Last fall when I was running a small coon line I was having trouble with coons getting out of my standard cs traps. Wondering what you guys do to alleviate the problem. I was thinking about modifying them and laminating the jaws but wondering if it is worth the effort. Thanks for the help

Lamination would only exacerbate the problem rather than cure it.
Double jaws would be better if chewing is the issue.

Check spring strength...move up to music wire springs when replacing

They weren't chewing out, I would go check my traps and there was the trap set off and at the end of the chain and you could tell it was held for awhile with the catch circle. I am wondering if I need to adjust pan tension so it is a tad heavier.

Are you sure they were pulling themselves out and someone wasn't tasking/letting them out?

If pullouts, then pan tension and spring strength would be a good start.

are the traps center swiveled?

I looked for tracks and didn't find any human tracks, and they are not center swiveled. It didn't happen all the time but once is too much as far as I am concerned

How do you know it was a coon? If there wasn't much of a catch circle and the trap was just pulled tight at the end of the chain my bets are on deer. If there is a defined catch circle then not a deer

What kind of sets are we talking about here?

Pan tension. It doesn't take much to hold a coon, but you need to get a solid catch on them. A little #1LS will hold a coon all day long if he is caught solid. On CS traps I make sure I have decent tension on my coon sets. Also, night latching really helps. If a coon feels a pan move, it will jerk its foot away. I try to remove all movement in my firing system. I trap both water and dry land, and for coons it comes down to the pan.

deer?

I have experienced coon pullouts from 1.5 Bridger Specials. I only use them on drowners now.

Was there any blood on the trap?
Sometimes you really have to search the catch circle to find the left behind parts from a chew out

Poor catches and setting around too much entanglement can be detrimental.

Add some pan tension and watch your location selection next time around. If you set around too many leverage opportunities, they will take advantage of that.

These two suggestions may not be all the answers but these two practices can make a difference at the end of the day.

How do you know they weren’t chewing out?

Sounds like weak springs or not cleaning the wax off the inner jaw surface

There was a catch circle and tracks were evident. Not a catch circle like with my dogproofs, but it holds them all night. My traps are nightlatched but the pan tension is set pretty low since I had intended to use them for mink traps as well. I also did not scrape the wax from the inside of the jaws so that can definitely be a reason. There was no sign of chewout like I have seen on my coyote traps, with blood and fur etc

Sometimes possums wring off. Their feet are more fragile. It doesn’t always leave much evidence with a cs.

Agree

Just curious how long you wait between checks? We’re on a 24hr check here and I’ve never had a “chew out” on anything.

Most of the time there won’t be much “sign” of chew out on coon. Just a catch circle and no coon.

You have some very big coons in your area, 25 - 35lb+ on a decent percentage of them. What brand of traps are you using? If they are bridgers or some of the old Northwoods or Montgomerys they have smooth rounded jaw faces and big coons will slip right out of them especially if their tapered front feet are wet. If it's a good coon trap, like a Duke, it'll have a sharper edge that bites and holds on. If the coon are chewing out you may not be able to see evidence of it. They chew off the toes below the jaws where they are numb and pull the rest of their foot out of the trap once there is nothing below the jaws to keep it from pulling out. Chew guards/double jaws will help with the chewing,,, only super strong springs can overcome the trouble with the smooth jaws, laminating will make them worse by spreading the force of the jaws over a wider area.

we have a 24hr check here also. I am limited to afternoon checks because of my job, which is also part of the issue I would say.

if your running late checks, id highly recommend using drowners on coon or DPs

I bought a bunch of used victors and dukes this last summer. Most that I used are 1-1/2 cs but I did buy 2 doz 1-1/2 jump traps as well. I did not set any of the jump traps last fall so I don't have any experience with them to say they are better or worse. Do they make a double jaw kit for these traps or is it only buying the new style trap to get them? I have a welder and could do the mods if they have an option. Or I could manufacture something myself to mimic the double jaws.

If you get the Bob Custer bender, its easy to bend your own double jaws out of rod or nails.On the loose jaw side i dont bend, just straight nail/rod.

http://iowatrapperstalk.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/3044/TRAP_MODS_-_Double_Jaws-_How_I#Post3044

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If you add these to the double jaws in that link you should not lose any coons.... https://www.schmittent.com/replacement-spring-music-wire-1-12

Best to do it all at the same time since you'll want to take off the springs to safely weld on the trap anyway.

Thanks, I registered and am awaiting approval!

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