What is wrong with my connibears

I spent far more time today trying to unscrew my traps than actually setting them. Then I popped a nice hole in my brand new waders trying to fix them. 110 and 120 bridgers. The springs keep popping over to a side they don't belong on. The first one I thought was just defective but now half of them are doing it while carrying them out. It takes a solid 15 minutes of using maximum strength twisting and pulling to get them back over the corner and able to be set.

Is there a trick to this? What's the deal, I can't be wasting so much time trying to set one trap. I already bought 20 of these.

Picture for reference

Palm the corner of the trap and with the index and middle finger pull the loop in the position it is supposed to be for compressing.

Will that suffice or would you like a short video?

Waxed it happens just pull the spring in the bottom right corner over . Shouldn't be hard to do . I got about 4 dozen 110 and I store them in feed sacks folded up. I bet 50 % of them look like that when I get them out .

To reference from your picture. The right of picture the spring needs to be squeezed and needs to ailing with the one on the left side of picture. They need to be straight across from each other. I hope that helps.

They are junk . I'll pay the postage and give you 1 buck a piece for them LOL

That's just the nature of the beast. Barring some sort of special corner bend like on the belisles or the old montgomery and sleepy creek they all end up going around the corner.

JMO, but the ideal coni wouldn't have those angled corners but would be an inch deep by half inch wide U with the inside bent out enough to effect a magnum full closure.

If it’s easy to show me a video that would be great. I’m not a small dude and ever pulling and twisting with all my might doesn’t snap them back easily.

Just one more reason to buy Belisles. They can't do that!

Thanks but I know where it needs to go. It just doesn’t want to go. On any of them. It’s like the circle is too small to fit around the corner Bend

Wait til the dog goes through the eye too. Even more fun.

Give me a minute or two to retrieve one from the barn.

. You just gave him a heart attack Jayme!

Make setting hooks like are on double spring traps. Compress all the springs the night before. If you have a B2B bender, or whatever they are calling them now days, you can make them out of 16 penny nail shafts. One of those 10 inch mini bolt cutters work slick for cutting stuff like that.

LOL

I actually have a few I purposely did that to. When setting for squirrel in some of the tight spots along rooflines the spring can only go one way and sometimes the dog is pointing the wrong way for a tight to hole fit.

Just bend the dog parallel to the jaw, thread the spring around to the other side and straighten the dog.

Oh I know about that. That happened on one of my 220s today. That one was about 30 minutes of cussing and anger trying to unstick it.

What’s this about compressing the Springs the night before? You mean make some type of spring safety so they are all compressed and ready to go?

Yes, exactly.

1 of three good reasons to Buy Belisles

I appreciate you uploading the video. For some reason mine do not go that easily even when I do it the same way. I can get them to the corner and then it seriously seems like there isn’t enough room for the eye to slip over.


Obviously there is or wouldn’t have gone over it in the first place but wow. Maybe it is worth it to trash these and buy some Bleile’s

110s or 150s?

The 150s have a smaller eye and are junk.

This issue is more pronounced in 330s. It's why I won't buy anything else but belilse or similar Canadian bend jawed traps. Bridger 330s are the worst offenders with this.

Sometimes a rope setter is helpful on clearing the spring overrun issue.

For some reason the Cavens like to put those small eyes on the bridgers. I can see the arguement for small eyes holding the jaws closed tighter on a catch but in this case it's pure overkill that serves no legitimate purpose as standard eyes hold just as tight and kill just as effectively. Small eyes are nothing more or less than a royal PIA and why I don't and won't have a bridger coni.

Do like was said-before you go out to trap,hook your trapsprings.It will save you a lot of time out on the line.
If your hands are too weak to set a bunch of spring that have slipped around the frame-get some setters.

Or a pair of these

Try to use setters and wiggle it around. And then go buy Belisle's

I've had it happen a couple times with my belisles , that will make you cuss . When it happens with them I normally just replace the trap and take it to the vice

Have you tried slapping at them with your purse?

Single man's best friend lol

Yep^^^
Ive had otter escape from Dukes and Victors that did this. Belisles...no worries

Bodygrips are the most nasty, ornery, and dangerous traps we handle. Also some of the most effective. I don't have much problem with the springs being around the corners like that unless my fingers are already freezing before I have to handle them. It's just the nature of the beast. Cary them with the springs compressed and the safety on.

If it went through it will go back through with a little force. Once you get it to a corner swivel it around until you find the sweet spot that allows it through.It helps if you have the other spring loop up in the same corner- Ive had that happen at times with my BMIs but they have slightly bigger loops. Hard to explain and I dont have any Bridgers but I do know how small the loop is.

No you didn't, with Belisles

As said locking them down before hand is best
I have a large hook in a post in my shed.
I hook the coiled up loop end of the spring on the hook
Grab the trap a give it a good pull
It'll pop right around
I used to really hate that to
Hope this helps

I've been using the BG traps since 1964, starting Conibears, and I don't think I have ever had a make of the trap that didn't do that. I used to have fairly strong, but thin hands. I set them 110s, 120s, 210s and 220s without any assistance. My hands are getting so crippled up I have to use a setter for even the 110s. I have made safety hooks for the traps that don't come with them. Certainly save any future wear and tear.

Garry-

Yes it CAN happen , its very rare and when it does happen It is virtually impossible to get back without tools the way the corners are bent prevent it most of the time . But if the eye gets sprung a little it can happen and it dosnt just go back around them corners easy like regular 330s . I will qualify that I have never messed with any belisles other than 330 s . I own a dozen 280s but havnt set them much .. i own six dozen 330 belisles and am very well versed on their characteristics. I would think you had been around long enough to know that absolute statements like "that cant happen " rarely stand up to Murphy's Law

One thing I know is the more frustrated I get and the harder I try to be rammy with things like this, the harder it is to accomplish.

There is a mod that I use in reworking 110, 120, 160 and 220. bend eyes of spring towards the center a little bit and they will stop running around. the other method is to buy springs from Dave at Coon Creek trappers. He makes them that way.

Ron Marsh for the win.

When traps don't behave, adjust them.

Not on his website. Custom order?

Hahaha

Just a matter of knowing how much pressure to apply and where nothing is wrong with those traps really. Just like setting the bigger long springs you have rough them up to set them is does no harm to the traps.

Hobbie Trapper, that was a pretty Good demonstration , Kudos !!!

Be Kind Too Others !