Wolf Fangs

[mean1]

I ran only about 10 wolf fangs and found they pull out just as easy as O'Gormans stakes in wet weather in the east. I went back to the old reliable, Iowa disposables. The cast disposables split too many times in harder ground. The fangs and Ogormans stakes do not lay flat when hanging on cable, the point points up and they pull out very easy. If they would just get the cable hole in the center so they lay flat they may work. I don't plan on welding nuts on these otherwise I would just make more Iowa disposables. How did they work for you all?

[17HMR]

0 trouble for me here in suger sand, was useing reg berks and was just a small % of them that gave me trouble and that was when the ground was freezing up tight and driving the driver through the stake or sticking, dont happen with the Fangs.
Here I dont have to deal with the very wet conditions that the east seems to have, except in a rare big melt of snow.

[claytoncarr]

May 17, 2011 12:27:09 GMT -6 17HMR said:

0 trouble for me here in suger sand, was useing reg berks and was just a small % of them that gave me trouble and that was when the ground was freezing up tight and driving the driver through the stake or sticking, dont happen with the Fangs.
Here I dont have to deal with the very wet conditions that the east seems to have, except in a rare big melt of snow.

What are you using 17? I need a different setup for sand soil. Thinking about 20 inch pogo 1/8 cable 2 inch washers. Two cross staked.

[17HMR]

I am useing wolf fangs, none better IMHO. I have been useing 16 inch long 3/32 cable and cut and run or if I think i may be back in the same season Ill cut the J hook to reattach later.

[schweg2]

Love the fangs also!
I have 15" of #2 MB chain on mine.

Their a SOB to pull out for me.

[Forrest London®]

I ran close to 200 WF's last year in the sloppy Ohio mud and had zero issues with them.
WF's have more surface area than most any of the stakes on the market. I have noticed they take more travel to set than some of the other stakes on the market so I ended up using 18" of 1/8 cable on mine to compensate for the travel. For the price and the results it is my opinion that WF's are the best deal out there.. JMO

[claytoncarr]

How do they rate against pogo's and berkshires?

[Forrest London®]

Berkshires are more expensive and half the stake IMO.. I have never used pogo's so I can't compare. @ 40.00 a 100 WF's are hard to beat!

[seldom]

May 23, 2011 12:55:07 GMT -6 Forrest London® said:

Berkshires are more expensive and half the stake IMO.. I have never used pogo's so I can't compare. @ 40.00 a 100 WF's are hard to beat!

Sq" of surface displacement equates to hold-ability. For my soil, which is is everything except rock, any stake that has at least 1.75 sq" of displacement holds just dandy.
Drive-ability is another factor to take into consideration but I'd think it you have trouble driving a particular stake you'd have trouble turning/setting it for the same reason! Retrieve-ability is another facet of a stake if that's what a person needs to do.

I use Pogos now and have used both the regular Berkshire and the HD, I haven't used or measured the sq" of the WF's but I'd assume they'd hold to whatever degree their displacement was. That being said, there is one comparison I can make between the WF's and the Pogos, my Pogos cost me $15/100 so I clip and go.

[mean1]

If you guys are interested I have atleast 300 I will sell and a few drivers. No way am I running these again, of the 64 coyotes last year I caught I had 10 of these WF out and I had 2 coyotes pull the jake trap and stake and had to get the dogs to find and kill them. When the weather broke and everything got sloppy I could just grab the trap and pull them out buy hand. I can run 12 inch cable and Iowas and sleep better at night, never had a problem with them Iowas.

[Zagman]

I had similiar nightmarish issues as mean1....stakes/cable pulled, coyotes running around with traps on them.....


I addressed the issue with the manufacturer. To their credit, they actually heeded my advice and admitted that the problem I ran into existed. They made a video of warning about it and posted it on Clint's website.

In a nutshell......the driver has a flat tip on it, though the edge is slightly rounded off.

The cable loop and ferrule at the stake, if the loop is too small, rests right on the 90 degree driver tip.

When you have rocky ground like I do, you are constantly driving the stake head through and around loose rocks underground.

As you drive past these rocks, you force your loop at the stake between the rock and the edge of the driver. Essentially, that cable laying on the driver tip is exposed to extreme pressure and friction, and either cuts through the cable OR weakens it to the point that a hard-fighting coyote could break it all the way. The stake head stays underground and the coyote leaves with the trap and cable.

I hesitate to mention that I lost three coyotes and traps this way last season. A metal detector proved that that the head was still below ground.

The answer, and what is in the video: Make the loop at the stake bigger,
so that it goes up and around the driver tip vs. laying right on the drivers edge. Hard to explain in writing, easy to show in pics......or, watch the video.

I assume larger cable ( I used 3/32 last year) would help as well.......

Also, grinding more of an angled tip on the driver for the cable to rest on while driving vs. the 90 degree seems like it would help.

With both the WF and High Desert Stake........in theory, they should be the cat's meow. But, I think the cable also pinches in the punched out hole and does not allow the stake to turn properly. Perhaps this is what was happening with mean1 and others vs. my cable slicing problem.

