Improved Noose Design Article

[HawkingTX]

This was the article that I had wrote for the Texas Hawking Association 2001 Summer Journal and American Falconry Magazine December 2002. If anyone has questions about this noose design, feel free to contact me.


Improved Noose Style For B.C. Traps
By John Graham
Hillsboro, Texas

For most falconers, preparing for trapping season starts well before the actual season.
Most likely you have a B.C. trap you use over and over each season, but the monofilament line on the trap gets old and brittle. Most falconers end up replacing the monofilament line each year due to this reason or risk losing birds. Then of course we have the bait that is placed in the trap. We sit back watching the hawk on a pole or tree then look at the trap to see gerbils eating away on the monofilament. Does any of this sound familiar? Now you know most likely that the hawk will come down to the trap and get hung up on one of those partially eaten monofilament nooses. This is of course what we all call Murphy’s Law. The hawk gets caught on the trap, you run to get the bird off the trap, but before you get there to the trap, low and behold the hawk flies off to the wondrous blue yonder. The only way to prevent this from happening was to put a double cage in the trap to prevent the bait chewing at the nooses to begin with. This of course is more trouble when building a trap. Monofilament line still breaks off traps sometimes when a bird tries to escape. So what about if I told you that you will never have to deal with monofilament line on this type of trap again?

Well to be honest with the falconry community, I have never had these troubles. Mind you, I have only been a falconer for a few years, but I never used a B.C. trap with monofilament line on it or a double cage for the bait. I just could not figure why anyone wants to re-noose a trap every year with an inferior material. I have never gave it much thought on my way of assembling a B.C. trap up until I went trapping with a group of other falconers for the first time. They with others have encourage me to write about my trap after seeing it work so well. The nooses on my B.C. trap do not break off, in fact my nooses will most likely never need replacing at all. It is a very simple and dependable noose system and works remarkably well. Besides, there is no more tying of nooses to the trap.

If you went to the N.A.F.A. meet in Amarillo two years ago, you might have seen the trap I donated to the raffle. I also have donated a couple of traps to the Texas Hawking Association’s raffle the past couple of years. I had a lot of questions asked by many other falconers on my noose material and how it works on my traps when I was at these meets. Hal Webster was one in particular that wanted me to write this article. Like most falconers say about Hal, do as you are asked by him for he has done great for the falconry community himself.

The material I use to make a trap is regular ½" hardware cloth for the cage and flooring, ½" steel rod used for the weights, 40# salt water leader line nylon coated, leader line connectors and some epoxy. The leader line and connectors will need to be purchased at some large fishing supply store. I selected the size of the leader line by the diameter of the line, not so much by the weight size. At the end of this article will be a list of materials and brands that I have found to work great. The connectors can be difficult to come by sometimes so make sure you buy the right size and enough when you have the opportunity to buy them. You can use different size line and connectors to your liking, but what is listed above has caught many hawks and a few falcons. Make your cage and flooring of the trap first or you may want to use an old trap that you are partial to. Depending on some variables, trap size and what you are trapping, you can adjust anything to your liking.

[HawkingTX]

The first task to getting started is to cut the leader line. I have had real good luck catching everything on leader line cut to the lengths of 25 cm. each. I will cut as much leader line as I think needed then start attaching the line to the trap. I will go to a corner of any given square on the hardware cloth and place the line from the bottom side of the top of the cage and feed it through the top. Then I feed both ends of the leader line through a connector. I then take one end of the line and slide the connector down the entire length of the leader line until the connector is butted up against the cage. Now you have one end of the line in one hand and the other end of the line is completely enclosed in the connector. The leader line should then be pulled tight while holding the connector. Most likely you will have to pull on the one exposed end of the line while pushing the connector down of the cage for it to get a good snug fit. When you have completed this, take a pair of diagonal pliers and crimp down on the connector. This will keep the line from coming out of the connector. I crimp down on the connectors in five or six different areas up and down the length of the connector to ensure the leader line will not pull out. Connect all your leader lines that you may want to your trap before completing anything else. This will make it easier for the next step.

