Hey guys, got a dozen wolf creek dogless #2 in the mail today and tuned them up tonight. Figured I would throw in a couple pics for those wondering. These cost me less than $100 for the dozen shipped to my door. The plan is to laminate, baseplate, and weld sterling swivels/#3 chain on them. I should have about $12 per trap in them. I went with the #2 size because I catch a lot of fox too, not only coyote. In NC if our jaw spread is 5 1/2 inches we don’t have to have offset jaws, so these are the largest closed jaw trap I can set on dry land.

First impressions out of the box were that the trap is actually pretty solid for the price. Quality of metal is not comparable to an MB550 or Jake but it is superior to a duke #2 for sure. The chain and swivels are actually a lot nicer than I expected. You could honestly probably get by with them but I’m not planning on doing that.

The first thing I did was set them and check pan height and loose jaw height.




Pan sits a little low so the pan adjustment nut needs to be backed off. Problem is there aren’t any threads left on the stud so you can’t do this. The stud needs to be a tad longer. I figured oh well it’s not super necessary anyways. So my next step was to cut the stud off



Next I checked pan tension. All of them were consistently 5 pounds out of the box. I like about 3 pounds, so I started filing the latch on the pan that attaches to the jaw. You don’t want to file this at an angle, you just want to shorten the nub that grabs the jaw by filing flat. Hopefully pictures explain this better than words. Take a few strokes and then check pan tension. All of mine didn’t change at all until I hit the sweet spot and they immediately fell to about 3-3.5 lbs. Perfect for me. I did get lazy and not check as often and got one down to about 2.5 lbs so you can go lighter.

Before filing



During



After



Pan brought itself up to a perfectly level height after filing, I lowered the loose jaw a tad.



I checked a few of these 10 times after filing and adjustments and the pan tension stayed very consistent. I think this will be a huge time saver in the field. No more bending dogs or tightening pan nuts again. I’ll be sure to post more pics when I finish the mods!

looks good ,

Thanks!

Ended up having to cut the "L" off of the springs to get the loose jaw to sit level. I tried and tried without cutting the spring but the jaw wouldn't move. Now it sits perfect. Still need to round of the cut edge of the springs but I'm happy.

You keep cutting and grinding off parts and you're not gonna have much left.

Ive never been a fan of that type of dogless pan system.......too much flop and lack of adjustment.

That "pan adjustment (bolt and nut)" was a holdover from the the old Montgomery Trap Company design and was installed as a Pan Stop to keep coyotes from flipping the pan up and bending it loose. They made them both ways (as they progressed in manufacturing). The Pan Stop was a preventive measure not for height adjustment so it was supposed to be lower to the base and not get chewed /twisted out......................... the mike

The dogless pan type on Bridger dogless traps, No BS traps, and TS85s is far superior to that type dogless pan.

The dogless system on the Bridger is $54 more per dozen. The dogless system on the No Bs is $175 more per dozen. You aren't comparing apples to apples.

The duke is a comparable trap and has a similar system to what you consider "far superior."

I don't consider a dogless system with a bolt far superior to one without...isn't the whole point of having a dogless trap to not have to make adjustments once tuned?

I had some bridgers and had issues with the aluminum bushing seizing up on the pan bolt after a season of use. Pan tension was sky high. I could bottom out my sullivan tester and not set the trap off so it was heavier than 5 pounds and I had previously set it at 3.

At the end of the day its personal preference, I went this way because it's what I prefer



Good to know! If the stud was a little bit longer I would keep it, but it isn't even long enough to have the nyloc nut fully threaded on

You get what u pay for.

You must be in a different pocket of southern coyotes than I'm in to pay $261 for a dozen traps

The only way I'll trap the stinking things is if someone is paying me to do it

For me: the point of a dogless trap is having no dog that will get bent. I still want a postive adjustable pan for tension.

There is not a trap made that wont need adjustments once tuned. No need to look for one...Ive already done that and failed.

Caught critters will "un-adjust" your traps.

I use Bridger 2 dogless. $137/dozen. Not much tweaking needed except to shorten the night latch notch just a smidgeon...about 6 or 8 swipes with a file and square it up. Then loosen the nut on the slide and even it up with the end of trap frame. Pan will then sit perfectly level.

I havent had the problem with the bushing/washer you describe. Ive been running 11 dozen for about 4 years now.

You must not have gotten the ones with the split aluminum bushing. I saw someone post a fix on here awhile back making the bushing out of a different material.

I'm glad they're working out for you!

Coondagger, Thanks for the review!
Yes, that design is the old Mongomery design on a Northwoods trap. Millions of critters to there credit.
Also Mike- Wife , is 100% correct on his post.

I dont get on here much, first time in over a year i believe. If anyone wants to get hold of me email me at wolfcreekproducts@gmail.com

Thanks,
Glenn