Slim loc's are my go to for my area. We get a lot of wet snow and freezing rain that puts most loc's out of commission. The slim loc cuts through the hore frost and ice build up on the snare pretty easy and I have yet to have a critter back out of a snare with them. Can not say the same with cam or micro loc's.

In my experience the slim lock will not always lock up tight. The problem I have occasionally experienced is that the short protrusion on it catches up in the thick coyote neck fur and does not lock up on the cable as it's designed to do. Whereas with micro locks with a 50# compression spring I get quick dispatches even without entanglement.

Had too many live catches with the death blows , switched to Bridgers and have less than half now . A bigger lock for sure but closes quick and holds tight on 1/16 1x19 cable . Any lock that catches down deep on heavy furred coyotes is gonna have trouble dispatching them .

Both are good locks but any lock used for coyote should be used in conjunction with a kill or dispatch compression spring. It's my experience when such is used and set up and tied off properly the dispatch will be very quick with very few, if any, live catches or water heads, but shyte does occasionally happen.

The lock does not dispatch,lock just prevents the loop from opening.Constant force on the wire(gravity,or spring) against a lock that wont slip dispatches.

This works best for me

I gave up on camlocs also. Rain and freeze cost me a couple coyotes again this year. I also like the slim lock.

Do you use springs with them? I run 1x19 5/64 with a compression spring. I have 6-8' of extension and about 5' snare. It's rare for me to have any alive on a check. I even hip caught a big male last year and he wasn't alive the next morning. They get so tight I have a hard time cutting the snare at the end of the spring when it's compressed.

I have tried a lot of different locks over the years. I have not tried the slim lock. I have gone to the mini death blow cam lock. I snare open country with very little entanglement. I make my snares long (13 feet) of 1/16 1x19 cable with a seneker type kill spring. I do not use the trigger.
This year I had 3 live coyotes out of 49. It happens when the cable tangles short and they can't hit the end of the snare hard and set the spring. No water heads and no chew outs this year. Most of them are just DRT with no entanglement.

I like the slims because they disappear on a set.

For you senneker spring set users, I tried some of the magnums this on a 13ft snare with a 6ft extension. 1/16 1x19, 3 coyotes caught using that snare. All 3 alive. Not by a lot but alive. And really seemed to make the loop sett weird bc of the weight of the spring. Compression springs however....I don't think Ihave ever caught anything alive with it combined with entanglement and cams.
Here we don't get a lot of snow or freezing rain. But the mini death blows even without a dispatch spring, ball game. No live catches. Engagement and they are done. Thinking next year it will be deathblow minis and compression spring for a try.

I was hesitant to try the seneker style springs because it seem like a lot of stuff hanging out there. I can't see a difference in refusals. I really don't see the need for the magnum springs. Most of my coyotes only manage to compress the standard springs half way and they are dead. I try to lay out my excess cable so it will free spool when the coyote takes off. I want them to hit the end hard. My live ones this year fouled the cable and shortened their run. Probably my fault for not laying it out properly.

Good info MT

Yes , I run practically the same setup as you but use 1/16" cable and M artys springs , some magnums some regs. . Ive gone to 5/64 locks on the small cable and had much less trouble this year . All my caught dogs have to be cut out . I know the big locks dont plug like the small ones . I had deathblows that gripped tight but plugged and wouldnt slide down far enough to cinch up tight .

I believe a person can get a setup that is too long ..a shorter length , 10- 12 ft makes them panic and fight snare harder in my experience. Key is whatever works for you keep doing it .. not a fail proof system out there that works 100% of the time for anyone .

whats every ones thoughts on adding a slight bent to a micro lock? to make it bite slightly more, I recently done a few in a vice with a tap from a hammer for slider cables

My opinion,,, waste of time on a snare. Those type locks require a bur on the hole to bite into the cable and make them lock solid, after one or MAYBE 2 uses that bur is gone and you have a lock that will never again lock down and stay there tightly. Just use them once and throw them away or use them knowing you'll likely not quickly dispatch anything with them short of in great entanglement. They are marketed as relaxing locks for this reason IMO. On a drowner cable on the other hand the extra bend makes them very similar to the "L locks that are common to drowners and certainly couldn't hurt a thing. It won't matter if there's a little play at the end of the drowner.

Just to clarify the issue concerning micro locks. In my experience micro locks are a great lock for quick and efficient dispatches under the timbered conditions I have trapped in when the snare is constructed and set up properly.

My preferred and most efficient coyote/wolf snare:
--6 ft of 1X19 5/64 cable with end swivel for attaching +/- 6 ft extension to it.
--using a 3/32 micro lock on 5/64 loaded cable.
--50 lb compression spring



The reason for using a 3/32 micro lock on 5/64 cable is the tighter the bite (angle) the tighter the pinch. Another thing to maybe consider is that a slightly larger lock size than cable size will close faster due to less friction than with a matched cable to lock size.

In wooded areas tie off high and SOLID in most situations to a tree or something that does not bend. A solid tie allows for solid locking and tying high keeps the snare and lock high up on the back of the neck by forming an angle of about 45 degree from the animal to the snare tie/anchor point. This will make the snare set up on the neck just behind the ears where the carotid arteries are most exposed, which is the desired kill zone for a snare. Also, if the coyote pulls backwards the snare will be over top of its head and it won’t be able to chew and the snare will pull up to the base of the skull. If unable to tie high and solid, use SHORTER snare, SMALLER loop and tie off low and SOLID still providing about a 45 degree cable catch angle.

With this snare set up and method of setting I get quick dispatches with little site disturbance and little,if any, head edema. I have also occasionally had coyotes DOA at the end of the snare without entanglement.

Good info tomcat

Agreed!

Tt