must be as many ways to catch a cat as there is to skin one. i would have set up there at the end of or the gap in, that old rock fence

That set caught 3 cats in a week danny. It worked

Cats east of the big river will step on exposed pans too if the speedy possums do not beat them to the trap!

Mac, maybe something new. Walk through set with added tire guides. lol

Wax paper will freeze to a trap and it will freeze to the ground, but it won't freeze to it's self. Think about that and put it to use. Poke a few holes in it for drainage after set.
Lazarus catches a lot of cats, so it must work well for him, but I can see no less than three ways for a cat to get through that set and never be known it was there.
Flint, your pic is interesting and simple. Guess it works well also.
I don't understand big traps for cats. Mine are mostly two's and a few 1.65's with a small mod. Work well for me.

Not sure if you can accurately use a number size to compare trap sizes, my #4 bridger dls are 5 3/8 in inside spread, #2 bridger dogless are 5 1/2 in inside spread

#4 bridger dls not painted or dyed, exposed set, his paw fills up the trap

Some cats are too valuable to miss. Bigger trap, bigger pan, bigger kill area. That doesn't mean smaller traps won't work.



Use of 2 layers of wax paper is a fairly common practice. If there is ice inside the coil springs they may still be slowed or disabled.

If I was going to run Mb550 I would definitely increase the pan size or block them down as hard as I could. Cats have an interesting nack of stepping inside a trap's jaws without stepping on the pan unless you have it the only place they can step (I've seen it happen a few times over the years which is too many times). They are very nimble. I used to follow cats for miles in the snow. It'll really teach a guy a lot.

I really think the Bridger #2 dogless shine in that respect if I was running a #2 size trap exposed...their pan is already pretty much perfect for exposed sets. If you could use a larger trap coilspring wise a Jake Trap would be pretty hard to beat IMO for an exposed trap. I don't really have any experience using longsprings just was never my cup of tea. We don't have bobcats tripping over each other here but I've caught plenty in traps exposed, un-treated, and just on location. I've never seen any evidence where they've shied away from a trap that was uncovered. I simply set my pan where there was a track prior and patience seems to be the only issue. They're creatures of habit for the most part.

Well, for that matter, neither does a coyote, unless it's taught. . .

or a fox or a mink and so forth

This is a full trap. lol #2 Bridger

That's a purty sight!!

Sweet pic, had one similar in a cubby set this year, #3 bridger dogless

Not sure if it was froze down or he just jumped on it

Can't seem to get the picture to come up. Have to click on the link. Bridger # 1.65, 29 lb. tom. Got just a few of these traps, fun to use and every cat caught in them looked just like this. No misses yet. 3 coiled is plenty.


https://hosting.photobucket.com/alb...idth=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds

Lobo, do you have a pic of your bridger 1.65 with 3 coil?

The link on my l
ast

Finally got a pic to load. So bumped up.

Thanks. Just got it in my mind with just one spring on one side it would throw it off kidder . Must be wrong huh!

Try it. I find 4 springs a bit much at times, but do have some that way. Especially on exposed traps. Some of my #2 Bridger's are two coiled with music wire springs, some three coiled. The secret of trusting your traps is to have them lock up well. Kind of like an engine, you can tune a small one up right or you can put in a bigger one.