Planning to go after canines a bit less next year and I’m looking at 1.5’s for mink, rats, raccoon. Top edge sets, pocket sets, blind sets.

Does a double jaw do anything for me that a Victor 1.5 wouldn’t? I was going back and forth between duke and NO-BS double jaws, but I wanted to hear some thoughts on it. Does a double jaw make all the difference with chewouts? Is it something I should worry about that much?

I can get a good deal on some used victors at the moment. And they are USA made.

I dont think they do much for mink and rats, they may save a small percentage of coon. I dont know of any long liners near me that have ran double jaws.

Every time they come up for sale on trapshed they sell pretty fast-that tells me they’re popular for some critters.

If you long chain your traps rather than on drowners or setting coon traps on land, double jaws are the way to go. They cut down on the chewing

I use the K.O. double jaw 11/2 coilspring. I have only used them on dryland for coon. I haven't lost an animal in them yet. And zero chewing. Love the trap.

How’s the pan tension in this trap? Light enough for mink?

Not sure about on mink. I run zero pan tension on dryland for coon. Maybe someone with mink experience will chime in.

I use Duke 1.5 double jaws exclusively, and have for more than 10 years. Cuts down on chewing, cheap and easy to replace. I run zero pan tension and catch plenty of mink in them too. My only modification is to add a mid chain swivel.

I got one from F&T today in the mail as I wanted to play with it and the floppy pan makes it pretty light. Someone said bend the dog down and it decreases further. That said, i wasn’t even getting to 1/4 pound in the tester before it fired.

I honestly have never worried about pan tension much. All I've ever done is adjust the pan bolt enough that the pan falls on on its own. That's good enough for water traps, IMO.

It's rare when this guy has a clue what he's talking about. But this time he is spot on. (lol sorry Dave)

No need to spend more money on water traps as the Duke double jaw is near perfect for the rats, mink and coon. If you're not drowning every coon, The double jaw will easily pay for itself in the first few catches.

I like double jaws on my mink line to keep coon from chewing

Thank you for the kind words and vote of confidence, ADC.

Yes, he always goes out of his way to make people feel special.

Agree with trapdog1 and ADC. Double jaw is the way to go for water trapping. Back when I was trapping a lot of coons, I didn’t set a trap that wasn’t a factory DJ or modified like the ones in the picture. Cheap and easy mod using 3/16” round rod. Doesn’t mean that you have to have them but they definitely help. The Victors will catch and hold most of them as long as the springs are still strong.