From the time I was in my early teens I recall magazines like Field & Stream having articles about the coyote's constant eastward expansion. I also recall O.L. Butcher writing about brush wolves in the Adirondacks years before I was born. It has been quite hilarious to me to hear poor misinformed local residents and hunters talk about the DNR releasing coyotes in this state, along with their rattlesnake release program! I always wondered what kind of reasoning the DNR was using if they released the coyotes, to turn right around and proclaim open season on them year round? Anyway, I caught my first coyote in Montana in 1993, and I did so using the barehanded approach of O'Gorman, and I found that if I did what I knew to do properly, coyotes could indeed be fooled. I caught coyotes there in Montana with BMI K9 Wolfer traps, as well as Victor #3 longsprings, and snares, and from that time onward I complained about West Virginia not permitting snares. Of course I fell in love with snares out west, but I had used them here for beaver, and obviously I was very glad to hear when the DNR changed the regulations to permit the use of snares a couple of seasons ago.

This is the only WV coyote I have taken so far, but I expect more this fall. I haven't really got to trap much at all since 1999, but this year is going to be a busy one on the line, God willing, and the snow doesn't bury me! The main thing trappers need to realize about coyotes is their power. They are not fox, and they are not docile like cats, they are very powerful, and some coyotes grow to extraordinary size. I heard of a coyote weighing 80 pounds from Maine a season or two ago that won their statewide coyote contest. While this is quite excessive, coyotes weighing in the 50 pound class are caught every year. The coyote in the picture above is from Logan County and weighed in at 32 pounds, and this is larger than any of the Montana coyotes I ever took. The point is they can demolish run of the mill traps, like the normal #2 coil springs. The BMI traps I have used (K9 Wolfer) and the big Victor #3 longsprings are pretty well made from the factory, but as most of you know by now there is a good selection of top notch coyote traps available out there today, but they are not cheap. I like to use several strands of my 16 gauge galvanized fence wire to secure my traps, and I like these strands to be "independent," that is if one breaks another strand will still be holding fast. This is a Montana coyote caught on a trail set and finished quickly by the natural kill pole. A kill pole is simply an appropriate object for the snared animal to wrap around, thus ending the struggle swiftly, which is what you want.

This is another Montana coyote wrapped up tight around the kill pole and taken with a trail set leading into a ravine.I like snares a lot for coyotes simply because they are so easy to use, and so much less trouble to maintain. I use a fairly large loop of about 15 inches when snaring fox or coyote, and I find the most important thing is the bottom of the loop and its' distance from the ground; I like the loop to be about 12 inches from the ground. I also like to have a little guide stick (very thin) or a small weed stem in place to guide the coyote, or fox's head through the loop. Guide sticks with snares should be inconspicuous, so don't over do it. I like something on each side of the snare, but I try not to make it too obvious, and I typically like a limb overhead to cause the deer to miss the set, just like I would use on a normal trail set. A 2 inch diameter limb wired over the trail about 25 to 30 inches high (this is certainly not always possible) makes a great place to hang the snare loop from, and it guides the animal's head as well. The set in the photo above had just such a limb in place but the coyote has temporarily knocked it down. Note the limb over the trail below, then look closely and you will see the snare.If you don't see it, well it's because it isn't supposed to stick out like a sore thumb, but it is there, and although the deer knocked the whole rig over several times, I did catch at least one red fox here...no coyotes, but you get the idea about snare placement. In the coming weeks I hope to be able to illustrate this a little better with some new photos.