Now you should have a trap with a bunch of leader lines attached. What I do next is epoxy the connectors to the trap. Stand up all the connectors from the trap and epoxy them to the trap preventing them to lay over once the epoxy is dry. If you have snugged up the lines good before crimping the connectors, they should stand up pretty good already. The only reason for this is to keep the connectors standing straight up from the trap and not lay over when a bird lands on the trap. This in turn keeps the nooses standing up tall when the bird is all over the trap.


Once the epoxy has dried good, the next step is to complete the assembly of the nooses. Take a connector and install it on the end of a leader line. Slide it down the line enough to where you can take the exposed end of the line and wrap the line half way around the main line. Put the end of the line back in the connector. The end on the leader line will go on the side where the leader line came out of the connector originally. Slide the line up in the connector until you see the end of the line in the connector. You should never have any exposed ends of leader lines from connectors on this trap if you assembly them correctly. Pull the connector tight enough on the leader line to where it is a loop on the main part of the leader line. This loop is the tricky part. You want the loop as small as possible, but not so small that it will not slide up and down the main line. You also do not want a loop too big for it will slip up and down the line way too easy and you may lose a bird. The loop will be approximately a 1/16" to 1/8" in diameter. Once you have the loop to the desired size, crimp the connector to prevent the leader line from coming out. Once again, crimp the connector in five or six different spots. To make sure you got what you are looking for, just slide the looped end of the noose up and down the main part of the leader line to ensure it moves freely.

One of the most important parts of this noose is very simple. After you have completed the assembly of a given noose, go to the end of the connector opposite of the loop you have just completed. Bend the end of the connector approximately one-third in a upwards direction opposite of your small loop end approximately 60 - 80 degrees as in the illustration. After doing that step, then bend the leader line perpendicular to the adjoining leader line. I just bend the connector with needle nose and diagonal pliers. Bending this leader line at the connector does two important things to make the trap a large success. First it makes the noose work freely up the leader line. Second, once the noose is cinched up all the way, the noose locks in place against the snared object eliminating any escapes. This is something that can be is easily tested. Just put your finger in the noose and lift up. Once your finger is caught you should be able to drop your finger towards the trap, but the noose should not loosen. If the noose does slacken up some, just bend the leader line some more. The only way to loosen the noose is to physically push the connector down the main leader line. After you have bent the line at the connector of the loop and checked them all for locking abilities, the line will should stay bent at the connector. If you do not bend the line at this point of the connector, the noose will drag going up the leader line and once you have dropped your finger towards the trap, the noose will immediately slacken up letting you off the trap in turn letting your bird go free.

So image having a trap that could last you a lifetime. No more monofilament fishing line for the gerbils to eat and having to be replaced. In fact no more need for the double cage for the bait either. How about the assurance that once a bird is caught that the noose will not break. For the critics about locking nooses, I agree with them if the noose is made of breakable material, but this material will not break if properly assembled. This trap has and does all this with never injuring any bird that has been caught. At one time this trap had two Harris Hawks caught at the same time bating opposite directions and never broke or damaged a noose. Sounds to good to believe, huh. Well it has worked for me. Others have used my trap with great success. At the Amarillo meet, a couple of falconers actually caught some starlings with the trap using dog food for bait that was placed on top of the trap. The starlings then were placed in the trap. The falconers then went trapping for Prairie Falcons that day and caught two. To date, this trap has caught everything between a merlin all the way through the size of ferruginous hawk. It does takes some time to assemble a trap like this, but once it is completed it will catch birds for you for a very long time and so long as you do not run over it or lose it, this will probably be your last b.c. trap that you will build.

Noose material list: Leader Line - “Sevalon” #40 test. Comes in rolls of 30' in length.
Connectors - “Lee” size #2.


http://webzoom.freewebs.com/gregmik/John%20Graham/bc1pic.jpg

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/gregmik/John%20Graham/bc2pic.jpg

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/gregmik/John%20Graham/bc3pic.jpg

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/gregmik/John%20Graham/bc4pic.jpg

[HawkingTX]

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/gregmik/John%20Graham/bc5pic.jpg

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/gregmik/John%20Graham/bc6pic.jpg

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/gregmik/John%20Graham/bc7pic.jpg

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/gregmik/John%20Graham/bc8pic.jpg

[HawkingTX]

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/gregmik/John%20Graham/bc9pic.jpg

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/gregmik/John%20Graham/bc10pic.jpg

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/gregmik/John%20Graham/bc11pic.jpg

[GregMik]

Awesome mate!!

