TRAP DRAGS- Different kind

Not sure what you guys do --but what I do my be of some help. I have a few large swamps I trap in. But the problem is packing in gear. In the very early fall i drop a few 5 inch cedar trees ( thats what my swamp has a lot of) I cut my length of logs to 6-8 feet and attach my traps to them with about ten feet of chain. I have used some of my logs for years as I just stand em up when i am done with em.
Any you guys do anything different???

Yeah slot of folks do that, think the proper name for those are clogs but I'm mean their a drag.

I build about all my drags out of doubled rebar then again I want my drags to anchor and animal in basically my front yard if I want.

Not a thing wrong with that.
Mac

It's a great way to go in those situations.When I was younger,I had some walk in lines in wilderness areas and I used a lot of clogs with cable extensions or cables around trees.I still have a few places where I do that.I have a few places where I stash rock drags,wired up to attach the trap to.I have also cabled to a light drag like the Sabertooth Junior and then another cable from the grapple to a heavy stone to keep it stretched out.It worked very well.Don't sell those Juniors short.

Great idea. Then you don't ruin your back pacing drags.

Wolfdog,
I once had a guy bet me a drag (very similar to yours) couldn't stop him. . .
So I had one on a 12 ft snare , already attached and I handed it to him.
He slipped his bare leg ( he's wearing shorts) inside the loop and cinched it around his mid thigh.
His bet was that he could run at full speed and make it across the yard.
He was almost at top speed, when the drag caught.
He required a number of stiches at the local hospital.

Clogs have been used for over 150 yrs by trappers. I only use 5-6’ of chain tho. Anything more is a waste IME.

A coyote would hit the end of the cable do a header then get up and run the other way and the drag would come free.

I was setting some traps on wolf sign when I trapped In Canada. The trap was Sterling 600 I had about 10 feet of chain on It and It was attached to a 2 prong wolf toggle. The set was made along side an old logging road. It snowed that night we never found the trap or what was caught In It. I figured that critter got caught and headed down the road.
I'm not a fan of using drags.

Had something similar happen to a guy at out heaver day deal at my church. Got asked to bring some if my traps and fur for display. One trap was a dip in one penny old prototpe drags. One of the guy asked about it and made a similar bet. Drag caught and his nice church pants got messed up and he had a mean looking Charlie horse lol

Why we put two prongs on it beav. One frees ,drag flips over, that prong catches just like the first one did. Make me just right and they corkscrew, to clean themselves out and catch better. Made a bunch for a buddy out in the midwest and she said even in frozen ground they where pinning totes in place. Not all drags are made the same. Honestly you count pay me to use 80% of the drags I see offer now days

Years ago I mentioned those on here and a trapper asked if I ever had a beaver chew one up.
Made me think, I had no beaver at that time.
Had great luck with coon in small water.

I use wooden fense posts quit a bit. Especially for dps when ground is froze or I'm too lazy to pound in stakes and such.

with a 24 hour check... I bet you would be ok!

What type of drag should I use here?

A stake.

A truck tire.

Wolf Dog
How may wolves have you caught using drags?

Your telling me this person Is pinning coyotes or what ever on frozen ground. You didn't mention If there was any cover on that frozen ground. I'm here to tell you If you make a set along the edge of a 300 acre harvested bean field and the ground Is frozen and your using a drag other then a cement block or a truck tire your going to be spending a lot of time looking for that coyote. When caught they don't always run Into cover.

I agree with that,Beav.I have caught animals in the edge of brush and have them head across wide open ground with no cover in sight.Couple that with a snow,after a catch and you have a problem.Often,when animals are caught on a drag,they head for home.With a weighted drag on a steep hiill,they will usually go straight downhill.Lots of variables.I once lost some valuable daylight looking for a lion on a dragged trap.It was on a steep rockslide and I went up and down that slope too many times until,just at dark I found the empty trap all wrapped up and the cougar was long gone.That is a good outcome but if I had not found that trap,I would have lost valuable trapping time over several days,not knowing.

