But as you know any good coyote set Is also a prime set for anything passing by. Is a dirty trap and catch circle going to skew results one way or the other.
I know this Is about the magnetic field thing not the function of the trap. Do you think that one critter Is more prone to avoid this then another? Skunks grinners other trash come to mind.

The species of the animal, the age of the animal, Learned factors, many other things I’ve written about are all involved. You can easily be proved by running a test as I described. After the field test is done measure the magnetic field of the device you’re using. It will confirm what you learned every time.

I agree with you, if the metal is inferior or the springs the design is exceptional. But I believe even if that were the case the pan being round or square may make a difference when All test are done including a Magnetic field intensity test.
The magnetic field intensity test would confirm the quality of metal in the design May be creating the difference And that the trap is exactly the same.

I'll call Bill Duke and see if he can do a magnetic field intensity test he may have access to such equipment.
If his traps test low that should be a huge selling point. I'm serious I'm going to check this out.

You can test for yourself just convert an iPhone 6 with a Tesla bot app. Bill may not be overjoyed because if I’m correct it will change the way trappers determine what trap to buy. I have tested some of his cage traps some have a reduce field and some do not. You will find that some of the traps that have been promoted as being the best will be proven not to be. A lot of it has to do with what Animal you’re trying to catch. As well as the age of that animal. It mainly tells you what device will be more efficient and catching the animal animal than another trap. It definitely will tell you which trap will be the most effective. I have done too much testing with a variety of devices not to believe in what I’ve discovered.

So a buried trap that has a stake/chain/cable driven anywhere between 12-24” still has a magnetic field that detours critters?
If that’s the case, I guess every trap ever produced must pass the test because just about every trap made has been posted on here with catches made.

How the trap is positioned and bedded makes a big difference.Even soil type and weather conditions. It’s in my book. Done too much testing not to believe it. When I figured out the magnetic field was making the difference I realize how big of a factor In catching the thousands of animals each year that I did.

Kirk, you ever think of designing a plastic trap? Ought to outperform any steel trap ever made if what you're saying is true. Or you could go with brass, aluminum, titanium or another nonferrous metal.

The problem with the plastic trap That is it there’s an enclosed box heat becomes a factor in the summe.I have found it seems to be best to redirect the field. Components a real problem mainly because of cost

Interesting stuff Kirk.
I learned the hard way that rods from a rod mill are worthless as scrap. Was told they lose magnetics from being tumbled, magnet wont pick em up.. Maybe these trappers with mixers were on to something more than they knew?
This needs it's own topic/thread.

It is all common sense. Or should I say sound science. It just has to be understood and a lot will come out of it.

Some metal painters know of this, blasted vs rubbed.
One old boy over here grounds the vehicle before spraying.
Static attracts dust and dirt he says.
I just shut up and observe.

He’s changing the direction of the ions. I don’t think he’s truly grounding the truck or the car while painting. You know

Honestly guys Im buying some of both. Duke 550 and MB 550. Im just a hobby trapper and occasional adc trapper. I probably own less than 20 traps. I dont know Bill Duke or Rob Caven personally as Im sure a lot of you guys do. Truthfully I dont think it was right that Duke copied the design and produces it overseas but that fact of the matter is it happened. The price and the square pan is what I like about the Dukes. I work a full time job and have a wife and 3 kids to feed so price IS a bonus for me. As long as it will hold an animal then I am happy. I just ordered some MBs as well so I will be just as excited to put them in the ground along with the Dukes. I own some Bridger #2 and #3s also. So Im supporting Duke and Caven. If that makes me a bad person or someone that does not deserve respect then thats your opinion. I do find it funny however the guys that preach about buying only American made traps that ride around in a foreign car and ignore the made in Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, etc tags on everything else they buy. Just my two cents.

I get a kick out of people saying buy mb then have no problem that Bridger are not American made also.

It is very tough to not buy foreign. Very tough indeed.
I'm not particularly one to advocate who should buy what, from who, based on which. I'm a manufacturer myself who has seen copycats along the decades and that's what leaves a sour taste as they say. Duke is a wonderful supporter of trappers and trapping, and I suspect they aways will be as long as the current generation is on this earth anyway. They coulda found a way to compete with the market leading trap without making it so blatently obvious they were copying it. Even the name for goodness sake.

I recall years ago, we were at a trapper's convention and the police came in and arrested a vendor. Confiscated his merchandise (copied DVDs), and took him out. He was selling "cheaper" copies of original DVDs, in and among the other vendors he pirated from! Bold. And I saw some buy from him because his merchandise was "cheaper", but sometimes the dollar isn't all of what life is wrapped in.
It's integrity. John Wayne kinda stuff. Honest day's wages for an honest day's work. Hand shake kinda stuff.
I have met MANY people like that in trapping and it's one of the things I like about trappers to be quite honest. Most are honest. We don't like our stuff stolen and we don't steal other people's stuff.
But some people call themselves trappers and they do steal stuff. I say they aren't trappers. They're thieves. I don't confuse the two at any level.
But then again, people call me old fashioned.
They're prolly correct.
I'll stick with the MB550 and not the copycat, on principle more than any reason, and on the fact they've lasted 11 years so far (I expect them to last many more years).

I sympathize with those who have limited $$$$, and we all decide where the $$$$ flows. In what direction.
I'll reward a good product with my $$$$, not the other way around (buy cheap cause it's cheap).
I'll support integrity John Wayne style.

The way it should be!

If I buy any 550’s it will be the Dukes . I don’t like people telling me something that’s not true. It happened twice.

Well said.

LT said on here long ago that "quality only hurts once." I remember that.

If I'm trapping coyotes (with traps that can literally last decades) I guess I'm not going to try and save a couple bucks. I'll cut corners on my road right-of-way traps instead.

Many have seen this but I'll post a picture for some who haven't.I experimented to se if I could modify an MB550 to have more jawspread.

It is all 550 except for a longer dog and slightly modified,IL,MB650 jaws.Sterling swivels American made,twist link,machine change.The outside jawspread turned out to be 6 1/8".The offset gap is close to that of the 550.I have no real experience with them yet but have used the MB550's for quite a few years,as well as the IL MB650',so I am confident they will work well

One of the surprises was that they weigh a fraction of an ounce less than the 550 and at least 8 oz less than the IL 650 and more than 11 oz less than the cast jaw 650.I have to do some hiking to some coyote set locations so light,if it is still strong,is always good.A little more jawspread can help in our Winter ground conditions.