So the last few years my uncle and I have been using a few dozen bridger #2 dogless traps, all in all we really like them, but have a small issue. Unlike the old montgomery style dogless, the pan to jaw engagement is fairly wide, and after a catch or 2, when the wax or dip is worn off and some rust starts to form, it causes the pan tension to rise drastically because of the added friction from being more metal to metal contact. I've got a couple ideas to possibly help this, one is to just carry bow wax to rub on the notch after a catch and just adjust the nut/bolt for proper tension. The other is to take a dremel and make the contact a bit narrower to reduce the metal on metal contact, but afraid of the metal being too weak after time. Anyone else run into these issues and come up with any viable solutions, other than changing traps after a catch or 2?

Good ideas...use a file and remove rust then apply wax.
Keep thinking about how to correct issues it’ll make you a better trapper.

I like thinking on how to fix what I see as issues and make traps work better, this one has had me a bit stumped though and those were the only ideas I could come up with

What if you took a dremel and cut down the width of the tab that contacts the jaw?

That's what I was kind of thinking about doing, less metal to metal contact. A little labor intensive, but may be the best solution for long term. I run into the same issues with my k9 xtreme jrs

I run about 4 dozen #3 dogless Bridgers, with no problems like your having. I have caught 6 or 8 coyotes in the same trap, never had to mess with them.

Same here I have a couple dozen #2s and i scrape the wax off at start of season also, make remakes, never had a issue with that either. Dry graphite, or a little vaseline might solve your issues.

You can file a slight chamfer on the under side of the pan, that will allow it to drop easier.

On all my K9 JR's, I milled the contact area on the pan narrower, like you thought might work. It does.

Are you sure its the dog/jaw interaction is the problem or is it the pan bolt?

As for a lubricant...I always carry food grade silicon spray on the line for such problems. Little to no smell.

I'm going to give that a try on a few this season and see how it works before I do all of them, glad to hear it works!

Never thought of the silicone lubricant, that is definitely a thought. And I'm pretty sure it's not the bolt, when setting them I can feel the friction between the pan/jaw even when they have a floppy pan

Did you clean the wax off the contacts when you adjusted your pan tension? If you adjusted your pan tension without cleaning the contacts the pan tension will be higher as the wax wears off. It might not increase much if you clean the contacts before adjusting the pan tension.

The pan notch is to deep and wide in my opinion. I run 5-6 dozen and have for a few years. I would not dremel the sides in to make it narrower (no coming back from that). I take mine when new to a belt sander (you can use a good file) and round the squared edge of the pan off. More of a half moon catch then a square contact point. I carry a file with me so if it gets chewed on and wont stay set a couple strokes to deepen the groove and your good to go.

I haven't had any issues with mine either. Multiple catches same traps, and I run em from mid November until January.
Hope you get yours figured out. This is one of my favorite and preferred coyote traps.
I also can't say I've ever cranked up tension on any of my coyote traps. One of first thing I do with new ones is back the nut off a little so pan is just about free falling. A step down dorthole or post set and once they hit the pan they are all in with full weight commitment anyway.
Somewhere ive got some pics of cat prints over pan in dirt pattern when I used to play with tension.
Now I dont.
Jim

One word. BOW STRING WAX oh well thats's four words but you get the point.