With stakes I can predict where the animal is going to be.I do often back up a staked wolf trap with a drag (in timber) and of course there are always situations where drags are called for.That is when I use them,when it makes sense,not just "because".Same goes for earth anchors,clogs,chain around tree,double stakes,triple stakes...on and on.

Spot on Taximan.

You already know the answer to the first sooo
Apparently so ,his words not mine. Guy is trapping them mid west fields no real big cover or anything like that,. Again says they pin them down . I'm not trying to sell or bring anyone iver to the drag side I'm just stating what I've been told. I don't know if frozen ground for him is differnt or what. I made my drags to work so that not having cover would not have to be a problem . Took one bad experience with a coon and a grapple in a cow pasture to show me some stuff. Regardless belive what you want use what works for you don't drink eveyone koolaid

I would love to make a few to work in that they of terrain......al ready see if have to have at least 3lbs of weight, prongs would have to be re done... spire pointed mabye.... Parymid points possibly....

The problem with that kind of ground Is the drag gets a bite then the coyote changes direction and It's on the move again. Then with all those loose rocks the drag hits one and it bounces and It doesn't hang up. And even with 24 hour checks that coyote has a lot of time to put on some mileage.

.
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Well my apologies but I've never even thought of that when using that term

Ok Wolflman,thanks for the honest response.You are still the man in my book.

I've heard that term used all the time and never heard it was associated with Guyana.More like you're not buying what somebody's trying to sell ya.

My gosh that is beautiful country! After looking at that beautiful picture I tried to think of any place I have been in Maine where one could see that far. I can't! LOL
Maybe standing on the coast looking out at the Atlantic, or off a mountain top. No place on the ground level. It would be a big old learning curve for an old Eastern boy to head to that country. Thanks for sharing all you do.
Mac

T and B are known D-Bags about anything new and different. Always have a negative comment. Nothing ever changes. Wolf you da man. Drink the Kool-Aid is hilarious!!!

Don't Drink the Kool-Aid had been around long before the mass suicide's at Jonestown and will be around long after. To equate what he said with that incident is just plain silly.

Actually,Wolf,that is stake country.The closest cover is 1000 yds in one direction and miles in the others.By the time I can get in there to set wolf traps,the cattle have grazed it down to the nub and the ground is flint hard. (Dec 20-30th) I do have a couple solid,log drags that have been in place for several years and they don't avoid them but you need to be careful,introducing new stuff too close to setting time.It would be nice to get stakes in before the freeze,but the cattle can rearrange the landscape before setting time and it is hard to predict exactly where each set will end up being.There are so many cow pies out there and they freeze so solid,it is like driving down a dry riverbed.

I have a couple spots where I would like the trap to move a few yards so that a wolf could not bash it on a boulder that I plan to set close to.I have been experimenting with drilling some limestone boulders and installing "eye" boltsThese would be app 60# on 10' of chain..I would still like to have an aggressive drag between trap and stone drag.Wolves just seem to keep moving and fighting and this can be a two day check.I talked to an experienced wolf trapper that caught one on a drag in timber and it went 800 yds.That's what makes me nervous about anchoring in this wide open country.

I am also working on an idea for a 12" stake that would hold anything,single stake.It might take an 8# hammer and would have to be pulled in the Spring.I guess a guy could pre-drill for those,before season and cover the hole with a rock.Anchoring is difficult out there but they do pass through, most Winters.There are a few,other areas where you could use other a variety of anchoring options.I have considered a "slider" but don't have enough experience with them and not sure how heavy to build them.

This rotary hammer is a deal breaker in mid-Winter,when the ground gets flint hard.My 5#hammer will still drive a stake but the Sod Buster won't dig out a trap bed.So I use a chisel in it for the bed and pre drill for steel stakes.It saves a lot of wear and tear on the wrist and shoulder.I often triple stake (18") for wolves,double for coyotes.They don't even have to be tight.I have never had one moved an inch.

