Securing DPs

Whats everyone's favorite method for securing DPs? I only run a couple dozen. The past couple of seasons I've used 10' extension cables and quick links. I like the light weight and speed, but they're usually a mess after the first coon and sometimes starting to fray after a few. Not to mention the risk of them wrapping up and pulling out.

I've been thinking about switching to some kind of stake. Can't decide between just using a T-bar thru the last swivel or trying pogos or some other disposable stake. For anyone using T-bars, how long do you use?

Thanks

I use 18 to 24 inch rebar, crossed if necessary. All depending on soil type.

I use rebar 18" and Berkshires with quick links. Both hold fine, but the cable setup is nice that I can leave my cables in the ground and pull traps as I normally can only trap the weekends. I used cables wrapped around things a few times but they get destroyed. Guy I bring furs too showed me a chain setup he uses instead of cable. Made up half dozen to try next year. 36" of #2 chain and s hook a loop at one end quick link on the other.

18" and 24" rebar for the most part. Stake clear of entanglement and what you catch should be waiting for you. There are times when stakes just will not hold on sandy bottoms or rotten creek banks so I use extension cables to something solid but they create a new set of problems. Either entanglement or leverage where the spring gets against something solid and allows the critter to apply enough leverage to self release. Crisscross double stake may be a better solution but I only have single stake terminal ends on my DPs.

24" 3/8" nut top stakes work great in our soil. Easy to move regularly, which is important with DPs IMO. Move them ever 3-4 days to new untapped locations.

7x7 cable wrapped to whatever is close by an will hold

Here In pa I just let my traps sit for the couple weeks I run everytrap usually connects atleats once with enough time I think the key is always making new sets blind sets pocket sets fill in spots been many times I wouldn't have caught a thing if I didn't set new sets the day before

2' earth anchors.

18-24” rebar. I weld a washer and a nut with a stake swivel between them. Not necessarily needed, but it works for me. As long as I kee them away from things they can climb they are fine. If using where they can get vertical leverage, like a tree, then earth anchor or cable off.

I lost a trap once and found it by getting smacked in the head with hanging rebar. Coon was gone as well.

I can post a picture of the setup if you like it!

24 inch t bar

I use about a 4ft piece of cable with a loop big enough for the DP to pass through on either end. Some are quick linked off to the cable then pass around the tree and run the DP through the loop. Some are just passed through the swivel and then looped around the cable then the other end just as mentioned above.
These same cables have been working for the last 6 years or so. I’ve had them so tangled up I almost considered cutting them, but patience prevailed and I untangle the mess and reset. I have yet to have a coon pull out.
Some of mine I’ll just use an earth anchor beat in the deck just far enough a coon can’t pull it out. There’s no need to go more than 6-8” in clay or farther than 10-12” in regular dirt. They ain’t pumping it and they ain’t badgers.

I’ve seen some with 6-10’ of dog chain basically. Be a bit on an initial investment, but I guess it would work if you always cabled off.

11 gauge wire wrapped loosely around a tree so it can move and the wire won’t kink.

I use 1/19 3/32” cable and it don’t kink up too bad.

Its easy to spot the guys who are only running a few DPs on this thread. If you were running 200 of them with all that cable... what a tangled mess and time consuming getting and keeping them straightened out. You all must have very hard ground to anchor in.

I hated cable stakes. They worked great at keeping the trap in place but to pull them and move often, they sucked bad. 50-60 traps a day pulled and moved some days = no fun with cable stakes in our ground.

I see one guy likes T-top stakes, I didn't. They get caught on the chain and trap and spin in the ground and get loose or pulled up slightly and easy to get the trap hung on and stop the ever important swiveling. If it works in your soil go for it though.

I sure wouldn't ever trust wire to anchor a DP.

I love running t bars, I especially liked the smooth rod for them. It worked great for me and was easy enough to pull for me but the coons could never get it out. To this day, I still haven't had a coon get loose with a t bar stake. This year though, I'm going to run more earth anchors since I have so many and I need to thin down on some random ones I have. The stakes are about 18-24" and a 6" or so T on top and if I couldn't get it out, I would use the shovel end of my hammer to turn it a few times, and then I could usually get it out. I was running them in the frozen ground earlier this winter and only had to stack up some 2x8s to get some leverage before I got them out, but I did get them all.

My setup. I use a flat stake swivel with a 3/8” x 24” rebar stake. Stake has nut and washer welded on

ADC is Sooooooo correct. I started with stakes in 2001, went to cable in 2003 and then back to stakes and then just keep experimenting. With our soil, nut and washer stakes work the best dryland (pull and reset). Modified IDS conduit, pogo, or flat anchor w/chain, works for water where pulling is lighter/easier (on a river line)................. the mike

ADC and wife, y’all need a 20v drill and auger bit. I can pull faster than I can set, lol. Drill beside the anchor and pull up, then on your way to the next. The deal is knowing your dirt…if clay don’t go deep so it’s easier to get out. Ain’t lost a trap yet to a coon.

I haven't lost any either Wanna Be and I don't have to carry and charge a drill. Just turn the trap sideways and use it as a T to pull the stakes right out. I'm not planning to switch anytime soon. However, if you need cable stakes in your area the drill tip is a good one.

20" rebar 1/2" diameter. Nut or washer tops. Stake where they can't reach nothing such as near deer feeders and trails on firm ground.

