For coon trapping: what’s your favorite cable type and why?

I don’t care if they’re mid cable swiveled or have just an end swivel.

5/64" 7x7 works well for many coyotes, bobcats fox and even badgers when either I'm setting them or selling them to others.

Prefer the 1x19 5/64th for coon. I use reverse bend washer locks and like to load the snares so hard that they about knock the coon out when the lock fires. Doesnt pull fur like 7x7 does either.

If I didn't have deer stops to keep neck snared coons alive to chew, my answer would be different, but as is, 7x7 3/32" cable is my choice. 1x19 in the same size would be a little more chew resistant but harder to work with IMO. The smaller diameter 1x19 5/64 is not as chew resistant as the 7x7 3/32 for raccoons based on a lot of coons caught in each size and cable lay. 1x19 is also easier for a coon to work the lock back open with if they are alive and neck caught they will pull the cables off their head or work them further down their body at times.

Clint Locklear said it best. I agree

"3/32" 7x7 is Gargage door cable"

That's good, very true.. especially with CRs and yotes

3/32 7x7 is my preferred lethal snare for wolves(no coyotes here) with a wedge type lock and pressure spring.
All other cat and canine lethal neck snares I make are either 7x7 or 1x19 1/16th,with an adams or cam lock(I prefer adams lock in the fall during freeze/thaw conditions).
Under ice beaver is either 1x19 1/16 with an adams lock or the old style 1x7 beaver wire(not cable) with no lock.

It all depends on the laws you're saddled with. If you can use any snares without any restrictions your answers will be different than others. If you have to use cable restraint type snares, or mandatory deer stops, or any number of other STUPID regulations/restrictions your answers are going to vary as well. The size of your coons would factor in as well.

Teacher can use use any cable size, lay, length, loop height, no restrictions? If that were the case and knowing how big your coons are in MN, I'd use the 5/64 1x19 with a mini camlock, I'd set all my fast loaded coon snares with a 7" loop, 7-8" off the ground. I'd use killpoles with short stiff #9 support wires and good support collars to get the snares to fire shut without any dragging down from flimsy support and I'd neck snare almost every single coon I caught. They would DOA without any damage to effect fur value.

I use 5/64ths 1x19 cable for all of my snaring. The issue I have had is I get docked at auction for snared coons with the cable burn on the leather side when put up. If you can neck catch them you will be in ok shape. But coons can squeeze through a snare pretty easily and get caught around the shoulders or worse yet the waist.

1x19 1/16th is a coons worst nightmare if I'm around

I too use kill poles. I use 1x19 5/64 to barrel swivel then 3/32 7x7. I use a mini pro lock. If I set 20ft or less from water no deer lock. Over 20ft has to have a deer stop. Wish I could use a 2 piece lock. Law is one piece lock. I do make a few beaver snares out of 7x7 3/32.

Mn rules say nothing smaller than 1/16 diameter cable. Beaver snares at least 1/2 in the water. I think the maximum loop size for beaver is 10” diameter. Deer stops are, at this time, a recommendation. We don’t have a break away (BAD) requirement yet.

From what I’ve been told, catching deer isn’t all that uncommon. But getting close enough to release them is a VERY unpleasant chore.

Since I’m just getting into snaring, I’m not sure of the height restriction on snares, but I think it’s 20-inches above foot print level. This becomes a factor when snaring in snow.

As I’ve said, I’m just getting into snaring. To that end, I have some of Newt’s 1x19 5/64 with inline swivels and some of Mark Steck’s Dakotaline 3/32 7x7. I’ve caught coon in both. The 1/19 catches were down at the hips while the 7x7 were neck and shoulder caught. I’m not sure the midline swivels did much. The cables were all twisted up anyway. But conceptually, I envision the end cable swivel not doing anything if it’s isolated from the target by entanglement closer to the loop. I haven’t caught enough to experience chew out yet.

5/64th 1x19 double loaded. Fires on the downward pressure or swing-out. Stays open in wind and most brush bys but fires fast and hard when the animal moves the bottom of the loop. and stays shut.

Teacher,

MN will not allow you to snare ROW's. I've played around with snaring coon and I can see how some guys do really well. I've snared plenty of coyotes but never seemed to get neck-snaring coon perfected. I body catch too much to let myself do it anymore, I just don't. The daily check law is something to consider too. Tough to beat bodygrips or a drowner on low dollar fur.

I would highly suggest running BAD's in this state on any snare other than beaver and anchor to something rock solid to allow it to function if needed. Floppy sapplings won't do it. Avoid deer areas as much as possible.

