What is your pan tension preference?

I set mine at 4 pounds this year and it seemed fine before it became cold.

Once the cold temps set in ( teens and colder) I have had some misses due to traps not firing with a fox prints directly on the pan. The traps still fire when I test them after a miss so they are not frozen or blocked under the pan.

Is 4 pounds to heavy for a mixed line?

I have same problems. What traps you using

2-3 lbs for me, just so it has some tension. Tension can really change when you get cold temps. Go with less if you have fox prints over the pan.

MB 550 and Bridger 1.75. I tuned them to fire at 4 lbs and I'm thinking about lowering for next season as I have missed several reds and greys over the last two weeks. Now I'm wondering if I missed some earlier and just didn't know it because of lack of tracking snow.

You say you tuned them,how did you do that?Did you file the dog or bend the dog?

Every MB550 I have came right at 3# outa the box. No issues catching anything from rabbits to coyotes.

I've never checked the pan tension on mine but I've had the same experience with bunnies on more than one occasion.

Generally bunnies are both back legs. I release most of them.

My MB 550 2 coil reg jaws outta the box I never tested the pan tension. First week I used them missed every fox but caught yotes. Saw red fox prints directly on pan. Tuned them down to 2 1/2 lbs by bending dog. I use mostly 450's now but the 550's are fine for fox after tuning.

Pan tension can also increase when traps have been in the ground for a longtime and are starting to rust on the contact points.

I agree. I started last year with 4-5 lb pan tension and it only rose with time. Especially during the summer time in sandy soil. The wax seemed to melt and bond with the sugar sand like a glass coating. This season I’m running 2-3 and I think it’s an improvement. Many more nontarget catches, but I remove nest predators anyway.

I tested the pan tension on all my traps with a Sullivan tester and adjusted them to 4lbs by bending the dogs on mb traps. On the two dozen new mb traps the pan tension ranged from 3 to almost 5 lbs.

My Duke 550s were all 4 lbs and over out of the box.

The Bridger 1. 75 were lower and adjusted to 4 lbs. I started noticing once we had snow cover that rabbits were all over them and only one was caught. Then I had several instances of fox doing the same. Step directly over the pan and not firing the trap, but a stick pushed in the track fired the trap.

Maybe a combination of cold temps and steel screen pan covers is stiffening the pan tension and causing the problems?

Maybe the steel screen is freezing to the jaws and keeping it from firing. We don’t deal with freezing temps or snow, but I guess I’ve been lucky with my MB’s. I don’t have a “tester” so to speak other than my 3# hammer. I test every trap every year. The minute I release pressure on the head of my hammer, they fire. I check them and the night latch after all the prep work is done prior to setting for the season.

I have rabbits and civets crossing my traps often I had a civet working my cat cubby for a couple of years that finally got caught, the issue with a tight pan is the higher catch you get on a fox or smaller cat if they do set it off.