Haven't posted much but am always looking here. So I used 3/32 7x7 for years and decided I would try some different cable. I really like the way the 1/16 by1x19 loads. Catch alot of coyotes with no real issues then will have 2 chew outs next check. Running kill poles and swivel now. Doesn't seem to matter if have swivel or not but ust random break out. Definitely think catch more with 1/16 but don't like losing fur. Tried kill springs with less than great results. This is sandhills and cedar hills area. Cats are always dead. Coyotes are 1 in 10 maybe. What should I change? I have built so many different kinds of snares over the years that I want to get just one go to.

Try the Ram-they seem to be popular with coyote trappers in western Canada(open country).It puts their lights out thats for sure.

When you say kill poles...do you mean the all-in-one type poles are are you placing a pole off to the side of the snare so the coyote can only make one or two wraps around the pole?

Snare is attached to pole. About 2 foot of pole above ground.

Are you using the trigger with the kill spring? What kind of kill spring are you using?

What locks are you using? No need for swivels on killing snares, they can be a detriment if they don't let the snares wrap up tight fast.

ADC, I Totally agree. I was swivel less as they are pointless on kill pole but when a dog works the pole and doesn't wrap up then the problem arises. It might just be me but seems like I used to pull up to alot more dead coyotes on poles and now I get there and they are working snare and pole. I used triggers with springs. Along with cam lock with teeth, that's all I use. Seemed like got more refusals with kill spring as it hangs on top of loop and in line of site with coyotes. 3/32 7x7 is bullet proof but dang catch rate is higher with thin cable. Especially in our drought stricken pastures this year. Fur is good this year tho. Mange is minimal.

ADC, I Totally agree. I was swivel less as they are pointless on kill pole but when a dog works the pole and doesn't wrap up then the problem arises. It might just be me but seems like I used to pull up to alot more dead coyotes on poles and now I get there and they are working snare and pole. I used triggers with springs. Along with cam lock with teeth, that's all I use. Seemed like got more refusals with kill spring as it hangs on top of loop and in line of site with coyotes. 3/32 7x7 is bullet proof but dang catch rate is higher with thin cable. Especially in our drought stricken pastures this year. Fur is good this year tho. Mange is minimal.

Get away from the entanglement mindset. Use a five ft 1/16 1X19 snare, with a deathblow serrated tooth lock, with a trigger on a #22 Sennekerkill spring with the Senneker 280# BAD, In combination with a ten ft 3/32 7X7 extention cable. Most use those short aftermarket springs that are not effective, especially without a trigger. Follow Marty Sennekers advice to the letter, on installation of the trigger, positioning is important. Only setup that I use now, and at least 3/4 of the time, I loop on a new snare and put it right back in the same place.

As far as I'm concerned, kill poles are worthless! I know Jayme likes them, but I won't use them.

I have been using sennekers magnum deluxe kill springs this year and have only had 1 of 16 coyotes alive. They absolutely flattened them. I can almost always rehang a new snare and reuse the bottle neck even in open grassy areas. The smaller kills springs with triggers just weren't that effective, but the magnums are spot on. Buy some and try with the triggers. I dont think you'll be disappointed. I also use to suffer a high percentage of chew outs. Haven't had a single one with magnum springs though. I'm using them on 5/64" 1x19.

Exactly! ND, try the 1/16th, you will love it! I often set on a shortgrasspasture on aa cow trail, and as long as the moon isn't bright, you can cross their eyes!

Using Sennenker springs and trigger on a 280# bad. Maybe the long extention would help them set tighter.Thanks Lee. Will give that a try. Sometimes I think the pole is too hard to hide anyways. Some days it doesn't matter some days I think it does. Cats it definitely doesn't. Lots of good info here even if you have been doing it a long time. Learning something every day.

I don't have any 1x19 5/64. Might be a great cable. Used in in 7x7 for coons and fox but not coyotes.

Where are on the neck is the snare and lock on the ones still alive? Up tight to the ears? Low down by the base? I had a couple chew/ spin outs using 1/16th 1x19 and I found the issue to be I had the snare set to low and not anchored high enough. They were getting caught low on the neck and the 1/16th couldn't hold together long enough to put them down. The 3/32nd has a little more forgiveness with less than ideal catches where with 1/16th you really need to be on your game. Just my observations, so take it as you will.

The extension Lee talked about is the key. It gives them room to lunge and tighten the snare quickly.

It has to be a killing snare, or it's gone faster than one on my 5/64 1x19

Some coyotes are smart enough to not fight the snare and just chew. My buddy uses 1/16 senneker snares and they worked great for him until last year when he had 2 chew outs in a week. I think 5/64 1x19 is a good balance for coyotes. If you can use power rams like boco said that would probably solve your problems

I once had over a hundred power rams, and they were excelent in heavy cover and the years when the there was a lot of grass, but. Yotes will spook from them if not enough cover. I still have a few and those are my fence snares now, as well as in brush or entanglement areas. The Senneker outfit is just as deadly and much easier to transport and use than the rams are. I always used the 3/64th break away snares in them, and had some times where big yotes would get caught deep on the neck, and they would pop the snare wire.

TAtrap touched on an important issue too. It is easy to make you loop too large, which in turn leads to yotes caught too deep. When caught down by the chest, they can fight it for a long time. I stay with a smaller loop of between 8-9 inches, with more catches higher on the neck to right behind the ears. Another problem can be where you stake the snare. I try to stake close to where the snare and suppoort is. I have tried to stake awayfrom the snare because sometimes there is some entanglement that I don't want him to get to. Many times it will lead to a chewout, because it will cause the coyote to hit the end at an angle to the stake, which is what causes the spinners many times. And yes, there are some coyotes that are just chewers, and will chew out of any size snare. The 1/16 is invisable enough that it will add enough more yotes over larger cable if the above rules I wrote are followed. All of it is important, but the biggest is that longer kill spring with more travel!

Oh, one more thing. If you have a chew out with the long spring, look around the area. I've found one deadd about 60 yards from the set, and have only had two in two years. Much much better than with the old short springs!

I'm not trying to sound like a know it all, but just passing on what I have learned from my experiences! Hope it helps you!

2' foot of pole isn't enough pole for coyotes imo... My recipe for kill poles are a short snare 48" with around 4' of pole for them to wrap up on, think tether ball.. shorter the snare the quicker they're wrapped up.