coon trap preferenc?

I'm finally ready to rock and role. It only took me 8 months of fighting with our state DWR, county, and city but I'm fooly "LOL" licensed and ready to operate.
Coons are starting to become prominent in my area, just wondering which cage traps hold up best, the ten I started with are completely dead after 3 to 4 coons.
I'm going to get 20/25 more and want to get my money worth out of them. I would rather pay more for those that would hold up.
Any advice would be appreciated!!!!!!!

www.advancedtrap.com

The best bar none! The only coon sized cage I own.

I have watched his videos and they look good, just haven't talked to anyone who has used them. thanks for the info warrior....

David, it looks to me like all of them will hold coon. Which one do you use?

Tomahawk Pro-model traps. Will hold coons but even more importantly will stand up to abuse from techs, yourself and the bumps and knocks they will pick up while in use. Pan retention system is first rate as well as strength of trigger rods. Have yet to perform any repair on one!!! And if you want the spring assisted doors they have Comstock. Speaking of Comstock traps I bought four of their new pan less squirrel traps here at the WCT and they look slick! I would also like to say that Greg, Jenny, Kyle and the whole "Tomahawk family" has been a pleasure to work with, never had an issue with orders, and they support the industry by attending trade shows, donating product for raffles and much more.

I use Tomahawk Pro and Safeguard Pro models for cages that use pan/treadle triggering and Comstock and Advance for wire trigger traps.

They all get the job done well.

I bought 20 Tomahawks this past year and while the structure is sound all the handles and clips are gone. Lost a handle and clip that holds release door with first catch in it.

I will probably buy more because I like to support Wisconsin companies...but I love my advanced trap raccoon multicatch and my safeguard looks the same as the day I bought it.

I've noticed that. I have Safeguards that are 5 years old and still look brand new. I wonder how they do that.

I also really like the way the release door works on my safeguards. Much better than the clips on Tomahawk.

Nate, I agree wholeheartedly. The rear release door was a big selling point for me.

On a "wish list" kind of thing, I wish Safeguard would beef up the springs on the doors. That would make for an excellent trap.

Comstock custom traps.

I like my Comstock for woodchucks but had way to many raccoons break out of it.

Nate I can't see a coon getting out of a Comstock. Those springs are so strong I sometimes have trouble setting the darn thing. Now as far T.hawks go they must have really changed in the last five years because they ones I have I only use for rabbits and skunks they are just one step above Harbor Freights and havajunks. Kirk and Jim's traps are fortresses and I like them both along with and you won't believe it but my original Miller Mfg Little Giants I bought twelve years ago. The only coon to ever get out of the Miller was one that pulled the lock bar back, I designed a positive lock for them so none escape now. I shouldn't have said that, I know what's going to happen next coon job.

In Jim's defense he did tell me that they had problems with the early traps and mine is a early addition. They sent some clips for me to install to help with that problem but when I went to install the clips I almost cut my finger off so decided to not try that again.

I do not have any of the newer Comstock traps but I have heard they are revamped and supposed to be great. I am looking forward to seeing some next time I take a trip up to Tomahawk Facility.

Funny, I was a bloody mess too by the time I got those clips installed. I think we should have sent Jim the emergency room bills.

Thanks guys, I think between the bunch of you I have at least one new column for WCT. I actually experienced everything you guys said and came up with a cure. ( And it ain't just bandages )

I think that I should also mention that I have a small tear in my eye. Somebody named Holt, a few posts back, printed a paragraph that would have been something that I would have printed, nearly word for word, had he not beaten me to it. ( This sudden NWCOA/WCT thing is mystifying, but great! )

I use them all. I got more of his universal models than anything else. My preference is the two door model with a guillotine on one end and a spring door on the other. Reason I can check from a distance if need be plus the guillotine is much easier as a bait/release door. I also have several of his standard double spring door. The multi catch is the shizzle when dealing with cats or mama coon and kittens, many doubles with that one. I even put his tube beaver trap into use for coon, cats and dillers. Plus a few prototypes such as one of his single door ring locking. I've even used the square beaver for dry land critters.

My experience with the Tomahawk trap company this summer left a very bad taste in my mouth. Not too sure I will deal with them again. The quality of trap I got from them was fine. But the customer service was pathetic.

The best thing to do is purchase 1 or 2 traps from each manufacturer and see what works best for your style and usage. Safeguard and Tomahawk both have entry level and professional level models and there is a big difference between the two. I have a entry level raccoon sized Tomahawk that I wouldn't consider standing on, while I wouldn't think twice about using the professional model. Heck, I've even stood on a professional model squirrel trap from Tomahawk without doing any damage to it (and I'm not a skinny guy like Dirk).

