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Post by Stef on Sept 30, 2006 10:35:01 GMT -6
On this one, you can clearly see that the coyote get tangled up on almost nothing.... check the drag is just in front of the foot trapped and the chain is around couple of branches. One thing with coyotes... you need good heavy drags. I've seen Clefus drag only on pictures (Zag's pics) but seems to be a good drag design and heavy enough to get the job done. Good luck trapping out west
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Post by mostinterestingmanintheworld on Sept 30, 2006 22:40:34 GMT -6
I remember 15-20 years ago I was running a recreational line with another guy.
He called the night when it was his turn to check and said somebody must have stole a trap with a yote in it.
I went up the next day and found a cat 10 yards from the set.
Same thing happened next two trips. He just couldn't make himself stay close.
He'd go out 1/4 to 1/2 mile and circle around when the cat was 10-20 yards away.
Dogs will find them jiffy pop. I used to take border collies along. They knew what we were doing.
Use your drags they serve their purpose well.
If you are worried about a location run two in tandem. That will stop them in a sand dune.
Joel
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Post by Stef on Oct 1, 2006 6:10:05 GMT -6
That's a tip I want a try
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Post by mostinterestingmanintheworld on Oct 1, 2006 10:24:42 GMT -6
Stef I've got a picture someplace where I did just that.
I think if you had a long enough chain they'd probably get tangled eventually without a hook.
I knew a govt. trapper once that told me he saw a coyote pick up a drag with it's mouth and run with it.
Hard to do with two.
I've only done it a few times, it isn't usually necessary.
Joel
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Post by RdFx on Oct 1, 2006 16:42:48 GMT -6
Joel that govt trapper saw what a bounty trapper told me back in the 60s. He was trapping the sanddunes along Lake Michigan and came to a set where he saw the yote tracks coming up to set and of course the explosion where when yote got caught and took off ripping trap,drag and chain out of ground. The trapper trailed drag about 1/4 mile and various places where yote got snagged with luck pulled free and kept going; all of a sudden no drag marks but chain drag trail every now and then. The bounty trapper thought naw cant be. Being that he trapped this area for years he figured he would get ahead of yote and try and shoot it if it came to saddle in shore line going inland. Sure enough after going back and picking up pickup and getting to spot he sat with binocs and there came yote with drag in his mouth limping along with trap on foot... a shot and yote was his. Bounty trapper said if he hadnt seen it with his own eyes he would have said B#LL SH#T... so another smarty taken out of yote line.
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Post by Jeffrey on Oct 1, 2006 18:35:34 GMT -6
How much of this stiff do you bury? Just the trap or do you bury everything?
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Post by mostinterestingmanintheworld on Oct 2, 2006 5:52:15 GMT -6
If you want coyotes bury it all.
Joel
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Post by robertw on Oct 2, 2006 7:23:39 GMT -6
I normally bury the first three feet of chain leading away from the set, then just throw a chunk of sage or brush over the remaining chain and drag.
Un-like the rest of you my drags are very light, probably only about 1-1 1/4 pounds each. Getting a drag to hook up or plow into sodd is all about the angle of the points and how sharp (needle) the points are. I just can not haul large numbers (80-120) of heavy drags back and forth across the country.
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Post by Bob Jameson on Oct 2, 2006 7:31:02 GMT -6
I do as Robert W. does with chain buried a few feet from the set and blended away and hook the drag if possible. I prefer heavier sharp pointed drags tho. Angle of the points will help considerably with dig in assistance.
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Post by Wiley on Oct 2, 2006 7:33:55 GMT -6
The weight of the drag needs to be determined based on the type of cover the drag will be used in. A light drag that works in one type of cover may allow coyotes to get too far in other cover. You need to start heavy and work your way towards a lighter drag until you get the desired result. There is not a "one size fits all" drag weight.
~SH~
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Post by mostinterestingmanintheworld on Oct 2, 2006 10:12:17 GMT -6
That's true J.C. Conner makes some drags that work as good as a stake.
Joel
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Post by skidway on Oct 2, 2006 13:19:03 GMT -6
I'd much rather drag than stake anytime and will when the light drags I have will be effective. The drag almost always hangs up on a sapling before the coyote is out of sight or hearing distance. I just dig a deeper hole for the trap bed, throw in the drag and cover with dirt, coil the chain on top of that and cover with dirt, then bed the trap. When they take off you have a relatively clean set left for a fast reset and a big catch circle where they stop. I set the used trap and drag in that circle and move on.
