BAD using ¼" galvanised lock washer

[Stef]

Would this type BAD work without the dispatch spring or would the coyotes survive too long, giving them extra time to work the washer open ??

I don't know because I tried them only with springs.
But I'm sure they work fine without choke springs too.

You know.... I made this post on this board to let trappers know my "CHEAP" idea.
I'm very satisfied with the results I had so far with the lock washer as a break away device.

Is it bullet proof???

I don't know yet

Hope that some of you guys will try a few so we'll be able to have more "DATA" by the end of the season.

Stef

[bushmaster]

Steph, this is what mine looks like. Whaddaya think ??

[RonMarsh]

Stef.

I made some up with pennie locks. They worked real fast. The destructive testing showed that they opened at 320 lb. I like them and will try them on the line.
Thank you
Ron

[Stef]

Let us know the results Ron

bushmaster... I think you put the cable on the opposite side?
Also, you should add an aluminium 1/8 washer ( rivet washer ) in between the lock washer (BAD) for safety and the aluminium ferrule ( check the red line below ).



Stef

[bushmaster]

Steph, I thought about putting a little washer in between the 2 but couldn't find one...and when I was done the ferruleis pounded just about as wide as the diameter of the lock washer. I'll go try another one on the other side, like you said, it just followed the natural curl of the wire this way.

OK, Steph, just reworked that snare and put the cable thru the other way and gave it a 90 degree bend. Looks better, thanks.

[Stef]

Ok bushmaster, let us know your results

Thanks for testing it

Stef

[briankroberts]

Stef thanks for sharing this tip, I've made a few of these up and they look real good, cheap also.
I've got some Stingers coming from Baddog, I'll find out how all of these new toys work.....B.....

[Stef]

That's for us Brian... Broken trappers ;D

Let us know your results and good luck to you and Jim down there

Stef

[Stef]

Lost my first coyote today with the lock washer.

Anyway, we'll get some rain the next 2 days and I'll be back with trapping coyotes with foothold traps as soon as there's fresh snow on the ground.

I'm sick of those snares this year

Stef

[rk660]

Stef, how long of snare were you using with your loc-washer break a ways? Do you think they would hold coyotes on a 10 ft. snare. I want to try some this week end and not sure if i want to start with too long a snare on them. Looks like a great idea to me, and a real money saver too.

Report: Used some of Marty S. stingers this season. I havent snare a yote in one yet (trying to miss the stinken things). Where they have excelled for me is on short coon snares. They have killed every coon caught so far, whether hip or shoulder caught. That says a lot because Ive found coon a lot tougher to dispatch in snares compared to coyotes. Ive only caught about 8 coon in them since setting them 2 weeks ago, but my initial results are very encouraging. I killed one that was neck snared without even tangling him up. Think thats a first for me. I'm using them with 5/64 7x7 on a toothed cam loc.

Heres an odd one to ponder. Most of my cat snares are 1/16 1x19 with toothed cam and mostly 50 lb springs. We've had a mini fox pop explosion this year and have taken 25 fox in cat snares this year. Most years the line I trap 25-30 is about all i get with targeting them. Ive caught that many on accedent and aint even close to being thru them either. Ive had 6-7 fox alive on this rig this year. All on neck and most tangled within inches of neck. All coyotes dead, all cats dead except one juvenile that was flank caught. Its odd I aint killing these fox at a much higher rate. My theory or hunch is that 50 lb spring is just too much for fox to really do any compressing on their neck, and maybe acts more as a shock spring to hinder dispatch. The stiffer 1x19 also may not pull as tight on them also. Ive noticed when wrapped up on a thumb dia sapling, many times the wrapped up cable is not pulled down tight on the sapling. Just too stiff for little red puppies wrap up good and tight. This also adds to the springy effect hindering dispatch I beleive. I dont have near the problem with 7x7 1/16 with a mini lock or a slim lock, kills em about every time. cable is alway wrapped good and tight, the rougher 7x7 locks and closes down real nice on them. If coyotes stayed as rare as they are, and I just had little red puppies and kittie cats to snare, I'd give up on the toothed cams, springs and other do-dads and use a simpler rig. But coyotes are massing at the KS/NE border as we speak. 60-70 miles south they are real thick this year. I dread the invasion will begin this spring, and my beautiful red puppies and kitties will slaughtered off in a year or 2, back to the normal 25% of what we have now. I feel like a Polish cavelry officer in 1939, hearing the distant rumble of German armour looking rather helpless at his horse and saber, thinking "*&^% going to hit the fan" .
Goes to show the old saying "all good things must come to an end" rings true. I rather enjoyed double digits cats and fox and single digits coyotes. A double on fox and a double on cats without a single coyote to skin in one day is like going to heaven.
Fun while it lasted.

[Stef]

rk, that's a good news to hear with the coon experience I heard you have. Let's hear more results soon i hope.

My snares are 10' -11' ft total and there's always entanglement close to the snare locations when I used those snares.

On my first lost today, the cable used was 1/16 1X19. I had a high wrap up and the 50 pounds compression spring is crushed 45 degree, very little damage to the location. Lock washer slot opened a little and cable slip through.
I don't know if the slot could slip through thicker cable like 5/64 or 3/32.

But for sure now... with 1/16, it can be done by coyotes

Good luck and hope to hear from you soon


Stef

[rk660]

Stef, it sounds like your breakaway will cure a lot of problems for me. I need a lighter breakaway most of the time, the commercial 285 S and J hooks are too heavy most of the time Ive found. An occasional lost coyote wouldnt bother me too much until they hit $50 ;D. One snared deer in the wrong place can be worth a whole lotta coyotes. I like the unobtrusive look of that lock washer and the way you run the stop backwards thru breakaway so cable doesnt have to be bent.

On coon, I have my best luck with a 6 ft snare tied off as straight up and taunt as I can. I will even tap in a nail on a sapling if I dont have a branch to keep the tie off up high. I find if the have too much slack in cable intially, they are more prone to wrap up close to ground, which doesnt help in killing them. Also if they are pulling somewhat down from a high tie off, they expire quicker, or, they go up tree since they dont get tangled close to ground. Usually if they can get up a tree and wrap on a limb higher up they will be dispatched quicker. Sometimes on a large tree I like to stake away from the tree and just give him enough cable to get up to first 3-5' limb, If they can barely make first limb without a lot of slack cable they will be hanging in the morning. This method usually calls for a 10 ft snare. The next step I want to try with the stinger is to put them on a kill pole of sorts to dispatch them without any entanglement. That or a shorter snare with tangle stake off to side. I never got the chanch to try the stinger on coon with a kill pole, and may not get much of a chance this year, we are getting cold and coon arent moving much. Plus most of the ground I'm cat trapping on, I water trapped earlyer so the pickings are pretty slim.

I doubt I'll be able to give you much of a report on the washers on coyotes, as they are low in numbers around here this year, I havent set more than a 1/2 doz coyote sized loops this year, most of mine are cat and fox sized or coon sized. It will surprise you how many coyotes you will snare by accident in 6-7" loops 6-7" off ground when there are numbers of them around. Hopefully I will be able to tell you how the deer break out though, which is what I'm wanting see.

Caught 3rd cat in trap today on your cash-tash-ee-a or whatever you call it ;D. It seems like it works real well on cats, although I usually use 2-3 lures at a cat set. I'm usuing your lure on every set up about 2' for a long distance call and a milder lure or beaver castor down low. Had a coyote go around my rabbit ears at base of tree set with uncovered trap and shingle on pan. He wanted it but just couldnt bring himself to go stepping thru the maze of guide sticks and step on that gravelly looking shingle with exposed steel around it. He must have went around the tree 4 times. I see why all them coyote trappers like your lure. This was on a set I'd brushed snow off a few days ago to check trap and get more eye appeal. The cat caught today was on a set I hadnt brushed off yet. Thats the nice thing about an uncovered trap, can still make a catch with 4-6" of snow on top of it.

[Stef]

Like what i read already rk
Good reports!...LoL

You'll be able to sleep fine with this breakaway. A couple of deers and a moose this year get caught in those snare equipped with the lock washer and believe me... It didn't take long for them to open the lock washer... 1 twist around a tree or 2 and bang... pull out!
No blood, no damage to location.... nothing!

For foxes, cat-lynx with small cable.... I'm sure at 100% that you won't get any lost with the lock washer.
For coyote ? I had one, some trappers lost coyotes before with other BAD design too. The only thing that I just don't know yet... I'm not sure if they will be able to open it with bigger cable.

Some guys already put some on their snares for a test and I'll be please to hear their results on here ASAP ;D

Good luck

Stef