Rep added!

Greg

[HawkingTX]

You are good Greg..... thanks for the help on the pictures sir.

[GregMik]

thanks for the help on the pictures sir.

Not a problem,


I ain't your father and I ain't your boss....:lol:


Greg

[IAmTheWeasel]

Fantastic post John!!!!!:supz:

[GyrXPeales]

Great Post John, nicely illustrated too.:supz:
Thanks,
Jeff

[HawkingTX]

Many times when reading directions you kind of understand what they are meaning, but the pictures just make it so much clearer.

I remember the time ole Noel showed up at my house for the first time asking about the noose design. We sat down there in the living room and started building a trap right there and then.

[IAmTheWeasel]

....and I am still using that same trap with the same nooses....:supz:

[HawkingTX]

Did you know Noel the first time I ever went trapping with a small group of falconers that I was point blank told that my trap would not have a chance of working at all? They gave me all kinds of fits about my noose design. I will never forget that weekend of trapping in west Texas when all of those guys became believers almost instantly when trapping Harris' Hawks. They had to eat some crow for dinner that night.

[TalonsGrip1]

luremaking.com ( http://luremaking.com/catalogue/catalogue-index/catalogue-items/nylon_coated_stainless_steel_wir.htm ) has the best prices I've found on nylon-coated wire and connector sleeves, but do look around. They also carry several crimping tools[/SIZE][/FONT]

Crimper types
Point to cup
These tools can be purchased relatively cheaply from tackle shops around the world. They resemble a large pair of pliers with semi circular cut outs on one jaw and a series of pointed teeth on the opposite jaw which match up with the opposing cups.
They are used with round section crimp sleeves and they roughly flatten the sleeve around the leader without forming fully around the leader. They make a weaker connection than the cup to cup type, but should work fine for our traps.

Cup to cup
They resemble a large pair of pliers, but the opposing jaws have matching pairs of semi circular cut outs (the cups). There are usually three or four different sized cut outs depending on the brand of tool. The jaws usually have markings to indicate the appropriate sized sleeves to use with each cut out. Each cut out will usually accommodate several different sized sleeves either oval section or double barrel.

Connectors
There are three main types of crimp sleeve in common use.

1. Round section
2. Oval section
3. Double barrel

Round section
They are crimped with a point to cup type crimp tool. They are adequate for most BC trapping applications.

Oval section
You’ll l need a cup to cup type crimp tool to compress them. These are an excellent choice for most BC traps. When appropriately sized for the leader in use and compressed with the correct tool they create a very strong and reliable connection.

Double barrel
Double barrel sleeves are ideal. They make a strong neat join and there is no danger of the cable crossing over itself inside the sleeve. They should also only be compressed with a cup to cup style crimping tool. They’re slightly more costly than oval sleeves.

:: Common crimping mistakes ::

1. Crimping all the way to the end of the sleeve
This causes the edge of the sleeve to cut into the wire, always leave about 1/16 inch (1.6 mm ) uncrimped at each end of the sleeve.

2. Using alloy sleeves on stainless steel cable
This causes faster corrosion, weakening the joint.

3. Using the wrong size sleeve
It’s pretty much impossible to use too small a sleeve, the leader just won’t fit inside it. However it is possible to use too large a sleeve.
The purpose of crimping is to deform the metal of the sleeve around the leader and not to simply crush the crimp until it touches the leader in as many places as possible. Choose a sleeve that is a comfortable snug fit on your chosen leader material.

5. Using the correct tool incorrectly
Many people think that a cup to cup crimping tool should be used with the metal ridges between the semi circular cups pressing into the central groove between the two barrels of a double barrel sleeve or into the flat surfaces of oval sleeves.
NO!! This is wrong, the pressure is exerted by the curved surfaces of the cups against the curved sides of the sleeve.

[TalonsGrip1]

http://www.leadertec.com/Images/tipsandtechniques/crimptech2.jpg

Left is point to cup
right is cup to cup

[TalonsGrip1]

http://www.leadertec.com/Images/tipsandtechniques/crimptech6.jpg

right way to crimp

http://www.leadertec.com/Images/tipsandtechniques/crimptech7.jpg

Wrong way to crimp

[SparsTheOne]

great thread,i wish we could trap over here.:-x

rep added.


cheers jase.

