Coming from PA, I believe it is possibly a coon rather than a fox. Drags give the initial lunge a buffer of sorts and after 30 seconds the part below the jaws is swelling that a toe hold is pretty good. Oh and since I mentioned toe holds, does everyone get an animal's paw squarely in the middle of the trap jaws? I sure don't. Look at the tracks left in a trap pattern (with no trap set) and you will see even with encouraging sticks and clods, you will get tracks intermittently spaced and on top of each other while your quarry is working your attractant. A foot 1/2 on the jaw and 1/2 in/out will get a toe hold and if someone says that you can get a paw centered on the trap pan while trapping canines every time, you have an awfully big trap jaw with an awfully big pan! A 550 is a little tougher to get that clasp every time. My take................................................. the mike

IF you set enough traps. One day it will happen. 3 years ago. I pulled up on a bobcat. Was trapping in spring. Alabama. For cattle ranchers. Was still using MB 550s then. Pull past bobcat. It was on dead end rode. Backed up to it with Toyota. Got out. Its was gone!! Since I was getting 0 pay for bobcats I just laughed and reset

Some people will get supper dupper up ser with toe catches and pull outs. Granted I dont want them. BUT I follow behind enough trapper to know that = having to catch a previously toe pinched coyote is just part of the job.

I suspect that part of the animal's foot on the pan and the other part on the dog or jaws when the trap fires causes a lot of poor catches as well.

You’re probably right, which is why pan tension is important. A trap with proper pan tension is usually not going to fire when part of the animals weight is on the jaw or dog and not the pan.

Guiding also helps a lot. It’s harder to guide coyotes but it can be done. Foxes, bobcats and coon can be guided so heavily that it’s ridiculous, especially in blind trail sets.

I'm with AJE, really like the MB650. But only use them where they won't have a chance of walking off.

Steeltraps How are you liking those NO BS Extreme JR wires? Any comparison to the Sterlings?

Exactly.

I set a bunch of 650s this week and it made me wonder why anybody would buy a 550 when the 650s are so much better

I tried 650s and I hated everything about them

I have a dozen 650s an they are catching machines. They lock up hard enough to be a pita releasing a cat tho

You must have gotten a bad batch

I really like the = NO BS Wire Lever Jrs. I used them mainly around 1 place in West Texas. I knew would do well. I think. Off hand without looking at my note book 22 coyotes with the NO BS Wire Lever jrs all total. Its an apples to orange comparison. Because MJ 600 is my • Dream trap. Just hard to find and expensive to replace if damaged. But IF you made me start from 0. Took away my 184 MJ 600 Sterling and said = start over. I would out fit up with = NO BS wire lever traps

Could be, but I’ll take a #3 or #4 double longspring over a 650 every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I bought the 650s thinking “hey, I love my 550s, I bet 650s are awesome” and then I was sorely disappointed

Funny how some like one trap and other like another. I know a guy that catches coyotes by the truck loads and he didn't like the MJs. It's silly but I'm almost to the point of catching coyotes is more important than what trap u like.

Yes Sir. I can honestly say that in 35 years I have used about every trap out there at one point or another. With the exception being Longspring traps. In Longspring i have used - # 8 LPCs. And some # 4 Texas Specials and a few 3Ns. But thats it. Have used = Dukes Montgomerys. Montanas Bridgers. BMI K9 Wolfers Jakes. mb 450s Mb 550. Mb 650. No BS traps. Herters. Coyote Cuffs KBs and im sure afew more that I have left out. This is what I know. Worst trapI have used = Dukes. Best Trap = MJ 600 Sterling. Everyone defends the traps they like best. I just think = whatever works best for me. Where I am. Under the soil conditions I have is the best for me

I have to agree. Success has a lot to do with what a person has confidence in.

I agree with others that you have a front foot catch on a coon and they can slip out of an offset jaw trap. Try some closed jaw. This warmer weather in Pa has the coon running hard.

Boddicker wrote about guys who could place a trap on a rocky surface, camouflage the pan, and catch any coyote, bobcat, or such that visited the trap site. You don't seem to have a problem having some quarry to visit and get caught but aren't having luck holding them. Again it sounds like coons too me. The reason I mentioned Boddicker is he hits on individuals that knew their target's foot movements and how to get them where they wanted them. That will take time and experience for everyone to master. How the animal reacts to an attractant is a learning process so use snow, mud, wet sand, game cams, etc.,,,, anything that will help you see how they place their feet at a trap set. You won't learn that on Youtube. If you believe its still canines pulling out and you have examined the "gear" for reliability, try focusing on their foot placement. I ran a scent post survey for the Nebraska G&P in 4-5' circle patterns in the Spring for several years in the 80's and learned much on an animal's foot traffic at an attractant. August Heller from Dunbar Nebraska caught coyotes on frozen farm ponds (the water not the dam ) in the 60's and 70's and I stumbled on his method then. Took me a few years to absorb what/why he did what he did but he got the "foot" where he wanted on that smooth surface. He knew coyotes! Keep observing and you will do fine. ............................................................ the mike

Feed back appreciated thanks everyone.....I really doubt it is a coon but it's possible I live 2300 ft up on the Mt it's a little different than down in the valleys I've only caught a few coon up here few possums mostly coyotes ....an yes I've followed some of the majors work good stuff

If you are not too invested in the mb’s, try some others. You can always sell the mb’s as lots of folks do like them. If you are too invested to easily switch or just don’t want to, try a good bit more pan tension. That’s what I’d do anyhow. Good luck.

Me too. Set one with 2 pounds of pan tension and the next time you set it, it will be 4 pounds. They're rough on feet too even when laminated. And for some reason I've gotten way more toe catches with those traps than any other.

I'll take fully modified Bridgers over them six ways to Sunday.