Yes, Jim really is a very likeable guy. And knowledgeable. I really enjoy talking beaver trapping with him. I'm still waiting for the book and video.

Reminds me of Obama.

Kirk, as you well know, I have met you, but not Jim. I own one of your cages ( And in all fairness it was an older one of your designs ) I have tried to stay impartial in all my writings because I've had some really great success with Jim's traps and their improvements have only made them better.

I have mentioned several times that I really enjoyed talking to you and that there is no way that you do not build a great product. There are way too many people on this site that have had great success with your cages to think otherwise.

I may have given this same type of speech to Jim, but now I'm giving it to you. Comparing your competitor, ( And one time partner? ) to a man who clearly dislikes all of us small businessmen, is uncalled for. There has not been one piece of legislation that has come from Barack Obama that has done anything but hurt you, me, Jim, or any other ADC guy, whether full or part time.

P.S. Can you tell that you've struck a nerve? Quit worrying about Jim and do YOUR thing. The competition between to the two of you may have been the best thing that has happened to our industry in a couple of decades. Not only for those of us which own your products, but for you and Jim specifically. Life is short. Live it to the fullest!

Paul W.

I guess the reason I have a peave is because I see what your bias won,t allow you to see. Eric Arnold had the best voice when he said "The best thing to do is purchase 1 or 2 traps from each manufacturer and see what works best for your style and usage."

I was at Jim's demo at the NTA. I watched as he misled and misdirected the audience. If this forum would allow, I would be happy to point out the high points.

Apparently you don,t care who gets shafted or misled to get a purchase.

Kirk, since I have no idea what might have happened between you and Jim, I can only tell you what Rick, David, and a million other of your well satisfied customers have said: They love your traps and want to tell everyone they know how satisfied they are. I certainly don't doubt them for a minute.

Now here is something I do take offense with: Yes I do care if someone gets shafted or gets misled by any purchase that I recommend. ( And I'm guessing Rick, David, etc., would feel the same )

If the Comstock cages that I purchased from both Jim and Tomahawk ( At full price, I might add ) were not everything I expected and more, I would tell the world. I am more than pleased with my Comstocks, so do not tell me I've been shafted or misled.

All I can add, I guess, is what I learned in 1st year salesmanship in high school; " Every time you mention your competitors name, you sell one more product for him, and one less product for you."

How would you know the difference, you don,t even own a trap I have made.

Hey sqs, I just loved your post and had to say so. What many of the readers of T-Man don't understand is that although the competition between Kirk and Jim might be getting a little tiresome to read, this is one of the best things that has happened to us ADC guys in a long time.

I have done my best to quiet things down between the two of them, but perhaps I'm taking the wrong approach. If one of them was to discover the perfect cage for coyotes, for example, I might be able to add six figures to our business.

As usual, this story has a personal approach. I met my personal enemy at a wedding after both of us had married and moved away. We got seated at the same table, discussed the old days, and left as friends. He had a heart attack shortly thereafter and I thank God for the chance to mend fences. May everyone be so fortunate.

Sorry Rick, you're right. I really tried to be nice but obviously Kirk is not selling enough traps.

Kirk, after telling you that I met you , enjoyed our talk, bought one of your cages, been as nice as I could, let me really tick you off! I can buy a Comstock for considerably less money, it will be a lot shorter, and will catch everything that I set it for. ( If you don't change your attitude, I'll send Rick and David a Comstock for woodchucks )

Wink....you nailed it....competition between trap makers is great for us. I just can not purchase a product from someone that trashes a competitor on a message board. And, I need to buy a truckload in the next 90 days.

I'm starting to think this is a setup, a fake feud to keep the names out there.

I happen to be one who owns both brands and plans to buy more of both. But just let me say that the "wire trigger" isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread. Hanging wires in the face of an animal is at least as troublesome as a pan and you can cover/hide a pan. Not so 14/16 gauge wire in the face.

So why buy one of the wire trigger traps? For me it's the power doors and the walk through design. I would buy the traps with a treadle/pan in a heartbeat just because of the quality.

The only other factor is the beaver cages.

The Comstock beaver cage is a stroke of genius. Beavers seem drawn to it anywhere there is a channel.

Kirk's two piece beaver trap is the same for castor mounds. It's just a natural. It works.

In ADC work, cages play an important role, especially for animals such as beaver that would otherwise require strong, potentially dangerous hardware.

The competition is a great thing. The sniping just sucks.

The best cure for a setup to get names out there, is to mention every brand...which was done early in this thread. This is more likely the result of the strong personalities that dominate the trapping community. As a group, it seems that people are very competitive, which is fun. But, when professionalism goes out the window....people sink to a new low.

Do you want to play with them or catch them?

Your Comstock is not powdercoated, cannot be fitted with a four way trigger. Considerably smaller trap in a coon sized trap. (Good in forced situations but lacking in others) Doesn,t have the ability to hold the doors open easily for a removal on the swing down models. The way the trigger works the animal has to move the trigger further fire. Will get some back outs.

Ours are generally easier to set.More open appearing to the animal. We offer more traps for larger animals. We offer traps with internal firing components as well as external. We have more varied design. We have traps with powered doors with wire triggers and pan triggers similar to a foot hold.

As far as I know no other offers pan triggers with powered door traps.

Our beaver traps have bar doors.I don,t use 2x2 wire cause customers have complained of muskrat escapes of the smaller ones. Have guillotine models as well as swing down. We also offer side door models.

As far as I know, we are the only manufacture with a current patent on a wire trigger mechanism and a patent on a powered guillotine door trap.

I can get you, with quantity a lesser price, for a lesser quality trap. You need to order a bunch, cause I don,t carry them, but I will take your order and make some.

Here are some of my beaver traps on the first check. He had three traps.


The largest weighed 64Lbs

It all gets back to what Eric said: Try traps that are similar of each manufacture and see which works best for you.

We all have different traps for different application.

Rick...What is the advantage of Comstock's squirrel traps? Jim was telling me about them last year...but honestly...I do not get it, yet.

I have not ordered any yet but have seen jims squirrel traps. They are built very well. The advantage that I see is that you can get a squirrel coming in or going out of a hole. It is a double door.

This is a Trap I use for a bait cage in other traps. It is used here for squirrels and skunks It can be made 6" longer for double door.

Trigger is bumped or pushed.

Personally, I don't like all the mechanisms on the outside of the trap. If we just let them sit in the garage, it would be fine. But, when every inch of the truck counts, they need to stack nicely.

Why is powder coating important? Are you zinc phosphate treating them first? Why not use stainless?

I can put mechanism inside, but anything inside takes away from openness appearing to the animal and makes easier setting as well as trigger adjustment and replacement, if needed. I just lay the trap on its side. Rail only sticks up 2".

Will offer a swing down version. Later

People like it cause a 6 year old can set.

The mechanism and dog are stainless, so is the firing spring.

When a 6 year old can set the trap, my customer can too. That is a negative.

If you lay a guillotine trap on the side for transport, does the door fall out? Do they get lost? I like them stacking like legos....there is an idea worth patenting.

Why paint the trap? If only parts of it are stainless, the rest will rust when the paint scratches off. Does not sanitize as easily. Paint smells for awhile.

Do coons like the openness of the trap....or the close quarters of one with the internal mechanisms? We need to run a coke/pepsi challenge to figure that one out.

I've used and owned a large variety of traps for coons all have been sold within the last couple of years and I now use only Williams and Comstocks and it will take a hard hit in the head to get me to change from them.