[HawkingTX]

TalonsGrip1,
You don't have to purchase and use a special tool to crimp the connecting sleeves sir. I use just a plain ole pair of diagonal cutters to crimp the connecting sleeves and the needle noose pliers with the diagonal cutters to give the connecting sleeve the little bend.
You can buy the special tools if you like, but it isn't necessary. I have made so many traps and just keep using the same simple tools to do all the work.

[TalonsGrip1]

Good to note, John. I get so anal about details sometimes that I overlook the simple and obvious :rolleyes: . I learn so much from y'all about falconry. Y'all are top knotch!

[JHausman]

I just have to say that I built a BC with John's nooses last year. The trapping season last Fall would not have been the same without these fantastic nooses! The trap caught darn near every Red-Tail that looked at it and absolutely every one that landed on it! After 10 catches, even with two RT's hitting the trap on the same toss... the BC and nooses are still in great shape! Won't have to change out any of them.

The nooses are easy to remove from the bird and the thicker coated leader line seemed to lessen the potential for injury.

Good stuff John! Thanks again!

:supz:

[HawkingTX]

Thanks for letting me know how you liked the noose design sir. It is always great to hear that people have lots of success with this simple design. Have fun with it!

[Wilded]

My apprentice and I have caught a boat load of birds on John's design. There is none better, we even caught starlings, squirrels, cats and grackles. Not one hawk was harmed by the noose design and it is easy to relax to free a raptor. Thanks John for sharing your experience and design with us. ET

[HawkingTX]

It is great to hear from you Ed! We have discussed this noose design for trapping hawks, but you have brought up another point of catching other animals.

I have had falconers tell me that they have caught not only starlings, grackles, cats, but also the occassional dog, magpies, and the most impressive with no damage to nooses was a couple of squirrels. Now imagine taking off a live squirrel that was accidentally caught on your trap. Could be interesting to say the least.

[HawkingTX]

If I remember correctly, Iamtheweasal has a funny story about catching something besides a hawk with his trap and that noose design. He has been the only one that I have known of that has this particular thing trap by one of my noose design traps. Maybe some of you can convience him to tell about this incident.

[IAmTheWeasel]

.....LOL!!! John...I caught a 3 year old Mexican kid on my trap......He was hog tied.....had his fingers and toes caught up in it. I had it sitting on a friends porch and a neighborhood kid came to check out the gerbils.......Needless to say, I tosses that catch back......I was on a trapping run to SW Texas when we stopped at a diner for some grub. When I came out there was the most gawd awful noise coming from the bed of my truck.....Turns out a cat had gotten too close to the trap to investigate the gerbils sitting in it.....Now THAT was a fun critter to release....It luckily had one noose around it's mouth along with 4-5 more on various toes. I had to cut off several to release the cat.....If I wasn't in public, that kitty wouldn't of made it off the trap alive.......

[Wilded]

Heck, Dustin catches himself about every third drop. :)

[IAmTheWeasel]

PMSL!!!!! I had scratches on the side of my truck from doing that.....Toss it and it catches a finger then bangs into the side of the door......:supz:

[HawkingTX]

I have trapped many times and never have caught myself yet,,,, knock on wood.:)

Thanks for telling the story Noel, I thought everyone would find it funny sir. I can only imagine all the things that have been caught by various falconers that I just haven't heard from.

Can you imagine what the size of animal anyone could catch with the b.c. that I finished during the Texas Meet? Now that could be interesting.

[IAmTheWeasel]

Post a picture of that big *******!

[Wilded]

I spilled some deer corn in the back of my truck and went to the mall. I forgot the trap was in the back of the truck. When I came out I had 3 grackles screaming to high heaven in the back of my truck with all sorts of people standing around trying to figure out what to do.

[HawkingTX]

I don't have a picture of that big b.c. trap Noel on my computer. I need to get a cable for the camera so I can down load it to the computer. As many pictures you have been taking, I am kind of surprised that you don't have one of it never less the huge noose carpets that I had to get done also.

Is there is Texas falconers on this forum that took some pictures of the large b.c. trap I was working on at the Texas Meet? If so, Noel would like to have the pictures posted.

