Coon Entanglement (dryland)

[trappnman]

For you coon trappers that still delibrately catch coon in footholds on land- do you worry about entanglement, look for entanglement or avoid it all together?

Why? What advantages do you see in your methods?

[fishdaddy]

i like to set mine where the coon cant grab nothing and pull out

[ColdSteel]

I agree with Fishdaddy on this.I also don't see how some of these coon trappers hold there coon all day.I caught 4 last week in fox sets with 1.75 victors that would have been gone by that afternoon I am sure.I know this is not a good coon trap but I still don't see how a man can catch coon on land and not loose some.They are high but those grizz getters looked impresive to me and I don't see him chewing out of that trap

[bblwi]

If I am and were to stake them solid I would set them like I do for canines, with nothing to reach, grab or use as a lever or or fulcrum. All sets below were with unmodified Duke or Victor 1.5 coils.
Last year I set about 16 solid staked at field edges in from the woods and weeds and about 16 -20 with a homemade four prong drag and 30-36 inches of chain. The drag ones were set in the weeds and or woods and I was not worried about entanglement, I actually wanted them to get hooked up with the drag.
Results, I lost one coon for sure in 7 days with the drags, hooked up on a partially buried root and shortened the chain fast. Other than that no losses. Noticed more chewing on branches, logs and wood and less on the trap and foot with drags. Higher percentage catches also and more cover. I will look for more good woodsy areas and use more drags, boy it is effective and fast. From my obervations entaglement is not an issue unless it binds right up to the trap frame and they can power out fast. That chain always seems to have some give to it with the drag and the set location typically is not worked up too bad unless you get a small grinner who hangs up right by the set site.

Bryce

[CoonDuke]

I like to tangle them up in a helluva mess...on land or if water trapping I like them to get on the bank and get tangled.

Advantage? Well for one it preserves the set. The coon stays dry. And the coon is there when I come to kill him. For me it is a win/win situation.

[coonwhacker]

on dryland I like to stake solid with about 6-8 feet of chain or cable and entanglement isn't really an issue for me, I acyually like them to get tangle up away from the set. With drags I like 6-8 feet of chain or cable and I deliberately ptu the drag in some kind of brush but if the brush is not present I will find a limb with small branches about 4 feet long and put the grapple in a crotch so it will hang up in brush a short distance from the set.

mike

[Wright Brothers]

I like to give them some light brush to chew on and keep them entertained until I get there. A trick I noticed one doing this year. Had the perfect k9 set and as usual held a nice coon. He was back foot caught in #2 monty dogless with around a foot of chain and was not going anywhere. As I was fumbling with the camera I watched him extend the chain, get his head under his back leg, and push up with front legs. Reminded me of a weight lifter.

The trap I mentioned in another post that caught 7 coon this season has a long chain and metal drag that I hooked on a dead cherry limb as big around as my ankle. The dead limb is now shreaded and not one of those coon had foot chewing. More long chains on drags for me in the future.

[mt]

We used the 1.5 cs for coon this year and had very little problems. Although most were caught at the edge of fields.When we did set in the woods we delibertly set away from obstructions. We did not want anything in its way to grab on to. It seemed to work for us because we had very few missing.

Mark

[Possum]

I try to avoid entanglements. Most of my dry land coon sets are just inside woods/field edges or up the bank on drainage ditches. If I'm smearing lure/bait on the bark of a tree, I just stake the trap so the coon can't get around the tree. PVC sets are set away from trees/saplings. As long as I'm not trapping near a road where someone could spot the bomb crater, I like the mess and think it attracts more coons out of curiosity. All I use for coons are #11 DJs, most of my trap checks are in the afternoon and my catches are all resting comfortably on a pile of dirt and leaves when I approach.

[trappnman]

I love entanglement for coon. I cannot say I never lose a coon- cause any coon trapper that traps more than a few loses coon- thats just the nature of HOW a coon works a set. Touchy, feeling... yo uare going to get light catchs and/or snapped traps on occasion. There are several tricks that do reduce these misses considerably.

I don't really know where the old advice about keeping coon free of entanglements came from. Perhaps and most likely from using older, poorly designed traps. The old victor (ones made 15 years ago) were a real poor coon trap- lever desing perhaps. Anyways- in a good coon trap like the Duke 1.5- you do not lose many coon.

A staked out coon will chew more than any other coon- almost 100% if staked without any overhead cover.

As yo uadd cover abd add distractions- this % goes down- way down.

My coon sets with footholds are set right in the woods. Coon like a clear bottomed forest- but lots of trees, blowdowns, overhead cover etc.

Most of my sets are on branch drags- and I want and expect them to tangle up. The swiveling action doesn't get impaired- after all, its grass, debris that clog swivels, not trees.

The brush and trees take most of the coon's abuse- not the trap/foot.

If staking solid- I NEVER use a stake. I wire, although cable could probally be used- to places that GIVE the coon as much free movement as possible- 360 degrees in many cases. Once again, this free range DISTRIBUTES the destruction.

I find it hard to stomach that the coon bmp testers were told to use 100% non entanglement situations for the traps. Guarenteeing MAXIMUM chewing.

Which is why, as I and many others are saying, the coon bmps were designed to fail.

Entanglement- using proper traps- is not something to avoid- it is something to seek out.

[vttrapper]

I agree with trappnman. To add, I believe if the coon can get into a area , say a blow down, and feel a little safer he will fight the trap much less. I have caught plenty of coon on drags that were able to pull themselfs into a semi secure area and not chew one bit. And I have had solid staked traps where the damage has been more than i care to see.

I use the same drags i use for coyotes on coons so they do not go far, just far enough.

I f you want to maximize your coon harvet it would be best to use mostly body grip trap and have a few foot traps as well if legal in your area. Nothing beats a well worn coon trail and a few 220s spaced out in the run.
I body grips are not allowed one can easaly trail set with foot traps. The coon will tell you where he steps down or over a obstical and in this situation, drags really shine. My drag/chain set up usually has a total of 7.5 feet of chain. placing your drag near brush that is close to the length of your chain will ensure the coon to be right there and your set almost perfict.

frank

frank

[fishdaddy]

i have used drags in the open fields once last season i had one(about a 25 lb boar) get about ten feet up a tree i had a heck of a time getting him out.

[vttrapper]

That happened to me once or twice when i was using short chains and those 3/8s round stock fox drags which were popular decades ago. Since I switched to longer chain and a pivoting drag which weighs around 3.5 to 5 lbs, I have many different weighted drags, that has no longer been a problem.

frank

[trappnman]

In an open field- the coon is going to go up the first tree he sees.

But in woods, brush..the coon is going to get tangled up. I use long branches- heavy branches...a coon can move, but only to brush. If using real drags or weights- long chains are best.

[nib420247]

I certainly dont like my coon to be able to wrap the chain around a sapling and pull out, but lots of times I find a small brush pile or put a small brushpile near the trap, usually make a cubby out of it, and when I come to get my coon in the morning he is hideing in the brush, what brush he hasent chewed to sawdust, but he usually concentrates his agretion on the brush and not his foot, there is also a better chance of a hunter walken right by it. Most of my coon sets are like this, not to much extra work, in the end. I like the fish oil to make trails right to the area, I could easily bring most coon in from a distance, not like canines whare I'd set on location, coon will go whare I tell em to most of the time, so I pick the spot and make them go whare I want them, instead of trying to hold them in the open, or whare they could power out.