I was going through my stuff today, getting them cleaned up and ready for season, and I ran across a black hole I still had.
I bought it at the national trappers association convention in Bloomington, Illinois..
This was roughly around the time that the lil griz was starting to gain traction.
I don’t think I even used the black hole..

Still a pretty cool concept

I remember them...never used one either.

I got a couple years ago in a box of traps. Haven't seen them in quite some time. Wild design for back then

Had a dozen that I used around farmers building. Done pretty good with them. I think I still have them.

Russ

Old Bill Rudy made those. Interesting way to make a common 1.5 coil into sort of a dog proof.
I could never get the ones I had to work well. Had to push the trigger to fire them like the pan would work if the pan was still on the post, but coons liked to pull up on the bait in the tube and not push it down. It was hard to keep the trap bedded when they pulled up on it.
I did play around with them awhile when I bought a few off of him. Had some success but not enough to be worth my time so I put the pans back on my coils and went back to trapping coon.

Jim

I have a few in the shed still. I caught a few coon with them, neat concept when they were introduced. Oddest coon catch I ever made was I had an old boar coon by the NOSE in a 1 1/2 coil with the Black Hole on it. I still have no idea how it happened. When I pulled up to that coon, I couldn't figure out what in the (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) the coon was doing until I walked up to it.

That is why I put that section of threaded rod on that frame,, to keep the trap from getting played around with and getting flipped… although I never did use it.. I thought that would help to stabilize it in soft mud or sand.

Looking at it now, I can see how it could be problematic… that long of piece would not be good should it freeze into the ground… and that stake could cause tangle issues.