I have a "Property of the United States" #4 1/2 ATC with a 10 foot length of kinkless chain and what looks like a homemade drag (2 pieces of rebar, a lap link and a lotta welding). The swivel connections at either end of the chain look like they might be factory original (see pic). Has anyone seen any like this? Thanks guys. And yes, I'm eagerly awaiting IWM's book!

After 1937, ATC fitted all of their traps with welded kinkless chain from International-Campbell and Peerless Chain Companies; they never made any welded kinkless chain at the Lititz plant. Because government agencies could purchase the same bulk quantities of chain & links from these suppliers for their own special set-ups, they frequently ordered traps without chains.

It was also commonplace for ATC to build traps with custom-order chain set-ups for government/research agencies, especially 4.5s used on lions or black bear capture.

Given above, it would be very difficult to determine origin of your chain/links/swivels without history or provenance...but the welding is NOT factory.

Thanks for the info. I'm surprised that 4 1/2s were used on bear, but they are big traps. This trap comes from Showlow, AZ. The fellow I got it from got it from a friend whose "great grampa who used it to trap bears". So no real information. Wolves in that area were gone by the 1940's, but lion and black bear were never exterminated.

I have several studies that used 4.5s for black bear capture & release in the U.S. Although primary target was juveniles, a 328 lb black bear was caught and held in a 4.5 in 1957 (record at that time). Erickson special ordered 4.5s from ATC with modified chains & drags for bear projects.

By the time ATC began production at Lititz, western wolves were all but gone and northern wolfers had converted to 14s & 114s. So, 4.5s were mainly sold for lions and black bear research in this country.