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I've had two coyotes pull out of my traps this year. The first one was a Bridger #3 coil spring, and it left one of its toes in the jaw. Today I had one pull out of my Bridger #4 long spring. This one appeared to put up more of a fight, and left 2-3 of its toes in the jaw. I had some stepping sticks around both of them, so they would step right on the pan. I've only had this problem with my Bridger's this year. Is it possible that they're just pulling back and forth in the jaw, and they get loose?

It does sound like a "wring off" situation, are your traps bedded rock solid? By that I mean when you push on the jaw on one side then the opposite jaw, you get no movement in the trap whatsoever? Also, you mention that this is only happening with bridger traps. Are they holding pan tension good for you? If the pan breaks before the animal fully dedicates it's weight, they can sense the give of the pan and pull up quickly causing a toe hit.

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Roadkill is a redneck's paycheck- Jase Robertson

The second amendment is in place in case the others are ignored.

The traps were bedded solid, but now you've got me second guessing the pan tension on them. I'll check them when I go out in the morning.

......or on shortened trigger responses like a narrowed night latch, the pan will barely move and the trap fires. If you dont have proper pan weight for coyotes you will get toe catches. On yotes you need a minimum of 3 pounds pressure. Its going to feel very stiff if you have never run 3 pounds. 3-4 pounds is used all the time. If you are still catching small animals in those traps its too light....bump it up. If traps are bedded solid, light pan tension is almost always the problem.

If they get hit below a pad....there is no pulling out for a predator.

I know these are simple things. But aside from the pan tension. How do you have them swiveled and have you taken the sharp edges off of the jaws? Also what kind of check time are you running? Yes you want a higher catch. But if you are getting toes the Yote should still be there. I held a lion in a #3 LS that way. Also a Bobkitty in a 1 1/2 LS. Also how long do you have the chains?

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Yup, Welcome to Montana. Now go home.
There are two types of people in this world. Those who shape it, and those who are shaped by it.
2014 season
Beaver--2
Muskrat-0
Squirrel-6
Fox------2
Coon----1

Turns out I should have paid closer attention to my pans when I bought these this year. There was hardly any tension on them, so I tightened up the screws to where I thought 3-4 pounds was. Since I'm in school all day I end up getting out to check them around 4:30 which I hate doing because I'd rather check them in the morning right away. I didn't think the edges of the jaws were sharp, so I left them be. My chains are all between 8"-12".

What bridgers?

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A WISE MAN PROFITS BY THE MISTAKES HE MAKES.
A FOOL NEVER SEES THE ONE HE MAKES. (Harold Warp)

Three #3's coil springs, and a #4 long spring. They aren't the dogless ones that you love.

Tighten that pan tension up to 4lbs and make sure they are bedded solid. When trap is bedded push on all 4 corners of the trap and it should not move at all. Pan level or below level. I like them below level, but not all traps you can do that though. The dogless bridgers I can. Make sure the approach to the trap is solid. The only soft spot is the inside of the jaws. I use the side of my fist and hammer the approach solid all the way up to the jaws.

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A WISE MAN PROFITS BY THE MISTAKES HE MAKES.
A FOOL NEVER SEES THE ONE HE MAKES. (Harold Warp)

I'm really good about bedding the traps solid. Since the weather warmed up I was able to move some of my traps to places I would have had a hard time with when the ground was frozen. Hopefully I can have a positive encounter with a coyote now that I got my tensions figured out.

I was a "school boy" trapper too. The few times i waited till after school i lost fur. Id always run the traps in the am just removing critters and go back out after school to rebait/relure and check my cages n conis. I wont check footholds after noon. If its rat floats or under ice sets etc yes but dryland or shallow water noons my cutoff. But i was also only a mile from my creek too.

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Waitin for the leaves to fall...

The idea of checking traps in the dark, and then driving half an hour to school doesn't sound fun to me.

What many don't realize when first starting at trapping, many times there is no fun to it. It's work, if you take it seriously. When I first started trapping when I was a young teenager I to checked before school and it was on a bicycle and after wrestling practice. You have to have determination. I was dead tired all the time.

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A WISE MAN PROFITS BY THE MISTAKES HE MAKES.
A FOOL NEVER SEES THE ONE HE MAKES. (Harold Warp)

My school boy schedule was up at 4-430.. Start coffee for mom and stepdad, grab my pack and usually walk the road to the cemetary about a mile each way, walk thru the cemetary(without a Firearm lol cept on weekends and none school days). Usually made it home with the catch by 7. Critters into the garage fridge if it was too warm, bus at 745.. After school, chores, then to the line(430ish) resetting and reluring, sometimes by flashlight, home after dark, collect my critters and walk across town to the fur shed to process mine and buy and process others.. Home at midnight(stayed open for the early coonhunters) shower and bed. Sometimes id even eat lol.. It got easier after i got my license.

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Waitin for the leaves to fall...

Thing about it is, no matter what time you get up, or how dark it is.......after a week straight of it you get use to it. Then it just becomes part of the routine. Even now many years past school, its the same because of my work. From November through Feb my day begins at 3:00-4:00 a.m. depending on what or where im trapping. People around me think im nuts for going out at that time during the worst part of winter. But when you are a trapper, just try an sleep in or pull traps an give up when you know you have fur just around the corner. It eats and knaws at your belly so much you cant stand it. Im MUCH more comfortable running those early hours. And the rewards are beyond compare.

I'll be done with school this summer, so next season I'll be able to check in the morning without having to try to stay awake in class.

Lol! Then you just have to try to stay awake at work after that!

I'm going to be a mechanic, so I'm going to be constantly moving which will help me stay awake.

That does help some friend!

I had a pull out this year, too. It was a #3 Bridger, laminated, 4 coiled, baseplated, Pit Pans set at 3 1/2 to 4 lbs. Had a Connor shock spring in line. Should have held a bear. Oh well, it happens.

About setting pan tension. If u do not have a pan tester, u can do it like this. 2 x 4's average about a pound per foot. So, a 3 1\2 ft 2 x 4 is about 3 1\2 lbs. Use that to test your pans. You might need to add a #10 brass washer between the tang and the pan, so you get consistant tension.