Tuning, Inspection, and Maintenance

October is a good time to prepare traps for the approaching season. A metal trap tag with your name and address or ID number from the state agency should be attached to each trap. All traps should be tuned and conditioned.

Traps often require minor adjustments to be most effective. You may need to make some or all of the following adjustments to both new and used traps.

• New traps may have sharp edges or burs that must be removed to avoid injuring the trapped animal.
• Used traps and attachments should be inspected for wear before each season.
  • Weak coil-springs should be replaced.
  • Swivels, J-hooks, S-hooks, and other parts must not be damaged, still operate freely, and be of sufficient strength, especially when trapping coyotes and wolves.
• On foothold traps, use a file to round off all edges that will touch the animal's foot. Also use a file to square off the end of the dog and the end of the pan notch (where the dog fits). If these ends are rounded, the trap may release too easily. On offset jaw models, jaw contact points should be rounded as necessary, though not so much as to reduce the width of the offset.
• Adjust foothold traps so that the pan and jaws are level when the trap is set. If the pan needs to be raised, bend the frame out. Bend the frame in to lower the pan.
• You might need to adjust pan tension. This is the amount of weight (or tension) that must be placed on the trap pan to cause the trap to close. Most newer traps have a pan tension adjustment bolt. Tightening this bolt increases tension to prevent small, non-target species from triggering the trap. For example, increase pan tension to two pounds if your target furbearer is fox. Montana requires 10 pounds of pan tension for wolf traps. See wolf trapper regulations for details.
  • To measure pan tension, use a commercial testing device or an object of the correct weight such as a can filled with two pounds of sand (for foxes).
  • Check the pan each time you trap an animal.
• You also might need to adjust pan throw. This is the distance the pan must drop to trigger the trap. When you increase pan tension, shorten pan throw by filing off the end of the notch where the dog fits.
• On bodygrip traps, you may need to adjust the trigger.