Look for 16 ga or smaller 1/2 x 1 1/2 wire and stay away from most of the 1 x 1. While a raccoon will have issues damaging 12 ga 1 x 1 wire, it still has about an 8 inch reach outside the trap allowing it to pull whatever it can get its paws on in or scratching up roofs and walls. To stop this you need to make sure the coon cannot reach anything. So plan to install wire around the outside of the trap or place it on a board they cannot reach past. Make sure you have the strength to set the trap as the spring strength is the number one complaint I hear about with the Comstock traps (I only have the beaver model until my raccoon one gets returned to the operator I lent it too to do a write-up on it).

Try both gravity and spring loaded doors. Gravity doors are generally cheaper but if you're setting on inclines (like roofs) they may not close all the way as quick as you need. Release doors are nice if you're using transport cages, but not a feature needed if you are taking the trap back with you to dispatch the catch each time.

Look at how you open the door when releasing a caught animal so you don't get bit or how you need to prop the door open to insert an animal on the end of a snare pole. Some models have handles on the doors and/or locks that need released while some don't. Take some time and figure out your trapping style. Some traps work better as baited sets while others work better as blind sets.

Finally, look at your budget. Williams makes a great gravity door trap that costs about 1/2 of the others professional series, but it is made out of 1 x 1 wire. So you may want to do something like buy 2 Williams (or any other manufacture) and then buy 1 of the others (Advance trap, Comstock, Safeguard Professional, Tomahawk Professional, etc). This method lets you build the trap base you want while make it more affordable.

Lastly, remember that no matter what you buy, keep in mind that if the trap gets run over because you forgot where it was or to secure it on the truck, it won't matter who made it. The same can be said for most times a trap comes off a roof. Keep a watch on WCT Magazine for an upcoming article and training video on this subject.

Hey Dave, I agree with you on the Miller traps. I use them on groundhogs, dillos and coons and have never had any escape. The only thing I did to them was added more clips on the back side where other brands of traps have failed. The pan is thick as well and none have ever bent. Good trap for the price.

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.

Here's a question for you guys that cage trap beaver. On every body of water in my area, the snapping turtles have just one motto: "Save a Beaver, Get Caught First."

Do you guys get a lot of turtles in cages too?

I haven't had any in the Advance trap but I've had a few in the Comstock cage. Any trap set in the channel will pick up a few.

They're a lot easier to get out of a cage than a 330.

And that is exactly why I have never caught one in a cage but always end up with them in 330's.

Yes and my catch of other turtle species has gone up as well.

I added clips also, one thing to add the current Miller's look like junk I won't buy anymore. The ones I have are early 2000s vintage and I had a salesman at the farm and ranch cut me a deal on them because I was buying 6-8 at a time when I first started my business.

I have nothing but good things to say about Kirk's traps. I've seen many brands, and used a number of them, and Kirk's are the highest quality I've seen.

I own and use around a dozen Advance traps and maybe 20 Comstocks. Both are great traps....in general I prefer the Comstocks but what I mostly would like to say is the new double door Comstock squirrel traps are my go to trap these days. One way I have used them several times lately is at a squirrel hole at the gutterline I slap two of these traps in the gutter with chewed hole between them...then push a piece of hardware cloth under the shingles and screw it to the gutter over the hole. You now have options of catching two squirrels either coming or going. Works like a charm. This squirrel trap is gonna be the standard IMO.

Doing OK Rick considering that I am battling brain cancer! Still working several critter jobs a day and deer hunting so life is good for now. Thanks for asking! And I hate to say I told you so about Comstock traps!

Right you are sir!

Good news. A long time in the works, as of late last week Tomahawk came on line with their own in-house powder coating facility. The larger framed Comstock Cages will now be completely powder coated in flat black, frames and cage wire.

Will the cost go up jim?

No it won't Steve.

Ha! I bet you guys didn't know I was a spray painter for nearly three decades. Although the initial set-up for powder coating may have cost a few bucks, it is still a heck of a lot cheaper than a waterfall booth for enamel or any of the two part paints. Like I probably said a hundred times before, the competition between Advance Traps and Comstocks is going to keep all the trap manufacturers on their toes. And the winner is.......You and Me.

I work in a rural area. I visit a lot of farms or small villages in a week. Quite often while working I will spot a old cage trap buy a lumber pile or some other convenient exposed location. These traps usually have weeds or sometimes small saplings growing through the traps. But when the owner has a problem animal to take care of, they pry the trap off it's growth foundation set it and forget it, fully expecting the cage trap to do it's job. These old clunkers that won't seem to die are always William's cage traps.

Hey bob, I've never owned a Williams but I've got some third generation Wickenkamps which they tell me are very close. Williams are reasonably cheap and I never met a farmer who wasn't, so it's kind of a match made in heaven.