I want to start trapping coyotes with footholds but I haven’t done it before. Will my #2s work or should I try to find some 3s or 4s? I am new to trapping yotes and they seem like they would be much more rewarding to catch than coons or rats. Any advice on traps or techniques are welcomed! Thanks in advance!
4’s NO. My absolute favorite trap for coyotes is #3 square jaw. #2’s work fine, and I’ve got a lot of coyotes over the years in them. I’ve also had a lot more toe pinches in a 2 Vs 3. A #2 has roughly a 5-1/2″ inside jaw spread and a #3 has 6-1/4″ inside. Comparing pan size of most traps, a #2 and #3 are very similar, requiring you to have near perfect paw placement for a high foot catch Vs a toe.
Pee sticks set see pic
Here is a good article written by Hal Sullivan. We have soem differing opinions, but he gives very sound advice. Sorry I’m tight on time, but will try to get back on this
http://www.furfishgame.com/featured_articles/Archived/2010-01/trapline_01_2010.php
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Going to try my first coyote sets next week as well as I finally decided to get my IL trapping license. They might be “undersized” to some but I ordered Duke 1.75’s. I did look at articles like above first as well as other forums etc. and decided, hey I’ll start it out low budget. They cost me $8 a piece for the three I ordered, those coupled with a bait and fox urine and I started my investment cheap. The plan is to have them short chained to reduce lunge area. Anyway, if I catch one coyote the fur price buys me one #2 and so on. So this year is a learning year and what I get this year will fund the new traps for next year.
I’m a fan of short chain also. My set up is pretty consistent with the only real variable being cable length on my earth anchors.
Trap – link – swivel – 6-8″ chain – swivel – 10″ chain – swivel -earth anchor.
It may seem a bit excessive on the box swivels, but with how much debris the chain can pick up, it really makes a huge difference. Because I trap in areas where the possibility of non-target species is reality, I want to make dang sure I cause no lower leg/paw damage. The more the trap can spin freely, the significant reduction in damage.
Nic, I get a lot of fox/coyotes in my 1.75s. I’m not a fan of Duke as they are made for the price point. I run all Sleepy Creeks for my 1.75 and #2. Worth the extra cost in spring quality out of the box. Guys clain to do well with dukes, but I have seen a lot of pull-outs over the years. If you can find the spring kits for them cheap to add the pair, then they are stout.
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So I am assuming you set where the pink circle is in that picture?
Yes. For coyote front foot on a pee stick set, I target 10 to 11″ back to the center of the pan
I run all MB650’S for coyotes. They are a trap that is made for the beating that a coyote can deliver. I wouldn’t recommend going cheap when it comes to coyote traps. They can be hard on traps and you want something that will hold up.
I echo what Randy said – except my setup is slightly different.
Trap – swivel – 10″ chain – swivel – and 15″ cable to a earth anchor. After driving in, the trap only has about 10-12″ tops of free play from the anchor point.
For yotes, I like a #3, but personally set #2’s way more because of our fox population. #3’s are just a tad too much for fox, IMO and a #2 seems to be a good compromise. I use round jaw vs square, simply because that is what I learned with…. no rational reason. I night-latch and shoot for 2.5# of tension. Lots of reds have been waiting for me the next morning with that set-up.
FWIW – I have caught quite a few yotes in 1.5 round jaws. With a good pad catch, they aren’t going anywhere, but it requires spot-on placement and is definitely not what I would recommend if they are a likely target.
Are you guys using poly under the pan or how to set to protect the pan from back filling?
I have screens for warmer temps and wax paper as back up
My traps have still not arrived yet, (errrr phone calls and emails have been made) but I was planning on using wax paper in a style similar to this.
These guys have some of the best coyote trapping videos out there if you ask me, I learned a ton from them.
If it’s not an MB, it is not on my coyote line. I prefer the 550 because it will catch fox too. Dukes are disposable traps when catching canines. You might get by with them, but they will need retuned and repaired after almost every coyote catch. Spend a litke extra on the MB and you will be happier and save more money in the long run.
I use the chain that comes with the MB 550 attached to earth anchor.
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Anyone ever use live coyote traps?
Not only do we have coyotes hunting deer, we’ve noticed pet dogs chasing deer this hunting season. I don’t want to catch someones dog in a leg trap.
I’ve never attempted to trap coyotes and looking for any insight.
Also, do people incidentally trap deer with leg traps? And I’m assuming a dog would set off a leg trap also?
I’ve never had a deer’s hoof stick in a foothold. Always just pull out.
larger sized live traps for coyotes are available. Most are in the $150.00 to $400.00 range. I have the Tomahawks and they are pretty stout. Coyotes are pretty leery about going into anything that they can not see clearly through. Having them come in and investigate works, the tricky part is to get them to commit to walking in.
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