Larry if you move your notch on your trap dog up to the corner also it will help with bubble on the screen .

Good post Larry

There is no notch. There is no bubble. Thanks

Equipment can vary area to area depending on the target species and the prevalence of critters you do not want to catch.

I use poly = allows me to bed dirt firm inside the jaws. You can't do that with screen. Screen also becomes visible quicker during a rain (when the critters move!) so you have washed out patterns. Packed in dirt inside the jaws stays working longer. I used screen for 30 years. I've used poly for about 20.

I use wax dirt = no frozen anything anymore.

I use small traps = I get on ranches and private ground where previous trappers held the wrong thing and got the boot. I'm good at gaining permission or getting contract work so I have to consider all angles. If all I had was coyotes, I'd use a MB950!

The downside = the animal has to be right on the pan to fire it. There is no increased kill zone as a screen gives you. This is tricky on a smaller MB550 trap than on a larger jaw spread of course. So you need to be good at showing them where to step.

The plus = fewer toe catches.

Oh and on the poly, ask those who've attended my Trapper's Academy and who pulled out poly...
I take their plug, cut it down by 90-95% and hand it back!
There you go.
18 states in all terrains and ground and weather.
It works.

Blessings y'all!
Mark

Larry reason I ask is because use a dogless trap ,,, I file in a notch on the corner it allows the pan to drop below the jaws and a notch on the screen and it just slides in between dog and jaws when trap is set and stays there.

I went this way.




I started with rpmartins idea and played with it until I found what I liked.

Wet dog that looks like it should work well for that trap .

Mark I saw you do a demo someplace once upon a time, I don’t think you used enough Polly to make a pillow for an ant. So is their really any need for Polly with your bedding method ?

Great pictures Wetdog. Anyone else have any pictures?

Mark- could you post a picture of a wad of polyfil, the size you would use with a MB550, with something for a size reference? I think it would shock and HELP a lot of polyfil users.

When I used poly,I would use a piece,app the size of a cottonball.,for round pans 2.5"-3",then pulled it out to the size of the pan.I made sure it didn't extend past the pan edge,otherwise you are inviting small animals to pick at it.You are just trying to fill the space under the pan,lightly.A light,fluffy pad gives water a better chance to pass through.

I used the Poly for decades and it worked well but I find the fiberglass pads that I use now,save a little time at the set,eliminate mice picking and a few other advantages.Any time I can do work at home,preseason so that I don't have to at the set,that is my choice.With precut pads,there is no tearing,pulling or tucking at the set.For me,this has been the simplest solution.You just slide it under the pan and go.

I've noticed the opposite on my line. I used poly before but after a medium to hard rain i would have dirt washed under my pan, enough to make the pan noticeable and had some misses. The screen method most people use was imo better but still not good enough. That's why i started shaping the screen to fit inside the jaws and level with the top of the trap. There is no possible way for the dirt to get washed under the pan.
Where i trap the coyotes run hard right after a storm goes through so your traps have to be ready. Just my 2 cents and observations.

I have 11 kinds of dirt in the field in front of my house. They all act a little different during wet or freezing weather. Right now I am waxing sandy soil. I like it the best but some soils have a lot of clay so I bed in a wedge shaped hole and pound the soil along the jaws and leave the center deep so water water runs through the whole trap bed. Some soil here is sandy loam. Sometimes I don't even need to dig I just brush a trap bed with my hand. Sand bars are like that. I have some longsprings I like for those spots. I wad grass or leaves and stick under the pan and that works but I need to have something pre-made to I don't have to hunt for materials. I found a scrap of a piece of cushion along the road the other day. I think I can get 40 pieces out it to slide under my pans. I think I'll bury it and see if the foxes in my yard can smell it.

Why do you guys like poly fill over something like a piece of foam under the pan? Seems like screen will keep out more of the dirt? Is it a difference in soil types?

Ditchdiver,

I would but I'm at a ranch where I have internet but no cell service. I can text and send pics iPhone to iPhone, but not to my TMan laptop. I'd say it's about the size of a 50 cent piece BUT DO NOT WAD IT ROUND AND ROUND!

I prefer no poundage inflection from my pan cover, or in this case the under pan method. I have used foam under the pan, and it works well, but you'd have to have a very soft fill. Nothing hard.

I firmly pack dirt inside the jaws and it really aids me in rain. It rained here today. About 1/2" or so. I'd have issues with pan covers, but poly was A-OK.

When I put poly under my pan, it takes about a nano second. Trappers at my Academy say Holy Cow, he's got the set done already and I'd still be putting on my pan cover!
Speed baby. Speed.

MJ

Mark your right about pan covers but not all pan covers are equal imo.
There are things you can do make that process faster and much easier.
My wire screen cover slide in once the trap set jaw holds screen in place without any fuss. On a truly dogless trap (Monty style type )
On a dog on trap I would probably go your route.
Because I would replace the pan on a bridger trap and use the rod dog and pan that Ed Medved sells.

Makes a lot of sense red mt.
We should always be on the look out for improved efficiency and effectiveness.
Appreciate your insight!

Mark

Ok here what I did to my traps back in the late 80s once started using Monty style traps ,,,move the notch to the corner 2 or 3 strokes with a 3 corner file is all that is needed for pan tension add more strokes as needed if you want more tension (but becareful) a little goes a long ways.

Next is trap set
Next trap set to nite latch which allows screen to just slide in once the free jaw is lifted
The gap allows screen to slide in once free jaw is lifted sorry about no screen if needed I get one put in for a picture.

I might this post that by putting notch there also you get a very little pan travel if any

Ahhh. Got it.

I started to use polyfill last fall trapping with a Dick Atkins from PA who got the tip from a Mark June. I love it. Saves time. I also use the MB 550 traps. I do use some steel screen on my MB 650 and NO BS K9 Extreme Junior traps when I use the Pipe Dream sets.

Hey redmt for sharing those photos i run the #2 and #3 montgomerys and am always looking at ways to do the pan tension