Best foot hold for multiple species

I have an area the land owner wants trapped that’s filled with red fox, but would like to be able to use them for other species as well . Anybody have a favourite all around foot hold ?

Everyone is about to tell you 550 Duke or bridger.......

I am a MB guy but any number 2 size trap would be my general trap.

i would think any #1.75 would do well for a mixed bag trap

Northwoods 1.75 square jaw.

mb450 or 550.

I agree with number 2 size trap. I have used the #2 Northwoods since they have came out. I have since added a few Bridgers to the mix. I like the MB 550's but haven't put any of them in the ground yet.

I am a fan of making a set with a particular animal in mind and using a trap thats of the proper size and design for that animal. Since no two trappers agree on what that is just use whatever you got. You will form your own opinion as you gain experience. Wait another day and read through this post you will see what I mean about opinions. Unfortunately you only get experience by going out and setting traps.

MB-450, Duke 1.75, Bridger 1.75 are good options

I know you asked about foothold but what about some snares or body grips?

Look at the bridger 1.5. A little bigger than the 1.75.

One's made of steel,


Montana 3 fully modified, coon,cat,fox, coyote.
One and a half coil spring for fox and coon any brand.

1.75, #2 are good choices.

Huh? A 1.75 is bigger than a 1.5.

#2 Bridger is my choice for an all around trap.

Not the bridgers. And the 1.65 is bigger than both of them.

According to their website, the 1.5 and 1.75 have the same inside jaw spread and the 1.75 has a larger outside jaw spread. But yeah, the 1.65 is bigger than both which doesn't make much sense, lol.

Hi Tom
We have to use RCRs on that side of the district here kill snares arnt legal for K9s . I have a few of them but I wanted to try out some foot holds

footholds also have to be offset or laminate/ padded

What do you mean by an "all around" foothold trap? There's no single trap that would be good for beaver and would also make a good muskrat trap. A good wolf trap isn't the best tool for catching fox (although fox are regularly caught in wolf traps in the Far North), and a fox trap would only educate a wolf. If you identify the other species you will pursue, you might get better responses.

When using tools generally, those made for a specific task are usually best at doing that task. A more general tool is good for various tasks but specializes in none of them. Traps are tools. The best traps for fox are usually designed for that critter.

If I wanted a trap primarily for fox, but useable for other species not including coyote, beaver, and larger, I'd get a dozen coilspring traps, size 1.5 to 2. I think you could take coons, muskrats, mink, and ermine along with the fox with these.

Jim

What "other species" are you referring to? No way to answer your question without that info.

James, my #3 duke is my coyote trap first and when it gets dirty it is my beaver trap of choice. But i do agree with you, the right trap for the specific species is the best choice.......jk

#2 longspring

The 1 1/2 Duke coilspring has caught the largest variety of furbearers for me but I would never target some of them with the 1 1/2. I have caught mink, muskrats, raccoon, otter, beaver, fox, fisher, porcupine, skunks, and weasels in them. The new ones have very strong springs and hold well. I have heard where they have held the occasional coyote but would never intentionally set one for them or beaver or otter. Good enough trap for me for the smaller critters, though.

Probably fox and smaller

That’s very cool MnMan
I have a couple dukes as well

Agreed.

All my traps (about every brand made) in that size range have been traded in long ago. Duke 1.5s exclusively for me.

Yes, I have money for better traps but I have yet to find a trap in that size range that holds better (or even close to the same) than the Duke 1.5.

This man here is right always been my favorite trap named my son northwoods even

MB 450

hard to beat duke 1 1/2 for fox or mink size animals. you can spend more but you wont catch more cause of it

I was thinking along those lines too. He didn't specify what other types of critters he wanted to trap.
Personally, I had some 1.75 Victors that would be a great coyote trap, but a little too much power for a fine-boned fox, IMO. They are too much trap for mink, rats, and would probably not even fire on a little weasel. I would go with a 1.5 Victor coil spring. And they are a great coon trap on a drowning rig. I've caught and drowned a number of otter in a 1.5 too. Though, I would prefer the 1.75 Victor for otter.

Years ago I even used them to catch coyotes until I got on the internet and found out it can't be done. Imaging my embarrassment, made me wanna go back in time and release all them. Only thing I ever did was weld the j-hooks and bubble weld the jaw tips. Thank goodness I was set straight.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume he's not talking about wolves or mountain lions.
I like the Bridger 1.75 with strong springs. Good for everything from muskrat to coyote.

Doesn't make sense, but I can say that I learned something new today.

I use Jake traps for raccoon in areas prone to wind blown sand to keep them working. I have to loosen the pan tension a bit. Never had one slide out of those rubber laminated jaws.
As far as bigger targets, I don't know if it would hold a wolf or a small black bear, but it wouldn't surprise me if it did.

If all thing were perfect, price didnt matter, fur was all worth the same as to equal the target of species. I would go with a MB 550. For my area that would cover anything that roams here that I can legally trap. Coon, cat, fox, yote, badger.

If price matters, I could still run that Bridger 1.75 OS that I ran for a lot of years, and I have my boy running now. Caught lots of yotes in1.75 Bridgers and Dukes both.

MB750 Wolf