Can you do anything other than buying a pit pan to get pan tension on them? Was thinking about running them on my beaver line but they have zero pan tension. Thanks.

If you move the springs toward the dog side it helps some. That's about all I ever did.

Mac

Miles trigger

Try taking two pairs of pliers and grabbing the trap dog....put a slight bend upward on the end. Now set your trap and test to see if pan tension has increased.

Nice tip, Mr. W91. A small chainsaw file would work well, I recon.
Matching angles filed with a flat file works too.
Or just file the notch and bend the dog a tad.
I found bending the dog alone didn't help much.
Thanks

The deeper the Miles trigger is the more pan tension you can achieve
But it does take a rather small triangle file to do the pan
PIT pans are much better though

There is a good chance that there have been more beaver caught with a #4 LS then any other trap. At one time that is all there was other then New House traps that don't have pan tension. Just use them.

if you sit them down just a touch too hard they trip so no I'm not gonna just use them, That's why I'm asking the question. Sounds like I'm gonna get a few pit pans, but until then I'll keep rolling with my 750s.

I use a small cell sponge cut to fit under the pan in sandy sections of the river
Cut thick enough they give a little pain tension, even more when they are wet

Ill give that a try, never thought about applying pressure from the bottom. Thanks.

So if you don't like the truth. Good for you. I would bet money more beaver have been caught in no tension LS traps then 750s, but press on.

Mark, I agree that and the #3 dbls traps

I have caught hundreds in them, if they are too hair triggered, like you describe, I would bend the dog a little, otherwise nothing. Now a lot of them old longsprings the dog is no longer flat on top, through years of rust and dyeing they get bumps or domed. Take a flat file and hit it a few licks to make the top flat and the end also, this will make the pan set centered and can increase pan tension if the pan is riding on just a tiny portion of the dog.

I have a dozen and a half #4's I installed dogless pans on and I have full control if tension, no floppy pans.

1 min in is a good shot of it...

https://youtu.be/DkDZCF0jtBg?si=fn7u77qaHGxveqAm

Hammer Trapline Products did it first, Gary inspired me.

It is all there was. I trapped my share of beaver in 3 and 4 LS. I never felt if I had more pan presser I would have caught him. I was catching plenty.

Just as with all things, they worked, but could be better, and mine now are. I put NO BS pans on Victors, baseplated too. Muskrat and mink cannot set mine off, we don't have a spring rat season here, and I don't catch them.

What do you care if a guy mods his traps? You paying for it?

Miles trigger. You can wrap wire through the pan eye too, that stiffens em up some and takes some of the slop out too. Problem with the miles trigger is a year of good use always seemed like you had to touch em all up. And I hate working on, and tuning traps all the time.

You can use a foam under-all.



But the gold standard is a PIT pan. They’re spendy, but they make those old double longs five times the trap. Well worth the expense.

If you want a dog.

I never did it but there is a way to bow a piece of a steel tape measure section under the pan to stiffen it.