I have been using Pied Piper cage traps for years. I have caught 75-100 coons in the Pied Piper traps. The one I use the most is 14x14x36. Sometimes I double. I went to get another, and the company is shut down. The owner died. They were not cheap. But they work. Smaller traps don't. I have tried them. Coons don't like to go in them. These traps are a welded frame with 1/4" round bar. Indestructible. But. They are not available. I am looking to order a Duke x-large model 1114trap, 14x15x36. Have any of you used this trap?

I just used some havahart traps with great success. I don't enjoy box traps though

I bought some quality made cages from "cage maker" on here many years ago. After I tried them I gave away all of my "Hava Junk" traps.

mine

Is or are the trap or traps you are using spring loaded or gravity fall as far as how they close? All of my cages are still the old Williams and they are 12 by 12 by 30 and have caught many animals, including very large coons.These traps are gravity close traps. There are times when spring loaded traps are a better choice. Google metal cage traps and some options will come up. If you a vendor or a trapper convention close enough it can save some shipping costs. Shipping cage traps is not low cost.

Bryce

Not being familiar with Pied Piper cage traps, I looked them up. Found a few places that had been selling them.......a few places still show them in stock.....odd sizes. Anyway.......found this picture of one. About the only thing that looks different is the pan / trigger setup. Spring powered, locking door.



Duke cages appear to be the best of the mass marketed cages, but for a high end trap of the type you were looking for, Tomahawk or Safeguard. Tomahawk may offer something in the size you were looking for. They have dozens of options. Most coon traps top out at 10 x 12 or 11 x 12 sizes.

As an aside, most of these cage traps look similar, the difference being the trigger setup and reinforcement of the doors.......and gravity or spring powered doors. All those can be easily copied if you have an original. If a trap like a pied piper is no longer being made, and maker has passed away, what is there to prevent a guy from making his own?

I bought one of the Duke HD Large this year

for what I paid for it I think it is worth it , have caught 3 bores and a wood chuck so far

it has one dent from where a bullet passed through and hit a wire in the bottom it is just a slightly bent wire all my cages end up with those little scars eventually.

gravity door

I run a stake down through so that they can't roll it over

much better than hava-junk maybe not quite what you are used to.

I will likely buy more , I got this one at a Rondy new in box.

lot of cheap traps on the market now if you have any skills at all you can rebuild them the way you want them small traps they fight them alot large traps they a lot of times they will curle up and go asleep if you put both traps in front of a trail camera together you will see what im talking about the large will get woked a lot more than the small

Look into the tomahawk commercial live traps. Spring loaded door and sliding rear door for baiting and animal removal plus built so raccoons can’t pull debris into trap. Big coon will destroy a havahart live trap and are child’s play compared to some of the better traps on the market.

I've caught a lot of coons around the house with a large Duke...No damage, and no rollovers. Maybe not the "best" but for the price they work just fine...

Avoid the el cheapo traps sold at some places like tractor supply.
For the low cost to purchase, they do not last…and any decent sized boar can chew its way out of them. You will cuss those rebending pans and trigger wires. Not worth it. Buy up and get heavy gauge quality cages.

My case in point, this was a recent season find when checking traps one night and running a bunch of cheap cages. First pic you can see how badly bent the door and trigger wire assembly were damaged. Then look at the foot pan, completely bent up. Second pic is same trap but from backside…the Coon literally ate its way out the back of the trap. All I had waiting for me was an empty damaged trap and no coon to show for it. You get what you pay for.





Here is one I got for my boys when they were young. This small average sized coon bent the thin flat metal door up and the pan. I painted this one camo, it comes in a dark green. Point though is it didn’t last long and should have bought a good cage in first place.




Anyway, hope this is helpful with your decision.
Jim