For those who kinda follow my posts, most know by now that I love to tinker and weld stuff. Build new, modify old to something better, neat yard art... it's something I like to do. So the I finally figured out how to do something that has been eating away at me for a long long time. I have always thought ever since I got my first Northwoods 1.75 coils springs a long time ago... and more recently since the Bridgers showed up... even more recently when MTP beefed them up.... that there had to be a way to make them dogless as it seems the pan and dog like to bend a lot when there is a energetic yote caught with one. In my humble opinion the Bridger 1.75 is just about the trap where you can catch any critter and hold them...… usually. But that dang dog. Well I have been studying the situation hard lately.... then it came to me. So after a couple hours and a trial and error run with a couple different designs , here is my Bridger dogless modified trap. Kinda hard getting the pan off and spring pin out.... but heck, I've got traps I have used for 30 or 40 years and never took the spring pin out once. It would be silly to worry about getting the spring pin out of these. They are the long ones anyway. If the coils get weak, I just add 2 more springs on the long pins. A little fine tuning to be done. But it works really well, and easy to set.

I wish MTP would make a dogless 1.75.

I wish they would make them with thick heavy pans and dogs. I've held a lot of coyotes in this model and it's very good on dryland coon too. A real nice mixed bag trap for our area. Coyotes fox, badger, coon, cats, rats, mink, ive caught and held everything really nicely in this model. The weak point is definitely the pan and dog. I've bent and rebent so many of them on the field to try to reset them after a catch.
I'm putting in an order for custom pans for my couple dozen so dont have to mess with the plans so much in the field.
You did a real nice job on the dogless.mod. nice work!
Jim

Jim, I knew the pans were weak, so when I got a dozen or two the last couple years I drilled a 3/16th hole in them where the pan necks down ( you can see in that one picture a mound of weld where I plug weld a washer on the bottom) then I clamp a flat washer for a 3/8 or 7/16 (can't remember the size for sure) on the under side or the pan. I weld the washer to the pan in two spots (towards the front), then I weld the washer to the pan thru the hole I drilled. This strengthens the pan tremendously. Never bend them again. This is a pretty simple deal. I know this is a little bit of work but with a pan modified and now a easy way to make em dogless, Not to mention they hold just about all our furbearers around here and no need to dig or chip out a huge hole in hard or frozen dirt! This is the trap I am going to suggest to my new trappers I help get started. A great trap for the money!

You make some great mods, sir! Just be sure to dye them pink, ha ha.
Jim

That’s some pretty cool mods, just curious with your beefier pan if you’d ever tried just welding a nail on the dog to beef it up?

That's really cool! I like it a lot. These Bridgers are great coyote traps. I like that dogless design for the 1.75 you came up with a lot.

Would the Bridger #2 dogless pan work for the 1.75s instead off moding the 1.75 pan?

I have never tried a nail to beef up a dog. If I was into beefing up dogs I would just probably make a new one from heavy steel. I do think going dogless is the way to go because that cross frame doesn't stick out so far and when a critter drags it back and forth it's hard on the he works over any dog.
No a Bridger #2 pan won't work on a 1.75. There is not enough room between the spring pin and the jaw when it is laying flat waiting to be held open.

Understood it was just a thought. Totally agree dogless is the way to go. Nice work.

I like how everything stays inside the jaws, fits my way of bedding a trap....good job !

Very nice Nebrcatman.

out of curiosity what kind of pan tension you getting with that set up? I did a long very similar and could never get a consistent pan tension,

What is the benefit of that type dogless design ?

Sometimes when you get a little energetic yote that really works hard to get loose after a catch, the dog usually bent on this kind of trap. And you don't have a dog flying over the jaw as the trap closes. Also on some traps with weaker cross frame steel, the cross frame doe's not stick out so far as that sometimes gets bent. Another benefit which seems to be a huge one for me is that it gives me something to do when the adrenaline is a flowin and my mind is a racin … it's a calming effect on me to come up with something to build or tweek alittle bit. I love the smell of burning flesh and singed hair......love to weld and tinker !!

Ttt