I was pondering yesterday while I was going through a pile of stop loss and sure hold traps I picked up a couple weeks ago as to which was preferred by you trappers who use them?

I grew up in the North Country of New York and had numerous marshes to trap, some of which I could get around with hip boots and some with a small canoe. I used a lot of B&L sure holds and Victor stop on feed beds and resting areas. Some of the marshes ran pretty shallow but had a lot of rats. I always like the B&L a little better but used both. I was a kid and used what ever was available to buy at the local trapping supply.

Since leaving NY is 1981, I haven't lived in areas that had big marshes and high rat numbers so haven't used the guarded traps much since. On occasion in some small ponds and shallow creeks incidental to coyote trapping. But the bulk of my rat trapping since then has been bigger streams and rivers where there has been ample water to drown with 1 1/2s, either LS or CS and the larger trap was better suited to deal with the occasional coon.

I don't know that I'll ever get to trap marshes again like I had as a kid and young man but I keep adding to my rat trap inventory as I come across reasonable deals looking forward to an opportunity to put them to work.

So for the sake of discussion, ruling out their vulnerability to coon, what is your preferred guard trap, B&L or Victor style? I always felt the B&L was more compact, didn't hang up as much coming out of the box or pack basket and was a little easier to set.

I like the B&L #1 sure hold traps but used whatever I had, so lots of #1 Victor stop loss too. I tried the larger #1 1/2 Victors stop losses thinking MAYBE they would hold up better to numerous coon catches, they did but it was a short lived deal. After a couple seasons jaws were gapped( back foot catches), light chain beat up and had pans damaged. Stop loss/guard traps/sure hold are fine traps for 'rats in the right conditions. But truthfully I spent more time doing repairs to these type traps than any other. Later, I switched to a strong #1 long spring(B&L) with a long well swiveled, heavier chain staked in deep water and had better results. Later, switched again to mostly #1 1/2 coils with same set up. Just what works around here with our coons.

I’ve used a couple of different styles. I run a lot of the Victor styles but you have to be careful when setting them to not tweak the pans to much otherwise they won’t fire. The Blake and lamb style I never cared for personally when working with wet hands and something slips and that spring keeps hitting you on the hand. And my personal favorite is the sleepy creek design as it’s simple and nothing really goes wrong with it

The 1-1/2 B&l surehold is my first choice when marsh trapping, but a rat will sometimes twist out of any trap if not drowned or tangled up where movement is impossible. A plain 1-1/2 LS of any make is a good rat trap
for marshs. BGs and colony traps are still the best insurance against
twistouts when you can find the appropriate sets to use them.

The B&L #1 LS sure hold is a GREAT little muskrat and mink trap for shallow water conditions. I prefer the B&L over the Victor Stoploss traps.

lol, the stoploss striker bar on those B&L's can sure Whack! your knuckles on a cold morning.

Guys, I forgot about the Duke #1 stop loss type traps I got some of these later on and really liked them.
2cylinder reminded me about a NO Fuss stop loss trap and I thought the Dukes were that. Tom Olson
helped work with the traps design...and did a good job.

They can sure do that. As soon as I read that I could remember how it felt on a cold morning.

I still use no.1 B&Lsurehold when trapping a marsh without a boat just because they're lighter. When boat trapping i go to 1 1/2s and no.2's.
I still have a no. I victor jump stoploss left from the sixties. I make an effort to use it once a year to remember those early days. It has to be
tuned just right with the strike bar configuration but is great for tight spots with no bedding room.