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Post by Itrapny on Apr 5, 2012 18:21:57 GMT -5
At Nightstalker1's request.....
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Post by nightstalker1 on Apr 5, 2012 18:30:41 GMT -5
Thanks Wayne !
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Post by trappermac on Apr 6, 2012 6:26:53 GMT -5
Might want to add "never use them" to the poll. Myself I own a few but have never used one. Just never had the instance where it would have been preferable over a staked trap. I can understand why some use them, bad soil conditions for staking, wanting the critter to get out of the open and into brush, etc. I have just never had a set where I couldn't stake and keep the animal right where I caught him. I trap primarily open farmland and I also don't want to wonder where/if/and when I'll find him. When I was a kid I thought it would be "cool" to use drags because it seemed like many of the big time trappers used them. That was my period of lessons learned....
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oldeman
Fulton Montgomery Fur Harvesters Ass.
Posts: 581
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Post by oldeman on Apr 6, 2012 11:03:00 GMT -5
I use drags with 4 feet of chain on nearly all mink pocket sets in streams they are quick to set and drown very effectively.As for yotes they do have a place but I would caution that you make sure that mr yote is not going to make it onto posted property.I lost one and one of my KB setups because the property owner would not let me retreive it.
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Post by barrington on Apr 6, 2012 12:12:59 GMT -5
I used alot of limbs as coon drags over the years but limbs dont blend well at k-9 locations.The only coyote I ever had on a steel drag got away after hanging up.I was lucky to find my trap with the fresh snow after the escape.The trap was above the snow in some sapplings. I dont like my animals to be able to reach anything solid when I stake a trap down and I think this was the problem with my limited drag experience. I only have limited time in the morning when I check traps,I get in and dispatch and get out,I only reset on the weekends and I just cant spend even 10 minutes looking for my catch.
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austinp
#3 Newhouse
the next fur season is never far from our minds :)
Posts: 3,008
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Post by austinp on Apr 6, 2012 16:06:53 GMT -5
The only drags I use or have any use for are stout, dried limbs several feet length for canines on ice. In the dead of winter when ice is several inches thick and fox are running frozen creeks and ditches like super highways, it's cake to pick them off in baited sets around cattails or grassy banks.
Anchoring is a breeze... just wire off (9 guage) to a solid chunk of wood and blend it in with snow at the set. Actually becomes a point of attraction they use for urine posts.
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tomsnare
It's a good time to be a trapper!
Posts: 514
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Post by tomsnare on Apr 7, 2012 18:23:41 GMT -5
Drags(hooks) are an option I use more out here staking can be unreliable and wire is for snare supports, the only thing between me and a coyote fox or cat is chain or cable other systems have led to disappoint-----Tom
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austinp
#3 Newhouse
the next fur season is never far from our minds :)
Posts: 3,008
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Post by austinp on Apr 8, 2012 7:10:44 GMT -5
I don't trust cable as much as I trust #9 wire, two-strand braided for connecting chain-end swivels to limb drags. I've had cable chewed & frayed before... but no canine or coon is capable of chewing double-twist #9 wire.
Setting for fox on ice when there's snow is deadly effective... but most guys don't do it because there's no way to stake traps out there. Using limb drags opens up a whole new universe of smoking hot wintertime fox locations :0
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Post by bballou on Apr 9, 2012 20:29:44 GMT -5
I dont use drags for K9's because of bad experiences----when I trap --its go as much as you can get a 70 year old to go------I dont want to take time to look for animals that may or may not have been stolden---when I did use some drags there were times it took an hour to find the animal.---and time to decide if the trap was taken by somone. Then when it snowed----HOLLY COW. I THINK DRAGS CAN BE FUN FOR SOME TRAPPERS ---BUT NOT FOR THIS ONE.
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Post by bballou on Apr 9, 2012 20:33:22 GMT -5
MY VOTE ------DONT USE THEM----- on any of the animal choices.
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Post by sthet on Apr 10, 2012 7:20:24 GMT -5
I agree with bigballou and TMac,...they have no place on my line...used them one season until I made a catch...took hours to find a coon that got caught in a set ment for a fox...found it part way up a tree...pulled the rest of the drags...staked solid and never used them again...maybe good somewhere just not on my line.
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Post by fingerlakesfur on Apr 10, 2012 8:02:55 GMT -5
the only time I use drags is on the mink line...and I pre-hang them in case a coon gets caught...I can't be spending alot of time looking for it.
