OleRed15
Senior Member
I agree the old ones were awful. A house cat would bend the cheap China traps especially with the side chains they come with.
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Duke 550 Pro Series
- Thread starter ldhfff
- Start date
I agree the old ones were awful. A house cat would bend the cheap China traps especially with the side chains they come with.
I really like my Duke 550’s. I like my Duke 1 3/4 as well, I baseplate, laminate, and put crunch proof swivels and #2 chain on them and they are all I need. I’ve also got wild river pans on some of them. Probably add them to the others when time allows. Basically, making them a 550 with slightly smaller kill area. MB’s are great too. 450’s hold coyotes good as well. Trap selection boils down to preference for the most part. I have K9 extreme Jr’s as well and I use different traps based on sets and what I’m trying to accomplish and what the location dictates. If You are gonna run a large line I would suggest finding one type, size, or style of trap and sticking with it to help speed up set making. Otherwise, get 5-6 different traps and start catching game and see which ones work best for you. Then you could buy a few dozen of them and get serious. Trapping to me is less about the trap and more about you putting the trap where it needs to be.
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Jeremygranado36
Member
I mainly run Mb550s but have some Duke 550s and they have been good! Held cats and coyotes just fine.
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ldhfff
Member
My dozen Duke 550's are in the ground as of today! During initial inspections, as I adjusted the pan tension, boiled, and dyed them, they appear to be every bit as solid as the MBs. The only thing I noticed was that the swivels were not as heavy but that is easily rectified by adding crunch proof swivels. Hopefully we will have some catch results to share in the near future. Thanks for all the feedback!
Doug B.
Senior Member
Can't wait to see the pictures!
Midway USA has them on sale!! Looks like a solidly built trap! I know I said that there's no use in buying anything but MB550's but I digress. I may have to buy a few of these to try!
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1021670068?pid=609042
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1021670068?pid=609042
I caught this one in one of the duke 550 this morning and I don’t even know what I’m doing but I’m learning 
ldhfff
Member
Thanks again for all the feedback! This last week resulted in two coyotes in the new Duke 550's. The first you can see was a full pad catch and the trap performed great. The second one (soaking wet) REALLY impressed me. When I rolled up I quickly noticed that the big male was held by only one toe! He had obviously been there quite a while as he had nearly severed his toe but the trap held him solid. Quite impressive. Now if the rain would stop we may get some more test results!
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ldhfff
Member
Yesterday I spoke with Brian at Southern Snares & Supplies and he shared with me that the Duke 550's have stiffer springs and that I should check the pan tension on my traps. I checked all of them and they ranged between 4 - 5+ lbs pressure, too much for my liking. I backed them off to around 2.5 - 3 lbs. Now they will require a little pan height adjustment as they are sitting a touch high. Anyone else checked your pan tension on the Duke's 550's?
furtaker
Senior Member
Obviously it can vary depending on the set but as a general rule I set the trap as close as I can get it.
I think I asked the same question not long ago and I put mine rt up on hole dead center of hole no offset or anything , maybe with jaw only a inch or two from hole
Ive tried many different placements and have not found the "the best", if there is such a thing! What you can't see in the pic is the big rock that the yote keyed on. Look at this yotes foot placement. The trap is only inches from his left paw. Also, look at how far this yote has stretched out to smell the rock. He just wouldn't get any closer with his feet.
fatback
Senior Member
I like my pan to be 4-6 inches from the hole on a dirt hole set and off set 2-3 inches.
buckpasser
Senior Member
The track that didn’t didn’t get caught last night was about 10” from the hole and about 5” offset to the left. Looked like he had a lot of weight on it stretching over the hole to sniff. I hope he comes again.
jcdona
Senior Member
I like 8-9 inches back and 2-3 inches ofset to the right. Most animals seem to lead with their rt foot. Use some more blocking to guide his foot iver the pan. Just my opinion. Good luck.
Mine were a little high as well, I’d say mostly 5-6 pounds. I adjust every trap to 3-4lbs. When I started I ran very light pan tension and had quite a few misses and tripped traps. I went to pan tensions closer to 4 pounds some a little more and some a little less. Rarely have sprung traps that don’t have a foot in them now. I would say you could go quite a bit heavier and still be good but I’ve seen no need to try. I really like the Duke 550’s. Gonna buy some more this spring or summer to have ready for next year.
furtaker
Senior Member
Pan tension is your friend.
Koltan
Member
I have 6 duke 550. They are great traps. I had to adjust the pan tension to around 3lbs, but other than that they are perfect. Boiled in black walnuts and then in the dirt. By far best trap for the $
