Ok gang,, this question is for you guys who have used duke #4 coils.
I was thinking about buying half a dozen to add to my beaver footholds arsenal for cases were I could potentially experience trap theft.
I was told that they are very hard to set,, they don’t lie flat and that they require a substantial amount of grinding on the jaws because when they close they have to 3/16 inch gap.
Did he just run into a bad batch or is that typical for the duke#4?

I have a dozen Duke #4 four coils closed jaw and didn't have to do much tuning to get them to work well for coyotes. I have no experience with them for beavers. I don't think you want any offset traps for beaver so if they are offset traps you might look at the Bridger #5 coils closed jaw in either dogless or dog on or find Duke 4s with closed jaws. I don't think that they are any harder to set than an MB-550.

I hope that helps.

Schmattz

You might want to look at Bridger #3. Same spread and depending where you look, they are cheaper or same price.

Duke #4 hard to set ? You mean the square jaws that look like Bridger 3's ? Nah all mine are super easy to set . Now the 1.75's are more like what he's talking about imo. Gotta grind off a bit on the dog side jaws where they meet the leaves for them to set easy but other then that

This fall was my first time using them for beaver and I used them straight out of the box. No issues.

They are sprung pretty stout, as beaver iron should be, but I can set them over my knee. Never seen one with a gap in the jaws. As for laying flat the occasional lever might need a mild twist but they are better than most other coils I've tuned at being good to go right out of the box.

I'd suggest swapping in the PIT pans. I like to set them at the truck and tuck the loose jaw under the pan.

I looked the bridgers up and you were right bridgers are actually a tad bigger,,
6 3/4 on the bridgers to the 6.5 on the dukes.
The 2 coil #3 bridgers are about 2 bucks cheaper.
I might go that route..

I use Duke #4s and have never had an issue. The jaws close up without a gap and they are pretty strong.

Thanks for the advice guys

I sort of like the Duke #3 better. I just have more (total) confidence in them but I do 4 coil them for beaver. They start out as my coyote traps and once dirty I add the spring for beaver.....jk

If they have an offset, he ordered them that way. The loose jaw does ride a little high on some of them though.