I am finding it increasingly difficult to get any kind of firm answer on anything from game depts. They used to do that but now they want to leave everything very ambiguous so they can squirt out the other way. It’s very hard to get any kind of reply by email from them. They know those can be forwarded and saved. They seem to put stuff off as long as possible and then come up with a “ semi solution” until something comes up. Lots of kids, recent college degrees, making decisions now that have very little or no real experience concerning trapping. Let’s face it. Trappers are, in most states, just considered a sidebar. Most depts. won’t come out blatantly anti trapping but they chip away bit by bit if that’s their intent. Kentucky was very good for a while. Now it seems everyone is afraid of losing their jobs so silence is the route they choose instead of sound positive decisions. Any time you have any kind of legislative branch in the state govt. with their toe in the door you start to see sportsmen start to lose. We worked directly across the table with them to get our one piece nomenclature. It has worked out fine. Now, if we could get Sportsmans Warehouse to stop selling cam lock snares to people who don’t know or care to hang them in a horse fence around Lexington.

Before we got the any one piece lock regulation in KY it was anyone's guess as to what a relaxing lock was. I like the one piece lock definition as it is simple for the warden to see if you are legal or not.

Kytrapper - I agree on the cam lock snares being sold everywhere. Seems every farm store and feed mill around here sells them. I tell them they are not legal here but they don't care.

As if a cam lock snare is any different from one with any number of other one piece locks??? A sure lock for example will lock up so tight you can't get your cutters under the snare loop, and its not the only one one-piece lock that will do the same. Plus any snare set in a stupid location like that is bad no matter the lock.

ADC - I agree, but the law we had before was so ambiguous a warden in one county would say you were OK and in the next you would get a ticket. At least this way there is no question what a one piece lock is. I think this way the only locks that are illegal are cam locks and Ambergs, and any snare with a kill spring. That I can live with, it is the only snare restriction we have and hopefully it will stay that way.

We went from no one being sure what was legal that varied from county to county to an easily understood definition. To further eliminate any confusion we deemed SOME closing devices not to be used on land. This was basically the camlock, Amberg, and any that had a kill spring including RAMS. We have a tremendous free roaming dog problem and you can understand the spring assisted devices not being a good idea. Yes, any knowledgeable trapper could use anything with very few problems. I feel our compromise was a very workable one with all parties involved including the hound people. What we have to think about is there are fewer and fewer of us and more YouTube watchers that run down to Sportsmans Warehouse and buy anything and think nothing of setting the back fence of a Lexington subdivision. I saw a recent post on a Kentucky outdoor site with a coyote in a Camlock for the world to see. I don’t think the guy even realized he was illegal. I’m seeing so many Facebook and YouTube kids and I worry they’re going to be the death of us. I say kids but some of them are old enough to know better. Some very poor stuff out there and other kids watch other kids and want to do it that way. Even the string of comments on a picture are a turn off to non trappers. Twenty years ago, even if we had social media, you wouldn’t see a lot of snared coyote pics with a cigarette in their mouth or a beer bottle. You wouldn’t see a few on there trying to “out graphic” another posters pic with a staged coyote in a fence. We had more respect for the animals and the sport of trapping. These new ones will not join a trapping organization and care nothing about showing it in a good light. They are strictly in it so everyone can “look at me”.

Anthony, you’re post at the same time as mine is right.

True. They don’t release as much. But the definition says absolutely nothing amount how much relaxing it takes to meet the definition.

I know, your advice is not to push it for fear of losing out in the end. And I understand why you say that, and I agree. I’m not pushing it. When I used locks that were purchased, I used reverse bend washer and have been actually quite happy with them for every species I’ve snared.

Nonetheless I’m skeptical that the DNR could actually win in court if I am ticketed for using a micro lock (which I’m not going to do!). They might come back with a new definition that was more restrictive after the fact, but as it stands the letter of the law as I read it allows every lock that does not have a spring assist. A good friend who has some sort of college degree in technical writing looked at it and she agreed. Without qualifiers in the definition, if that loop can be shown to increase at all when the anchored end goes slack, even 30 thousandths of an inch, it passes that definition. I don’t want any trouble with the DNR, and I’m not trying to flout the intent of the rule and definition, so I will probably never have any problem.

Oh wow, I posted that after not looking for a while, there has been a lot of discussion since that I have not read... I will get caught up later, a friend needs emergency help getting his wood furnace hooked back up after chimney cleaning.

In all my years of experience and asking / dealing with DNR and Game and Fish. . .
A) None of them have a clue
B) Looks okay to me ( does your snare have a tag ?)
C) Bigger things to worry about / a grey area anyway. No complaint, No problem, carry on
D) All of the above.

If it doesn't have teeth or a spring , they all seem to fit the bill.
Now, those garbage B.A.D. S Hooks, I have to use, that coyotes are opening up as if they were aluminum. . . ( now there's an argument !)

Nobody says you have to use the S-hook bads. There's other legal options if you wish to use BADs

Gregerson L4 or a deer stop and I'm not EVER using a deer stop !

There are legal jhook bads and release ferrules