Drinking the Kool-Aid - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_the_Kool-Aid
"Drinking the Flavor Aid" is an expression used to refer to a person who believes in a possibly doomed or dangerous idea because of perceived potential high rewards. The phrase often carries a negative connotation. It can also be used ironically or humorously to refer to accepting an idea or changing a preference due to popularity, peer pressure, or persuasion.
Overview
Background
Use
See also
The phrase originates from events in Jonestown, Guyana, on November 18, 1978, in which over 900 members of the Peoples Temple movement died. The movement's leader, Jim Jones, called a mass meeting at the Jonestown pavilion after the murder of U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan and others in nearby Port Kaituma. Jones proposed "revolutionary suicide" by way of ingesting a powdered drink mix 《Fllavor Aid) lethally laced with cyanide and other drugs which had been prepared by his aides. Koolaid was ever used and got a bad rap till this very day.

No,"drinking the Kool Aid Originated in 1978 with the Jonestown massacre.I was an adult then and remember very clearly.It wasn't funny then and it isn't funny now.Those interested,look up that term and the aerial photos of the 900 bodies bloating in the sun.Many were americans,many were black,many were white,misguided cult members for sure but in the end they were held at gunpoint and mothers were forced to have their babies drink the "Koolaid",before they,themselves did.It was sick and not a joke.The term was NOT used before that massacre.

"Drinking the kool aid" is a phrase that may have originated in an unfortunate situation, but it isn't considered derogatory by most these days.
It just means that a person has tried something they may have resisted at first for whatever reason, but then figured out how good that "thing" is, and now does it or uses it consistently.

Anyhow back to drags (and not the queen type). Do folks here use dry or green sticks when using a small diameter, but fairly long stick to get hung up in grass and brush?

That is a misstatement of what "drinking the kool aid" means. It does not mean that "thing" is good in any way. It's no wonder there are so many "failures to communicate" when we can't keep or maintain a consistent meaning for a word or phrase.

Taximan is spot on. "Drinking the Kool Aid" originates in Jonestown. It is a negative phrase that is rooted in false belief and blindly following a false prophet. Regardless of whether you are willing to drink the Kool Aid or force others to do so. There is no good spin on that phrase. Anything else is a misuse and abuse of the language.
Changing meanings of words and phrases is a tool of Leftists.

I am just hoping that we can get back to the heart of the OP's question.It is a very interesting topic and I am sure that many have something to ad.Wolfdog91 has spent a lot of time working on and improving grapples.I would like to see him continue on that persuit but also apply his analytical brain to staking systems.We have more to learn!

Drags are good in the right place in open country a good trapline dog will save a lot of time.
10 ft. Of chain can be short at times 12 to 15 feet is a big plus more open broke up country for me.
Another thing some do not understand frozen ground it had better have above ground stuff for it to catch on. Long walks can be had.
Like taximan stake if not sure.

BS! Being an overly sensitive twit is a Leftist characteristic. It was CLEARLY obvious the young man was not referencing Jonestown. Come on man!

From your own definition.

....if we could please get back to talking drags that would be wonderful me and taxi settled it nice and civil like so let's just end it

I’ve always wanted to try using a drag, but checking before work wouldn’t fit into my time line. I have to leave early enough to account for catches as it is, I would be really pressed if I had to trail one in the dark.
I do have a few spots where driving a stake is brutal and a drag would be perfect though. Might try chaining or cabling off to a solid log or tree this year.

Thank you Wolfdog91.

"Anyhow back to drags (and not the queen type). Do folks here use dry or green sticks when using a small diameter, but fairly long stick to get hung up in grass and brush?"

I have used green conifers to act as both blocking and a drag,for cats,in forest.Cats don't usually take a drag very far.Most of our grassland has been grazed down by cattle by the time season rolls in so any drag would have to be very aggressive,very heavy or both.There is little to snag on so weight hopefully will slow an animal way down and tire it in the meantime.