I’m familiar with the ROW rule. My snaring will be on private property, as it was this winter. Funny thing about the break away device (potential) rule. It’s been shelved by the DNR. I emailed and got a reply from the association’s attorney. He said it’s been shelved thru 2022 and I suspect it’s because it’s too hard for the DNR to determine BAD release poundage. The rub, as discussed at the fall board meeting, was if a trapper bought BADs at 285 pound break away, and the DNR determined the break away poundage turned out to be 100 pounds more, who would be to blame? The trapper bought what someone else specified as correct but the manufacturer messed up.

From the conversations I’ve had with trappers who have caught deer, I think BADs are a good idea. We’ll have to see how this all turns out.

The general concensus is 5/64 1x19. But coon sizes around the country differ from what we have here. Does that make a difference? I don’t know. Trent Masterson, who sells Truckload coon bait, says his 12 pound coon are large. We weigh our coon just for curiosity sake and average over 17 pounds with a lot of the later coon over 28. Does that make a difference? I really don’t have a clue.

I like bads more on coon snares than on coyote snares mainly because a coon snare is almost perfectly positioned to foot catch a deer. A coyote snare not in a fence, a deer just knocks those down or to the side with their chest.

Bigger the coon, generally the higher you need to set your snares to neck catch the coon.

Ok, Im and old fart and have snared for quite few years for coyotes and coons. Have seen where guys refer to ' double loading" a snare. Am I missing out on something here. Sounds like the way they are loaded makes them slam shut even quicker than what I may be doing. IS double loading used for coyotes too, or used more on animals like coons. Just curious and trying to teach an old dog a new trick. Thank you.

Are you talk'n about "over loading" or a true Double load. Like what we teach at the SOUTH JERSEY TRAPPING AND SNARING SCHOOL.

I like my long time friend Keith Gregerson will tell you the only time you need to load a snare is when your going out to set snares you load them into the back of the outfit .

Granted I've been snaring all sorts of predators for many year's with out many empty knocked down loops or hip caught critters so it must work out .

We use dispatch or kill springs and at times 1/16" and 5/64" cable that isn't always 1x19 or 7x7 so kill poles aren't required to dispatch what ever you are targeting just length of the snare 8'+ works well for coyotes 6' for fox and raccoon .

Now it's time to pop some popcorn and grab a ice tea and listen to folks say how wrong and misguided these statements are wrong when the general above methods are tried and proven for year's out here in the west.

Suchlike2 I am the one that developed the double load about 18 to 20 years ago. I only showed it to a few people and was not known about until Newt asked me if he could show it in his demos. I developed it for my groundhog snaring in my ADC business to catch the groundhogs when they stalled at the den entrance. I then used it on the coon and other animals that have an angled chin to the bottom of the chest line, rather than a vertical line like a fox or coyote. ( base of neck to the bottom of the chest) the double load really shines with beaver and muskrat water sets where they are swimming with feet pulled up. and coon skunks and grinners that tend to crawl through a loop rather than push through if given the chance. My coon loop is 6 inch and 6 to 7 inches off the walking surface and I still get body catches.

It works on a downward or outward trigger, similar to a heavy overload yet it will stay open until triggered. where a 10-inch overload will fire just looking at it LOL Most snares or cable restraints are either loaded with a standard load or no load. (teardrop) The standard load is a swingout fire, verticle chest pushes the bottom of the loop out. When the loop extends a distance ( a 10-inch loop has to pivot or swing-out 10 to 12 inches before the memory or spring takes over to fire, the no-load 10 to 12 inches before the animal starts to pull the lock closed) A standard load will wedge on a downward pressure until the bottom swings outward enough to release the pressure. a no-load has to be pulled down and out before the lock falls. The fox, coyote, bobcat all have vertical chest line, and the standard load and no-load was developed for these. So as long as the k9 or cat places its head into a loop that is right height and size, the chest will push the bottom of the loop outward as long as the animal keeps forward motion to fire the cable or pull the cable to produce the lockset. The double load is not needed for the k9 but does have an advantage with cats as they tiptoe through a loop at times. The downward or outward fire of a double load only needs to move down or out 2 inches before it fires the cable hard.

Double loading can be tricky to do until the snaremen understands, and can really mess up a loop or never achieve a real double load. Next year at the snaring school I am going to have each student double load there with me standing there watching, I am finding even though they watch me do it Many still could not get it LOL Many that saw my demo last year at the FTA convention has asked if I would do a video on the double load I may. The double load excels on the slanted lined neck to the bottom of chest animals, but not needed with vertical chest line. But the double load works great on k9 and cats if they stall the lock still fires. Many Coon, beaver and fox snaremen have switched over to it, especially with the grey fox. It is whatever the snaremen likes no right or wrong.