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Post by lynxcat on Oct 2, 2006 17:33:45 GMT -6
THIS year..I'm going to anchor VERY few sets...90% are going ot have one of these in it... 2lb drags I make...makes moving MUCH easier..for ME...not the cats... lynx
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Post by Sage Dog on Oct 2, 2006 17:53:27 GMT -6
IMHO one size fits none. The three main variables are (a) what there is to hang up on, (b) how far you want the yote to travel, and (c) set distance from your vehicle.
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Post by lynxcat on Oct 2, 2006 18:19:40 GMT -6
IMHO one size fits none. The three main variables are (a) what there is to hang up on, (b) how far you want the yote to travel, and (c) set distance from your vehicle. SOOOOOOO....what you're saying is that YOU use 3 or 4 DIFFERENT drags??? ESPECIALLY since this post is on COYOTE draging Me..I'll stick to my "one size WILL HOLD ALL" drag...if I'm in drag county..it WILL work...EVEN if I catch a coyote in a fox set(dont need em in farm area's..JUST an example)...KISS...as for packing...ya aint gettin "lazy" on us now are ya.... lynx
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Post by Wiley on Oct 2, 2006 19:15:40 GMT -6
A couple more thoughts on drags. I prefer a ship anchor type drag that has a pivoting head so either way the drag is flipped you have two tines going in the ground. This drag takes less of a trap bed because it's flatter. The only problem with a drag like this is in timbered country where it can hook a tree limb that is pulled with the drag which keeps the drag from digging in and hanging up. There is better drags for timbered country.
Second thing, as has been mentioned, when possible I prefer to hook the drag to create a direction of travel which can aid in preventing a coyote from traveling down the trail for long distances. You can also tie a small bell to your drag chain towards the trap end allowing you to find your trap by listening for the bell. I have a large collection of drags but prefer to make my own. The ship anchor drag that I designed is now being used by Wildlife Services with their wolf trapping in Wyoming and Idaho. The drag I use for coyotes is a smaller version. Just loaded up Gappa with a couple dozen drags for him to try.
J.C. Conner makes a drag with a pivoting head. With J.C.'s drag, the whole head pivots. With my design, only the tines pivot. Both work equally well. Anything J.C. builds is well built.
The surveyor tape is a real good idea.
Used drags in the sandhills once figuring they would hang up in the soap weeds. WRONG! Lost two coyotes before I went to a heavier drag that simply wore them out.
Drags are fun until you run into deer, elk (I'm told), antelope and badger problems. Don't have elk where I trap.
~SH~
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Post by robertw on Oct 2, 2006 19:41:56 GMT -6
I use two types of drags, same size, same weight, only difference is the sharpened (needle) and un-sharpened points. This has worked VERY well for me from Wyoming to Mississippi and New Mexico to Iowa
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Post by edge on Oct 2, 2006 22:25:19 GMT -6
**That's true J.C. Conner makes some drags that work as good as a stake.**
Yep,in some cases TOO good.Nothing like expecting a trap to be gone from the roadside only to find it right where you left it,with a yote in it, with about a jilion holes in it......#$%@ing "hunters".
My drags are now more of the
**I use two types of drags, same size, same weight, only difference is the sharpened (needle) and un-sharpened points. **
variety...........I got diggers and skippers and my friggin DOG knows when to use either one......but she IS a smart dog.....
Edge
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Post by Wiley on Oct 3, 2006 8:08:44 GMT -6
Edge,
Even without changing anything about the drag set up, you will find adults going a lot further than pups. I'm sure you probably already know this but there is a huge difference in strength, stamina, and the will to survive between an adult coyote on a drag and a pup. I've seen an adult stress himself to death pulling a drag in the sandhills in cooler spring weather. Never seen that with a stake. I think being "almost free" kinda screws with their head just like walking them down in deeper snow does. Every time you jump them you get a little closer.
~SH~
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Post by lynxcat on Oct 3, 2006 8:23:25 GMT -6
**That's true J.C. Conner makes some drags that work as good as a stake.**Yep,in some cases TOO good. Edge VERY true...when cat trapping THIS IS MY GOAL....hence the larger drags...I prefer a cat AT my set..all tore up in the area...makes it a BETTER set. I use the drags as a portable anchor...more than as a drag. I find out more times than not that even in MARGINAL area's...when I EXPECT a coyote to be a "ways" away...9/10 times they dont get far at all. I guess that's a "good thing" especially since 90% of my trapping OTHER than cats is farmer/rancher related...most with POSTED land and permission. lynx
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