Who on here consistently neck snares coons? If so what’s your setup and what do you think is your secret to catching them around the neck?

Mines a 5-6” loop of 3/32 7x7 with a cam and a 25 pound spring with a kill pole

I use the same cable with a mini cam-lock and no spring, fast loaded of course. Solid supports and the height off the trail are the secrets here, (adjust for the size of coons in your area) - plus the bigger coons you have in your area the easier it is to target neck catches.

Yep keep the loop small and need a good lock. Too big a loop and you get a leg in as well as the head and if not locked down well they can work the loop down their body as they roll and dig at it.
It's hard for me.to snare a coon correctly on a consistent basis and not get snare Mark's and damage.
Jim

ADC what is your % of neck catchs ?

I don't keep track but I'm sure 90+% Newt. I don't try to catch all the coons though, I only target the biggest ones with high loops. I am sure there are several that go under the loop. Luckily my support system just allows the snare to ride down their backs then fall back into place ready for the next coon down the trail, most of the time. I have very few knocked down. That said I don't attempt to catch many, if any, coons with any method when the market is what it is and has been for a few years. IF they are ever worth the effort again, I'll be having fun snaring them though.

Newt you must have some advice into this, I agree with ADC height is key

I agree with the height and a smaller loop. Coons are like a barn cat if their whiskers fit their whole body will.

I watched a lot of coon film and It looks like they run with noses close to the ground.

We're they always running? I tried the, they run with their noses close to the ground once and for two weeks never snared a coon. Dont think I even got a possum. It's a recipe for flank snaring coons if you do catch them with that method. Running 5-6" off the ground, I'll gladly miss the dinks and neck catch the big boys. If I could get someone to pay for large scale coon jobs I'd run at 4" and laugh at DP suggestions.

I run 1/16th 1x19 with a bmi minilock. Heavy load 5 inch loop 6-7 inches off the ground.

Hight is much more important than loop size.
Fast snare in a must
Double loaded Are the best
I do NOT like 7x7 cable.NOT as fast as 1x19.
Dont use a chin lifter if you only want big coon
My "Go to snare" Stainless Steel cable, Copper Ferrules, Stainless Steel NEWT'S lock, 42" 1x19,6/0 swivel ,66" 7x7 loop end tail.

Neck cought coon-1/16" 1x19 would be a good choice.
Body cought coon- not so good. I find the coon fight harded in a 1/16" 1x19 snare.

Little La coons may be ok with that thin cable but I have had a couple hundred+ over the years chew through 3/32 and escape. If you were to use 1/16", I'd definitely want to be neck snareing them and have great entanglement.

Not twisted in two either, but chewed...

I almost think a coon can destroy a snare fast than I coyote. I use 5/64 1x19 and have had snares look like that with coon more often than yotes.

ADC,
I use entangalment.Where I snare its almost imposable not to. When snaring on the salt meadows. I'll put in a tangle stake.
I realy cant rember loosing a coon to chew out. Or a twist off.

Maybe you should start buying SNARE CABLE. Your 3/32" 7x7 hardware store GARAGE door (catch and release) cable. Just dosent stand up to agenst true snare cable.LOL

LOL, Newt you probably just don't snare enough of them.

You just get out of bed ?

I got'ya. Not like you do. My best coon day was 14 coon out of 18 snares.

I'm guessing that stainless steel cable would be pretty difficult for biting in two, or twisting in two. What say you Newt?

I'll say this Carl
Your one of the top snareman in North America
Once you try "Good" Stainless Steel cable. You wont go back to galvaized

I showed a video at the snaring school last Jan of a big coon walking right through a 3/32 7x7 standard load, 7 inch loop, 7 off the ground. I like to set a 5-6 loop 6 to 7 off ground, 5/64 or 3/32 1x19 and I still get seat belts.I have videos that if a coon is in an area where it is crawling over stuff, it is more likely to try to crawl over the bottom of the loop rather than push through

Let's see the video. There has to be more to the story. What was the support wire? Where was the lock in respect to the loop (top, side, bottom?) What lock? What is a "big coon"? What's a "standard load"? There's no way a 3X coon is stepping up through a 7" loop, 7" off the ground with a good solid support and not getting caught unless there were some awfully extreme missteps by the trapper, no way.

LOL The lock was sterling and was set at 10 o'clock on a fox scent post. with a 14ga inverted s support off a sapling. the standard load is what you perfect circle boys use that is a swing-out fire, not a downward fire. And if you want to see the video, you will have to come to the next South Jersey Trapping and Snaring school to see it and learn some different stuff. And I didn't say a 3 x I said a big coon which in our area 1 or 2 x.

Thanks! Exactly what I thought you'd reply. Too bad you guys are stuck on that wimpy support wire lol. 10 o'clock is pretty far over too, 11 is a lot better IMO. No need to neck snare them dinky 1x coons, they aren't worth the cost of the snare.

lol

"IF" I ever cought a XXXXL . I'd make a pack animal out of it.

Around here a XXXL .Is one you tie on the hood of your truck and drive around with it all day.

That is why it's easier for me to neck snare coons. Some of our XXL coon are early born young of the year.

