can a guy get away with using 1/8 " cable on drags by this I mean 5' of chain attached to trap end then 5' of cable on the drag end? just trying to cheapen up drag set ups without costing my self catchs Id use swivels to attach cable to chain then another swivel at the drag having a total of 5 swivels on ten foot. Then how extreme can a guy go without ill effects?

depends on type/weight of drags and amount of stuff they can tangle in I used 2 ft of chain on my dry coon traps 3 ft cable but the drags I made were 10lbs and very aggressive in woods and tall grass 10-20 coyotes and 80-100 coon a year coon didn't move and coyotes didn't go far where I ran into problems was light 3/8s drags even on long chains critters headed for a road and away they went plus eventually a big clusterknee in back of the truck long hardware does give you a chance to hook up to something swivels at trap are good at drag worthless JMHO

I think you are asking for problems. The benefit of chain is the weight.

chain or its weight is NOT needed if you PRE-HOOK to saplings or logs like I do

cable ALONE is fine and 6 ft total is plenty....I don't have time to look for any critters and prehooking works great!..and keeps cats and coon from climbing 10ft up complicating dispatch.

the main target will be cats and yotes. like you john I pre hook when possible. I love the speed of drags setting and pulling. Just trying to find a cheaper alternative. Ive played with drags extensively to see were and how they flaw. a 3lb drag on 10' of #2chain at 20mph is still working at 30 they start to bounce. I seriously doubt any critter can get above 15mph with a trap and drag attached to them. even on frozen ground

x2, but length of chain is more important than sheer weight- ie; twelve feet of chain that weighs 1# will tangle quicker than two feet chain that weighs 10#.
Also cable springs away from objects while chain wraps around them .

never thought about cable springing away. I figured the memory would help it tangle. I was actually more worried about kinks! I hears so much about slide wires to hide catchs, so that's were my idea for cable on drags come from. But who knows I might be way of course!

I think you would be asking for trouble. I have 10' of chain on some Wimberly plow type drags and still have coyotes get out on flat ground and go a long ways. Cable it lighter and I would bet they could go further and leave less sign.

Take this coyote for instance. This one got caught about 1/4'' mile away - look way back in this top picture and you can see my truck - barely. It went into the tall grass to the right like it should have but the grapple go tangled in a bunch of grass and it pulled out a big wad of grass ( third picture) and then took off across this sod field until it got tangled in the trees ( 2nd picture) at the far end. I looked for this thing for an hour until I finally saw some faint chain drag marks in the frosty grass and followed them all the way across this field to where I finally found it. The chain made the sign. The sun was melting the frost off the grass. If I had been much later in the day or maybe had used a lighter / shorter chain I may not have found it. This doesn't happen all the time but when it did I was glad I had a long chain and it was heavy enough to stay down and leave a little sign.

sounds as if I should reconsider my thoughts on cable. but thanks guys for all the advice

I use cable on drags with no problem BUT in my opinion it's all in your set up. For instance when I set up a new mb650 (this is how it runs from the trap to the drag) I have a connor rod swivel, 6-8 inch of good chain, mb crunch proof, ft of good chain, another crunch proof fallowed by bout 3 ft chain and crunch proof THEN 1/8 inch cable on down to swivel and a real drag. Notice I said real drag, I run a drag that is very aggressive and weighs about 4 lbs. I would all j hooks and use 2 double ferrule at each cable loop. Knock on wood I've never had a come a part or chew out and it lightens the load a touch.

creek rat id like to see a pic of your set up if you don't mind.

With an anchor that does not rely on tangling and in open country where the cable won't get kinked around bushes and become permanently coiled, I'd guess a piece of clothes line wire or barbed wire would hold against the pull. I've seen guys use both back in the '60s out west. 1/8" aircraft wire is superior to either of those. Doubled hay-wire will hold the strain, if it's not kinked.
I also know a good coyote trapper that uses about 5' (maybe less) of chain total with ~5# drags in old quarries, he's told me they don't go far, if using that kind of drag I would probably just use the shorter chain.
I stake (double & and bent) in open country and only use drags in timber, so my answers pertain to timber/brush/lots of entanglement- to me if the drag wieghs more than the stakes, it isn't worth the added time of looking for the catch- just stake and go on. jmo, learned on walking lines and I'll use clogs most often.

tjm I use clogs too attached with a 6-7 foot cable extension and have yet to find a cable even kinked or chewed now they chew the dickens out of the clogs! but I prefer my traps 100% ready after I dig a bed I don't want to search out a clog. I some times believe we give yotes to much credit