Awhile back I saw something similar to this either on Trapperman or YouTube, this is not an original idea of my own, but I figured some others could benefit from a visual. I’ve always tuned my 330’s and other body grips on the bench with a standard conibear safety that allowed the trap to open a fair amount before it stopped. A regular conibear safety also lets the trap have free will, so when it fires it jumps all over the bench. Made it hard to get accurate readings of trigger travel.

This little contraption is nothing more than an old piece of rough cut 6x6 and some other scrap wood. This catches your trap when it fires, and only allows it to open slightly. It’s not a super harsh dry fire on the springs and the trap is contained by the wood blocks so it isn’t jumping around. You can get good accurate readings of how much travel is in your trigger. The gap between the two main blocks is a little shy of 4” and the gap between the top two blocks is 2”. The whole deal is 2 and a half inches tall off the 6x6, and believe it or not that is pretty important. Any taller and trigger wires drag on a 330. On smaller conibears I offset the triggers to one side or they’ll hit.





Here is a brand new out of the box Belisle 330 with my chain/cable setup. Teardrop ring off the spring, swivel, 16 links of #3 chain, swivel, 6 feet of 1/8 stainless 7x19 cable with copper crimped ferrules, and a Sleep EZ hook on the end.



Slide the trap into the contraption. Get yourself a brick masons rule, a tape measure isn’t stiff enough usually. Line your eyes up to the edge of the frame, push on the rule and watch how far the trigger travels before it fires. A factory belisle 330 is about 2 inches. I want it to be about half an inch so I don’t hip catch otter. Just like the trap tuning instructions here on the Tman archives, I file the round notch a little deeper so it makes full contact, and then put an angle on the end of the dog. So it looks about like this.






File a little and test your travel and after a few you’ll be able to tune one in about a minute. It doesn’t take much filing to get them where they need to be.

Bend your trigger wires to the shape you wish, degrease and paint/dip the trap and off you go with a properly tuned trap. Even Belisles aren’t ready to go out of the box. Thanks to whoever thought this up initially as it’s made my life easier!

That is a fantastic pictorial explanation. Thank you for posting it!

Noah,
That was Seldom Fails on here and YouTube.
He’s got other good ones too

Agree. Seldom makes excellent videos with great ideas.
He also has one on modifying duke safety’s so they stay in place. Well worth the watch.

I shoulda known it was Seldom, thank you Leary!

I just use my bench vise to restrain the bottom jaws when adjusting/testing my big body grips. Jaws open just enough to allow insertion when compressed gives plenty of clearance to test trigger movement but the trap can not close.

Great idea! Some of my older ones need some TLC. I hate hearing a snap after you’re walking away…lol
Thanks for sharing…

I’ve been going with factory on my Belisles forever. I wonder if one would get more sprung empty traps with beaver on such short travel?

BP, I haven't had issues. It's not like it's a hair trigger, it still requires the same amount of "pressure" so to speak, the travel is just less. I will say I don't suitcase many beaver

Might try it on a few to see how it goes.

Thanks

I would think you would have fewer missed rats?

BP, the guys from the City snapped this picture today as I was taking a little beaver out of a trap. This is how most of my beaver are caught. I gotta think that's pretty quick & humane

… nice neck catch

Love,

Savell

Excessive trigger travel is a problem and needs to be addressed.Never had a problem with that on belisle traps but have had that problem with other makes.
As far as how far a beaver will make it into the trap ,well that is achieved by how you set your trigger.
In some sets you definitely have to have the beaver double struck.

Good pics and info!

Thanks for posting.

An otter can still get pretty far through even with triggers tuned to 1/2" of travel. This one barely made it off the stand

Well done, CD!! The archives are a great place to look and learn.

I learned the extra long cable and chain from Claudie Taylor. RIP.

As contraptions go, that would be a pretty good one. I do something similar by putting the trap jaws in a vice. Or......while a bit more work, you can do the same with a couple wraps of baling wire (or rebar wire) around the jaws, then twist them off. Loops large enough the trap will set, but when they fire, jaws don't go far. Less travel than what the safeties allow.

Where I seem to differ from most is when tuning, I go to the clip. Most others seem to focus on filing the dog. I guess if you get there, it may not matter.

But if I was made king for a day, I'd revise the way the clip is made to include a little bump out of some kind at the clip's notch. The trap fires when the wire start to move......rotate......and they pry the dog up off the jaws. To get a sensitive trap means the dog has to be set on razor's edge of firing. With a bump out.......that would extend the radius at the clip to generate more travel from very little motion. Dog could be set deep so it would hold, but any rotation at all starts prying it up and off.

Only factory traps i've seen close to this were the old square jaw Victor 110's.

X2

Yes ...thx