk away from getting them since I know I would have to replace the springs.

After debating this since the beginning of internet trapping, I specifically tested for it.
I unload mine for storage. Nor do I leave the truck loaded with coal all summer. Remember me

Well I guess that answers it. It is really up to personal preference. I will probably leave the trap unloaded just for the sake of not leaving the spring under pressure all summer.

This for me. But I also do beaver adc work after season so mine are always “on the go” somewhere it seems

They springs even without the safety latched are under some pressure, you'd have to remove them completely from the trap to totally relax them.

What ADC said.^^^^
A trapmaker told me there is no difference storing them one way or the other.
What weakens them is constant springing and unspringing(like a vehicle leaf spring).And Rust.