white I have seen 9 wire pig tails come undone twice by big mature moose other then that never.
slickpan I assume these are the tree loc's your talking about? Something to consider is if you need to attach a extension cable how will you do it?
When it comes to the pigtails IMO they serve two purposes. One when you hang the snare the snare automatically falls straight up and down and you have to do minimal adjustment to the configuration of the snare. The pigtail also serves as a swivel allowing the snare to spin as a critter rolls, helps preserve the integrity of the cable.
As far as having nine wire attached directly to the snare it helps minimize the time your at the set location and gear you have to carry in with you. I can walk right up to a tree unroll my wire and snare adjust the wire to the length I want tie of set snare and turn around and back out.
Using straight cable alot more IMO comes into play. cutting your support wire the right length prior to you walking in or are you carrying the wire and cutters with you? How are you going to do the support wire? Tie off / drill a hole? Are you going to need a long or short extension to secure the snare? Now dont get me wrong there are people that will do all that because that is what they are comfortable with and their system produces for them. There is no wrong way, just the way that works for you.
Here is 5ft of cable attached to 5ft of nine wire. Pretty much my set up for everything these days with a few exceptions. I double up on aluminum ferrels for wolves use a 625 lb BAd from Sneddeckers (every snare I hang fox lynx yote wolf has a BAd 625 for wolves 285 for everything else) and a toothed cam loc or a BMI loc. Cam loc's are worthless in the open where I am at with the hore frost but shine in the spruce thickets. When I set this I have to mess around a little to get the snare straight up and down but it only takes me a few seconds.
This pic should be close to what your talking about as a set up minus the loc, kill spring, and deer stop?
Personally I am not a fan of kill springs. I tried every brand / method. Some love them I don't.
Some really good advice from serious wolfers in the comments above. Over the years I have learned alot from them. I hope you figure out what works best for you and that you connect with a few