Hey guys Im completely new to coyote trapping with drags but I hear they are well worth it in the right areas. Since Im a cheapskate I decided to just make my own out of material we had laying around our shop instead of buying new ones. I would like input from you guys whether good or bad on how I did on the designs. Id be lying If I said I knew their weight but Im guessing close to or exceeding 5Lbs. I figured more weight would only help since Id rather not be searching far.

Doesn't look like those will get drug too far. Now add 8' - 10' of chain and you should be good to go.

I will say they do look very nice construction wise but my question is : what type of drag/effect where you after? Aggressive plowing for open ground or just something to be used in the thickets And to catch on to debris ,brush and such ?

I would have to say both. The property I plan to use them on has a long winding gravel road down the center and planted pines around 6ft or so tall plus all the old stumps and tree trash where it was previously logged a few years back. I made them overly aggressive for if the coyote decides to run down the road a few yards before it darts in the brush. Plus Ill be checking the traps early in the am before I go to work so a highly visible drag trail and a short distance walk helps me a ton.

I see you are in GA and I'm in NC, and I trap many logging/woods rds, allowing me to PRE-HOOK a drag to a sapling or log, using 6 ft of chain. WHY? because WHEN a coon or cat climbs, it will still only be head high making dispatch easy. And , NO searching for a catch.
Who has time for that?
I've know several guys that had a cat 10 ft up a tree and had to log or climb for dispatch, so i'll learn from them.
By pre-hooking, a 1 lb mini drag is great, too.
If you're gona drag in more open ground, then heavy, long chains are best.
As another bonus of short chained pre-hooking, the scent of a catch stays close to the set and attract more critters to the re-make.
Drags are faster than driving a stake, too.
Not sure of your situation, but hope I helped some.

Thanks friend any advice from a fellow trapper is worth my time to listen to. That is a good point about the cats climbing the trees. Thankfully the property Im trapping only has pine saplings about 6ft tall so no worries on the critters being out of reach. I done some scouting and found a muddy spot where trucks have rutted out a low spot in the road with thicket and high weeds on each side. Coyote tracks and scat all over the higher dry hump in the center of the road. Should make a deadly blind set location. If we could ever get a decent break in this rain Im anxious to try it.

Ive made hundreds of drags over the years and prefer the one on the right of your pic although mine are single points 1 up 1 down those will dig into grass just like hooking a sapling As I used scrap metal some were heavy 8 lb+ 4 to 6 ft of chain was plenty even used 1/8 in cable extensions with quick links on each end roll them up keeps back of truck from turning into a iron beaverdam AND coyotes can go for a long ways down a road with a light drag and 7-8 feet of chain just sayin

I prefer the one on the right myself. The next ones I build will be like it. I plan on using 10ft of chain on these so hopefully between the chain length and over aggressive drags I wont be searching far.

T-Rev:

I use drags exclusively on cats and about 50/50 on coyotes. My only comment on your drags is that the two on the left would work fine for cats (in my country it doesn't take much for a drag to work), but they would be pretty bulky to bury for coyotes. I have no doubt they would work, but they would require a lot of excavation work and depending on your location and the type of set you were putting in, they may not be as appealing as something smaller but just as efficient. For example, if I am setting coyote traps and I want to put in a subtle flat set in difficult soil, I'm going to lean toward a stake or at least a smaller drag.

The second comment is with regard to the drag on the far right. The double prong idea is novel and would probably work. My only suggestion is that based on my experience, drags with a longer "shank-to-prong" ratio work better. By that I mean, if the shank is too short and the prongs too wide, the drag tends to twist side to side a lot more, rather than pull straight. It therefore becomes easier for the animal to untangle as opposed to a drag with a longer shank and narrower prong. Just my two cents worth. Carry on!!

I would have to agree with you on the 2 rebar drags not burying well for coyotes. I also see what you mean about the width of the prongs vs the length of the shank. The next ones I build I will remedy that issue. Thank you for the advice friend!