I bought a dozen pigtail snare supports and I'll be darned if I know how to use them. there must be something else that goes with them. would it be posible for someone to draw me a sketch of how to set it up ? thanks for any help.

A rebar stake (1/2") slide thru the coils. Slip that same stake thru the snare end swivel too and drive into ground at snare location.

I buy annealed "black" #9 wire and wrap my own, then it'll be welded to the stake where the vice grips are in my picture above. It's the very best snare support for supporting snares off the ground. Works great on killpoles too.

Here’s a vid, they’re pretty slick but I haven’t used em much yet.
On a side note, this is an older vid. After a lot more testing in the field, this Lightsout system is more effective with a short snare. You don’t want them running 10’ after the snare drops down. Entanglement is not something you want with them……..if you’re using these kill systems.

ADC… I really need to make some of those just for pigs. I just have to figure out how to anchor them in, I have some garage door springs laying around I figured I could use for shock springs… I need to retire so I can work on some projects lol.

For hogs.....your best option is to anchor to a tree.

Now that is a kill spring!!!

Other than the size, what's the difference between your snare and a Ram? I don't see any mechanical system difference. With a Ram, you can use a stake anywhere you can pound it in and don't need a tree, plus, the spring acts as the support.................... the mike

Is this directed at my post, Lightsout or Senneker vs Rams?

Yes to the direction as we watched the video. Wondering about this usage of a pigtail in areas w/o close trees for a support. All the spring loaded snare designs seem to have the same theme, just the spring size is different. Using a Ram you put it anywhere with a stake and its spring is the support. It is expensive and cumbersome (in the truck) but my game cam shows a 2 minute + or - time frame from catch to death, plus you can modify a much more sensitive trigger system than either Lightsout or Senneker for use on a variety of different furbearers. Lightsout and Sennecker are easier to carry and store and cost less. BUT the MECHANICS are the same from this side of the fence unless I am missing something................... the mike...... P.S. that double twist of wire (around) will damage/kill a tree in this area and when you have plenty like you folks do its not and issue. Here where 5 mature trees constitute a State Park its a concern LOL. ............... the mike again

Swamp… it’s in an open field no trees around. I used a 6’ log once as a toggle, boar dragged it about 200yds and it looked like a mule plowed the earth.

This right here

The little kill systems certainly don’t replace the ram, but I only set a handful of rams this winter. For fox & coyote, they’re ok, but for wolf the big Ram Wolf Masters are not the ticket. The S/LO systems can be tweaked so they fire with a lighter pull, but you do not want that. Short snare, no entanglement, and it’s the fastest kill I’ve ever seen. Even a little fox will set off the heaviest trigger.
For open areas, I use a snare support tapped into the ground with a solid anchor, but I rarely snare in the open grassy areas.
The rams kill by keeping pressure on the snare, chew the cable and he’s gone, not so with S/LO. I’ve found em stone dead 50yds away after chewing the cable. The animal starts getting choked, pulls hard enough to set off the trigger (25-30is lb give or take) then the spring cinches it another 4”. But most of the kills the spring is only halfway opened……putting a ton of force on the cinch.
Like I said, that video is old, but it give you an idea how you can use the pigtail. I just use a regular support. Keep my snare short and choked around a solid tree. Not all of mine have barrel swivels, but the ones that do aren’t to keep the animal from twisting the cable, they’re dead way before the cable gets really janked. It’s to help get the loop nice and vertical after choking it around a tree. My snares have a little loop just big enough to feed the spring though and around a tree to anchor……
The mechanics aren’t the same. If that spring fires prematurely, that animal will most likely be dead, just not as humane. I waxed my Lightsout my first year. That was stupid and I didn’t understand how they were supposed to kill, never doing that again.
I’m not proof reading this and I hope auto correct didn’t turn this reply into a fishing story……lol

Never had a coyote here chew out of a RAM (50/year for 23 yrs with a best of 74 all in Rams), guessing ours are smaller than yours there. Coons follow the same trails as coyotes and there are a lot more of them than coyotes here. Using just 1 size Ram (coyote) and after having many Rams knocked down and a lot of hip caught coon I had to develop a more sensitive trigger system. Now I can set a Ram at any height/loop size for small or large furbearers here. The LO and Sen systems both need a snare lock and 28 lbs of pressure to release the spring clip is more than our fox and most of our coyotes can exert UNLESS they get a heck of run (F=ma) which means a 10' extension with little of any debris for them to limit their run. Coons can't exert that much pressure either unless they climb and get enough leverage to push against a solid object. Hence, this was why I had so many knockdowned still set Rams and hip caught coons. Easily remedied by developing a more sensitive trigger (have caught rabbits, skunks, opossums, badger, fox, beaver, and a few pheasants with a modified trigger Ram). Enclosed is a picture of a 2 legged coyote I caught in a 10' snare with a regular kill spring and cam lock that was alive and pretty mobil in the 20' catch circle. I saw him hit the snare end 3 times when I pulled up but he couldn't get enough pressure to cause enough closure of the spring /lock. Guessing after watching him he could not produce enough Force to depress the spring and push the cam deep enough to close off the carotid artery. A Ram would have done him in w/o a lock. ........M

y experience. ............... the mike

Wow! Crazy coyote there….lol. Was your lock jammed in the hair or something? I don’t get many, but my coyotes are 20-30lb.
The 28lb of force is a rough estimate, kinda like the BAW break weights. Smallest critter I’ve caught in a LO is a skunk caught in one around the belly, the trigger never fired, but every fox that comes by is DRT. The old way a few years ago was to anchor high and have 8-10’ of cable for the animal to build some force, but after waaay more testing in the field by the manufacture and hundreds of us out there it’s better to anchor low, solid and keep the snare short with these things.
I added a good lock to my wolf Rams which helped, but too many chew outs or they’re still alive when I get there…..their fight is gone, but they’re alive. I thought it was just me, but lots of trappers were having problems with live wolves. Some told me that I probably chased them into it, but the tracks and the amount that it’s happened out there is too much. I’ve never had a live animal in a LO except that skunk.
My buddy in western Manitoba is sticking with rams. He’s all set up with a couple hundred and he likes em. Mostly road trapping and he gets a wolf or 2 every year in his coyote sets. I’ve only got 20 or so #2 rams and another 20 of the wolf rams, usually trap way off any roads and when I tried the newer systems I switched over as I can carry a dozen into the bush without much effort. But I’ll be keeping my rams for sure, even for ADC beaver….lol.
Another thing about the new systems, a 12yr old that just got his license can go snare coyotes on his own. Down side, it’s best to be set up to build your own snares so the average guy who just puts a few sets out a year isn’t going to like them. Well, they might like them, but not after a catch and they’re stuck with having to rebuild the thing…..lol

I’m just now getting into using ram snares and have learned a lot from this post already. One thing I learned this past season was don’t anchor your ram through the spring eye because it takes away from the kill speed. How exactly do you make a more sensitive trigger for the rams?