Fiddled with one trap yesterday for about 10 minutes......and finally got it to behave close to what was suggested by the SC info. Pan setting just below level and hanging by a thread, yet enough gap left over pan trap would fire. Got it to that condition by bending frame out to move dog tip back, and put a flat washer under the screw head below the frame to shorten effective length of the pan stop screw.

Have concluded the effort required to get this behavior isn't worth the benefit. The difference between top of pan with screw and top of pan without is less than 1/4". Doubt a caught coon would notice. Pan stop screws gotta go

If there is a market for such a trap......guess it's good that SC set them up that way, but if given a choice of that or shipping them already night latched, I'd prefer the latter. BTW, SC site also includes their instructions for night latching a trap......they suggested 1/64" notch on the dog? That level of finesse is beyond my ability even if I wanted to.

doing what I posted, filing the notch almost off, squeezing the loop closed, bending the post, takes at most 2 minutes a trap. newhouse put pan "breakers" on some of their trap pans. I n ever understood that either

Due to lack of experience tuning traps, been a bit reluctant to start waving around files out of concern I might inadvertently trash a perfectly good trap. Quite possible one can do more harm than good. Need to get past that. How else is a guy going to learn? Good place to start might be some tuning some old traps......trash one of those and you haven't lost much.

You wont trash one filing the notch down. Worst case you turn the file flat and cut a new notch with the side of the file

So here is my first attempt......enough meat left to set easy, yet fires pretty quick.....if I could get the pan stop tension set right. It needs a washer to fill in gap beside between pan pivot and pivot posts. # 6 washers I have are all too thick. Might get creative finding something else.....



Then on the other trap, before filing down the notch on that, I tried another trick that seemed to work. Variation on the pan stop......a temporary pan stop. In this case.....a 9/16" bolt. Set trap......then place bolt between pan and frame and push pan down till it stops. Then remove spacer bolt. Trap is now set on edge of firing. Easy to do and highly repeatable.




Then tried it with a 1/2" bolt.......held, but that was a hair trigger. Breath on that and it fired. If I was going to put that into practice, would probably try something lighter.....like 1/2" dowel rod, pvc pipe, etc. Fine tune it with a wrap or two of tape? But filing down the pan notch, while a bit more prep work, does not need any special tools and is repeatable too.

Dont forget to bend that loop closed. Else the dog can, and will, move forward as the pan drops. To get a nice clean firing consistent trap that loop needs pinched so the dog can only move up and down. Put the pliers on it like in the picture. then squeeze it together. Afterwards you may need to move the dog up and down a bit to loosen it up just a bit. Pretty much when you feel it move your done. Dont keep squeezing. If you need too you can open it back up with a screw driver. The trick is when you feel it pinch quit squeezing

Dogs and pans are easy to replace. Montgomery style dogless traps are where you can run into some traps that sit in the garage all season if you get happy with the file.

Good job

Take that stop out all together. Adjust the pan throw as Danny shows.
And if its on a drowner, chewing is never an issue they are too focused on on getting air.
Your trap has double jaws and that eliminates space under the jaws anyway so will work well on land sets for sure.
I never understood a down pan stop. If I walked up on my set with this trap and trap was still set because it couldn't fire with that dumb bolt under it...and the set showed evidence of being worked and danced all over but coon or fox literally could not be caught due to faulty piece of equipment I would have hurled that trap quite a ways out into the lake knowing my patience level for such stuff.

I don't see anything wrong with removing the stop but if you use it,it does not need to be adjusted that closely.I would back it out,level the pan in the traditional way by bending the dog part of the cross.Then cut or adjust the stop so there is 1/16" gap,after the pan clears the end of the dog.This will eliminate any potential issue and 1/16" extra foot drop will mean nothing on a cook's foot.Pretty nice looking trap,either way.

Epilogue: Took the pan stops off, then got the itch to test the trap. These are the Sleepy Creek double jaw 1 1/2 traps. Have 4 to 6 coon visiting the barn each night, so sought out some volunteers from that group and a couple obliged. Both were back foot catches, not deep and no damage to foot or leg.

So pan stops are off and gonna stay that way.

PS: There were a dozen of these for sale on the Trap Shed last week, with reference to the fact that SC didn't make them to sell, but for the BPM bunch to test. Be that as it may, I got mine from Minn Trap and they were described on the SC website. They are a nice trap.

Will be curious to see if the new ownership continues making them.

Dont think back foot catches are really a test of a traps damage prevention.

I have never witnessed any chewing on a back foot catch. I know I shouldn't say never but In all the years of trapping coon I haven't witnessed It.