I've hammered pipe to make a hole in frozen ground, pounded a trap bed and used chopped grass for trap cover and caught coyotes.

Sorry Denny!!

this year so far i have only takin 5 reds out of haysets and one vary ugly yot but it is much easyer to make all my dirt holes keep freezing on me so i have swiched to all hay sets and right now im happy with the resalts

Pipes, hand chisels, rebar, hammers, etc., all work to an extent, but often if the soil was very wet before freezing all it does is chip at the sides and very difficult to get a decent hole and trap bed. If we had red fox here anymore, I know I'd be using the hay set a lot.

First off Alaska is God's country, and yes I been in AR ,second any set made sure as heck ain't lazy, or a dang gimmick. If I can hang a piece of flagging tape and catch a marten, lynx, bobcat, is that lazy?
Any trapper, chick or dude, out in the elements trying to outwit a critter obviously has gumption and determination to gitter done. And they ain't afraid to try. At least I don't see any whining about 5 in of snow.
Yes dirt holes can be made in deep snow, but depending on were you live mother nature dictates what will freeze and what won't, and digging a big hole down in the snow verses placing a hayset on top of it, ummm KISS!!!

Jim take your best digger ya got ,now find a cement slab and start pounding away. Thats about what we got in the north right now, I started putting a dirthole in the other day frozen crap flying around piece hit me in the eye, that was that stuff was thrown in the back of the truck.Guess ya might figure out what went out down the road considering the thread.

Are you describing a trashpile set or mound set mimic-ing where something has piled grass, straw, debri over the remains of a kill? I have converted the mound of scratched up duff from a catch into a trashpile set, usually with a point. I bury a trap off of this point to which lure and urine has been applied. The animals work it much like a scent post. A very effective set.

Sorry Denny....but the hay or straw set in question is where a layer of straw is scattered in a thin layer in a circle, a trap bedded or stablized as well as possible , then lightly covered with more scattered straw. Gland lure and urine applied in the center of straw. The animal steps or blunders a foot in the trap....while investigating the smells and, or leaving their own scent......keep in mind this set is on frozen ground covered with snow usually hardpacked snow and the straw on top of the snow has tremenous sight appeal.

Now here is the secret.....all sets are made where the animal steps on the trappan in an attemp to reach the smell of urine lure or bait.....requardless of the set.......now on snares , you get them going and coming.

Does anyone know who invented the hay set?

6 of the first 10 threads on here are about hay sets!

I'd like to give my 2 cents on "sets" related to canines. Theres only 3 kinds,dirthole,flat set and post set. One is made in the ground,one is made on the ground and one is made above the ground. There are as many various's of these sets as there are trappers. The key to catching canines is having target animals in your area,setting ON location,being clean as possible and a firmly bedded trap.All 3 of these sets and variations of them will catch canines. Why do we have to "name" all of the variations to the point of calling them "mimics" or claim that "we" invented them.Variations of these sets will usually prevail after the critters have been educated by the basic 3 sets.

what is the kiss method?

i have never caught a fox or yote outside of a fox in a box trap few years ago. i strated traping this year day after x mas in 4in of snow i have never used or tryed a dirt hole set until reading this forems this year. i have traped coon before and water traped but nevr land traped. SO after spending a whole day working on my first ever 3 dirt hole sets and next day even after i spent time drying dirt from inside my barns they all were frozen. my gear is all older then most of you old timers as i inherited it im trying the "hay set" as a last resort to try and catch something this year. i did catch a deer to bad trap could not hold it so it does work lol

Keep It Simple Stupid

Jim I don't know how much land trapping you've done in the frozen north in January, but if you're going to be punching holes in the ground, you're going to need eye protection. The ground fragments shoot out everywhere. If you're talking about using an auger, you may want to give that a try on a concrete driveway first to see how well that works.

Seriously, I've land trapped in some of those northern regions, Alaska, UP of MI, South Dakota, etc and its not like land trapping down south in January.

But if you ever get the desire to do it, make sure you have eye protection, because you're going to need it.....

LOL I think Jim is just looking for fodder for another article.

Here with fall being usually wet,then cold then thaws then rain then cold again. You wind up with anywhere from 1 -3 foot of ice, solid ice mixed with frozen solid dirt.
To make a dirt hole even if you use a backhoe is a job and a half. So any set above the frozen ground is a KISS set.
Sorry Denny. Just couldn't resist a jab at someone who calls us yankee dummies!!!!!!!!!

IMO, no one invented the hay set. The hay set as it is being widely discussed on this forum is nothing more than a chaff set. The chaff set has been around I don't know how long, but at least 60-70 years.

Besides that, a scent post IS a flat set.

Adios,
45/70

What if your Urine post is on a hill? Would it still be a Flat set?

Anyone use the hay set in the summer?

The "hay" set has been around for ever. A trapper/farmer friend of mine use to make a horseshoe shaped set out of straw. He would sandwich calf after-birth between two layers of straw. He would then set three traps just inside the opening to the horseshoe. The fox would nearly always go into the opening of the horseshoe instead of coming in from the sides or back. I don't know why, but they did. I don't think he ever caught a coyote using this set, but we didn't have any coyotes here when he trapped either.

There's 3-4 inches of frost in the ground now, a real workout to get a hole and a trap bed in. Yes, safety glasses are a very good idea.