How long do you run your chains with 1.5s and DPS when using rebar? I plan on using 30 inch long 1/2 inch rebar stakes since some of my land is mucky/soupy.

I use 24" 3/8s rebar and add 3 links of #2 chain with a stake swivel on the end for my DPs.

Mine are 18" long with my dp's. But I do agree it all depends of what type of soil you are trapping in.

I use stock chains for DP's and a 24" 3/8" rebar stake, on land not by/in the water.

I use the stock chain plus a swivel added in the middle of it.

I use stock chain and a 12-18” cabled super stake in muck and can push it down with the driver and pull it up by hand. All my coons run side to side or in a circle. They ain’t figured out to stand over it and pull it straight up yet, lol.

Big consideration is not letting them reach high ground directly over top of the stake or bad things happen.

I do typically use earth anchors or cable extensions. I have wolf fangs, ogorman high desert spears, and I make super stakes out of black pipe. They are just a pain to pull on walk in parts of the line and pullers are heavy as heck



not trying to be ignorant just genuinely asking, what makes rebar a bad stake? I know it's not fun to weld on as I weld my own stakes but it is like 20% of the cost of any other steel rod. I planned on using it on a part of my line that is pretty much a creek and marsh that is walk in. Mixing dps where I can set them with 40 inch portable pocket stakes using 1.5, #11, and 1.75s all double jawed

Any/all types of earth anchors I have seen and/or used are too cumbersome to use on dry land sets for coons. And that's simply due to the holding strength being way more than needed and its a time eater to pull and re-drive. Its like a MB 750 at the caster mound when a snare (legal) will do. I bought 100 back in 2001 or 2 when Gary Bonnet first came out with DP's (Grizz Gettr's) and had pretty much decided on #11's for land and both 11's and 1.5's in water for coons prior to that. IN OUR SOIL I used 3/8 re-bar exclusively with a couple of swivels in the trap chain and had no problems since the mid 80's when I started with re-bar. I used 18" rebar on that 1st 100 that fall. So trying always to improve, in '03 I switched that 100 DP's to earth anchors (Pogo's with much smaller washers, Iowa disposable, and a couple of others etc.). Way too much pulling time and back effort to use on a land coon trap. So in '04 I went back to rebar with better time use. We had and have freezing ground with little or no snow some winters and time wise, the rebar gets a tap and vise grips for one spin and pulled in those conditions and I was/am gone. Whether I moved the 11 or DP down the same trail or 4 miles it was easier to drive the stake at the set and after a few checks tap-spin and pull with my hands than occasionally getting a mechanical puller out of the truck. Too cumbersome for me with our soil. I will add that I now use 7/16 smooth rod for land traps and snares if I have a choice but don't worry if I have rebar in the truck when trapping coons, badgers, skunks and such but use the anchors for coyotes as I cut the cable and pull those traps. I have tried about every retrieval method including the rotary hammer (which I won't leave home without it) for cutting frozen trap beds, augering not drilling a hole and pre-drilling an anchor. Too much time and effort wasted with an axe, spade or other digging tools. Keep in mind this is December trapping, as November is filled with hunting, water trapping and farm catch-up stuff. Have worn 2 Rotary hammers out and had DeWalt replace them. So take that for what its worth. My experience. ...................the mike

I use the stock chain on my DPs and add a butterfly double stake with a swivel and use two 18 inch 3/8 inch rebar stakes with nuts welded on the head to crosss stake the set. I can use a vice grip to twist the stakes and they come out easily. Lot of the area I use DPs the ground is softer and thus cross staking to me with shorter stakes more sense then one longer heavier stake.

Bryce

[quote=bblwi Lot of the area I use DPs the ground is softer and thus cross staking to me with shorter stakes more sense then one longer heavier stake.

Bryce[/quote]



Why not just use a cable stake with a magnum head and be done with it.
Or a drag ?

I have also cabled them off as a last resort

I try to put my sets where coons can not grab anything to pull hard etc. so drags to me with all of our woods would not be good. As to cable stakes, I have the light rerod and they work very well.

Bryce

Ohio coon are smaller than Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska’s and the upper half of Iowa. I was corresponding with Truckload Coon Baits several years ago. Trent was telling me a 12 pound coon was a nice one. A nice one in the states listed is 24 pounds. A big one is around 30 lbs.

If Bryce is cross staking, he has a good reason to do so. A big Wisconsin coon can really pull. Fortunately, they haven’t figured out “up” will pull the stake.

bet they could if you gave them a way to get above the stake. When you long chain you eliminate their ability to pull from above the stake unless there's something for them to climb on nearby, a tree, rock, vertical bank.

I do like Bryce. Stock chain with a butterfly stake attachment. If I really have to pound in the first stake, it only gets one. If the first stake goes in easy, it gets two.
I trap in ground from sand to gravel to rock to creek muck.
Most of my sets get double 18" stakes, the softer ground gets double 24" stakes.