Also, do not need the coon pulling the set up onto the road
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Post by clt on Apr 10, 2012 11:20:26 GMT -5
I love drags,I add more and more every year.Not the best in open farmland but excellent in the woods.I find myself dragging them even in places that I could stake them.Much easier in the winter when the ground is frozen and just getting a trap bed dug out is a chore.I like them on my mink/coon traps also,6-8 ft of #2 chain,just toss the drag into the creek or pre hook it onto something close.I also pre hook my coyote drags most of the time. Couple pics of some dragged animals from this past season. I have even used them on beaver a couple times,2 drags on 20 ft of chain in a small creek.Both times they were there waiting on the bank for me.I wouldn't do that in every situation of course but in certain instances it can be an option.Otter also in shallow stream crossings where a coni won't work and it isn't possible to drown or stake.Drags get a bad rap do to being used in coditions they don't fit,or using those cheap 2 prongers that are made out of rod.They are fine for mink but use a good drag that is made for coyotes for anything else.They also save you time in the long run,I don't remember ever taking more than a few minutes to find any animal on a drag and it saves time when making sets,no stakes to drive,just toss the drag off to the side,bed the trap and go.If you are trapping near a road it also allows animals to get out of sight,no coyotes or fox shot up or stolen.You can even get an animal to go in a certain direction by driving a rebar stake in and hooking the drag on it so the only way they can get it away is in a certain direction,you can do the same thing with a smallish tree.I love drags.
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traps82
#3 Newhouse
Hope is always alive
Posts: 3,208
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Post by traps82 on Apr 10, 2012 11:35:38 GMT -5
My drag set up for coon/mink. Just my 2 cents. I have tried every method and I ended up with this. Nice and easy for me and it works for my way of trapping.
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Post by clt on Apr 10, 2012 11:44:38 GMT -5
That is pretty much what I use for mink also.People use similar drags for coyotes,I would not myself though...
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Zagman
#2 Newhouse
Posts: 2,186
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Post by Zagman on Apr 10, 2012 13:46:18 GMT -5
My "system" on mink traps is similiar. My drags are all the "coyote" drags, or those advertised as such.
Only difference, and I run on a small scale, is have a large snap link on the end of each chain and keep the hooks separate until needed.
And this allows me to simply short shank off of a tree or anything handy vs. deploying the drag.
Leaving the hook seperate, I find, saves a lots of hassle on tangling.
Pull into a spot, grab the trap and tightly wrapped chain out of one bin and the drag out of the other. Hook up at the set....split second.
On pull day, just take it off.
Works for me.....
Agree with CLT......year in and out I use MORE drags than less for coyotes.
MZ
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Post by TI trapper on Apr 10, 2012 14:03:52 GMT -5
mark- how many ft of chain do you use on your coyote drags? I personally use about 10 to12 ft and the coyotes dont get far before they tangle.
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Zagman
#2 Newhouse
Posts: 2,186
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Post by Zagman on Apr 10, 2012 14:31:11 GMT -5
That sounds about right....my drags all have 8-10 feet on them plus the 18" to 30" on my traps.....
Very often, drag just sitting on top of the ground and NOT hooked to something, and the chain wrapped around a sapling or something.
4-6 feet of chain with a round rod "coyote" drag is probably not the way to go if you want to avoid the wrecks others have mentioned above.
MZ
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Post by Brunner on Apr 10, 2012 18:14:51 GMT -5
Use a lot of drags myself. Same as Zagman and clt, I use more on coyotes every year. On top of that, it is the easiest and most efficient way for me to run mink traps in these rocky little streams we have around here.
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Post by rufus on Apr 16, 2012 6:13:34 GMT -5
I have used drags on most of my mink line for about 6 years now and I catch a lot of coon in them. Usually the coon is no more than 10 feet from the set. For a drag I use a half gallon milk jug filled with concrete mix and put 3 links of chain at top with 1 link sticking out to attach a trap. On all my traps I have 6 or 7 feet of cable with quick connectors. They are cheap and don't roll away in high water.
I have also caught fox and coyote in the mink sets. The coyote did get about 40 feet.
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Post by milkie62 on Apr 21, 2012 21:24:31 GMT -5
Is anybody using a length of chain behind the drag to help keep it on the ground ? Thanks Ed
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Post by clt on Apr 25, 2012 18:21:08 GMT -5
Ed,that shouldn't be needed...
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Post by milkie62 on Apr 25, 2012 22:07:45 GMT -5
I had read that sometimes help with a light drag.
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Post by clt on Apr 26, 2012 9:26:15 GMT -5
I would rather have 12-15 foot of chain between the trap and the "lite" drag than a drag in the center of that.JMO
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Post by nightstalker1 on Apr 29, 2012 8:38:54 GMT -5
Another variation....using railroad spikes (thanks for the idea Pettit) Drag weight increased to a little over 3 pounds using sch. 40 pipe Will be using sch. 80 pipe for the HD coyote drags and they shoud be 4 - 5 pounds OPINIONS !!!!!! Size Comparison to my fox / coon/ mink drag
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