Has anyone used the #850 cast jaw, and if so what do you think of them. Ive been very impressed with the 650’s. Please no Duke bashing

I didn’t even know there was such a thing

The duke 550/650/850 are direct copies of the MB550. And no Bill Duke did not buy the rights to the design nor did Tim Caven sell the rights.

Hence the reason you will not find a duke product anywhere on the MTP site.

They are not based on the sterling dogless design.

To the original question. I have not used them and do not plan to for a few reasons. One I do not want any sort of wide jaw on a beaver foothold, cast or laminated. I target back feet and want a trap that'll "bite" and hold above the ankle or any of the joints below if a pad catch. Wide smooth can slip.

Wide smooth might be gentler on the more fragile fronts but the front is tapered so slippage would be more. Or at least that's my thinking on beaver iron.

I've never used one but got to set one a time or two and really like the feel of it. At the cost of the 850 I can't imagine not just buying a dozen KO beaver extremes tho. The last dozen I bought last year were 279 after shipping. The 850 was 325

So I bought the KOs. I already owned a half dozen and really liked them

If I ever come across a dozen dukes cheaper than the KOs I'll definitely try them

But I really like the duke 650 for coyotes and expect the 850 is just as good for beaver. I know of a trapper many of you might know named Jason Vance. I follow him online and he uses the duke 650 for beaver and coyotes.

He traps the beaver in Maine with the 650 and says it's plenty big enough. Can't argue with his results. He slays the spring beaver with them.

So it's definitely a great option for beaver and much cheaper than the 850

just finished boiling and waxing some 850's.

If you contact Bill, they’ll ship you an adjustable pan. He said they’re supposed to supply you with one when you buy, but he had to get them shipped out or something like that. I picked up an off set at the national convention for $28 and he shipped the pan. Can’t beat that price up here. Bill said he plans on sending one to FIC to get approved for use up here for wolf.

Bill sent me a 850 for my birthday. I couldn't set It so I sold It.

I personally like the original floppy pan, but most people like the adjustable pan and that was the big complaint with them. If you have ones with the floppy pan bought before they came out with the adjustable pan and want the adjustable pan contact Bill Duke and he will give you the adjustable pans for them for free.

I've caught a couple wolves in them and really like them. I've also caught a few coyotes in them and they are easy on coyote feet, unlike some of my other big wolf traps. For the price they are the wolf trap I would recommend, there are better ones out there, but they are also three times the price. In their price range IMHO none of the comparable priced traps are nearly as good.

Never tried them for beaver, I don't like a coilspring trap for beaver, and as warrior said, I'm not sure the wide cast jaw is desireable for beaver, the spring strength and lockup is strong enough though that it probably wouldn't be an issue.

Oh, after each wolf catch I've had to straighten either the dog or once the pan, but I've had bent dogs on every dog on trap I've ever used that held a wolf, so this isn't just a Duke issue.