snare avoidance

[Steve Gappa]

had a fox the other day walk around a snare. It was an obvious one, on a stake in a ridge where 2 dirt piles came together. I can see one being spooky there.

had another yesterday, where a red went around the cable, and crawed UNDER the extension. Odd, but it could have been random, I simply sviweld the support around and covered the new spot. We shal lsee.

But had a coyote that for sure refused the snares. Had 2 prefect locations on a road going in the quarry. Blocked off the majority of the trail- in an area where it was very brushy to begin with. Had 1 snare on each side. Big juniper tree in between them.

Yesterday, a coyote walked down the trail, stopped 4 feet way, went horizontal to the road threough the brush, walked around the other snare an on his way.

While I know that many things could have caused this- a couple are more likely...

1) the blocking spooked him

2) the lock, cable spooked him.

I'm going to take more care and not making the lock so obvious-

what are some of the reasons and solutions you have had with refusals?

for sure, for sure smaller cable size - and that will be addressed next year.

[17HMR]

I would guess the blocking but cant be sure, I have had this happen too. As the years go though you will build up places that you have the trails narrowed down, and they will be good to go with out much disturbance when you come to set them up.

[JWarren]

Welcome to my world. I have found that smaller cable didn't really help much if at all. I think guys that say they have 0 refusals either don't have snow or aren't looking at the tracks. A bigger loop higher off the ground helps but I know your screwed in that regard. Bob would chime in here and say coyotes don't see a snare but he also uses a 24" loop with the 1/8".

I've found my tight cat snares will pick up yotes with a 7" loop but after a few catches and the spot isn't so tight anymore the yotes drop off.

[musher]

Do you have snow? (I'm figuring yes BUT you don't own sled dogs, a snowmobile, cross country skis, or snow shoes. AND you spend alot of time outside. So if you have snow it can't be that much.) See if your footprints are in the way.

Also pay attention to the moon. A bright moon seems to make a snare in an open area very visible. They might shine or be making a shadow.

I don't block much. If I do it is very discrete with stuff smaller than a pencil in width. I think that critters remember their trails very well. If I can spot trash or a kicked out rock on my trails I figure they can notice see several new branches blocking a trail.

I don't think it's the lock. But it can be the snare. Like with other trapping methods, some animals shy away.

[trappnman]

no, we have 50% bare ground. I am concerned about footprints. We took JWs idea about the film cannisters and flags, and made a similar setup. that should eliminate some. But I have never seen it quite like this- come into an area, coyote tracks all over..setup-- bye bye yotes.

coon, we have done well on. another today. Without a doubt in my mind, if we wanted to snare coon, we could very easily. From what I've seen coon go out of their way to climb through snares LOL

But I will not go smaller loop- I WANT coyotes....

How common is the practice of going out during off season and blocking trails, setting stakes, etc?

[markymark]

How common is the practice of going out during off season and blocking trails, setting stakes, etc?

Very if you want to get in and out. Are you blending in your snares and number 9 wire? are you using 9 wire to support your snares. I feel when setting snares more are better. I have seen on snow where they refuse one and get caught in the next one down the trail. Are you using snares that had a catch for extensions?

Rarely do i have an area that wasn't preped in the summer. All I need to do is set the snare and a little brush here and there.

I tries formula one on some snares this year BAD MOVE. It washed off with the rain, not to mention refusals out the azz. I tried it mixed in with plain old boiled snares and painted ones. They picked right up on that Formula one.

[NEPISIGUIT]

I have found that both fox and coyote often do this during the full moon period no matter how well the snare is set My best luck occurs during the dark of the moon period. A lot also depends on the surrounding vegetation.

[NEPISIGUIT]

Barometric pressure also have an effect during their changes. At starts of a storm and during it I find that both coyote and fox do travel a lot. Suspect that the animals that they feed upon also travel a lot during storms. At this time the worry little about snares.

[martybaxter]

you ever notice how once in awhile you'll be driving down the highway and realize that you haven't been looking at the road for about the last 15 minutes, and you wonder "How can I do that sort of thing without hitting a deer or wrecking". IMO we do that because the trail is boring and we're thinking of something else...like where we're going, or geez I'd like to trap that land, or what we're going to do when we get there.

Now apply that to the coyotes your trying to snare. To me, It seems like they are very easy to snare out away from places where they are doing something with a purpose. And, I have no proof but my mind says it is because they are going down the highway without looking at the road. They are difficult for me to get into a snare when I set up close to hunting or bedding type areas. If Ican get them into the thick stuff, or find where theyare going through the thick stuff by themselves then it becomes easy again, I believe because it is so hard to see a snare against a backdrop of plum thickets, or a cedar choked canyon, or crp grass.

