Quick question, who do y'all feel makes the most balanced #1 coil spring ? Because the Duke #1's are just way too over powdered

I like the square jaw Bridger #1

I think there are only about three options for new #1 coilsprings. Duke, Bridger, and Wolf Creek. Bridger has the heaviest built trap frame, and the design is such a that pan goes all the way down to the frame & the jaws might grip a little higher on the paw. Might be an advantage at times with coon size animals. Duke has less room under the jaws and the pan doesn't go all the way down when the trap fires, which limits how high a catch you can make, but also gives very little room for an animal to work it's paw. Wolf Creek I haven't used, but it seems similar to Duke. Maybe a bit lighter springs. Might be the one I would try if muskrats were the main target and I wanted to use a new #1 coilspring.

Over powered for what? Great little coon trap.

I have a bunch of North woods #1's and have caught a wide variety of animals with them. Yes they are a strong little trap but never had any issues using them.

Favorite is a Northwoods,, But love them dukes also..

I just modified a Northwoods #1. It came out pretty nice. Offset and laminated the jaws, made a baseplate and dring for center swivel, reinforced the dog, made new spring pin and 4 coiled it using the #1 main springs and a pair of #3 add on springs for the #3 bridger. Sets nice and flat. It’s a quick little bugger!

For anything, why that little trap has that much dang power is beyond me I rather get caught into a #3cs than thos little things that and I've had some rat trappers tell em horror stories about them

Nice ! Any pictures? And what for ? If I remeber right you guys can use those little traps closer to the road right ? Remember someone making a post a good while back about using those ...or 11's for dry and trapping fox and stuff and think that was the reason

That's my favorite #1 coilspring. I remove the pan and replace it with the pan from a Duke #1 1/2 coilspring. The Duke gets a Wild River Trap pan.

All my footholds are set up on one-way drowners. The #1 coil is, IMO, the perfect trap to get that muskrat or mink away from the bank and down to deeper water. Reduces predation issues and allows me an extended check up to four days. This is primarily for that set where you've got shallow water (too shallow to drown the catch) for a ways before deeper water can be had. Example: small pocket at the bank. Two feet of two inches of water, then drops off to whatever. A 'rat or mink in a #1 1/2 will not always be able to drag that weight to deeper water. They don't have much problem with the #1.

Pic: stock Bridger #1 upper left hand corner, Bridger #1 with Duke pan upper right, and Duke #1 1/2 coil with stock pan below. This works for me.

Reckon I'll see about getting some of those but would like to hear about the wolf creeks too

I didn’t have a reason for it, curiosity I guess! I’m sure it would hold on to whatever gets in it! I do remember someone posting about the little traps.

If you’re talking about spring tension, just take a torch to the springs. You can weaken them by doing that.

thats awesome, I like that.. Im picking up a couple dozen this year for rat/mink traps and was just thinking how I could modify the pan.. I like that idea..Your timing could not be better, lol thanks

just to add Ive always been a big fan of #1 1/2 longs for mink rat traps close to deep water but never liked using them in shallow water because they could not always get that trap to the deep water and Id end up with bitten rats..

Shorter levers give less leverage and make the trap springs seem stronger.

I saw a Northwoods #1 coil at a convention one time, the guy was challenging people to try to set it with just your hands. I don't think anyone could do it. It had 4 coils of #2 music wire springs on it. That's the only over powered #1 coil I have ever seen. I've never seen an over powdered one like you mentioned Wolfie. I'm not even sure why you'd put powder on them.

I caught an otter in one when lived in Oconto County.

Why a coilspring? jillions of critters caught in #1 longsprings, easy to set too.

Years ago, I had some Herters #1 coil springs. Wish I'd kept them. They weren't very powerful, probably be a collector trap now.

I never saw that #1 dukes were "to strong". Strong yes, but I use them for rats and mink without any problem at all.

I took duke 1.5 pans, trimmed the lever side a touch with tin snips and you have a nice big pan on then.

I do tend to think that some #1 coilsprings tend to have more spring strength than they really need for the animals that are usually targeted with them. I've put my hand in both Bridger & Duke #1's, and subjectively, to me, they grip more tightly than a 1.5 coilspring does. Given that that coons tend to be the largest animal commonly targeted with #1 coils I'm not sure why that's the case. I do think either laminations or a bit less spring strength wouldn't hurt either Duke or Bridger #1 coils.

I'm no trap guru, but can't you cut a coil off the spring to "weaken" it?

Less coils usually means stronger.

No you can't, you need both ends of the trap spring to mount the springs.



Less holding power with a spring only on one side to hold the animal. A #11 is more comparable to a #1 coil, but they may just hold even better.

Here's an example or taking away a coil....

Say each coil deflects 1 degree for every ten pound of pressure. If you have 2 coils with ten lbs applied, you'll get 2 degrees of deflection, 3 degrees for three coils, ect.

Once again, it reads like you started a post with no actual experience using them. I've caught 100s of coon in them and #11s. My go to traps in shallow water coon trapping. These horror stories you speak of by other trappers. Good first hand knowledge.

Carroll Black had some #1NW that he four-coiled at a convention in the 80s and very few people could set them, mostly because of the short levers. He claimed he never lost a coon in one.

That was the thing with CDR's, they were/are very strong but thos small wire levers made them hard to get hold of. I could set them over my knee but nver would, especially out in the water.. I knew if I got one of them on me I was screwed. I have a few mb750's just as strong as CDR's but I could set them fine because of the bigger levers..