[TalonsGrip1]

Hey John

What supplier do you like for the wire and connectors? No one around Texarkana carries saltwater fishing supplies :mad: .

[HawkingTX]

Matthew,

You can order the leader line from Cabelas on line. They keep the Sevalon line. I just got done ordering some for myself about a month ago. The connectors that I know work the best is a brand called Lee size number two. The only place I knew that had them in small packages was Academy Sporting Goods Store.

I use so many connectors that I finally found a place to order them in bulk. If you can't find any connectors, you can buy some from me. It won't be too long and I will have to reorder more of them myself.

John

[TalonsGrip1]

I found Surflon 45 LB (.028") and the #4 connectors that fit the wire from Jann's Net Craft on the web. It sounds like they should work. They have connectors in bulk. It ran about $28.00 including shipping for two 30' spools and 200 connectors.

[HawkingTX]

Matthew,

I have heard falconers using the Surflon line before and it appears to work just fine. I have not heard of those connectors before so I can't say for sure about them. I hope it works out good for you sir. If you have any questions concerning those nooses, you have my phone number and you can call me about them.

Good luck,
John

[TalonsGrip1]

I just received my line and connectors in the mail. The connectors are only 1/4" long, but it looks like they will bend in half to the required angle.

[Jeremy Kumagai]

cheers for that ,i always like more info about traps thats gonna be really helpfull:-D

[TalonsGrip1]

I have a trap just about done using John's noose design. I found that a hot glue gun works great for securing the nooses. I used this glue on mono nooses with great results.

[OutHawkn]

I have a trap just about done using John's noose design. I found that a hot glue gun works great for securing the nooses. I used this glue on mono nooses with great results.

I used to use the hot glue as well, but when a hawk hits it the glue often lets go. So if your out trapping and catch a bird and release it. The nnoose wont stay in place. I tried using JB weld. You mix two parts together and then it hardens like steel. Its more time consuming putting it on but the nooses stay in place. Just an idea for you to ponder.

[rktaylor56]

Excellent! I will try this out immediately on my conical, (Coolie Hat), BC. I have a suggestion: should you wish to eliminate the scratching of the car interior with the bottom edge of the bare wire and weights on the BC, you may want to consider cutting, folding, and tie wrapping chloroplast edges around the perimeter. I suggest the weights could be folded in the chloroplast with no flopping appendages. Thank you so much for the well presented post.

[HawkingTX]

Yeah, hot glue will work and it is a little easier for most people, but like one has already mentioned before, the hot glue will not hold up for very long.

JB Weld would work good as does the epoxy that I use however it does take a little more time to work these materials. I was never one to do things the quick way, but one to make something that would last and hold up. It is a very effective noose for trapping.

[TalonsGrip1]

One of the guys I work with suggested going to a good auto parts store and checking out the adhesives they use for autobody trim and mirrors. That stuff hold like a weld and may not require mixing.


rktaylor56, here's another idea for adding weight and covering the bottow edge of a trap:

At the hardware store, they sell chain incased in vinyl tubing. Run it around the edge of a trap:yawinkle:

[FredrickFogg]

Hmmm, I used hot glue to hold up the rubber tubing that holds up my clover leaf nooses 2 years ago, have caught probably 30 birds on this trap and everything pretty much looks like it did when I made the trap, except for the scratches and dirt. But my nooses are fishing line, not steel leaders.

Fred

[Tasha55403]

Bump

It's that time of year again and this is a GREAT thread!:supz:

[TKing308]

bump because this is exactly what I was looking for. THANKS

[OutHawkn]

Excellent! I will try this out immediately on my conical, (Coolie Hat), BC. I have a suggestion: should you wish to eliminate the scratching of the car interior with the bottom edge of the bare wire and weights on the BC, you may want to consider cutting, folding, and tie wrapping chloroplast edges around the perimeter. I suggest the weights could be folded in the chloroplast with no flopping appendages. Thank you so much for the well presented post.

I took some clear plastic tubing that I bought from the hardware store and ran a sharp knife blade down the entire length. Spliting it then just stick the wire edge inside the tubing and zip tie it every few inches. This worked great and NO MORE tears or scratches!!!

[Mac]

excellent!!!:supz: