Sounds good bhugo. Thanks

Lol. Thanks Jamie, good to hear from you anyway.

Charlie Dobbins book has some nice mods for single longsprings to make them better coon traps. I did this with a bunch of them back in 90s and they worked very well for dryland coon sets for me.
Swivels, good chain, and I moved the chain to end of frame opposite the spring. Had to drill a hole on that end to accommodate a j-hook for a swivel. Moving the chain made a coon foot slide toward the spring after caught so had max holding power instead of other end.
For weaker #1s add a booster spring inside the single long and it will make them much better and faster closing if dirt trapping coon.
If you have single longs with adjustable pans (some of mine were older sleepy creeks and had a pan screw for tension) then tighten the pan tension so a coon foot is well in the trap to avoid toe catches. For the Victor's and Blake and lambs I had with no pan screw I made the bed a little lower and the dirthole really deep and at an angle more downward. Use a big backing for coon so they don't just stand on the backing and reach into the dirthole from backside. I just made a big mound of dirt from the hole and dirt pattern and piled it right behind the dirthole. Force them around the front where trap is. Clear the area around the set too so they don't have anything to hold onto after a catch...they can grab with all four feet.
If you set back from the hole a little more you can back foot them in those old vics and Blake and lambs when they stand on back feet and reach into the hole with front feet. Caught a ton of coon in dirtholes and #1 longs modified like that when I started out. Dirthole on a coon trail, Fish in the hole, a good coon lure, and go sharpen your knife.
Pm me if you want to.

Lots of good advice here. If you decide to go with one type - be patient - as lots of folks are trading up (or down) on this site so you should be able to pick up some used ones and try them out. Trapper 'get togethers' are another option to acquire some, especially in PA.. A mix of DP's and coils or longs covers a lot of bases in America's coon country. Don't get addicted like most of us and think you ABOSOLUTELY NEED a coon outfit, a coyote outfit, a muskrat outfit, a mink outfit, a fox outfit, a beaver outfit, a snare/CR outfit AND a "small" collection of antiques......... If you get that deep, Lord help us, there is no hope for the "Right Trap". ..................... the mike ......... Oh did I forget.... a cage outfit and a sparrow and pigeon outfit! And a small Marten/Fisher outfit. Yes ........................ and a specialty skunk outfit.. Just no rest for the "addicted" ........... the mike again

I’ve got many dozens of Blake & Lamb #1 longsprings in dandy condition for sale.
They are the Cadillac of #1 longs.

I don't see them in The Shed, what are they going for per doz. ?
Thanks,

Sent you a PM Crowfoot

I will keep that in mind. Thanks

Malon Farmer wrote a great book on nusing the number 1 blake and lamb for mink coon and rats, he showed how to modify them also. i use the number 1 long spring as my go to water trap, use them on beaver coon mink and rats. keep the critter in the water. take a coon or beavers front foot and put it next to a number 1 blake. Thorpe used a lot of number 1 blakes also and recommended them for mink and coon in early writings. OG makes a case for them in high theft areas. as mentioned above. I am very weight conscience in my old age. so trap smart. NY does not have the coon iowa and nebraska have but if you are looking for a one size fits all, buying new for fox coon rats and mink the 1 1/2 coil is the way to go. John Magel used 1 1/2 coil 220 and 330 that was 99% of his outfit, he kept a few 44 blakes for back up.

I use my 1 longs in areas where they might get stolen. I use a lot of dog proof traps in areas where they are less likely to get stolen and where pets are present. Dog proofs are expensive….

John Magel was one heck of a trapper! There aren't many guys I would not trap behind but he is one of them. Sorry if this is High Jacking a thread. .... the mike

It might hold most but you’ll probably have some pull outs , I personally like the victor or sleepycreek #2 dls for coon they can hold coyote too.

Just get 11's be done with it very versatile and will hold nearly everything.

I will have these also. Just wanted to know from trappers that have used the #1s how they faired against the masked bandit.

After thousands in 11's is say this is incorrect. Get double jaw if you can.

What percentage of your catches are on dry land?

I learned as a young boy that number 1 longsprings make great coon traps.
As long as you gang set with 4 of them. I did that once and caught him by 3 feet. The 4th one caught one of the traps already on one of his feet.

After thousands in 11's is say this is incorrect. Get double jaw if you can. [/quote]

What percentage of your catches are on dry land?[/quote]

Not huge percentage, but I don't run drowners either. Fish stakes in shallow water and nearly always alive.

Lol. Thats funny right there!