I buy my PA legal CR's from the Snare Shop.
Our season doesn't start until after Christmas and the use of CR's is highly regulated. The "no entanglement" rule really limits where they can be legally set.
I target reds and what I like most about CR's is that they are mostly unaffected by the freeze/thaw cycle that will put my footholds out of commission and cause me a lot of extra work rebedding traps.
I took the required class at John Epler's place (Epler's Fur Company) and got my certification. Once I had a little experience I started connecting.
This pic shows a typical location for CR's, a lightly used two-track through a CRP field. You can see the second CR on the right side of the photo.
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2020/08/full-272-57606-cr_1_1024x768.jpg)
Another catch pic.
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2020/08/full-272-57608-cr3_1024x768.jpg)
A newly created Two-track where the farmer was driving his tractor to gather firewood. I hung a cable on each track.
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2020/08/full-272-57609-cr_4_769x1024.jpg)
One on either side of the hump.
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2020/08/full-272-57610-cr_5_1024x768.jpg)
Another catch pic.
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2020/08/full-272-57611-cr_6_1024x767.jpg)
This pic shows a method I use to deal with the giant catch circle created by CR's. If anyone has questions about this dispatch method PM me.
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2020/08/full-272-57613-cr_7_1024x767.jpg)
Another location pic. This one is where an old (sometimes still used) ATV trail intersects the main two-track. There are two CR's, one one either side of the small brush pile in the middle. I made the trails in the snow to encourage reds to take the path of least resistance. At the time this pic was taken I had caught three or four reds here and just kept rebuilding the area.
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2020/08/full-272-57614-cr_8_1024x768.jpg)
Here is another one caught at that location.
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2020/08/full-272-57616-cr_11_1024x765.jpg)
A CR double!
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2020/08/full-272-57617-cr_13_1024x828.jpg)
This is the only CR death I've had. It was killed by a coyote that picked it up by the neck/back and shook it. There was enough snow to tell the story.
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2020/08/full-272-57619-cr_15_killed_by_coyote_786x1024.jpg)
My lab pup eyeballing a CR'd red.
![[Linked Image]](https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2020/08/full-272-57620-cr_16.jpg)
The biggest problem I have with CR's, other than being very limited to legal locations because of the "no entanglement" rule, is deer knocking them over. I've never caught one, they just walk into the loops/support wire and knock them down. It makes checking a pain. Cables are hard to see. If not for the deer I'd just slow down and if I didn't see a critter I'd keep going. But I have to either walk up to them or use the binos to make sure they are still hanging.
Even if one somehow got it's foot in the loop and cabled itself, I doubt it would be there when I rolled in to check. We are required to have break-away devices (BAD's) built into our CR's that must be rated at 375 lbs. or less. They are designed to break and free a large animal like a deer when it lunges.
We only started using CR's legally in PA about ten years ago. It's another tool. A good one in freeze/thaw or snowy conditions.