Coyote Fence Snare Advice

i have two cattle pastures with too many coyotes. Neighbors have lost chickens and goats lately. Never trapped before but always wanted to learn. I rode the fence lines the other day and found many great fence crossings with wire barbs full of fur. Been studying information in this forum and on the web and want to order a dozen snares to take a wack at them. Figure i would go with an Alberta power snare (5/64 or 3/32 1x19) with a 5 - 7ft extension tied to a fence post or tree if closer. There is not many options for entanglement. Can you please give your advice about if this will be good, or if i should use a different setup? I can't wait to get some ordered and set.

I would recommend a Ram power snare if legal. I don't know what the restrictions are in your state. They are very easy to use and fast to reset. They are a bigger spring with a disposable snare. I'll put a link to it so you can see what I'm talking about.

These are the springs:
https://www.snareshop.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RAM1

This is the same as the snare it comes with and is good for coyotes, but there are other options too:
https://www.snareshop.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RRS10

They need to be anchored but the coyotes are killed almost instantly.

Word of advice. Don't set power rams if there is any chance of domestic dogs being around. Most dogs won't choke themselves in a regular snare, especially if they have been tied up or spent any time on a leash, but if the spring goes off on a power ram you are going to have a dead dog. Which doesn't make for good relations with the neighbors.

If you want to save the pelts (they aren't worth much of anything this year) try and stake or tie off the snares away from the fence, if they can get tangled in the fence they will, and barb wire will pull a bunch of hair and ruin the pelt.

^^^^^^^^^^^ This

Sorry, I should have mentioned the ram power snares. I do see them as the best options, but with so many trails, they woudnt be cost effective for someone like me. Im not worried about the pelts and they dont have a history of getting calves.

That being said, should i buy one dozen power snares for 70 or 3 power snares for 90?

Where you from 870?

Never tried power rams so I can’t weigh in. However that seems like a pretty pricey start to snaring especially fences. A well swiveled 36” 3/32 7x7 or 5/64 cable with a good aggressive toothed cam lock will get the job done. One word of advise is deer will go under a fence probably before they’ll go over. Good luck

You can always run a kill pole a few feet away from the fence. Stake the snare behind the kill pole so the animal cant get far enough to the other side of the fence to get tangled in the fence

If there are any deer or domestic animals that could possibly use those crossings I would advise against snares on barbwire fence lines. A walkthrough set with a jaw trap will get the job done without the bi-catch issues. Now if you had a goat wire fence with dig outs that’s a different situation and snares are king !

You have a solid plan. That snare will work just fine. Attach them snares to the fence post and hang the loops 2" off the ground in the crawl-under so the coyotes feet go under and not through the loop. Use a 10" wide loop. Even if part the loop is above the bottom strand of the fence it'll work just fine. Black electrical tape will do a great job of supporting the snare to the fence or use a short piece of light wire.

Carry some good cable cutters to cut the snare out of the fence. These are great and affordable... https://www.funketraptags.com/product-page/cable-cutters

Remember snares are one time use only so I'd start out with 2 dozen so you can reset those 12 locations after making a catch.

at any given time i will have anywhere from 30-50 snares on fence crawlunders.

if you have deer or dogs you will eventually catch one. i have caught 2 or 3 deer in them. sometimes not easy but i release them. i catch at least one dog every year. i have actually caught the same dog 3 years in a row. prolly catch him again. never had a problem releasing them. once i get em out i cant get rid of em.

i try set places where i dont think i catch a deer but it still happens.

be prepared.

I’ll reiterate the deer thing.

If there’s deer sign at the crossing don’t set it.

Most guys don’t realize how many deer (even adults) go under the fence rather than over it until they start fence snaring.

Use extensions to get to the nearest post to anchor. Get a roll of 11gauge to support the snare off the wire and you’ll be good to go.

870, do you plan to make snares or just buy them? I'm asking because if you don't plan to make them, Rams will probably come out cheaper unless you want to set a large number and you don't plan on trapping more in the future. As far as I know with the Alberta power snares if you want to reuse the spring you will need to build the snare around them. The ram snares themselves are a lot cheaper than the Alberta snares if you are buying them. It just depends on what your future plans are.

If you don't plan to build snares and are planning to trap more in the future you might want to look at rams, or on the other hand, look into getting the supplies to build Alberta power snares with your springs.

There’s a big difference in trapping remote Canada and the south where about everyone has a hound and every day to hunt it. Use good judgement.

Be careful, if you catch a coyote, you'll NEVER want to quit! Good luck!

Thanks for all of the advice and feedback. Forgot to mention that we have zero deer here, so that will make things easier. Dont see many stray dogs, but if they get snared they are definately not where they are supposed to be.

As for the foot trap comment i would like to try that out but woukd want to watch someone show me how to bed the trap and all the intracate things first.

I will get some snares ordered this week and let you guys know how i do. I cant wait to try this out!

youtube has plenty videos on what you need to do

Ive been watching and reading a lot

Get some formula one to dip your snares in.It makes them blend in with the surrounding area and IMO work much better.

I have, for many years, advocated the use of sliders ( made from 1/8th inch cable ) at a fence crawl under or pass through.
The snare, IMO, should always be as short (and swiveled ) as possible, to avoid the risk of a captured animal from jumping over the top of the fence or going back through, preventing entanglement and hanging itself.
This doesn't work everywhere, on every fence line, yet there are a lot of places it does.
Entanglement can be created away from the fence, by using re-bar stakes, formed in a X.

Fence lines, while funneled locations, are places of high risk entanglement.
Long snares and barb wire are a bad combination.
Barb wire in general is hard on any animal caught within reach.
Be advised !
Consideration of unwanted catches, both wild and domestic, should always be considered.

Dead animals hanging from fences is not the best image for us trappers, as a rule.
We need to think about how we are viewed by non-trappers and/or the general public.

There are places, far from people and pets, in the hands of an accomplished snare man, one can get away with a lot.
Federal and private control trappers have ran hundreds of miles of fence, with short snares attached at every crawl under.
Most will catch the target animal.
The ones that don't. . ., well, that's unfortunately collateral damage in the name of 'predator control'.

Ram powered snares and snares with choke springs have some merit at these locations, but only with great consideration.
Common sense will tell you by you should avoid deer crossings.
Spring lambs and also calves can also offer risks.
Again, a short swiveled snare attached low is a must.

While the use of short swiveled snares and/or slide wires , IMO ,offer the best chance of survival on a non-target catch,
finding another location away from the fence line, may be a better option.

LT G

Very well said LT G. My thought's as well.