I usually set too many DPs to consider using blocks or rotars. I have 10 dozen Ztraps, but past few years typically have only 24 to 36 out at any given time.

I usually stake in the open with 20" rebar, but do occasionally half-hitch to a tree along a creek bank with a 3/32" x 6ft cable extention. Never had a pullout using the cables and many coon were wrapped up pretty tight on nearby shrubs and small trees.

I'm gonna rig up a dozen with the 9' chains I have on hand with Sabertooth Junior 1.25lb drags.

For sure.

I have a pile of dbl swivels on hand so I'll add more than needed up closer to the trap

I see that swivels won't prevent the compression of the spring lever during a wrapped up binding.

Most likely this ^^^^ is correct. Our coon run on the small size...with 3x being about max.

But, like our buck deer, there is an occasional big one that shows up....4x..5x....

I always stake solid. I don't want to spend time looking for anything on a drag.

In the late 80s I trapped coon almost exclusively on drags with footholds in thick creek bottoms. My chains were too short (about 5 feet) and I used those cheap smooth rod "coyote" drags that are still sold today. Always prehung the drags on small trees nearby. I don't remember any pullouts, but had one tree climber and that big boar got 20' up a 10" bay tree. I cut the tree down to get that $24 silverback coon...lol

Living and trapping down here at the stateline for past 30 years (where we have many bears) I have been reluctant to use drags on any footholds. But, the DPs are mostly bear-catch proof if they'll hang on to a dragged and tangled coon.

I dont worry too much about time constraints now that I've entered my retirement years...lol. Many days I have to ask the wife what day of the week it is.

I have drugem with Leg holds but not DPs.You shouldn’t have an issue I was using homemade 1/2 rebar drags that I acquired.In my teenage years I didn’t know what a drag was. We would wire to a tree but mainly used a fence staple and nailed it to the base of a tree.Never any issues.

I used the once. Same drags as above. 1st coon went down a creek and climbed a tree. When he fell out of the tree, the force pulled him out of the trap. I liked to have never found the trap. No drag mark in the creek, and it was hanging up about 7ft above the ground.

How long were your chains?

Y’all must have some 30# coons where y’all trap. Not only have I not had a pullout, I’ve never had one pull up an anchor that I could push in by hand and pull out with one hand. Found several tracks leading through a wet area and set 3 DP’s. After a catch I’d just pull it up and move it to a “cleaner” spot. Clean out the super stake and push it back down in the muck. My coons are stupid, they run around in circles and don’t pull straight up.

Yep, this one tipped the scale right at 30#. In a DP. 18" rebar stake.

You'd be missing traps for sure around here. Push/pull by hand not gonna cut it!
They're not all pigs like k snow's but they are hefty coons.

Too much entanglment and i hope your good at climbing tree's.

Drug most of mine with a mink saber tooth style deal , never had much of a problem. Tip , add a snap link to all you set up by the drag , that wah if you really wanna you can just wrap the drag aing a sapling or something and clip it back in and anchor to that and if they come off then we'll you got him on a drag too... Imo we can get away with a lot more down her because we don't have 30+ pound corn fed coon

So that’s the norm or the odd ball? I catch a grown one or two every year, but not average. Caught coons bigger than Grays, of course Grays ain’t too big either.

Kyle I still say you shoulda made that one into a rug

Definitely an outlier. Most of the big males I catch are 18 to 25 pounds.

Wanna be i had two freedom brands side by side staked down in the open, game camera on them, both caught a coon, one pulled out. One trap was brown the other white, noticed spring on the white one half as strong as the brown one. Not sure if they got a bad batch of springs or what but quit using the white one's after that.

Ain't got no coons down here that hefty!



Good idea on the clip/link to pre-anchor.

I have Dukes and not ashamed to say it took me a while to build up hand strength to set them, lol. I understand the premise of entanglement possibly to compress the springs, but I have to put a lot of body weight even when using my foot to compress for a live catch. Guess it’s possible with different traps. All I know is I don’t ever want to catch my finger in one again. Heck, I was more worried about it cutting a leg off vs a pull out.
Now I did set WAY to close to a log once and the springs couldn’t open all the way, but I don’t actually consider that a pullout, that was just stupidity on my part.