Drag help ???
#7495605
02/14/22 12:39 AM
02/14/22 12:39 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 8 WV
WV_Mtn'r
OP
trapper
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OP
trapper
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 8
WV
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I read the threads on Trapperman daily learning as much as I can and don't post a lot. Now, I need some help on using drags. I have never used them but now have encountered a location in which I need to use one. This farm has a healthy bobcat population and also gets some coyote travel. I caught one cat on this farm last year in a different location. This year trail cameras have identified a main travel corridor for both the cats and coyotes. It is a farm road connecting two hay fields running downhill on a small rock cliff. Just to the north of the road is a rock about the size of a basketball the bobcats are using as a natural scent post. The ground is hard sandstone about 4 inches deep covered in some spots with dirt and others with crumbled sandstone and I am unable to drive an earth anchor more than about 6 inches deep. My solution is to use a drag. But I have no experience and am concerned on how to find one that takes off. I could relocate the rock but dont want to disrupt their normal pattern. A friend who got me started in trapping made a couple drags for me a few years ago. I will try to post a picture of them tomorrow. They are made from rebar with #3 chain and cable. I am not sure of the weight. My first question is what is the most likely direction of travel once caught? We are in hilly country with this pic showing elevation drop of 150 ft from barn (white square) to the far right of picture. The hay fields are cut really short and hard packed, surrounded by larger open fields on top (north), really dense autumn olive thicket to the south (yellow area) and a steep thick drain to the east (blue area) emptying into a large hollow. The two dots are current/potential trap locations. The autumn olive thicket is surrounded by thick briar patches. The second pic is a close up of the road bed section. The road is represented by the grey line. The elevation drops to both the south and east. The red dot is a pipe dream set up in the field where I could drive an anchor. The blue dot is a big flashy dirty hole right on edge of sandstone that I somehow got an anchor drove in. Pulling it will be a challenge. The yellow dot is the location of the rock the cats are visiting regularly. I can dig a good trap bed at the rock. My second question is once caught how do you locate your catch? If he heads to the thicket I would not expect him to go far at all. Any other direction I am not sure. And I dont have a dog to use to track it up. I am concerned that if he goes any where but the thicket the drag may not hook up. There is a small cedar tree I could prehook the drag but it is a good 20 ft away from the rock. I appreciate any help you can give me.
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Re: Drag help ???
[Re: WV_Mtn'r]
#7495648
02/14/22 03:25 AM
02/14/22 03:25 AM
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Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 1,771 Wisconsin
Scott__aR
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 1,771
Wisconsin
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You can use a stake thru a link of the chain to force a direction of travel. Drive the stake at ~ 45° pointed in the direction you wish the animal to go. Any other direction the animal tries to go is hung up on the stake, when it swings around to the desired direction of travel the chain link will slide off the stake.
Ground to hard to drive a stake ... use a ceramic tipped masonry bit and battery powered drill.
Megapredator ... top of the food chain! Member of WTA Member of MTPCA Member of NTA
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Re: Drag help ???
[Re: WV_Mtn'r]
#7496074
02/14/22 02:54 PM
02/14/22 02:54 PM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 8 WV
WV_Mtn'r
OP
trapper
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OP
trapper
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 8
WV
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Thanks for the help. I appreciate the responses. If the cat or yote heads straight for cover I would expect it to get hung up as quickly as 20 yds. Which is definitely ideal. I hadnt thought about using a log but would be easy enough to setup. The location is close enough to other trees and downed tops I dont think a log in the edge of field would be much of a deterrent. How heavy of a log would you suggest? Here is the drag my buddy made me. It is not heavy at all with a full length of about 10 ft. I have additional chain and cable I can use to tweak it.
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Re: Drag help ???
[Re: WV_Mtn'r]
#7496162
02/14/22 04:58 PM
02/14/22 04:58 PM
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Joined: May 2018
Posts: 759 new york
henpecked1
trapper
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trapper
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 759
new york
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When I first started using drags in AZ I would tie about 10 feet of orange flagging to the drag. makes it easy to find, after doing that a while I switched to a temporary fastening like an exposed root that would give after a while, that way the animals had the initial shock of the catch over, so there was less bounding, but more pulling action which kept the drag on the ground, he then pulled in one direction only, till hung up, then he would tear that up and pull again. I learned to use a heavy piece of steel like a tie plate near the trap to increase weight tiring him out quicker ( Art Crane and E F Keith would use a brick close to the trap) and that with a 10 foot chain and drag would slow him down in the flats. if i had trouble finding him you could usually discharge a 22 round, listen and that will start him moving and making noise. do not go for a hind foot catch as they can travel hooked up that way In your area if you hook a deer he will bound once or twice and flick the trap off and you might never find it, deer are attracted to some lures and the salt in urine. I think you might want to consider a slide away system with a one way lock take a pick to the ground and see what you are really dealing with some guys in az just carried cinder blocks with them and hooked the drag to that, never bothered the coyotes (coyote trapping with Smitty shows that method), one old book said you could tell a coyote trapper by the big rocks in the bed of the truck along with all the dents.
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Re: Drag help ???
[Re: WV_Mtn'r]
#7496546
02/14/22 10:50 PM
02/14/22 10:50 PM
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Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 2,503 Idaho
bearcat2
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 2,503
Idaho
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I am generally overkill on log drags, generally using one 5-6" around and 6-8' long. I've used larger if that was what was handy. I'm sure that is overkill for coyotes, but we have wolves and cougars here and if you pinch one of them you want a pretty good chunk of wood attached. They aren't going anywhere much in the brush with a log that size attached, but you'd be amazed how far they can drag something like that down a road if they decide to. No problems tracking them though . One thing, if using a log drag, you want to make sure the chain or cable is tight around it and there is no way it can be worked off the end. I usually notch it where I wrap the chain around it in the middle, so the chain can't slide up or down the log. Drags like Wolfdog pictured are handy, grab one, attach it to the chain and throw it in the brush (or snow usually in my case), no looking around for or cutting a log and moving it, but you have to have them with you, I trap off a snowmachine or fourwheeler mostly and space is limited so I only carry a few drags and can cut or find logs when I run out.
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