I have no experience with cable restraints. What I hear is they are a POOR excuse for snares.

Though not approved where cable restraints are required, it is possible to combine a snare with a safety cable to use smaller loop cable AND get a swivel against animal neck. Just make and set a SHORT small cable snare as usual but run that loop cable through one eye of an inline swivel. Loop cable can be as small or large diameter as desired. To the other eye of inline swivel attach a stronger chew-resistant safety cable. Tie off the safety cable securely. Swivel cannot operate with two tied cables, so tie off loop cable with something the animal can break or pull loose, such as 24 gauge floral wire.

The safety cable requires more work to set the snare but you gain a swivel by animal neck where it is virtually foul proof and you have the option to use small loop cable such as 1/16 or 3/64 1x19 Korean which is rated at 400 lbs breaking strength.

Small cable may cut a coon and therefore may never be approved where cable restraints are required.

A snare lock that will not slip back is necessary but is generally non-lethal because tightness of loop is controlled by the low strength of loop cable tie off.

I'm usually very good at visualizing something like this, and I think I followed you up to the 4th paragraph, and the 5th one has me completely lost. I'd like to help if you can explain it a little more.

4th.Configuration is excellent for coyote. When used with small cable it would be inappropriate for coon. Hence some jurisdictions might not approve it.

5th. After loop cable breaks animal's pulling force is on the loop itself, not on the end of loop cable. Therefore snare loop tightening ceases, and animal pulling against safety cable does not further tighten the loop. On a conventional snare the lock slides in a direction to CLOSE the loop. When pull is applied on the loop itself force against lock is then in a direction to OPEN the loop. Lock has to hold in that situation.

Regarding loop cable breakaway, ideally a break point of about 20 pounds would be built into the loop cable about a foot before its end so only a very short trailing end would be left to possibly interfere with the swivel, and weak tie off would not be necessary. Unfortunately, it is hard to put a break point in cable and still have enough stiffness to hold loop shape.

To understand the configuration, just make a snare with a safety cable connected via a double swivel in the snare loop.

I have considered but not used that design to LIVE snare coyote with 3/64 (Korean 1x19) cable and still preclude chew outs. An animal cannot chew the portion of cable that is around his neck. If he is caught around the body and succeeds in chewing through that portion of loop cable he goes free with nothing on him. If he chews on trailing end of loop cable there are no consequences.

You lost me

I thought snaring was a good example of the KISS principle until I looked at the above.

Seems like more trouble than it would be worth. 1x19 3/32 ,cable with an 8-0 barrel swivel will hold any coyote without the added mess. Stop set so the loop doesn't close smaller than 4 inches.

It is. But many Western trappers prefer smaller loop cable for its lower visibility/less camo need.



It is unless you want the foul resistant swivel or the lower loop visibility.

Newt, it isn't expected to make conventional rigs obsolete.

I think I see what you are talking about, but I don't see the advantage over what Aix described. " Also, is the end result any different than simply using an extension, inline swivel, and smaller diameter cable snare that has only as much snare cable as needed to form the loop? "

Like so with the loop being the lighter cable you like, just long enough to form you desired loop size, and cable below the in-line swivel being heavier stuff for chew resistance...

I can kinda see the attraction of being able to put the swivel right against the animal as even with the shortest cable you can make you can still have 6-10" of free cable between the animal and an inline swivel on a raccoon.

Not sure if I'd want to try any set up a long line of these. Maybe for doing some scientific studies where you want to capture some animals without damage.

The way I build mine you can't put the barrel swivel any closer. When the loop is open the swivel is against the lock.

After zooming in on the picture, I see what you mean on the swivel. I'm glad we don't have stupid laws like that. I like simple lol

The swivel is a connector on a different cable (the safety cable) compared to a conventional snare. When the loop closes the swivel is then at animal neck. That should elevate (oops, make that alleviate) the probation of setting in entanglement situations. A 12" loop uses 37.6" of cable, meaning after loop closure an inline swivel as ADC pictured will be about 2 feet from animal neck thus allowing the animal to chew on LOOP cable.

As indicated before, the small cable (if used) is what is around animal neck, and would likely cut a coon, but not a coyote or bobcat.

If safety cable is angled downward as pictured below it will fall freely with its weight as a positive influence on loop closure. Weight of the whole thing is supported by vinyl whammy on loop cable and support wire, so it closes like any other snare.



Note loop cable tie off to support wire. 16ga tie wire so it can be seen in picture.


Closed loop.

I tested it briefly last Fall except instead of tying off the loop cable I just ran it through whammy thinking that would hold it enough to close the loop. It did not. I theorized moving animals were causing more of a jerk than a smooth pull on the loop cable thus causing it to slip out of the whammy.

I see you mention small cable cutting raccoon. How small of cable? I've caught ALOT of coon with 1x19 1/16 cable and have never seen cutting.

AIX, although originally from Arkansas I worked several years in Louisiana (New Orleans west bank and offshore oil fields) and am an alumnus of LSU Baton Rouge.

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Yes. Unfortunately 2 trapping seasons went by between the time I wrote that article and the time it was published. I had made many refinements. I eventually abandoned that concept after I learned that coyote seldom continue forward movement after a snare falls on them as I had assumed. A more common action is to stop, turn around, and try to shake the snare off. The above rig accomplishes a similar result and is easier to use but requires cable around animal neck strong enough to restrain him.

In this area coyote are at their best between about November 10 and December 10. After daytime temperatures cool off I can use spring-assisted lethal snares with check intervals of up to 72 hours. While daytime temps are high coyote need to be kept alive. Foothold traps are OK but I like options. I am not a fan of 3/32 or larger cable in the catch loop, and 5/64 1x19 is stiffer than I prefer.

Idaho snare regulations are reasonable but we all have to think of trappers in other states and about the future, though at age 86 I don't expect to be trapping much longer.

Ok, it all makes sense now. I can't believe I couldn't picture it.

I can see the merit of it, but most CR states require a larger cable, so you're best bet is to use 1x19 3/32 cable for the whole rig, loop and all for maximum chew resistance. However if you're not in CR state and it's legal to do so I could see less refusals with this set up. Personally I'd use a real metal wammy and support the loop behind the lock with #9 wire. The wammy holds solid until the lock is closed.

Aix wouldn't know he prefers junk cone shaped support collars. LOL

AirportTrapper, I have not targeted coon in the last 15 years. When I did I saw a few cut with 5/64 7x7, and saw one cut badly with 3/64 7x7 cable set for bobcat.

ADC, thanks for your input. I do support the snare with whammy behind the lock. With conventional snares the loop closes enough as it falls that vinyl whammies are OK with me. The animal will pull and tighten the loop. In the above rig the loop also closes as the loop falls, but a little tighter closure is desirable before loop cable breaks and thus terminates closing action. If a metal whammy would hold the small cable tight enough that cable would not have to be tied off.

The rig cannot be used in any CR states until someone likes it well enough to submit for approval. It is not currently a KISS method, but it has merits other than small cable, and indeed can be made with large cable throughout provided that a break point or weak tie off is included.