My Double loaded cable is set on 11 or 1, on both 7x7 and 1x19. The double load helps the loop stay open with wind and brush bys which is a must with all the deer we have. Our average good size coon will go through 4-inch hole in the roof on most of my jobs. 15 to 18 pounds. Our coon has a front leg length from pad to leg pit of 7 to 9 inches.

ADC wrote
Thanks! wink Exactly what I thought you'd reply. Too bad you guys are stuck on that wimpy support wire lol. 10 o'clock is pretty far over too, 11 is a lot better IMO. No need to neck snare them dinky 1x coons, they aren't worth the cost of the snare. laugh


I'm getting too old to bend 9ga. wire

Don't need to bend 9 wire much, Newt. Go raid a tobacco farm or tomato farm for the stakes and make you a bunch of quick supports. Put whammies or tubing on the snares.

Newt you and me both are too old and stubborn to change anything we do snaring wise. lol Hopefully some young guys will see there's more than one way to skin a cat.

Before I carry all that stuff. I'll QUIT snaring.Most of my snaring is done in or around Salt Marshes. Walking is the only way to get there.

IF I had road side locations. I would probly change my metho

I like a sturdy stabilizer. I have my stabilizers lazer cut out of 1/4" steel. They have 2 holes cut in them so I can feed my 11 gauge wire through to support the snare. I drive them into frozen ground with little effort. And with a bend up or down I can lower or raise my loop.

Almost all my trapping is walking only. Sometimes upto a mile. I can carry 2-4 dozen quick supports depending which I'm using in a pack basket or bucket easily that far.

SNIPERBO
Walking on the edge or on the Salt marsh (meadows is what we call'm)You nead both hands free. There is no way you can get a pack basket through,with anything that is not all the way in the pack basket

ofcourse you could cut a trail to walk on. But that would be too much work for what you would gain.
We have to adjust to our terain.
Teacher been here. At our School he walked it

I do not have the time to be stubborn and only do it one way. I do what I have to do when I have to do it 10 to 15 different ways a day. My living comes from snaring and cage trapping where the location and situations are given to me. Most times, I have one spot to catch the critter that is causing the damage and the customer is freaking out and wants it done now!!!!, One situation to figure it out and get it done as fast as I can or I do not pay my bills. I am a method based on location trapper. What fits the location method and tool best, is what I do, not what I want to. ADC and Wildlife control has forced me to become this. I will be the first to say If I was only fur trapping I would most likely be a location-based on method trapper and do it one way. Newt will tell you I will use 14ga around a sapling or 11 in the ground or 9 on a spike in the middle of the field or if I have to a split stick as a support, just get it done right. I use the inverted S or a collar based on how I want the loop position and tilt. I want a downward fire and a swing-out fire in that loop so I have all the bases covered so when I do not foresee something. If I miss that animal I may not get another chance at it Again. Between my wife and I using cages and cable in the last 2 weeks we have caught close to 75 groundhogs, I have lost count of coon and skunks using the mindset of making it happen with what the best method and tool is for the spot. By the way, GOD keeps me very humbled as to show me how much I do not know most of the time by a dumb squirrel. I am always looking for faster better ways of getting it done.

You can't use BGs when trapping chucks?
A 160 RBG with only one spring with a spike for the rivet stuck In the den entrance and a rod shoved through the spring and your good to go. 2 min tops.

But your absolutely right by doing what ever suits the situation.

We all assume whoever is talking here is talking about our conditions. I’ve been to the SouthJersey Snaring and Trapping school. The terrain is 100% different. A coon Newt had hanging in his shop was pathetic compared to a Minnesota coon, but the red fox they have out there really put ours to shame, color-wise. And yet I learned a lot. It was good, practical information applicable to the Midwest and every other part of the country.

Ron Jones and I have emailed extensively on the difference between trapping fur and nuisance animal removal. If I don’t catch something (fur) it’s no big deal except it hurts my pride. But an ADC guy who doesn’t catch a specific animal doesn’t get paid, and this makes it a big deal.

The three instructors have all trapped fur and do ADC work. Their methods are worth putting to use because this is how they make a good portion of their livings. When Ron and Newt and Morgan Bennett write something, I follow it very closely.

I hate coons except when they are in a customer's attic. Hey Teacher, those were my foxes you saw.

As I recall, they were beautiful compared to ours here.

[quote=The Beav]You can't use BGs when trapping chucks?
A 160 RBG with only one spring with a spike for the rivet stuck In the den entrance and a rod shoved through the spring and your good to go. 2 min tops.

But your absolutely right by doing what ever suits the situation.[quote]

No Beav, no foot traps and no BG's above the surface of the water.

Teacher, Mogans Fox are nice looking But he has the ugliest coon in the world LOL

I’ve walked the salt marshes or “meadows” as they’re called in New Jersey. The grass is tall, the mud substantial and I went right up to my hip stepping through an unforeseen rat run beneath the grass. Twice! The flagged stake is 7-8 ft long and it’s what you need to find the sets with grass that’s 5 ft tall. It’s a different world out there.

