Things I have learned about snaring coyotes

[MB1]

Newbie question but where does the "whammie" come into to play? And what does it do?

[Tfng]

Originally Posted by MB1

Newbie question but where does the "whammie" come into to play? And what does it do?

The whammy is used to attach the snare to a support wire. Either coiled wire similar to a helicoil or plastic tubing. I use metal whammys myself. Basically you jam the whammy over a piece of 9 guage wire and it holds the snare in place. The support wire can then be bent to position the snare.

[tomcat]

As TFNG stated but myself I use a double ferrule.

[Tfng]

Tomcat. Does the snare swing on the support wire to hang vertically? I find I have to twist my whammys around until I get the snare to hang straight.

[tomcat]

Originally Posted by TFNG

Tomcat. Does the snare swing on the support wire to hang vertically? I find I have to twist my whammys around until I get the snare to hang straight.

YES with no problem at all.

[HunterDave]

Here's a couple of my snare sets if you fellas would care to critique them. All advice is welcomed.

This one is along the perimeter of an approx 2 acre cops of thick willow in a low spot in a field. I have an 8' extension that is attached to the tree about 6' up just above where the picture is cut off. The only thing that I did at this location, besides placing the snare, was put a branch under the snare so the yote would lift his head. I caught a coyote at this exact spot a week ago:



This location was more open so I had to add a few branches to stop the coyotes from stepping around the snare. I prefer to place my snares more concealed by brush or tall grass and where it naturally funnels but it was starting to get dark and I wanted to get a few more snares up quickly. My extension is high up on the tree and I think that I didn't get it in the picture again. It's about 25 yards from the bait site and I can visually check it right from the bait site. The snow tomorrow will take care of my footprints.

[Tfng]

HD As you probably know I'm also a rookie snareman but I will give my thoughts anyway. First thing I noticed is your chin lifts are quite large. I use something thinner with two or more branches so he lifts his head to protect his eyes. This is what I was advised to do.

Second I had poor luck jamming sticks in the snow the way you have in the second set. I found it it gets warm and melts a bit the sticks fall into the snare. I started taking large tops or branches and throwing them on the ground like the wind blew them there. It's been working well for me. It doesn't have to be tall, just harder to walk through than the open trail.

I should somewhat retract the not too tall statement because I will often try to put one taller stick on the edge of the snare to disguise the lock.

[PCP_ECOM]

Hello guys,I took a piece or rebar and welded a nut and washer to top,i use it to make holes in ground to place sticks in,of course need to carry hachet or something similar to pound with,but works great,got tip from one of Marty's video's,cheers Peter

[HunterDave]

Thanks for the tips, fellas, I'll keep them in mind when I'm setting new snares on Monday. I definitely have to do something with those sticks in the second picture though.....! Yeah, a couple of long branches laying on their side funneling into the snare would have been better I think.

[jmparker]

Another question: do you guys place a snare in the same spot after you catch a coyote or do you move it down the trail. if so how far? i imagine a catch circle would put a coyote on edge a bit?

thanks for all the tips! great idea for a thread Nube!

[tomcat]

Originally Posted by jmparker

Another question: do you guys place a snare in the same spot after you catch a coyote or do you move it down the trail. if so how far? i imagine a catch circle would put a coyote on edge a bit?

I always re-set a catch site, because if you are snaring efficiently with quick dispatch there should not be much of a catch circle, if any!

[Tfng]

I'm not always as efficient as Tomcat so I reset the same spot and add blocking if needed. A fresh snow will hide the catch circle somewhat. I also add another snare farther from the bait on the same trail, distance depends on where the next good choke point is.

[HunterDave]

I haven't been replacing snares at catch sites and I haven't seen any coyote tracks walking through any of them. With this snow they will be going back up in those spots though.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by TFNG

First thing I noticed is your chin lifts are quite large. I use something thinner with two or more branches so he lifts his head to protect his eyes. This is what I was advised to do.

That's what I was thinking.

My preference was for grass stems. It doesn't take much. And grass doesn't attract the heat from the sun like a branch would.

I'm not familiar with using support wires. I learned to use a drag pole and it allows the use of short snares.

Like so.



With this method the drag pole will force a Deer to step over while a Coyote will duck under the pole.

Note. no need for support wires. And the catch usually leaves the site immediately and tangles up within sight, so minimal disturbance at the set.

We have a much lower Yote population they you folks down south so it often wasn't productive to reset a site, but if there was sufficient sign in the area we would and those resets were effective.

[The Spruce]

Nube,

Save all of your coyotes for wolf bait. Wolves will always come in when they pick up the strong scent a bait pile of yotes gives off. I had trouble getting them to commit last winter until I started throwing my skinned yotes in the bait, them wham.

Spruce

[Tfng]

Originally Posted by The Spruce

Nube,

Save all of your coyotes for wolf bait. Wolves will always come in when they pick up the strong scent a bait pile of yotes gives off. I had trouble getting them to commit last winter until I started throwing my skinned yotes in the bait, them wham.

Spruce

That's interesting! Using the wolves intolerance of coyotes against them, very smart!

[nube]

Originally Posted by The Spruce

Nube,

Save all of your coyotes for wolf bait. Wolves will always come in when they pick up the strong scent a bait pile of yotes gives off. I had trouble getting them to commit last winter until I started throwing my skinned yotes in the bait, them wham.

Spruce

Perfect idea. I bet they would be all over that.

[drake]

Originally Posted by nube

Perfect idea. I bet they would be all over that.

