Why did this berkshire lock fail?
Would not lock down. It got straightened out? Cable was perfect neck catch tight behind her skull, but it bent open the lock.

Looks like the cable failed not the lock.The lock may have failed to lock,resulting in the cable failure.Looks like a lot of "sawing" went on at the hole.Was the lock re used from a previous catch?

Was not a reused snare, I'd never do that.
I cut the cable to remove the loop on the perfect neck catch. Here's a comparison of one that had a large dead wolf and one that was restraining a small female. It would have twisted out had I not showed up in time. This particular snare was set on an incline and may be what contributed to a silver bullet dispatch vs a lethal snare catch.

Every Berkshire lock I have used in the last few years have done that on a catch. I am switching to cam locks slowly

Rossco, those locks are made from soft steel. That is why they bend and that is why the cable cuts a groove. A good heavy lunge bends the lock and that allows for the sawing of the cable into the locking portion of the device.

Good to know nooksack, a wolf will definitly test the "metal".

Had yet another berkshire lock open up and not positively lock down.it was on a perfect neck catch, on a decent size female. 1/8" cable saved the catch. Its reported that others have had the same issue.
I guess quality steel is hard to find these days.

Guys sounds like a market is there for the right person.