I, am not an expert, I'm still a rank beginner, I credit most of my luck with snaring to the fact that I live in ranch country, and the cattle make perfect sidewalks for all the coyotes with their cattle trails that go every where a coyote wants to go. Snares are like the opposite of footholds, they should go in the most boring area possible for a traveling coyote.

[woody]

Steve, when using blocking on a trail the word supple is the way to go, If you go moving brush and making a lot of destubence to a trail or the area of a trail, you will spook the yotes off that trail for awhile. all I do is use a ragweed stem that has the seed head on it, and put that by the lock, it helps hide the lock. I also like a loop to be 12 inches and the bottom of the loop to be roughly 12 inches off the ground when going after songdogs. one other thing I have found here when setting up a trail. walk right down it and don't step off it at anytime, make your set and step over it and keep going. the yotes here will follow your steps to see what ya's was doing and if you step off the trail, they will too. I have seen this in snow and on bare ground. Keep at them and you will get them just remember to stay on the trail and not to do to much blocking, your after yotes not beavers ;D. good luck. woody

[Steve Gappa]

the biggest pain in the arse is that the loop can be no more than 10" and the top of that- no more that 16" off the ground. Apparently no on in MN dnr has seen a coyote- because if one did, you'd realize a loop 16 inches top is going to hit them in the chest at full stride and make them NEED to duck to hit snare.

Always kills me when you get a tool or a new law, then its so restricted, that its value is limited. The snaring for the south of the state was brought up, and I know this cause it was me who brought it up, and promoted as a COYOTE HARVESTING TOOL. Since it won't open until Dec, its value for coon is limited in most years. So- a tool FOR coyotes, but lets make it harder....

and 24 hour check...bah!

[Steve Gappa]

Mark- yes, we are using used snares as extensions. Never thoguht about it.

I can see, summer/early fall prep is a key. Next year.

We are using stakes at some, and some trees for our support wires. I like both.

[Hornhunter]

the loop can be no more than 10" and the top of that- no more that 16"

That would make it hard. With killing snares we had the top about two feet high with a 10-12 inches off the ground.
That 16 inches was used here by a few of us in deer trails. A long time coyote snarer/ X game warden Dan Glidden came up with the set. put a stick of small tree over the trail so that deer would step over and the coyote would go under. Worked quite well for me even with very little snow.
I had little luck setting in open hardwood, Never had a grassy set up. I'd pick softwood areas for better concealment.
Also set on a bend in a trail. Those that are on a straight away are seen by coyotes more often.
We had cam locks choke springs and a release hooked to the snare. After a good snow storm i'd be looking for the snare and more often than not these would be the first thing I'd spot. So I try to cover the lock area as best I could.
Like others said, Don't use alot of blocking.
For sure you are hindered with that 16 inch 10 inch loop. Like trapping coyote with a #1 jump trap.

[Steve Gappa]

some good advice.

We are trying to set up the softwood areas, unfortunately, now that I want them, few and far between. LOL

Good tip about the bend in the trail. I also agree on the locks. We are pulling this set up later this week, and on the new setups, we will do things a little different.

One main thing, locks will be concealed more. I too see them first.

How much weaving around support with grasses, etc do oyu do, if any?

[DaveLyons]

Steve,

When we in MI were able to snare if I had snares in High grass I would wrap the present grass around my support wire up to the lock and I thought that did well with blending my locks in. I thick cover I never worried about it like in the open grass.

Dave

[Hornhunter]

How much weaving around support with grasses, etc do oyu do, if any?

You'll laugh at this, but in the fir ans spruce areas i'd often use that X mass garland that looks like a fir bough. It already has a wire and worked good bending around the lock. In the hardwoods this stuck out like a sore thumb. Grass or a real fir bough was difficult to attach. That weaving would be just over the lock and was hard to make look natural. I guess I never got the hang of it.
Another thing about setting in a straight situation and on a trail. Place a small fir in front of the snare. Not so it blocks the trail, but just enough to hide part of that loop, but bot force him off the trail. Make a test set and look straight up at your snare. There hangs a loop. And no matter what some say they know this is not your everyday piece of limb or brush

.

I thick cover I never worried about it like in the open grass.

No in real thick cover I didn't either. Just force the loop through the limbs and in the middle of the trail. But still I could be in the thick and still have an open area.