Thanks mr caven, do they still have good lockup with the levers in that position?
I need another hundred mink and coon traps and have been looking forward to seeing these traps.

They have to have good lock up in that position, it is no different than fully closed. As long as the levers lay on the flat part of the jaw there is no mechanical advantage of a "ramp". It's more like pushing against a wall.

Back again. It's been a bit of a long day with phone calls, pm's, emails, mostly from folks not happy that we are changing the #1 1/2 Bridger! As stated in my original post we have the original design in regular and offset jaws in stock and will have the new style "Special" in regular jaws in September.

To try and answer some of the questions: A year ago when we printed our catalog I mistakenly dropped the price of the #1 1/2 Bridger $5.00 to $69.00 a dozen rather then leaving them where they were at $74.00. In the new catalog they are going back to $74.00 where I intended them to be last year. The #1 1/2 Bridger Special when they are available in September will be $79.00 a dozen.

Michael O'Brien, the pan is larger then on a Duke #1 1/2. Calvin on the rounded jaws...For better or worse I won't produce this trap with the sharp jaws even if it means losing some sales. I have spent my life in the trapping trade and all of our designs are made to take trapping forward not back.

As to using this for a fox trap it could be laminated and baseplated or used as is. I personally would add another mid-chain swivel. In field testing plenty of red fox, grey fox, bobcat, and coyotes were caught with it. Double jaw in the future? Perhaps but a lot of other irons in the fire right now to work on. We have another trap coming out in late September that a lot of people have asked for so stay tuned. Please see a new post that I will put up shortly on the #3 Dogless Briger. Thank you for your time. Tim Caven, Minnesota Trapline Products, Inc.

Thanks Tim, nice looking trap... good to see you guys are moving forward BUT it sounds like the amount of work to be done yet is still a mountain.

good to hear on the pan Tim, must be my eyes! lol

Mr. Otis, yes the lockup is still good in that position.

Add a mid-chain swivel, move the chain from end swiveled to base center-swiveled setup. Make the fox - coyote catches pull straight away from the center pressure of jaws instead of towards the off-chain side of trap. That's it... ready to go. The pan naturally sets just below level of jaws from factory. Make sure pan tension nut-bolt is to your liking, treat and set

That made me laugh so hard I spit coke out my nose.LOL

They look like a good trap and if the price is reasonable,as are the prices on the other Bridger products,it should become the new go to 1.5 trap.LOOK OUT DUKE LOVERS.LOL I agree with Austin,the weight and heft of the bridgers make them an excellent water trap,they will drown a rat in shallow water that most other rat sized traps wouldn't.

I cant wait to get my hands on some! The trap shed is going to be flooded with people selling their old traps to replace them with the new Bridgers.

:)Love them PAWS 1 TRIP Pans. Got them on all my 1 1/2 coil spring traps.

Looks good. Real good actually. God I wish they were #2s, center swiveled. I am so tired of reworking new traps to make them what they should be to start with. Traps have been designed wrong for a long time. Even the expensive ones. Using bigger and more springs to over come a design flaw, then laminating to overcome the bigger motors. Good to see others grinding the sides of the jaws vertical so they lock up and new traps being made right. Need to buy some more in the #2 size but know that whatever I buy, I will be buying a bunch of work and added expense in the shop.
Lot of difference in what I consider a good cat trap compared to a good cannine trap. A good cat trap will do both good. Something that works fine for a cannine might not pass as a cat trap. Haven't found a stock one yet that will. The design of this 1 1/2 looks to be on the right track.

As always, well thought out Tim. All the improvements to the Bridger body grippers is spot on also..

Love the look of them!

I really see no difference, i bought 1 bridger 1.5 for a feel of it on my line next season, my partner ran some on his trap line last season and the only problem was the bubble notched dogs would stop working after a while,

These jaws will lose coon just like the old monties. Don't base plate swivel them or you will really see what a coon will do with those wide jaws. Tim why would sharp jaws make a trap go back in time? Stupid coon trappers? LLL

I hope so. LLL

Why would baseplate swiveling have any effect on what a coon does? It seems to me that it would make the paw stay in the middle of the trap and not only be pulling against one side.

your perspective is 100% water coon trapping, and nothing else. the old monties were legendary for holding fox and coyotes, did not cut muskrat chests and turn a $10 fur into $4 hide like a lot of the trappers using "sharp jaw" 1.5s complained about this season past.please keep in mind the whole world out there is not interested in water-coon trapping only... we're talking diverse

I think I was clear on loosing coon. I hear guys saying a baseplate swivel and this trap being a great water/ coon trap and in my opinion (as a coon/mink trapper) it is NOT a good choice. It probably would be a good choice for other things but guys saying it is a good coon trap and then others buying on those comments maybe sorry. LLL

it's really tough for any one trap to excel at everything. all model traps are nothing more than a compromise of performance and price versus another... it's a sliding scale for all of them, no exceptions