Would it work better for beaver with big pan's or not? A beavers back ft is so big. One draw back if it just had half of its ft in trap . Then it hit the pan. Going to be using bridger's #5 coil and #5 dls and no bs beaver traps.

Take a look at how this beaver is caught in a #5 longspring. If that was a coil, would the levers have thrown the foot out? Or have a toe nail catch? If it was me, and i had to use only coils, i would cut the pans down to a one inch or so wide.

That's why I when to using TS85s for footholds, I am pretty sure that I had a few where the levers had pushed a foot out and several toe catches. I was using Bridger #5 and Duke #4 CS.

Hi Black Spot so your saying go with stock pans? I like the #5 DLS for beaver. I like the no bs beaver traps also. The #5 dls r heavy I like that.

Thoughts....I think that the pans on all of the traps you mentioned are there for a reason.... functionality.
But there is no reason NOT to investigate new/other systems for yourself.
The larger pans on the #4 or #5 dbls would be my first sample. I always thought the extra space
that those style traps have makes larger/wider pan still able to function without contacting the rising trap levers. Chip Davis and his son out in Mississippi makes a bigger pan system...Expand-A- Pan....for a wide array of traps. Check in with him ....he is a encyclopedia of big pan knowledge.

Like Blakspot mentioned ....another view is to get total foot commitment INSIDE the jaws by using a smaller/ cut down pan. He is a veteran beaver man so consider his views seriously. Bottom line you are going to have to experiment a bit, then evaluate, then decide what is best for you and your trapping.
Hope this helps....

Stock pan on longsprings work for me

Well I remember Morris Oberto and his beaver pan set up. Actually there wasn't even a pan on his set up. If I remember correctly It was just narrow bar. His thought was If a beaver stepped in his trap with that type of pan system he wasn't going to have any sprung and empty traps or for that matter any toe catches. Because the whole foot had to be In that trap to fire It. Sure that set up would give you misses but you weren't spooking any beaver since the trap wasn't being sprung.
Some of you WI trappers will remember Woody Roberts. I bough a bunch of his traps and I commented on the pan size on those traps. They were about the size of a silver dollar. He said, I never have a sprung and empty trap. Sure I have tracked patterns and I miss fox but I'm not spooking them with a trap going off and throwing dirt In their faces.
So some times smaller Is better.

I have a few of those Oberto traps. I have pretty good luck with them. Mine have a small pan on them and I like the good high catches I get. The pan tension is pretty stiff too.

Nice Larry! 44 Blake was a real hammer on beaver...prototype for the 5 Bridger.

Thanks for the picture Larry.

Thanks Mike - I really like those old 44s. If you have any sitting around you can send them to me and I'll post more pictures. I never looked at those Bridger #5 traps. I guess I should give them a try?

Anytime Beav - Always wondered why they quit making those. Did Mr. Oberto pass away?

Here are a couple more pictures of this system for those interested. The long metal piece the pan sets on is held tight on the sides. The side metal appears to be spring steel? These set nice and there is no movement in the pan or post at all. Great system.

Do I am going to run stock pans on my # 5 dls. Comes down to it run stock pans on all. Like ya said I just soon miss a beaver by not stepping on pan. As to trap fire miss the beaver and make him smarter.

My experience is big pans on beaver traps are unnecessary. With a foot that big they will hit the pan when in the trap. I would GUESS you may have some sprung traps from that big foot creeping over onto it but not enough to get caught. Personally, I like 4-5 lbs for trigger weight and I rarely have a sprung trap that doesn't have a foot. I also quit catching spring muskrats after I did that. I would rather have little fellas not get caught then have an adult become wise and be missed when it sprung. Typically they are taking half steps to push up the bank, over the crossover, or over my stepping branch. I catch enough yearlings to believe that trigger pressure works. If I am doing nuisance eradication I operate differently.

Thanks everyone. I am going with stock pans. Going to do damage control trapping. They want everyone I can catch gone. Flooding hay fields.

With pans that big on beaver traps your going to get toe catches and your going to lose beaver and those beaver are going to be harder to catch the next time around.

I like the stock pans, crank up the pan tension so it can pretty near walk on the trap till you get a solid back foot catch.

I like this . If he steps on it he is caught. No throwed traps either trap is set or u got a beaver.

Bump