Victor Forged vs. Regular Jaws

Noticed two types of Victor 1.75 coils and #2 coils on the trapping supply houses. #2 Victor regular and #2 Victor "forged jaws." Pictures don't appear to be cast and the jaws looks the same. Have the forged ones just been fire hardened or something?

I believe Phil Browns go to fox trap Is that #2 forged jawed Victor.

Not many fox around here. I'm wondering about laminating the jaws and trying them as coyote traps. The price is right. Kind of like on those Dukes that we're not allowed to talk about on here.

Dukes we’re not allowed to talk about?? I need to hear about these.

These ones...

Some will disagree but I say go for it. When I first began trapping in Oregon, I set up multi species lines and caught several coyotes in coon sets with duke 1.5s and blackberry jam. Perfect pad catches. No damage to the cheap traps...matter of fact I noticed the coon put the hurt on those traps more than anything.

I don’t get it...why can’t we talk about those? Inside joke?

Because they are a flat out copy of the MB-550 like many other trap manufacturers have copied each other over the years. And pretty much every thread mentioning the Duke 550 gets deleted.

Huh...learn something everyday.

I see...

I think I might have some of those. I know I have MB 550s, it’s late but I might pause my movie and go dig through some bins.

Honestly they are good traps. Probably the best Duke has ever made. But the MB-550s are still much better. The only quality parts of the Dukes in my opinion are the bigger jaw spread, the jaws, the trigger and the dog. The rest of the trap is typical Duke junk. I replaced the chain and swivels on these Dukes with good #3 chain from MTP and MB crunch proofs. I will run the ones I have on coyotes this year and see how they hold up. The end of the year will determine if I buy more of them or not. With that said, I will always be a MB customer. Their traps and swivels and products overall are second to none.

Agreed on MB quality. I love my 750s though I don’t use them much up here...yet.

In any case back to the Victors and if anyone has any input on the quality of them...

I’d run em. Maybe base plate them with a d ring and like you said laminate them. Bubble the jaw tips..

They are called forged jaw because the offset is made by pressing the jaw rather than grinding to remove metal. This makes a slightly wider jaw face and a stronger jaw. They work great.

Sleepy Creek offered a 1.75 with a forged. Actually looked like a nice setup, with the wide face. Don't know if victor did the same or not. Pics would help.

Thank you. Exactly the info I was looking for

The key word in Ross post is slightly. The jaw faces are still not that wide. I love the vics and run a lot of 1.75s which are almost the same as the 2s. I replace the chain and laminate, chain is weakest link on those traps. All there 1.75s and 2s are very similar except for the 4-coiled traps which have a much better pan system and base for bedding, but they are a bit pricey. I take the extra coils off these and they are my favorite mixed line trap.

I've used a lot of #3 Victor forged offsets( and had a few #2s). I like the #3 and have caught badgers, bobcats, coyote, fox, skunk, and raccoon in them. They are not the best choice for raccoon and skunk (too much room under the jaw).
The forging makes a nice round finish on the top of the jaw, not a sharp edge like the other brands. They laminate easily, the hardest part is forming the metal to the round arc of the jaw.

I’m a big fan of Victor traps. The #3 is their version of forged offset, the 2 is a standard jaw. I baseplated mine with 1/8” bases, and added new pans and MB chain with JC Conner swivels.

Lever looks a bit tweaked.....I'll stick with MB's.

Absolutely a bit tweaked. A few twists with the pliers straightened them out. Like I said, the MB550s I own are definitely superior. But I'll run these half dozen I bought and see what I think at the end of the year.

Like skunktrapper said, the forged are just as easy to laminate as any other trap. I've laminated piles of them.

Victor USA made... great traps.

You already have a forged jaw why laminate.
I only ever laminated when I tapped for the live market other then that I see no need for IOl.

Victor forge jaw , I agree with rammer and tncat on the trap,,, I use the 4s in a forge jaw offset dogless excellent trap for my part of the world. Going on 5 years.now...