I have used dry poles but the bottom line is,it must be plenty solid for the targeted animal.Green can be much stronger but when trapping on public land,I can't cut green.On private,I have permission to.Most of my clogs,when used need to be heavier as there is always a chance of a lion encounter in forest country and some possibility of contact with wolves in the prairie.

I can tell you of one tree that grows here that is super tough,green or dead.That is the mountain mahoghany.It is a bushy tree with very tough,scratchy limbs and bark and extremely tough,sinewy wood.Wood workers say it destroys woodworking tools.I know I snapped off two lag screws,trying to hang a bear box for a trail camera.I gave up.You can't find a straight limb or trunk on one,so no poles,but the bushy tree might make a great drag as is.A standing tree is solid to anchor to but there could be a potential for fur damage.

Another tree here that has the potential to remain strong after becoming dry,is the juniper.The ranchers tell me juniper fence posts can last in the ground for 30 years.I have access to some old juniper fence posts.Some are still solid,some not.

In the lower 48 there is such a variety of topography,tree types and annual rainfall,some areas may have very little dry stuff that can be trusted.It is a good question and I would like to hear from others in different habitats.

If I had to deal with your conditions I would either buy some silo staves or patio blocks or pour your own. Then put a eye bolt In that set up. 16 or 20 Lbs should do the trick as far as weight goes.
Paint them put some glue on them and put some sand In that glue to get a camo effect.
You could place most of the chain under the slab and kick a little ground duff over It and you should be good to go.
When you pull the line just leave them In place If It's a good location. I guess I would paint the bottom a Blaze orange so you could either stand It up or just tip It over so you could see It.

thanks Beav.I have been toying with the idea of pouring artificial rocks from cement.The mold would a hole dug in the groun d or better yet,a sand bar in that country.It would have an eye bolt imbedded in the bottom.I am used to making artificial rocks out of other materials and could use concrete paints to match them to stones in the area.The bottoms would be flat so the orange paint would work slick.I had never thought of that.Maybe the "eye" better be on top? Thanks for the tip.

I think 20 lbs would work for coyotes but thinkin more like 60-65# for wolves.A fellow could still hide a grapple and chain under the rock,for insurance.What do you guys think?

Here are some artificial rocks that I built from scratch and painted,not concrete though but I'm sure you could do the same with concrete

So one problem I’m having with all drags in thick pine plantations with a thick pine needle matting on the ground is the clogging of the prong gaps on the drags. Granted if they go very far the length of chain comes into play(10ft plus). The drag will tangle once he turns a corner with a tree or brush but the digging is definitely hindered till then. Thinking longer spikes might help with this? Any thoughts?

I’ve used large rocks and juniper boughs a ton, and never had anything take them more than 15 or 20 feet. Even a very large coyote can’t drag a 40 pound rock very far before he’s spent. Honestly when using rocks I don’t think I’ve ever seen one move the rock more than 5 or 6 feet before the chain wraps around something.

In many places I trap, there is no way to drive a stake because it’s so rocky, and in many of those places a conventional drag is useless because there’s nothing to hang up on. But the big rocks work incredibly well in those cases.

I posted this pic on the other drag thread, but it’s a very good representation of a spot where neither a stake or conventional drag would work well. But the rock drag works very well.

Just spitballing, but maybe a wider gap but that might decrease hold when a prong digs in as the pivot point is further from the shank. Lengthen the shank would change the angles but make for a larger an heavier drag.

I can see where changing one thing makes a cascade of changes.

You may be right on longer spikes.

I was trapping in a mud bog (back when it use to rain) built a "scent post" out of a stack of railroad plates---- set on each side with wax and peat moss, everything was milk shake type mud ! caught the calf killer first night, that coyote took those plates on a 12 twelve foot chain 1/2 mile in open country-- took awhile to find him, weighed the plates that were all bolted together after I got everything back to truck and scales-- plates weighed 51 lbs plus a 2 duke square jaw trap-- coyote was 30 lbs I don't use drags unless I have a dog along

Sounds like a cinder block is the way to unless you have to pack your gear in.