I agree, that's the commonsense way and should be the only measure of jaw spread. But I couldn't find anything in the code that stated that.

Very gray area and some wardens have different opinions. Run it by the office in Harrisburg

I just walked down to the fur shed to check one of my Bridger # 3's. Inside to inside of the frame posts (where the jaws go through) is 6.5" which would be the actual outside jaw spread in that direction. 6.5" across the center line of the dog and pan too.

You should contact the state enforcement supervisor by e-mail to get a written clarification/interpretation of the law,either directly or thru your state trapping federation who should have direct contact with the enforcement supervisor.

I agree, before a lot are made and used.

At hunter trapper ed classes, all wardens that I have conferred with measure across the pan.

Here's hammer testing the Pennsylvania trap-

These traps will be worth money on the collector's market down the road. Very few will be produced.

I am told wardens are instructed to measure jawspread at the dog outside to outside. To be frank, this regulation is due to the way our game code was written…a long time ago and not easy to change.

Hammer is making a small run of these for a niche market of PA beaver trappers. He figured out how to rework the jaws and gets full credit. I just asked him if it could be done an he made it happen.

To me it’s a judge all. If you place the trap for target animal to step Omer the trigger or dog , trap is legal. If you turn the trap for animal to step over lever trap is too wide and illegal. I would not push my personal luck. Too each their own

KC,
PGC outside jaw measurement is taken from dog jaw directly across center to opposite jaw, at same point. This is the standard PGC measurement.
Pretty simple to remember.
Like this-

Or lawmakers want to leave it intentionally vague so wardens can interpret regulations however they want.

That is certainly the way any foothold should be measured and it would be a great help to all involved if the Game Code actually had that written into it.

Many thanks to Todd & Gary for giving us another 6 1/2" trap option.

Or, WE wrote it this way, a more defined "rewrite"
would really give us something to bawl about.
Careful what you wish for.

Measurement is to be taken outside jaw spread at the dog like coonduke said. This I have checked on. For if aloud to choose personally how to measure the jaw spread then about every trapper in pa better start selling some traps for they are illegal some examples no bs jr illegal, number 3 duke illegal, bridger number 3s illegal, mb 650 even inside laminated illegal, outside laminated num2 bridgers very popular trap in pa illegal if aloud to measure a jaw spread how the individual see fit to. Some examples.

So why not just use a number 4 ? What am I missing here

Which #4?

I have never understood why any regulations refer to the outside of the jaws for the jaw spread measurement. The area inside the jaws is what determines the actual working area of the trap. In NC, jaw spread for body grips and footholds is defined by the inside dimension and there is an illustration for both body grips and footholds that clearly shows how it is to be measured.

For what it's worth, I typed in define jaw spread and this came up on top.1