Guys what is your 110 mink boxes look like…. How do you stabilize them?
I was going to originally turn all my 110s into 120,, but trying to get the eye spring right is kinda difficult and I’m pitching the spring eye too tight.
I was going to go with the 120 because it’d be easier to stabilize with 2 notches cut out for the 2 springs for stability.

What is your setup using just the 110s??

Drill out the rivet on the non spring side and install a 2 inch stove bolt.
Make a slot in one side of the box to accommodate the spring and drill a hole in the other side for the bolt.

This picture is from Norway (not my design). I don't have details on box size or hole size. Maybe you can modify for 110-

We just use plastic field tile. Most times don’t even bait, mink just love a tunnel.

You know, that’s not a bad idea…
I know exactly what you’re talking about.

Never used them for mink, but for marten when I use 110s I either use pots or use the T stabilizers I use with pots, with a box. Just a T made out of two strips of 3/4" plywood with the cross piece being the right width to pinch between the jaws when set. Rather than using a T if you made the bottom of the box stick out an inch or two you could easily just screw a strip of plywood the right width to the bottom of the box or if your boxes were tall enough to have enough room you could do it back inside the box. I originally designed the Ts (actually look like a lower case t, I'll try and get a picture later) where one end pinches the pot to the tree when you put a screw in the other end, and you then push the trap onto the crosspiece. Due to having multiple brands of traps that are different widths between the jaws when set, I made the Ts with the two pieces different widths, for different brands of traps, so I can grab a T and use whichever leg is the right width for the trap I have in hand, just by turning it 90 degrees.

I prefer 120s, but started out with 110s and still use them at times when I run low on 120s.

bearcat. Any chance you could provide a pic? Thanks.

roofing slices for putting the sheets of plywood together for bottom mounting brackets

I would modify the box to hold the 110 before I drilled out a rivet and added a bolt. You could add a bolt to the box that goes between the jaws of the trap. You could add a strip of wood, an L bracket. Lots of things you could do and not mess with the trap.

Here is a pic. That narrower strip that is the upright on the T fits most of my 120s, I just flip it over and turn it 90 degrees if I am using a trap that fits it. Hope the picture explains better than I can with words. I just took it on the shop floor.

You could just take a single strip and screw it to the bottom of your box if you were using all the same size traps. But you might have to extend the bottom of the box past the top if your box wasn't tall enough slide the trap over the strip before you pressed it down on it.

Thanks

That’s pretty slick

That is a slick design. I’m going to make some of those up. Might make the center of both pieces attached with a bolt/washers/nut type assembly so I can turn the two strips to fold “flat” when not using and I could fit a jillion of them in a bucket to store or transport easier than a fixed attachment or permanent “X” style assembly. I would only need it to be opened and cross for the set to stabilize. Wow this is great stuff.
Thanks for sharing that pic and idea. That will be very helpful for my mink and rat line. Heck even for 160s and 220s I could see using this for coon trails. Very cool!
Jim

I like your original plan of going with 120s.
I don’t know how big your mink are, but there’s a reason we can’t use 110s here. I’m sure lots of you have seen why too. After skinning one up here in Norway House yesterday, they’re friggin massive the further north you go. They said that’s a normal size, lots of fat under the saddle too…..lol

This Is exactly what I have done. Works good.

Not a fan of 110s for mink, myself. 120s with wood pans, for me.

I agree. Quicker kill with a 120 and no stabilizer problem.

If I was going to go after mink with body grips in a box..........it would be with either 120's or 155'a.......a trap with 4 way trigger........trap tuned it to stay set but fire easy (the fault is almost always in the trigger clip). Then I'd offset the trigger wires off to one side, and then slip on a piece of cardboard.......or a piece of corrugated plastic sign.........with a 2 inch hole cut in it off to far side away from trigger wires. Hole cut low and off to one side to increase leverage and sensitivity so if mink touches it all all, likely to fire. Along lines of this.......except round hole vs corner snipped off. Same concept as a paddle trigger, but vertical vs horizontal. Only way past trap is thru that hole.



This video is from 13 years ago, so pre-dates AI generated nonsense. Gives one an idea how a mink is going to push thru a hole. Head and neck first....to shoulders. If that hole is in a piece of cardboard offset to one side, almost certainly going to fire the trap as soon as it touches it. That 50mm chicken wire is slightly smaller than 2 inches. If you think 2 inches is too large, go 1 3/4". If bait in the back is what they want, they will likely try it as long as hole isn't too small.



Then next thing is to decide if you also want to put on an entrance door to filter out any incidentals. That would also have a hole......but only 3 inches or so.

that speaks volumes . . .