Haha, it’s also pretty amazing to try to keep up with Newt and Morgan. They move pretty fast through that stuff. But I guess you have to, to keep up with the changing tides.

I’m new at snaring so you’ll have to forgive me if my observations don’t mimic yours. After seeing Newt’s in-line swiveled snares, I bought some of his 5/64 1x19 stainless steel Double loaded variety. Coon twisted them up but they held. I also had some Mark Steck snares with camlocks. They were set up for coyotes (72-inches long) so I cut them down, installed inline swivels and caught coon with them also. These were 3/32 7x7 galvanized aircraft cable. Again, they got kinked but held up well.

All of these were January thaw coon. At one point they’d probably have been 25-plus pounds but after sleeping a bit due to deep snow and temps from -10 to a high of 10, they burned off a lot of the fat. A couple were one leg and shoulder caught. The others were lower body caught. Upon skinning, I found a mark similar to that of a 220 conibear.

Again, based on limited catches, I think an in-line swivel, close to the loop, does more good than a terminal swivel. That being said, all the cable was twisted pretty significantly even with a 24-hour check. I didn’t see signs of chewing. All coon were alive when I got there.

Newt has small coon. Sniper’s coon are middlin’ and Jabne’s coon are flat out big. Beav has a cable restraint law that keeps him from really snugging them down and that might allow the cable to be pushed further down the body. I suspect a lot depends on size of animal, snare loading, height off the trail, and the lock used. It sure is an interesting topic.

I am still learning the do"s and don'ts. I was running 7x7 3/32 a bent washer. I started out with then went to 7x7 5/64 and a sure locks . Over the yrs I went to mini pro locks 35 in 5/64 1x19 barrel swivel 36 in 7x7 3/32 loaded snares. I run kill poles not that they kill them. Because they are so fast to put out. I have tried a few 3/8 rebar kill poles. I use a little long snare. Most of the time they get the 7x7 around a tree. The coon still have a swivel to move around. I learn more every yr. I getting where I like to snare more than dig holes.

Dead coons don't chew

100 percent agree on inline swivels. I run a barrel swivel as close to the loop as possible

My trouble is the 1 piece snare lock Arkansas has. I can only use a 2 piece lock in water. Cant touch the land. So I stay with the 1 piece lock that sucks big time. I am a big fan of inline barrel swivels. I use mini pro lock and slim locks mostly on coons

I run barrel swivels on all my snares. I’d never run another snare without them. They work wondering when snaring coon. Hey bobcat_trapper why don’t you like one piece locks? Cams are my favourite but I’ve never had a problem with slims

Both of those are relaxing locks. Switch to BMI mini locks if you can find them or Berkshire sure locks if you can't hind the mini locks. These both lock down and won't back off even if a coon works at the lock with his feet.

What good is a swivel on a snare with a dead coon in it? IMO swivels are for live snaring and actually hinder the snare locking down tight enough to dispatch coons as quickly.

Can't really buy tha as entanglement neutralizes the swivel. Swivel Iid for the ones that refuse to follow directions.

A swivel near the loop is the least likely to be "neutralized". You want your snares wrapped up as tight as possible to dispatch neck snared coons.

The majority of mine are not in entanglement.

Why a swivel? Insurance

Even on a short snare, you'll still have around 12"+ of free snare when jmts cinched down. A 2.5 inch deer stop is roughly 9" of cable and , you need at least 24 to make a very minimal snare before the swivel.

My cable is 19 inches , giving roughly a 5 1/2 loop

.

Actually its 7.85" for a 2 1/2" deer stop... but if your neck snaring coon that inline swivel is keeping the cable from twisting up tight, why would you not want it twisted up tightly if your trying to kill the coon with the snare? Makes no sense. Of course your in Ohio where you are limited by DNR rules and probably have a hard time killing coons with the deer stop laws and relaxing locks. You don't see many guys using swivel on kill snares for coyotes, why would a coon be any different, if in fact you're neck snaring them?

Airport, if what your doing is working for you, keep at it. Them little baby coon you got in La, I don't know much about targeting. I try hard to avoid anything but the biggest and best 3X and up coons.

No such thing as relaxing locks as you know other than a nonsensical definition. Plus we don't have to use deer stops with a breakaway. That was just to illustrate the closed loop size. I don't rely on twisting to tighten up the cable. If you're doing so, you're risking a twist out if things don't work out.

What locks are you using then, and what % of coons are neck snared? If you are using a lock that requires a bur on a hole to lock the cable you're not killing many coons with your snares, and they will self release on occasion when neck snared. If they can get a hold of the lock with their feet, which they are good at, you definitely can benefit from a kink in the cable near the lock.

When I was doing it I was using the bmi minis and bullet locks in entanglement situations. I was getting about 50% as dinks would come through on my really tight trails and slither through and get hip caught. Never really had issues with coon throwing the snares off, even when I went to using the reverse bend washer locks even then I was still getting a decent percentage of neck catches.

The kinking for me never really did me much on anything. All it got me was a big mess, especially if a grey fox came by.

Ttt

have you checked out all the tips on Snare Shop website?

Coon are easy to kill with entanglement.
Maybe your loop is too big and or too low