Trapping drags in prarie and grassland country

I know there have been tons of posts on trapping drags, and I have read and searched a bunch of them. However, I have some specific concerns and am looking for some personal advice. Is there anyone on here that uses drags in open prairie/grassland? Some of the areas I have do not have a lot of brush to help them tangle up, but at the same time there are some spots that I can't use an earth anchor due to all the rocks. The terrain I trap in varies from grassland with to sparse brush to heavy brush, I have read that chain length from anywhere from 6-10' is fairly common, is the longer chain better in more open country? Thanks for the help.

For a reference, I am trapping central wyoming

I know some guys out there that run 12 foot of chain with a well designed drag like JC Conners trackers with forged points. The forged points are a big deal..

Use one that has 3 pongs on it.

Longer chain and heavier chain..

I trap that kind of country and never use drags there.I stake or use anchors and I can't believe there are many grass lands that have more rocks.My preference is two,18" steel stakes,crossed.I you can't get stakes in,my guess is,your hammer is too light.I use a minimum 5lb hammer/I may have to occasionally reposition one,but I can get them in.This grassland is an ancient river bed,so rocks on rocks.

If I had to use a "drag",I would use a stone drag,placed well ahead of time and 10' of chain.A grapple needs brush to catch on.Dry,praipie grass doen't cut it.This is doubly true if you have wolves.

Earth anchors don't work every where.Don't get tunnel vision on one anchoring method.Steel stakes and a heavy hammer.Use your anchors at your other areas where they make sense.

I trap primarily with drags, and every once in a while I'll stake a trap down. Mostly due to how much caliche we have about 12 inches down, but I also prefer drags in my fence crossing sets. The south half of the ranch that I am on is covered up with juniper so they usually don't make it very far. The north half is mostly open grass land with scattered cholla cactus and small juniper trees. I do not hesitate to use drags in the open country. My drags are set up on 12 inch or longer shaft with a cross piece that is 6 to 8 inches long. I prefer cotton picker spindles on the ends of the cross piece at opposing 45 degree angles. The lightest material I used for the shaft and cross piece is 1/2 inch, sucker rod, rebar, etc. Most of my chain set ups are 10 feet, with some of them being 12 to 15 feet long. The heavier you make your drag the more likely it will stay on the ground and not just bounce around. I also have some set up that have 5 feet of #3 chain from the trap back that connects to 5 feet of #5 chain for added weight. Mousey has a good idea too on using one that has 3 prongs, all though I do not have any like that. Some one tell me how to upload pics and I will put some on here of my set ups. I have tried in the past and never had any luck. Happy Trapping!!

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Taximan,
The one area that I have trouble with is an old stone overhang, the coyotes are always walking along the edge of it. I tired to put in a couple sets on it last year and the ground is only about 7"-8" of dirt then a solid stone slab (I tired setting farther back in the deeper dirt and the wind direction was wrong for where the dogs walked). I'll try the crossed bars and the heavier hammer, I may be able to bust through with the added weight and rigidity of the solid steel.

And thank you everyone else for the advice on the drags, I'll be building some like have been suggested and testing them out. They wont be perfect for evey situation but I have plenty of spots that they will be awesome fore

Thanks wolfdog, this is a great video and has a lot of great info.

I understand situations like that.It would be worth a try in the off-season but stakes may not work there.If not,I set up some stone drags way ahead.If it's appropriate for the spot,you might be able to use a dead,but solid,cedar drag.I also agree with setting right on the tracks.

I have Sabertooth drags which are real solid and very aggressive but I would never use them in that open country in my pictures,especially with wolves around.Dry prairie ground and dry prairie grass are not the same as the ground in Wolfdog's video.

I won't even use drags at the edge of cover if the prairie meets it.I've seen too many instances of canines heading to the wide open spaces.I hate hunting for an animal that I've already caught.I try to err on the side of caution when anchoring.There is nothing worse than an animal running off with a trap attached.

^^^ taxi does have a point. Your conditions are different than mine.

I've felt the pain off coyotes going away on drags, even in timber. Taxi makes exellent points. His terrain seems simalar to what you describe.. Never sacrifice location...

I made these a little smaller than what I previously described but they are the same concept.

Nice pictures bmccoyote.

I would like to add-
I tie surveyor tape to drag, with long tail, so I can fine drag quickly after a catch.
Surveyor tape will help you fine catch faster or if you have a pull out, you can fine equipment faster. I learn this from Renny28.

Here was a flat set on breast of pond. Trap was rigged with drag. I noticed golden rod was down (catch indicator).
I stood at set and scanned the heavy cover below pond...nothing. My eyes picked up the surveyor tape away from cover to an uprooted Hemlock, I just drove by on atv.



After a bit of tugging, I saw what was in the trap...


Dangburn critters can hide in an open corn field...


Flagging on my drags saves me time.

I use them here and on flat ground and they are easy to track. Your ground is hard so make sure your points are sharp. I like O'Gorman's but they are the only ones I ever used. I use 10' of heavy chain but I would make yours longer if you can. I had a coyote get grass in the drag last fall and run across a sod field. It took me a while to find it but I did. You have to watch out for antelope and deer too. They can take off and make it hard to find your trap. Sometimes they kick it off but sometimes the become bait so be careful.

This picture was right side up in my computer? You can't even see my truck in the back ground -the chain is pointing at it. This thing ran a long way. It went into the tall grass on the right but them jumped back out after it got a bunch or grass balled up on the points. The chain barely bent the grass over and all I had to track it was the pieces of grass falling off the ball of grass wrapped up in the hooks. I'm lucky it was not windy. A dog would help to save time.

I second what Larry said about the dog. I have 2 of them, a black mouth cur and a black mouth cur/rhodesian ridgeback. The straight cur has the better nose, but the ridgeback has more bite and kill. The ridgeback will also site hunt, but once she takes off after one the cur will out run here most of the time. Either way they catch what they're after

my drags all get 5' of old log chain attached directly to the drag then 8 foot of #2 chain connected to the trap swivel! lol but im still not brave enough to use them in open farm country.Even though several guys have said it will hold! Drags are the way to go if your wanting speed of setting. But checking traps will take longer. I've considered putting surveyors flags on my drags for speed of checking reasons, and so farmers wont run over one!

This is one of the first ones I made. I believe the shaft is 1 inch and the prongs and cross pieces are 3/8 inch. If I were to change these I would extend the cross piece to the end of each prong, forge them out to a good point and turn them out a little more like the ones in my previous pics. Also a couple of pics of my dogs.

Beware ultra hard, baked or frozen ground.

They may be a good design that “plows” and digs well on some ground. But hard surface they skid and slide.

If can can 't get a stake in a Goodman drag or a sabortooth drag on 15 ft. Chain #3 or better the weight keeps it on ground .
Most drags get 10 ft. Longer is better in hard frozen ground.

Good information,Red.

In a few special circumstances,rock slides etc,I have attached 10' of cable behind the grapple and then attached a stone drag to the end of the cable.The stone creates resistance when the grapple doesn't catch,keeps the drag chain stretched out and also has a tiring effect.It has worked.I leave the wired up,stone drag at the set.

Again thank you everyone for jumping on and sharing your advice. I have learned a ton and can't wait to give it a go.