For any of you who might set coyote snares:

what are the best locations to set them on and at the same time try to avoid deer? also, when setting snares just on trails, how high should the snare loop be above the ground? I've been working with a few leg traps and haven't had a lot of luck. I'm probably not setting enough of them to really see effectiveness. and still learning how best to set. I'm still working on it, just looking for something else to add to my mix to up my odds.

aside from calling/shooting them, any other good means out there for killing yotes? I'm looking to simply remove them for purposes of our deer management. I'm not fur trapping or doing anything with them.

Setting snares on trails can net a deer catch, or other non target, I never set a snare on a trail per se.

Most effective way I use snares, is on fence lines. I have found a new crossing on my place, so I will take a photo of what I look for if you'd like, going up there in a little bit anyway.

I will walk every foot of fence I have access to, look for depressions under the bottom strand, or between the 2 strands on the bottom, look for an obvious "spot" they are using and look very close for hair. This is where you want a snare. I have even dug out under fences to encourage yotes to use that spot, they prefer the easiest mode of travel, so give it to them.

I never put a snare in a fence above the 2nd strand, or around 12", even baby deer will usually go above that.

Leg hold traps are almost an art form, many tips and tricks to do it right, without educating a yote. For me, If I find "the spot" I like for a LH trap, it MUST look almost identical to the way I found it, with 0 odor left behind. Only difference will be minute things I have done to encourage the yote to put his paw on a 2"x3" square, in the middle of many acres.

BTW, there are ways to improve the OTC LH trap as well, I add a leaf type spring under all my yote trap pans (makes it firmer) and file every dog and catch for starters. Yotes are fast as chit and any sense of what they don't expect under their foot and you "may" find just a toe...If anything.

Here you go, I took a few photos.

1st one is what I saw as I walked by, vegetation pushed down and somewhat spread apart, notice the deer hair on the top wire. There is coyote hair low, but hard to see at distance.



You need to look very close many times, but it is much easier when you are in the field, rather than like this photo, clump of yote hair on barb, dead center of photo.



Same photo, but with my hand behind to highlight the hair. I always pull every hair I can as well, so next time I pass that spot, new hair tells me it is being used often.

Walked on about 80 yards and found another crossing in this photo, if i was setting snares, I would include on here as well even though they are close.



Closeup of same photo, can you make out the hairs? they are fewer, but there.

BTW, make sure you "pre load" your snares, or buy them pre-loaded, they will close twice as fast and 0 resistance.

You can pre load your own by carefully pulling the loop area around a pipe or fence post, you're basically forming a good loop that will maintain it's shape (You do not want a tear drop shape) and give the lock a quick, smooth surface.

sounds like good information. I will try some of that out. Our place is all low/barbwire fence. I know that young and even adult deer will often times go thru a fence instead of over it if its possible. I was hoping to avoid fence crossings because of this.

the only experience I have with snares is up in the hill country where the property owner set them for hogs and coyotes both. they set them heavily on fence crossings. caught mountains of hogs, but also caught mountains of deer. the owner didn't care about the deer so much. wasn't trying to catch them, but didn't stop snaring just because he did.

the place I'm trying to trap now is deep south texas. way southern Duval Co. we have good deer and hog populations. and what I'm thinking is a ton of coyotes.

I've found trails that appear to be heavily used trails by animals small and large...and then trails that appear to be smaller animals only. I know coyotes use the large trails, but so does everything else. so I was going to avoid those. I was thinking if I set my snares on trails lower to the ground and not at a fence that would incline a deer to duck under...then maybe I wouldnt' catch deer.

I appreciate the pictures, that helps.

I would honestly love to be able to use the snares for the hogs down there too. but with deer and hogs being similar sized animals I find now way to distinguish one from the other in terms of what I might catch. I'd have to use the same trails and sets and I'd catch too many deer. it was almost sick how many hogs we caught with those snares in the hill country. it was definitely sick how many deer were inadvertently killed. but that was out of our control.

so you say if you set your coyote snares on the bottom strand...that you will not catch as many or any deer in your experience? there are many areas I could do this. we have a lot of grass and a lot of cross fences. smaller game trails are very distinguishable in the grass.

where we hunted in the hill county the fences were all sheep n goat netting. so deer frequently would go thru the holes that the hogs had made. and hogs would re-use the same holes. so any hole you found in the fence you set a snare and it was a deathtrap for anything that went thru. I've wondered at what height deer most frequently crossed barb wire. being slightly taller animals I would guess they don't stoop any lower than they have to.

Erich, I have snared a crap load of yotes and caught a deer one time. That was a poor set I used early on before getting educated by someone that knew what to do, it was also a set in field fence with a hole in it as you described.
A coyote has no issue stooping down if that is the easiest way, set the fence wire right and you can get the dog to go where you need him to go.

Even on a trail set, a coyote cruises with his head much lower than a deer does, so the goal is to stay below the average deer's head height.

Setting a snare in just any hole, can catch anything that goes through it depending on snare height, which you already found out snaring hogs. I actually find it easier snaring yotes on field fence, narrows down where they can cross.

Most deer, even fawns, will never go under the 1st 2 strands of wire on a standard fence, but I try to keep the set less the=an 12" at the top, with the bottom of the loop off the ground about 2-3". This usually requires the bottom wire to be held up, or down to create enough opening to keep the snare snag free.

If I have to set a snare in a spot I know deer cross, I will tie a piece of wire to the top run or the fence and pull it down to the 2nd wire from the bottom. This raises the bottom wire and pulls down the top wire some, encouraging deer to jump the fence.

If I get out tomorrow, I will set a snare and take a photo, may make more sense.

yes, I appreciate it. I'm interested to see whatever you're willing to share. I was thinking too on trails that deer would typically travel with their heads much higher than a coyote. the snares I will be using have deer stops on them to prevent a leg catch.

I'm still working on learning the art of foot hold traps. I think being able to learn to do that puts you in tune with a lot more than just coyotes. probably learn a lot about all kinds of things about your hunting area by learning to do that.

I just haven't been effective yet. I think I've narrowly missed some. nipped some toes off most likely. but no catch yet. the snares would just allow me to cover more ground.

I will get you a photo tomorrow then.

Using snares and lH traps together, you can get a good deal of control of those dogs. Fine tuning a lH trap will help more than you think.

I don't know where the above photos went? Anyway,,,,

Here is one I took just to show how I will use a piece of wire to open and lower the fence. Snare just sitting there to give you the idea. The point is, if you have deer using the same spot, you encourage them to go high and yotes to go low, this fits in both animals preferred behavior IMO. This is a 6 strand BW fence, but you can do it the same way with a 4-5 run fence. BTW, notice the 3 small logs on the right?, I put those there about 8 years ago just for snaring, I have taken around 6 yotes at this spot alone in that time and I only have 15+ acres to work right now.




Here is the spot I 1st showed you, this is after I placed the saner. I hope you can see were I raised the lower wire using a stick, this stick also pushes the yotes travel into the snare, (same twith the sticks you see around the "hole". Clean out the run as to be attractive, remove sticks, leaves and anything else, you need too, but only in the snare path. Any vegetation left on either side is a plus. This spot has briers growing right on the left which is great. I should have take a bit closer photo, showing the "diversion" sticks.



Here is the snare hanging on the bottom wire, notice the little "clip" I made holding it up. I prefer using small phone cable copper wire if I have it availability, then I will loosely wrap it 2-3 times to hold the snare to the fence. Now that I am back at the house, I wish I had taken better photos, if they don't make sense, I will get more tomorrow. I did this in a rush, but you should get the basic idea.