Excellent post Carolina foxer.

Sets without traps in the gang sets work well for this theory..

There have been times when I will make 4 or 5 sets at a location. 2 will be lured In some way or another. 3 will be dummied up no lure no hole no nothing but a blended In trap.
I would Never make a set with out a trap placed and bedded.

Make a catch In 1 or 2 of the first sets. Then lure and bait or what ever the next 3 or maybe just one of Them. With a drift pin you can create scent holes at those dummied sets and be on your way In seconds. The less disturbance the better. The catch circles are your main attraction.

Lots of times you will find that some coyotes even fox and cats won't enter a catch circle. But they will investigate a catch circle. So now you are ready to go for those shy ones. Or there will be times that you won't be able to reset a set that has taken an animal.
Of coarse you can also re do the sets that have taken a critter. Or pick up those traps and move them to new locations or clean them.
If you decide to re use a dirty trap at a NEW set. Just haul a small amount of that catch circle dirt along with you. Now when you make that NEW set with a dirty trap the whole set will smell like the trap And you won't be creating a HOT spot with a dirty trap at a NEW set. Trust me It works.

Setting like this will save you time In the long run and catch you more critters. That Is If you have a good population of that target animal. And If your on location.

Thanks guys. Found several tracks on one of the roads yesterday and fresh tracks from last night. I went back and found a small bare limbed pine right near the edge and placed a trap in front (just looked like the perfect spot to rub or urinate). About 20-25ft down I placed a dirthole set. Across the road from these is a cleared out area where a logging deck was made for thinning trees this past Spring. Found what just jumped out at me about 15-20 off the road, but in the wide open, as a perfect spot for a pipe set. I know it sounds stupid but I have more confidence in this particular set than any I’ve put in before. Then again, the ones before I thought I wouldn’t catch anything is where I caught something, lol. But, this is my first time putting multiple traps at one location. I was just spacing them down the roads hoping and praying.
Since I started this thread I set up a camera just for fun on a flattened pinecone I squirted a little coyote urine on. Based on the pics, the coyote never went up to it but circled it numerous times. I mean as in left the road and circled in the brush. I realize they do that, but it made me realize that just because I set a trap and don’t catch anything the next day doesn’t mean they aren’t interested.
Thanks for everyone’s help and knowledge. I’m still learning!

Think about it like this youre going down a two track road and see a set of tracks heading east another comeing off a cow trail.heading west and another set of tracks heading south you have three diffrent coyotes heading diffrent directions within a area about 40 yards either an intersection of two track roads with several cattle trails heading to a stock tank a thicket etc why would you only set one? Lets say these coyotes are doing diffrent things ones hungry ones thirsty one wants a good fight ones just running his country one is going somewhere and wint stop till he or she gets there you have 4 coyotes at a natural intersection that you can set up to catch why just set one? Or just two? Take a look at youre location take the time judge your set bye location and sighn id have no problem setting 4 or 5 at an area like this

On the other spectrum a family unit nale fenale and a few pups why not try to catch them all?
Its rare i set a series of sets as just a series of sets if you realy watch coyote sighn and bobcat sighn you can kinda gauge what there intrest may be theres times where ive put 7 scent posts or 2 holes a scent post and a cat scrape basicaly as a scent post to catch a coyote that didnt seem like ge wants to stop nake them go what the heck?
Point is like most have said judge set types amount bye location and sighn
Ill ad this. Im a scent post guy many variations of it but just because i like scent posts doesnt mean its always tge right choice tge sighn and location will tell a diffrent story and the catches will prove it
So dont get stuck on one thing judge bye location and sighn realy backtrack and learn something

Well put Trav!!

Where's that picture Of the 12 coyotes caught by BW.
Must have had at least 12 sets at that location.

TravC, what you described sounds like a dream location, lol. Unfortunately I’m trapping a Quail Plantation in SW Georgia. Some of the “roads” I can see tracks on, most I can’t. There are deer trails everywhere. It’s not uncommon to see 20-30 deer just riding checking traps. It’s 2700ac of plantation pines with a couple thick creek drainages through it and one thick hardwood bottom on the South border that also has a huge swamp area on the extreme SE corner. All throughout the pines are feed trails. They feed the quail year round. These are just tractor trails basically. We burn half the plantation in blocks every year, what’s burned this year won’t get burned next year. So, what wasn’t burned is thick cover and what is burned still comes back fairly thick.
Finding just trails that coyotes or cats use is just about impossible. I just have to wait after rains and check the only roads that I can actually check for tracks and be the first one on the road. It’s a year round working plantation. It has been trapped for the last 15 years with live traps year round and every year for a few weeks or more by a trapper with footholds. The trapper that used to trap before I started my attempt at it got to “big” and “busy” for the smaller plantations so here I am.
I don’t believe there is an established resident large predator population. The manager and workers shoot any and everyone they see while feeding/mowing/or harrowing.
Speaking of harrowing, we do have fields scattered throughout. These aren’t planted just mowed and harrowed under every year only to grow back in thick stands of ragweed. These may be an option as well if I could keep the deer out. Right now there is a food source every 20 yards whether it’s fawms, rabbits, rats, poults, or chicks. And with rain we’ve been getting there is plenty of cover to hide and hunt in.
Guess this isn’t a location to try an hone your trapping skills, lol. I consider it pure luck I’ve caught 2 so far. Saw tracks on the road and set traps and caught something. Haven’t seen tracks or got pics since. But, if they ever do show up, I will have more than one trap at each set.

Good luck

Only 8 in the picture, iirc he set 12 traps and caught 11 was the story, but that might be wrong. I hope I never have a day like that, too much skinin there.

Ya but I bet he wasn't skinning them. BW has a pretty good live market deal going.

Is that a real picture??

So, not as much foothold action around here but I apply the same principle to other trapping methods. I only trap for two weeks in the fall on one of my lines and multiple sets are a must. For example, if I see a slide on a dam, most guys would set the slide and move on. I put a trap top and bottom, a muskrat float below the dam, a castor set or two at the dam, a Fisher box or two in the bush on either side...usually the dam holds back a pond on an island, so if I don't take enough beaver from the pond with that setup, I'll set the house again in winter if needed. If the critters move with that kind of set I have potential to stop the boat once and have a beaver or two, an otter, a fisher, coon, muskrat or any combination of them. And I am spending my time setting not driving which is more efficient. And I don't wander into the pond with waders and mess about trying to find the house. That is better done through the ice usually. Efficient as possible.

Yes It Is.
I'm thinking It Is one of those feed lot carcass dumps.

The concrete in the picture resemble feed bunks?

@WannaBe, the picture was posted here and on other sites several years ago, I think by the guy whose shadow is in the foreground, I used some search terms and found the photo with on the net. iirc, the same trapper (near the big bucket) put up 600+ coyotes in 4 weeks that year. There was picture posted at an outfitters up north of him and a lot of hides.
I believe he said every set was an identical dirt hole with identical bait and urine. The key is that there were lots of coyotes at that location, and he set accordingly, you can't catch animals that are not there.

And I'm betting It wasn't a 24 hour check either.

That is crazy! I don’t think I could see 600 coyotes if I live and trap the next 50 years straight.

Bob said every thing was 24. He was skinning and freezing and doing the scrapping back at the farm after the trapping was over. Sure you can that is only 12 a year.

"Only 8 in the picture, iirc he set 12 traps and caught 11 was the story, but that might be wrong. I hope I never have a day like that, too much skinin there."

My bud Mark Zagger of Coyote U has several pictures like that from out West.
B.B.W. is not the only guy that can do that.
Mac

But He's one of them. If there was a contest I know who my money would be on.