# trap chains and filing



## lssuwaterwolf (Dec 29, 2007)

i often hear about night latching and filing, but not sure what its for and when to do it. also hear a lot about lengthening chains. what kind of animals do you want to do this for? i go after ***** a lot and had trouble with them pulling out this year. i took advice and tightened the pan tension to the point that they almost hold themselves. any advice would be great


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## ND trapper (Nov 14, 2006)

lssuwaterwolf said:


> i often hear about night latching and filing, but not sure what its for and when to do it.


Night latching is when you file the notch in your pan down so that it takes minimal pan travel for the trap to fire. Some do it while others don't. I have all of my coil springs night latched and I do so because it is easier for me to know where the trap dog is inside of the pan when it is dark out. I set the trap and when I lower the pan I will hear a click and then I know that my trap pan is set to where I want it. I always double check though because your traps can get bent out of whack during transportation etc...

Night latching is more personal preference than anything.



lssuwaterwolf said:


> also hear a lot about lengthening chains. what kind of animals do you want to do this for? i go after ***** a lot and had trouble with them pulling out this year.


Again, this is more personal preference than anything. Chain length depends on a lot of things like soil conditions, location, time in between trap checks, ect... For example if you are trapping coyotes and you short chain your traps your going to want to double stake your trap or use a longer disposable stake and also add a shock spring and multiple swivels. Some will say that you don't need the extra hardware but I honestly can say that I don't think that I have ever lost an animal because I had to many swivels. If your running five feet of chain you can usually get by with just one stake and you can generally check your traps less often. I know guys that were long lining that held coyotes up to four to five days running longer chains though I don't recommend it. I check mine from a distance every 48 to 72 hours.

When trapping ***** one has to remember that they are very powerful and do a great deal of rolling and twisting when caught. My ideal dry land **** trap is a 1.5 coil spring with laminated offset jaws, #2 springs instead of the factory springs, around two feet of chain give or take with a shock spring, and three to four swivels. I run the chain off of the base plate. I also shear or grind down the tops of the traps levers so that it is harder for a **** to get his big back feet on the levers and try to release himself if he is caught by a front foot. When I target ***** on dry land I will set a little further back so that I get a back foot catch as they are much easier to hold that way. **** traps on dry land should be checked every 24 hours. Remember, the more comfortable you can make an animal at the set the better the chances are that he will be there for you.


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## chacto (Oct 24, 2006)

chain length is a big debate seems even the best trappers cant agree at least for staked traps.


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## wyogoose (Feb 11, 2006)

NG Trapper hit it on the head. I could not have explained it any better. I go with a minimum 28" chain, baseplated and triple swiveled on all dry land sets from ***** to cats. For my drowning rigs I use a good slide wire and an 8" single swivel chain. All of my traps are notched, offset, laminated and baseplated. I also recomend on all coyote sets that you bend the jaw tips up slightly and use a welder to put a small "bubble" on the end.


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