what does everyone think of cable stakes? i've always used rebar stakes but i walk a lot on my trapline and cable stakes wouldnt be so heavy. do cable stakes hold animals all right and how hard is it to get them back out to reuse? thanks for any help
coonskinner

They work nice !

If your walkin, You will love cable stakes.
They work great.

Make sure YOU set them. Make sure they turn flat.

Also, If the ground is very wet, or loose, you may have
to use more than one to be sure.......

Some can be hard to get out if there are roots or big stones.
I use a pick. A couple wacks and you can pull them right up with the pointed end.

I rarely use anything else now. I have mostly sandy soils and they work terrific.

On very rocky soils I use rebar or a steel weight as a drag.
Mike

For the past couple or three years I have been using the POGO SYSTEM, and I like it very well. Here's the link, if you need it.
http://www.pogostickanchors.com/

I make my own cable stakes using Pogo's directions.

Most of my stakes are 1/8", 7X7, SS because I have an almost unlimited supply of this cable. When it is ok with my landowners, I often leave the cable stakes in the ground from year to year. In row crop land, pasture, or sod farms make sure the landowner knows they are in the ground and where. Because these cables can mess-up some expensive equipment. In the woods or the swamp, it doesn't make as much difference. I'll let the landowners know they are there, and they usually have fewer concerns.

I use 2" fender washers in the swamp, and most of the beaver ponds (if I need a stake at all): 1½" stakes in most woods dirt, and some row crop areas, and 1-1¼" in heavy clay -- excepting for kaolin, it will usually require a 2" .

I had Pogo make a driver to my length specs, which he did at no extra cost.

If you try this system, Pay Attention To What Pogo Tells You! Do not pound the empty driver into the ground, i.e. don't rip it out of the box when it arrives, and drive it in to see how it drives! The driver needs be loaded, that is have a cable stake in the driver, before pounding it down. If the driver is not loaded, you run the risk of splitting the tip of the driver, and having to buy a new one -- the load, the cable stake, holds the tip of the driver together as it goes down.

For what it is worth, I have used several of the well known cable stake systems, and I prefer the Pogo.

One of the criticisms I have heard about cable stakes in general is that in very hard/rocky ground, or in heavily frozen ground one must first drive a pilot hole for the cable stake, and "If you have to do that, why not just double stake with rebar in the first place?".

Everyone has their own idea and way to do things.
If I have to drive a pilot hole, and then drive the cable stake, I'm driving two holes -- just like if I drive two rebar stakes -- six of one, half-dozen of the other... , but I'm only pulling one stake (the pilot driver) as I leave numbers of my cable stakes in the ground for next year.

No, I haven't "hung-up my rebar", I still use it in/for special areas.

Adios,
45/70,
RKBA !!!

I went to using a lot more of them last year. For long walks in they worked great. I still like the heavy duty Berkshire cable stakes best. I use some pogo type washers and liked them for water but for land had better luck with the berkshires.
Like stated above when going to pull them out I carry a pick. Drive it in beside the stake a few times to loosen the soil then hook it with the pointed end and pry up. Only had to leave a couple this year due to roots and rocks.
good luck
don

I use more and more cable stakes all the time. However, I remain unconvinced that any system that requires some type of specialized driver and especially a highly machined driver is a good idea. If you break, bend or lose you're driver, you're out of luck. You should keep a spare handy, and ordinarily these machined drivers ain't cheap.

Talk about a differing opinions… I tried the "Pogo" system Bill has mentioned above. I tried to drive about a dozen of those anchors. Almost every stake I tried to drive "stuck" in the driver, and when I pulled up the driver, out came the stake!! I threw it in the back of the truck and never used it again. (This driver is big and bulky, and more than I want to carry around on the trapline anyway.)

The only cable stakes I use are the "Berkshire" brand. You can drive these with a sharpened rebar stake. It doesn't cost much to sharpen a rebar stake, and a sharpened rebar stake is not too much to carry on the trapline.

-- Hal

well thanks for the input i think i'll try some cable stakes this year.
coonskinner

I still use a few re bar stakes but very few.
I have built my own disposibles and the driver Is pretty simple. Another nice thing about disposibles Is that you can cross stake just like re bar. In my case the stake Is truly disposible. In most cases I cut and run.

Mr. Otter? What do you make your cable stakes out of?

I was also interested in trying c/s as well and was wondering what length you guys use for different critters?