Senneker springs vs power rams for coyotes
 

Anyone used both? I'm trying to make a decision which direction to go when buying more gear this year. I've used both and like both, just want to hear your thoughts and experiences.

I've tried the rams.
There is no advantage to them but a lot of disadvantages.
Heavy, expensive, takes more time to set.
Can be dangerous if you never let one slip while setting it.

Debate
 

I have used the senneker spring since it was available and changed all snares after seeing the lack of catch circles and no water heads when skinning. Last year I changed about seventy five adding the trigger to the snares. And the up and coming season I won't have a snare without a stinger spring and trigger on it. It is the most efficient killing device I have used in the fifteen years I have snared. I don't have much experience with the power rams only catching four yappers with the haulf dozen I have they kill really fast. I have thought I should start using them more for experience if we are put on the same system as skachabush or Manitoba. Once you buy either system it's an envestment but all your replacing is the cabel in the end if you plan on trapping for awhile.

I have some snares with the kill spring but no trigger cause I was told they aren't totally necessary . . Do they make a big difference ?

Rams
 

I have no experience with Marty's spring but in his area with little bush they seem to work well. Marty's record proves that. In my area with tight bush I swear by the ram. I have 300 that I use and and have gotten to the point where I can set 15 at a bait station in 20 minutes. I use no fencing and am a firm believer in the saying "keep it simple stupid". Either the ram or the spring works well. It just how you use them. My best year with rams was 821 coyotes 21 fox and 2 badger.

Kill springs SHOULD have the trigger, otherwise you have just added a shock absorber to your snare.

You want the animal's lunge to hit a dead stop to set the snare, then the spring exerts its' lethal pull.

Without the trigger, you just have another Amberg-type spring, which I have found to be marginal at best.

If you don't have a trigger for the kill spring (Sennecker style), how do you keep it compressed?

I plan on ordering 10 dozen snares with killing springs tomorrow so it's probably something that I'd better know.

Why not get some quality cutters, components & make your own?

You'll be able to vary length, cable size as you please.

This will be my first full season trapping so maybe next year. For now, it only costs $25 to $29/dozen of snares with the kill spring with shipping so I'm going to go that route. I am going to make my own extensions using a hammer and anvil though. Next year I'll have a better idea of the cost of making vs buying pre-made so I'll decide what to do then.

How does a Senneker type kill spring work without a trigger.....or were you fellas talking about another type of spring?

I was told the springs don't need a trigger , they keep tension on the loop after it is pulled , guess we'll find out as I have both types .:thinking-006:Got lots of good advice from Kris on the Dakotaline site .

But 50 pounds of that pull is taken to compress the spring rather than tighten the wire!

With a trigger, you are adding 50lbs of potential (your) energy to the setup.

Oh, well. Each to his own.

"That's all I have to say about that." Forrest Gump

good to know 6.5 , think I will add some triggers , thanx .

Bill thanks for the info and nice to hear of guys with good experience with these. One thing I learned from what you said Bill is that he has 7' of extension with 5 feet of snare. That is a long leash and I think that is the main thing. Like I said earlier I didn't have great success with it like I thought but it was my fault and needed a longer line. I think I will try again this winter on a few open spots I have but make sure I add some length to the lines and see if I can do any better

Funny thing I seen some pics on one forum of the muskrat demo and I could swear I was sitting next to the photographer. One pic had my bro just sneaking out to the mens room. hahahahha. I left a message on a couple of forums to meet up and dugh picked me out. Very nice fellow. Met his wife exchanged stories good experience. Good to put a face to the name kinda thing.
Too bad we couldn't have met up. Who knows maybe we had a chat and didn't even know. Hahaha. Next year I will put something out that we wear flag tape or something so we can chat.
As per my post some guys were saying they used kill springs without triggers some guys liked coyotes wrapped up in bush. I am not bad mouthing any system if it works for you great go giver. But I was more concerned about guys using any system and having it not work to its potiencial and bad mouthing it. I am a big fan of kill springs whether it is a ram or stinger cause it is humane. Not only that (which is the most important) it saves my valuable coyote trails. Once one trail is damaged as a catch circle or sage brush grass is knocked over I have never snared another coyote in that location. I am not promoting anything but in martys video he shows how snare is supported in just grass. Again I am no expert and again sorry for the essay. Pm me with any questions.

