Short of the weight factor are there any other cons to rebar? I've tried both and still like rebar personally. I can pull most of it by twisting w/ a set of vice grips.

Still my "go to"
Cross stake swivel with 2- 3/8"x 18" rerod stakes

i'll be back full circle to all rebar before next season.

I still use rebar , I just do not feel comfortable with cable ,it is just for what I see work for me , I also use straight rods also from the welding shop I had work at for farm repair of hog gates

There's room for both...

Some ground calls for it.

I have never got away from it. Tried the anchors, several different kinds, and always come back to stakes. My go to is a half inch rebar with a smooth 3/8 stake driven at an acute angle and the 3/8 's top driven under the washer of the 1/2 inch rebar. Hold coyotes in sand dunes with it, and cuts down the weight you have to haul, from all 1/2 inch bar. I move traps too often and deal with frozen ground too much to use anchors!

i tried cable on two different excursions. once when they first came out and again about 4 years ago. i wont be trying them again. they hold critters just fine. that was never an issue. just one problem after another. they wont set, they require a special tool to pull, they are a real pain to pull, drivers break , rock screws them up.


lots less trouble with rebar. i just use 1/2 inch with a 5/8 nut welded on. two sizes, 18 and 24 inch. most of the time i use 18 inchers cross staked. 24 inch is used singly for coon sets 90% of the time.

Started using cable stakes when I first got into trapping k9s I have had went to set the anchor and come loose on more then one occasion. It has been rebar for me ever since

Same here. I used to run a single 18" here at home until coyotes started showing up then I changed all my stakes swivels to doubles.

I used to use my groundhog tool to pull them, I ground a groove in the claw part that fit around the stake. It was like pulling a nail with a claw hammer, worked pretty good. A few years ago I bought a Freedom Brand Stake Puller from F & T and have been using that since.

When I'm trapping coon in the woods I use cable around trees with a quick link. It's easier on my body, no pounding. I do the same in hedgerows for coon and groundhogs. When I don't have any trees around I have used both stakes and anchors. If I can get a anchor in, then it's less I have to carry.

Rebar has been the best since day one IMO...I like the idea of earth anchors, they sound good at least, but in the real world they have a lot of drawbacks.

Anti- theft device, and being lightweight is where they shine the most.

The last storm that rolled in the day before it was 41 degrees and I was able to pull my line all in 1 day. If I had used rerod some traps would still out there and my back would if been flaming for days. I still use rerod for snaring to hold the supports. Wolf Fang most of the time just cut and run works the best for me.

I went to nothing but cable earth anchors. If you have unstable ground cross stake your earth anchors. All mine are truly disposable cut and go. I have NEVER had any problems with my drivers you just need the right design and have them made from the right material. I doubt many commercially made drivers are made out of tool steel like M2 or W2 hardened steel Is expensive but It's worth It.

I have talked to more then a few farmers about leaving these disposables behind and none of them had any problems with it.

And In hot locations you can leave them behind to be used next year. Stainless cable Is the way to go If you plan on doing this.
If you want to pull them It's not all that difficult with the right puller. Or just mark them and retrieve them In the spring.
Coyote killer Robert use's nothing but those Iowa style earth anchors.

Love rebar. When I have enough money to not care how much money I leave in the ground I will go cable stakes. On a short line I set 50 traps and pull every 10-14 days. Long lines 200. A pick with a notch in the spade end and a block of wood.

Well In my case all my drivers and anchors a FREE so the cost Is limited to cable and cable Is dirt cheap.

Drivers depend a lot on the soil, some folks trying to drive a cable anchor into solid frost expect way to much at times. The same in rocky country where a stake won’t work any better. You beat on something long enough something is going to give a few bad whacks and it starts. I’m on my second year with the basic driver now the main reason is thin frost and wet under that.

I have made a few drivers into “steel snakes” in the bad years in bad places but I carry several to make sure I’m covered.

We all work with different ground conditions. I trap coyotes on roads built for 200,000 pound logging trucks. My chain stakes go in hard and are never pulled. Just cut the "J" hook and go. I do carry a metal detector and frequently reuse a stake. The photo shows what I used four or five years ago. No more "fangs" for me and only 100% chain now. Where I stake the fang type anchor sometimes sticks to the driver and it is very difficult to remove the driver. Take it from someone that has set many 1000's of rebar stakes for property corners chain stakes are much easier to use. BTW, I would never use a cable stake. I also added a photo of the roads I trap and yes the trucks are loaded to 200,000 - 250,000 GVW.

If your anchor sticks In the driver It's because the slot In the driver Is to tight. And your anchors are made of soft steel.
The other thing about drivers Is operator error. I have used the same driver for years no problems. I gave one to a buddy and he had It bent just about In two in a day or two. It was the way he was hitting the driver. Your hit has to be straight down and you won't have any problems. I have since went to a harder steel for my drivers and my anchors.

I’m mostly rebar. I do have a few cables. My driver is made out of grounding rod and works for the ground we have here.

I'll use cable stakes early in the season but once the ground quits cooperating, I'll go to double rebar.