Guys, how many of you still own and run the CDR 750s?
Those have got to be the strongest beaver trap ever created.
I can’t set those buggars without setters,,, and I can set the mb 750s on my knees without issues.
I’m always extra careful when using them… a guy could have himself some difficulty getting himself out if he got pinched,, even worse would be having your drowning rig all set up.

I have a dozen of them and haven’t been using them for about 5-6 seasons. The wire levers aren’t my cup of tea.

Great trap...still use them...I love the pre-setting feature with the pans.

I still use them. Very well made trap. I use them for wolf and wolverine. Only two drawbacks IMO. The Paws-i-trip pan is a weak spot that most wolverines destroy. The other issue is that the CDR is taller than the MB thus there is more space under the jaws when the trap is closed...........allowing the animal access to the restrained foot.

You can add paws-i-trip pans to others and get that pre-set feature. I got a bunch of duke 4x4 traps that I've done that to. Same pan will fit a bridger #3. I, too, like that set at the truck tuck the loose jaw under the pan feature.

I still run them

Yep
I’ve got 3 dozen. My go to.
If anyone has any they want to sell I’d be interested.

Yup still use them when I can get out trapping beaver. Presetting them is what I love most about the trap.

Yep like Karl Malden and his mastercard, i don't leave home without them if beaver trapping.

That is the coolest thing about them. Walk in with a pack full.
Mbs you have to wire a stick or something under the pan and suck to latch…..
I had a chain reaction in my pack before I learned.

New CDR any good?

If you are talking the WCS 7.5...NO springs will go out after heavy use...6 mo.s

Thanks,,,,

I've always considered the CDR the best beaver foot hold I've ever owned and I'd tried most of them. Hardly ever lose a beaver once any part of its foot is in one.

Had one this am on a nuisance job in CDRs.....I use a two trap set up on a long well swiveled chain.
The beaver had front paw in one trap and a back foot in the other.

That is a pretty cool feature. I've only have a couple and have been using them a couple years. Main trap for me is still the MB or TS.

Has WCS fixed the spring problems on their WCR7.5? I know people were shimming springs attempting to address the issues.

Not that I am aware of....Kurt Beaugard left a while back he was making them for WCS. Kurt knew about proper heat treatment to springs. I spoke with Mr. Hout about the spring issue years back and he took them off the market.

Great trap

Yep great trap only 6 of them only want to skin 6 a day

I still have some that I use in places that I'm not worried about theft. These are the ones Carl, Don and Randy made (CDR). That was a lot of years ago and the springs are still strong. Carl gave me a dozen of the prototypes to test. The prototypes had regular levers rather than the wire ones. Changing to wire was a big improvement.

All beaver footholds should be made with wire levers. That would improve/speed up every one of them....MB750s, B5s, TS85s, NoBS Extremes...

I have CDRs that are 23 years old and I haven't taken the best of care of them, but they all work as well as they ever did. I have had to replace the dogs with the really thick replacement dogs, but that's it.
Nothing like pulling a beaver in with the entire hock of the back foot in the jaws. Pretty nice when you pull one in held by only a couple of toes too.

That makes total sense. And here I had used them for wolf and wolverine.

Sure would speed up those levers lifting thru mud & muck...or snow.

My gripe with wire levers is spring replacement. If it ever becomes necessary, it is a much more difficult task, and if you can no longer buy good replacement springs, as is the case with CDRs, you are just out of luck unless you are a spring maker.
Regular levers, I can always find a spring that works even if I have to mod the trap just a tad, and replacement is easy, and I can adjust the trap power depending on what springs I use.
I have been adding helper springs to 85’s and they are plenty fast popping out of mud and muck.

With all of that said, my old original CDRs are still at least twice as strong as a brand new WCS version, and do not need to be any stronger. Until and unless something happens to make the springs weak, they work great.

What helper springs are you using on the TS85s?

I started with #2 springs. But they made the trap a bit too strong for my liking - was getting some damage on smaller back feet. So I took one helper spring off and made them 3 coil. I know that is unorthodox but it made the overall strength about what I liked, and my concerns about the trap being “unbalanced” when tripped did not seem to hold true, and they are working great. I also remove the dogless pan from the 85’s and replace it with a CDR PIT pan. Im going to pick up some no. 1 springs and try adding a pair of those to my next batch. Thats the beauty of standard levers, if I dont like the #1 springs I can go back to no.2 springs, or try some 1-1/2 size springs.

I do agree that wire levers are less surface area to push water and suction to the mud, and that has to be an advantage - at least theoretically - but maybe it is the bigger jaw spread - I am having noticeably less toe holds and misses with my modded 85’s than I did with the CDR’s. Maybe if the 85’s were wire levers it would be even less yet.