Im sure your wife is going to love the stack of skinned out yote carcasses you are no doubt planning to store in your suburban back yard.

[Battle Rat]

On trails with no tracks I've made some using a coyote foot wired to a pole.
Seems to work.

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by Battle Rat

On trails with no tracks I've made some using a coyote foot wired to a pole.
Seems to work.

Ya know, I thought about mimicking a trail using a branch but I didn't want to mention it because I thought that people would think that I was crazy.

I hadn't thought about adding a coyote foot but I'm definitely going to try it and see how it works.

[kingrat]

Originally Posted by KegRiver

That's what I was thinking.

My preference was for grass stems. It doesn't take much. And grass doesn't attract the heat from the sun like a branch would.

I'm not familiar with using support wires. I learned to use a drag pole and it allows the use of short snares.

Like so.



With this method the drag pole will force a Deer to step over while a Coyote will duck under the pole.

Note. no need for support wires. And the catch usually leaves the site immediately and tangles up within sight, so minimal disturbance at the set.

We have a much lower Yote population they you folks down south so it often wasn't productive to reset a site, but if there was sufficient sign in the area we would and those resets were effective.

actually alot of young deer will duck under the pole also and with dispatch type snares you want a longer snare and solid anchor so depends on what type of snare your using I rarely use drag poles anymore used to use lots though.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by kingrat

actually alot of young deer will duck under the pole

Not around here they don't.

Originally Posted by kingrat

with dispatch type snares you want a longer snare and solid anchor so depends on what type of snare your using I rarely use drag poles anymore used to use lots though.

What is a dispatch type snare, if I may ask?

[kingrat]

well your lucky then and we use amberg lock with 50 lb spring

[nube]

I actually find the same Keg. The young seem to duck under even at the lowest of points. I learned not to set on deer trails at all possible. That is why baiting works well. You can put it in spots that the deer don't usually travel.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by nube

I actually find the same Keg. The young seem to duck under even at the lowest of points. I learned not to set on deer trails at all possible. That is why baiting works well. You can put it in spots that the deer don't usually travel.

Really! Maybe I never encountered that because I never set on Deer trails, or other game trails for that matter.

But maybe that has more to do with our relativity lower Deer populations and more abundant underbrush.

There is another possibility. I wonder if maybe there is something else at play here. Could it be that I set my poles lower then you and therefor there is less tendency for Deer to duck under?

It's hard to know without comparing sets side by side or at least comparing measurements. Since I no longer trap, that could be difficult.

[nube]

Yup hard to know. I do know if I set my poles lower like you suggested the coyotes prefer to go over than under. I have played with it a bit before and never had much success when trying to move a coyote like that. Who knows what the difference is

[HunterDave]

I like to check my snares from a distance and I think that I may have come up with a solution to help me with that. I always flag a branch where my snare is set but I can't always see the snare too well to know if I caught anything or not. I have to reset all of my snares this week as well as add more, so this time around I'm going to attach some trail marker tape where my extension and snare connect and I'll bury it in the snow.

I haven't tried it yet but my theory is that when I catch a coyote, there should be 2 pieces of trail marker tape showing, one on the branch and one on the stretched out snare cable. Hopefully it will make my checks easier, quicker and with less disturbance to my sites due to footprints in the snow.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by nube

Yup hard to know. I do know if I set my poles lower like you suggested the coyotes prefer to go over than under. I have played with it a bit before and never had much success when trying to move a coyote like that. Who knows what the difference is

It could be the sites we choose. My preferred site is a thicket.
A Saskatoon patch for example. Anything with lots of small branches and stems. And of course and opening that the Coyotes are using to get through.

Or it could be that in your area with the more open environment the Coyote population isn't so used to going under things. Or perhaps all of the above.

Whatever the cause, I do think drag poles are a useful alternative worth considering. They have their place, and of course there are places they simply wouldn't be a good alternative. If there's nothing for the catch to get tangled in they obviously wouldn't work well, if at all.

[Tfng]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

I like to check my snares from a distance and I think that I may have come up with a solution to help me with that. I always flag a branch where my snare is set but I can't always see the snare too well to know if I caught anything or not. I have to reset all of my snares this week as well as add more, so this time around I'm going to attach some trail marker tape where my extension and snare connect and I'll bury it in the snow.

I haven't tried it yet but my theory is that when I catch a coyote, there should be 2 pieces of trail marker tape showing, one on the branch and one on the stretched out snare cable. Hopefully it will make my checks easier, quicker and with less disturbance to my sites due to footprints in the snow.

Dave I'm not sure if you've considered it or not but I often use my binoculars to get a better look. Sometime on hard to see snares I put a small piece of flagging tape where I need to stand or stop the truck to see through small openings to get a visual on my snare. Even at closer distances binoculars really help to pick it out.

[H380]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

I like to check my snares from a distance and I think that I may have come up with a solution to help me with that. I always flag a branch where my snare is set but I can't always see the snare too well to know if I caught anything or not. I have to reset all of my snares this week as well as add more, so this time around I'm going to attach some trail marker tape where my extension and snare connect and I'll bury it in the snow.

I haven't tried it yet but my theory is that when I catch a coyote, there should be 2 pieces of trail marker tape showing, one on the branch and one on the stretched out snare cable. Hopefully it will make my checks easier, quicker and with less disturbance to my sites due to footprints in the snow.

On hard to see spots Dave , I tie a short length of mono fish line to the snare and then extend it up to a piece of marker tape hanging on a branch . When the tape is gone I know the snare has been disturbed . Can check it easy from a distance .