4' to 6' cable extensions. 3/32" 7x7. Crimped loop on both ends. 1/8" quick link to attach to trap chain end swivel. Half hitch to trees along stream edges where my stakes won't hold.

I don't like rebar anywhere that a coon can get above the stake unless you cross stake them. Especially along creek/river banks.

My primary method is bullet stakes with retrieval ends as they are very easy to pull for when im rotating traps. With the retrieval ends, i can very easily use the retrieval end as a way to tie off to a tree rather than hammer the stake in. Love to use drags when i can.

I use these along with T's this year is the first time I have ever had a coon jack out a stake this long 3 of them to be exact and can't figure out what happened and not theft but each one came after a real heavy rain and I don't check till after noon since I work nights one I could see but not 3 things happen I guess... Jon

Soft ground and if the animal can get above the stake, this can happen.

jalsat, were the ones that got pulled the nut on top or T on top?

And what do you use for the rod to go through on the end of your chain?

One T and 2 with nuts use a J hook swivel with 1J first time ever after 12 years using this way…Jon

If you are using a regular swivel like this with the single J hook, I am surprised you have not had more problems. This is a classic pump the stake scenario due to the small amout of clearance around the stake,


I use the following with a 3/8" rebar stake. The hole is large enough that it does not bind up on the rod as easily as the regular swivel shown above so pumping the stake is not an issue.

I have 12" of 3/32 cable and a pogo. We have a lot of rock here so getting a stake in is tough but if I get 6-8" of the pogo and it sets, I haven't lost one yet. I did lose a couple this year on drags when they got tangled in brush so I stake in teh open where thay can't tangle.

18" 1/8 cable with wolf fang anchors. Attached by quick link. Same anchors I use on my predator traps. Overkill, probably,but I just like having one type of anchor for everything . Makes it a little simpler

I don't believe coons can jack a stake if you are using factory length chains on your DP's. I do think if they get the stake loose enough they could get the trap hooked up on it and maybe pull the stake with the trap hooked directly to it, maybe. More likely the ground was too soft for the stake or the coon was able to climb up above the stake and get a high angle to pull it. They just aren't tall enough or jump high enough for that to happen with a factory length or longer chain.

QBD that's good info for coyotes, I just can not see how it happen with coons, especially with 3/8" rebar.

In the end, if you like your system, no reason to change.

Thanks sir will do

ADC,in general I agree with you about coons not jumping a lot but there are always exceptions and extenuating circumstances. In NC, we have a max chain length to a solid anchor and it is only 8", and that is shorter than stock chain. To exceed 8", we can add a shock spring which I have done to allow me to legally use extension cables because a lot of our creeks are deep sugar sand or just plain rotten dirt that you can push a 24" stake in with one finger. Put a stake in those conditions, even on flat ground, a coons can wallow the hole out enough to get the stake out. Add a sloped bank to that mix and it just gets easier for them to pull the stake. Use a regular swivel with a 3/8" rebar along with some elevation, pumping the stake is certainly possible.

There is no one size fits all circumstances for staking even for a raccoon.

If you trap from your truck or UTV, run down to your closest mechanic and get some truck brake rotors and just cable off to them. Ain’t caught a coon yet that can move one. Drop one off a creek bank and they definitely ain’t going nowhere except maybe swimming. I’ve talked to my landowners and just leave them. Until the following year. To make it pretty just cover with leaves or sand. Just went and scouted a property and they’re still there, lol. Had to dig a little for one as the creek rising from time to time had washed sand over it. Again, this is only if you trap from a vehicle. I can tell you I ain’t carrying them far, lol.

First, that is an ignorant law. lol Secondly, I said they could get them out if they get above them, so we agree. I don't think they are tall enough even with only 8" of chain to jack the stakes on flat ground.

Long time ago (1982) I had a coon pull a 3/8" rebar stake fastened to a snare by climbing a tree right next to the set. He escaped and I caught him 1 week later with the snare still on him. Not pretty, so whenever I set a coon restriction trap (11, 1.5, snare or DP) I make sure there are no trees large/close enough to give the coon a straight line pull upwards on any stake. My take. ............................................................. the mike

I use the berkshire stakes with 15" of cable. I drill a hole on the v-end and add some more cable with a loop so I can easily pull the stake with just a t-bar when it comes time to pull. Makes pulling very easy. This is for dryland trapping and not in the water. Works great in my area.

I have butterfly stake holders on my DPs. I double stake all of my DPs. I use 17-18 inch 3/8 inch rebar with a washer and a nut welded on the ends. A lot of areas where my DPs are set the soil is moist and also leaning to more muck than clay. I drive them in with a hammer and when I pull I use a vice grip, twist the stake once and clamp the vice grip and pull the stakes out.

Bryce

I trap a lot of coons in sand. Not sandy soil. I mean sand. I use 3/32 cable with a 1/8" double ferrule and a stop button in such a way to create a slip knot for attaching to nearby trees or whatever is laying around nearby that a coon won't drag very far.
For transport, to keep the cables under control, I wrap them around the bottom near, and including the wire stabilizer. once I have about 8 inches of cable left, i run the loop end through the wire stabilizer. They stay put that way and come off real nice when you go to to set them.

3/32” cable. Depending on the bark of the tree, or low limbs, maybe a fence staple to keep them from climbing