Unless you’re me who had a bobcat pull out of a brand new mb550 with a full pad catch before I caught him two miles up the road a couple days later. I like the 550s, but have had weird luck with them the last year or two

Right on. Once the jaws are locked up, 2 or 4 coil won’t matter much, you’ve got leverage on your side. 4 coil advantage is maybe a little more speed, and ability to break through packed soil or frozen crust.

That’s just crazy, lol. Possible rock or something between the jaws which allowed him to pull free?

2 coil

Anything can and will happen if you trap long enough,not a MB 550,but I pulled up to a nice big male coyote full pad catch in a MJ 600 Sterling on a frosty morning,I was putting a pellet in the gun and next thing I see he pulled out and ran off.I had my deer rifle with,but didn't want to blow a big hole in him,I re captured him roughly a week later in another Sterling about a 100 yards from the pull out location.Guessing the cold steel and frost made it possible to pull out.

That’s just crazy, lol. Possible rock or something between the jaws which allowed him to pull free?[/quote]


Nothing that I could tell. Just a catch circle on a pond dam with bobcat hairs in the jaws. Brand new 550 that had caught a small female a few days prior. I did have a football sized rock as backing and a baseball sized rock creating a walk through, but neither would have interfered with the jaws. He ended up meeting his maker while sitting in a 550 so it’s not
I’ve used 550s for the past 10-12 years and never had a problem until the last couple. Probably had 6-8 times last year where I pulled up to a catch circle with nothing in it. Some may have been pigs small enough to stay awhile, but big enough to pull out in grassy areas. Others had nothing but coyote tracks in the empty catch circle. It’s user error I’m sure, but I haven’t been able to figure it out [

Possible weak springs? I’m curious now, lol. I’ve had a small rock/stick get stuck before and they fought good to get out. Saw my marker done and everything laid flat and thought it was just inside the brush hiding. But walking up and seeing your jaws open, there’s nothing to blame but the guy who made the set, lol. It happens.

Thanks!

Brand new trap so it was pretty stout. But the issues happened with everything from brand new to several years old and on the weak side. As I noticed weak springs I would pull them out and change them. Still, even if springs were weak you would think that if it closed on them long enough for there to be a catch circle it would have locked up tight enough to hold them. I’m still scratching my head and just hoping that this year isn’t a repeat

All I’ve ever caught a cat in

With the price of traps going up (along with everything else) I'm going to stick with the MB550. Will order another half dozen tomorrow.

We also have some 2 coiled and some 4 coiled, 4 just seem faster and harder to set for me, lol. Both have made catches.
The WR pans are nice, spouse had a friend weld them on, tack welds.

Thanks for the info. Most of mine are 4 coil but I will leave the next 6 2 coil just to see how they may work. Will be getting the wild river pans for sure.

If you’re targeting cats, I wouldn’t even bother with the 450. Remember how large a cats front paws are. The 550 is an excellent trap. It offers all the same qualities as the 450 but larger. I like a #3 size trap but you may be limited in regulations.

Both are well built. I have caught bobcats in both. The larger jaw spread of the 550 makes it the best option in most all places. The only places i would grab a 450 for bobcat is where I saw a lot of cougar sign and wanted to avoid dealing with them. This year I'll be carrying some traps larger than the 550's to target cougar where i find them, as our legislature made it legal for anyone with a hunting license to harvest them and trapping them is legal now. But the 550 is a tough trap that has held every cougar Ive caught.