I used Thompson snares for quite a while and also loaded them to make them faster . Then till they were outlawed by the state I used Petterson knots on my snares . I use cam-locks with kill springs now but most of mine are fence sets as I find that trail sets here get filled with deer , antelope , rabbits or livestock . Like you when I was around 8 my cousin taught me to use a figure 4 triggering system for snaring rabbits ect. I like 8 foot 3/32 air craft cable and simmer them in baking soda and water to take the shine off the cable and locks and use the S hook type breakaways . I no longer preload them as the wind here will blow them closed . I set them with the lock slightly tilted up ward to keep the wind from blowing them closed and keep the bottom of the 9-10 inch loop off the ground a couple of inches for a couple of reasons , so they don't freeze to the ground and so the coyotes feet will go below and to the sides of the loop instead of into it . It's amazing how much things differ from area to area we only have trees and brush along the rivers and creeks till you get up in the mountains here .