With both stakes, I have had occassions where I went to "set" the stake and pulled the whole works out! That is scary! For that to happen, the head simply did not turn and set.

I'd love to tell you that I ALWAYS set each stake before setting the trap in the bed.....well, I dont. Therefore, I need a stake that will turn and set when the coyote yanks on it. Failure is not an option.....

I really would like to make those stakes work for me, but honestly, my confidence is shaken.

I certainly cannot and will not attach to any stakes I was able to leave in the ground this past season.....I have no idea if they have been broken or weakened during the driving process. I guess I can assume if they held coyotes last year then they are good. But why risk it?

I am sharing my experiences and certainly do not intend to disparage these stake head manufacturers. In both cases, they have addressed issues that I have had, and others have experienced as well. They have listened for sure.....

I have so many of the WF's that I am compelled to try to make them work with new cable, larger loops, etc. Still, going back to the IDS or Superstake is tempting!

I know Glenn (Wolf Fang Manufacturer) peruses this site occassionally. Perhaps he can pipe in here, and even better, post that video he made.

Still looking for the perfect hat AND disposable stake!

MZ

[trappnman]

I'd love to tell you that I ALWAYS set each stake before setting the trap in the bed.....well, I dont. Therefore, I need a stake that will turn and set when the coyote yanks on it. Failure is not an option.....


do you not set each one because you forget to do so, or you don't want to take the time?

I had the same experience you did, and lost one. then started presetting stake and shocked me as well that a few came out quicker than they went in!

Since then, I remember that lost coyote as I put in every stake and takes a sec or 2 at most to do so, to pull trap crossways before I bed it.

I know last year of at least 2, that ground was so hard, that end never moved at all, and they came straight out when I pulled to preset- in fact, had to use rebar at both set ups cause could not get that cable to stay in.

a lot of guys I see pull straight up to preset, I like to hold set trap as low to ground as possible and yank cable sideways- seems to set it with less cable coming out. I like to put 2-3 inches of chain into ground at beginning as well- then the preset, has it about right

I don't know if you ever could get one that could be trusted 100% if the concept is to turn at the anchor-

has anyone invented something spring or gravity loaded, like a broadhead for carp shooting? something that would, as the driver is pulled, expand?

be a bitch to get out tho.............

[Zagman]

Setting the stake.....after my mishaps last year, I started to set them. Frankly, I was setting them hard and trying to see if the I could break the cable. Luckily for me, those three coyotes I lost were in the first two days of season.

Only one time did I "succeed" in breaking the cable, and I went ass backwards when it broke.

To the question, I dont normally "set" them because I forget.....and, in fairness, I never had to do it with the Superstakes and other bullet types.

Some may recall a jacked stake I had a few years ago where the dogs found the culprit.....but that was an anomoly......freeze-thaw, heavy rain, multiple catches at that set, downhill and backfooted coyote. And that was with a Super stake....the one and only I have ever had jacked.......

Plenty of cable on that stake....it is just curly cued from being pulled.



MZ

[mean1]

I personally think the cable connection hole is to far forward to the point, when you let one of these hang from the cable the point points up and they do not hang flat, same as the High Desert Spear. So when you put it in the ground it rolls over and the point starts it way up if you pull 1-2 inches of cable to set it.

Mean1

[robertw]

Pretty hard to best the Iowa types.

[ohio]

I hope this takes you to the video,

www.wolfernation.com/viewpage.php?page_id=10

I am sure the Wolf Fangs wont be for everyone. I like my coffee black, you might like yours with cream. Everyone is different.
I am not a big numbers trapper. I can say i have never lost an animal with a Wolf Fang. Now with that being said, I do set every one hard and straight up. If they pull out or up to far i simple do not set there. I move to better soil conditions. I had permission last year in a huge swamp. I could not use them anywhere in that place. Even down 3 feet in that peet i could pull them up.
As far as the hole being forward that is designed into the stake for faster setting action.
I have had far more great feed backs on the Wolf Fang than negatives, less than 5. I feel it is as good as any disposable on the market.
If you have any problems please feel free to contact me.
Thank You.

[bob brennan]

Robert do you ever have the Iowas stick on the driver makes you want to throw them in the dump and buy more drags! or have the washer ones fold up not good either!

[robertw]

Almost any disposable will stick on a driver occasionally.

I have found that most of my Iowa types never stick after the first use. I also make a habit of waxing the anchor when I wax the traps, really makes life easier and only takes a moment to wax them if you have them bundled a dozen at a time.

For me the Iowa type is the best anchor. They've stood the test of time and been used just about every place you can use an anchor. To date, I have never lost an animal because the anchor failed (have experienced cable ferrule failure). I do set / check each anchor and believe it is the responsible thing to do.

[trappincoyotes39]

yes main issue I have with an Iowa welds over time stress cracks and pound into rock how long before it "may" break? Anthing under ground with a weld has me leary don't know why just does.......

Ferral failure, ever since I went to pounding on ferrrals and quit relying on a press I have had none.

[robertw]

I've only had one ferrule falure, who knows how bad it was stressed in previous usage (black bears, feral hogs, mountain lions??) at least some of mine are over 10 years old.