This is going to be my first year trapping and I’m trying to get everything set and done early so I’m not trying to do too much when the season gets closer and I can just concentrate on my sets. I’m pretty set on my conibear traps but I’m having a heck of a time figuring out my foothold traps. I can’t figure out which one I should get the duke 550pro or the duke 1.5 both are supposedly good for coyote fox and bobcat. I understand that the 550 is pretty much ready to go out of the box and the 1.5 might need some tweaking. But which one is better? Or is it just preference? Thanks in advance for any help.

First of all welcome to t-man! Smart move to do all your prep work in advance. Personally I'm not a fan of Duke but that's just my personal opinion. The 1.5 size trap will hold coyote and bobcat but is a might small, where as the 550 has a larger jaw spread and it gives you a better chance of getting a better hold on the critters foot with a less toe catches.

If you're after coyotes, go with the 550s. The 1.5s are better suited for water trapping.

The 550 hands down. While the 1.5 will work and hold you are using a bare minimum type trap. Should things go south, and they will, it will fail. The 550 is better built to hold up under a wider range of issues.

BTW the only trap I've had a coyote pop the jaws on was a 1.5.

Or use both. I regularly use 1.5 because I'm an urban trapper and strange things happen in the city. I'd rather lose a cheap 1.5 to theft or damage than a more expensive "better" trap. And a non target catch fares better in smaller traps than big ones.

Thank you. I most likely will go with the 550s for my land sets. Even though not everyone is a fan of the dukes most people are saying the 550 is the way to go. Thank again for welcoming me and the response.

Thanks. This year the only water sets I’m going to be attempting with footholds is probably otter. And I got a couple of the 1.75 4x4 traps for those. Next year I will probably do some more muskrat/ mink/ raccoon foothold water sets. Thanks again for the help.

Agree with the 550's. Newer better design. I used Duke #2's for a while and they worked fine. They just needed a little more prep work.

Get the 550s. The 1.5s IMO are just too small for coyotes and cats. Especially for someone with no experience, you don’t want to handicap yourself with inadequate traps.

550s over the 1.5s with out a doubt. However, I would still buy some 1.5s and you can modify them like bubble tipping them to prevent jaw popping and you then also have a trap for things such as coon and fox or what not. 550 style traps with that pan setup haven’t always been my favorite but they are built to withstand abuse.

I use MB 550's and Bridger #2 dogless

Once your get that first one they start coming

When I was starting out, Darin Freeborough gave some great advice…. Get the best equipment you can then get more as you can, lol…. I love Alpha’s and No-BS Wire lever Jr’s

In my experienced opinion, good advice not including/discounting the trap recommendation.

I"ll preface this by saying I'm a long time duke user, I'd never trust a duke 1.5 to hold a yote, the 550 will outperform it overwhelmingly, stronger for yotes and larger for big cat feet. Don't be shy about using 1.5's for coon, mink, and rats, they're very good in that arena.

Forget Duke and get MB 550's you won't be disappointed

I targeted and caught quite a few coyotes in Duke 1.5's. They were all I had and all I could afford. Glad I found out on the internet later on it cant be done, imagine how dumb I felt. lol

Did you modify them at all, or use them as is? I'm truely curious, I like my dukes just never figured the frames could handle the jarring.

Welcome aboard! Be sure to come up to Herkimer for the annual NYS convention Labor Day week-end. Try to get there before Saturday. You will find great deals on new and used traps. Plus attend as many Demo's as you can. But most of all, pick everyone's brain. There is a lot to gain there. Good luck trapping and most of all, be safe!

I run MJ 600 Sterling. I have almost 200 of them now. IF I had to start over ??? NO BS wire levers !!!! Have 2 dz of them made with the system = I = want They do fine work.

MB 550's are a very good choice, easy to bed and a durable trap.