Next year I will put it out there that everyone on this forum that is going to the trapper rendevous is to wear an Edmonton ekimos hat so we can meet up. Hahaha just a joke, flag tape or something. We all have a year to figure it out.

I hope nube will be there next year with stories of his trapline.

Bill

It is too bad I didnt meet more from the forum. I bet there was a bunch of guys.
Bottom line for me is, there are lots of ways to achieve the end result. A humanely harvested coyote. Whatever works for the individual trapper is good enough for me. I always like trying and hearing about new methods.

I sure hope Nube doesnt forget the camera when he heads out for his maiden year on his new line. For sure there will be some ups and downs, but I bet there will always be a huge smile in all the pics!

Thanks guys. I have learnt a ton on here from you guys with a lot of my childish questions. I am trying to figure out what works best for me. I have some tweaking to do with my tote snares and changed a few things to try and be more humane. I had some coyotes that were alive last year and although they didn't seem under much stress or water heads I would rather see them dead. I check my snares every day so maybe they were just caught? who knows. I did realize that I was only using 7 foot cable so this year I got 8 footers made and I also made a pile of extensions off my old used snares. I also tied a lot of mine low to the ground and this year will be going higher if I can.

As for the line I am so pumped. Just picked up my paperwork from the F and Wildlife the other day and it is mine now!!! YIPEEEE
I will for sure take the camera out boys and hope to remember to take a lot of pics for you. I have a lot of work to do out there to get things ready. I got 13 boxes on leaning trees already now and want to have my loops cleared and another 50+ boxes out and ready for bait by the time season is rolling.
I am off to Azerjaiban for my Tur hunt so I won't be back till mid November after the season starts but should get in there and start trapping right after or I got a buddy that can get things going for me while I am gone and do my first check once I get home. Should be fun. And yes I need to make it to the Rendevous to meet you guys

Seeing the ram thread, and knowing there's a few ram fans out there, we do have a few rams in stock in our store and we are clearing them out at cost. Give us a call. Lots of ram replacement snares on sale too, again at cost.

It's a hellva setup. Have used both ram and kill spring. If a guy didn't have to cut the cable to remove the snare he could reuse it again. Min damage to the cable. I was a big fan of O'Gormans kill pole till I used this setup. was introduced by an American to senneker kill springers.. My only complaint. Is why is it cheaper to buy senneker snare components in the states. Even with shipping.

Congrats on getting your line. I still remember signing my papers, I had a grin for a week. Now the endless work starts (I love It}

Thanks Turbo! Yes I am still smiling. The only thing is that this year I won't have a ton of time to go work on it. I have a lot going on this fall with my Tur hunt going on. Next year will be a lot better. I got about 13K worth of trails cleared and a good idea where I can make another 25 K loop. I just have to spend another 3-4 days exploring and get it figured out. Got 20 boxes on slanted leaning trees already out. Got snares the other day and got to get them boiled as well. Chop wood and a pile of things. Never ending I guess but I got a big smile. :):sHa_shakeshout:

Thot I’d resurrect this thread
 

Just wondered what you guys’ thoughts are to this question a few years later. I’m not a very big volume guy, only about 30 yotes each of the past two years.

I do use both, and I’ve found the rams are much quicker to set. Re-set after a catch would likely be about the same amount of time. Unless the kill didn’t happen immediately, which in my limited experience happens more often in a ram catch than a magnum spring catch. Which would require moving the set to a different location.

But I added a cam to my ram snares this year and so far that seems to be more successful than the non cam snares I used last year.

Well... I can say that we don’t sell Rams at cost anymore!