155 conibear Have I wimped out ??

Picked up a few 155 Dukes the other night for a few mink sets that a coon might stick its head into.

Have I gotten soft and wimpy in my old age ?? Or are these little boogers hard for other folks to set by hand ?? Getting that first spring down and hooked is.........a bit trying.

Is it just me ??

It's not just you.

I recently got some new duke 110s and I swear those springs are strong enough to hold a bear.

I can't attest to the 155's but a young trapper I've been working with picked himself up a new Duke 330 that I set while helping him out. Those springs were tougher to compress than the ones on my Belisle's.

Getting older, arthritis, just easier... I didn't wimp out, I got smarter. I have the RTS Setter Body Grip Trap Setting Tool, awesome tool! I also have One Hand Setters for my MB550's

Only Duke bodygrips I have are some 330s, and they have stout springs on them. I've been told that they won't last like the expensive brands, that they will get weak much faster, but so far I haven't noticed it.

I do have a few old Duke 120s I got used, never noticed them being hard to set, but I bought a couple dozen Bridger 120 magnums, and those little buggers are a bear to set by hand, especially the first couple times. They have shorter springs than the old Dukes and other brands of 110/120s I have, and that makes them harder to compress by hand, plus they are just stout.

Yep, felt the same way strut....those 155s are tough! have killed some big coon in my boxes with them.
The newer Duke 330s are the same way..stout!

OK. Glad to hear it may it just be me.........

I've been told I have a crushing handshake and I have to be mindful of myself. But those doofy little 155's......... !!! That first spring had me about ready to curse a few times.

Seems like the compact springs on my 5 inch are rough to set compared to a 160 or 220

I think you're on to something.

Maybe it's that the springs are short and there's no way to get any leverage on that first one.

Kind of like the strength of the Montgomery 1 1/2 coils. Were they that strong or was it because the levers barely stuck out much for any leverage? You could barely get the skin of your palm to grab them LOL.

I think a little bit of both. LOL !!!

Those old Monty 1 1/2's were just pretty awfully stout. Yep.

The smaller body grips are harder to set (by hand) than the 330's in my opinion.

Get the shorter bodygrip setters for the small traps. Its a bit awkard, or doesnt even work on some traps if you try to use the full sized 330 setters on them.