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Snaring
Snaring has been around for centuries. The older styles used light wire and required a straining device. Something to put pressure on the snare to keep it tight. This is most familiar in the movies where you see the rabbit run into the snare and then the bent over tree springs up pulling the animal off the ground. The reason for the spring action is to make sure the rabbit can’t wiggle out of the snare. The old trappers used light wire for small animals 16 - or 18 - gauge wire but, soon learned that this was not very effective on medium size animals and up. Once caught, the larger animal simply fought the wire until he broke free. So, then the trapper started weaving the wire together like rope to increase the strength. This works, but it is a large loop that some animals will shy away from.
The modern Professional grade snare is made out of different thickness of aircraft cable with a self-locking device. This self-locking device is designed to only go one way and tighten on the animal neck. The harder the animal fights the snare, the tighter it becomes. This eliminates the need for a spring pole and frees the trapper to place snares where the animals are and not have to worry about finding a spring pole. Because of this, the trapper can set more snares in a day. In fact, once you get used to snaring you can easily set 100 or more a day. The biggest problem with snares is remembering where you placed them. The snares blend in so well that you can walk right by them.
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With trapping, the predator numbers stay at the carrying capacity of the land and more game animals flourish, including deer. One study done in Pennsylvania found that 67% of the coyote’s diet is deer. Coyotes are easier to snare than trap, in the deep winter snow. I know I’m stretching a bit here but come on, less coyotes equals more deer. Another study done out west found that a single coyote kills and eats 100 rabbits a year. You do the math. The Delta duck study hired a trapper to protect the nesting ducks in North Dakota. Where the trapper was, the nesting ducks had 90 to 100 % of all their eggs hatched and the new ducks flew south. Where the trapper wasn’t trapping the predators, the ducks that nested had a 0-30% egg hatch that flew south. Do you see the importance of trapping in the big picture ? I’ll get off the soapbox now and back to snaring.
Snares come in different sizes and lengths. I will give a few basic ones to get you started. The first is the small game snare made out of 1/16 inch aircraft cable. This is for small game like rabbits, squirrels, and ground hogs. The snare comes in 4 foot lengths. You can set them in trails, dens, and for squirrels on branches going between two trees. They are $13.95 a dozen or $109 for 10 dozen. Once again before you fill my e-mail up, snares are only good for one or sometime two catches before the animals have kinked up the cable so bad you can’t re-use them. You can save the parts and remake your snares with new cable. Making your own snares is simple to do and we carry all the parts to help you out.
The next snare is versatile and can be used for several different animals. Sure-lock, support collar, #9 swivel that takes a standard ½ inch rebar stake, 3/32" cable and if needed deer stops can be add at no extra price. This snare is used for fox, coon, coyote, and beaver. They come in a standard 5-foot length. Their price is $129 for 10 dozen and $15.95 a dozen. This is a good all around snare to use and have on hand.
Pigtail supports are made to support your snare at the desired height off the ground. Pre-made out of #9 wire that hooks into the support collar. You can make your own out of #9 wire. Once you get used to it you will love how quick they are to use. Make sure you use a good 24 inch rebar stake to hold the animal after being caught.
Snares are set for different heights off the ground for different animals. A coon loop is 6 inch wide, 8 inches off the ground at the top and around 2 to 3 inches off the ground at the bottom. This is rough estimate of course, because different parts of the country have different size coons. If you come up and the loop closed with no animal your loop is too big.
Coyote snares are made with an 8 inch loop, 10 inches from the ground and 18 inches at the top. You will have to experiment a little, this is just a general of course. If you are just after fox then you would lower the snare so it is 4 inches off the ground and 12 inches at the top with a 8-inch loop.
If you are in real windy areas, some trappers use a brown thread and a stick opposite the support side and tie off the snare to keep the snare positioned correctly on the path. The snared animal will quickly break the thread and the snare will tighten up. As in all trapping, you have to get out and do this before you have to depend on it. Little lessons learned are the key to successful trapping and snaring.
Snares take a little practice using them to get the hang of it but, are one more useful tool to have on hand.
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Snaring Beaver Under The Ice
Beaver are probably the easiest animal to start snaring on. The beavers have trails everywhere that anyone can understand. Place your snares up on land. Find a good trail that is narrowed down away from water. Once snared the beaver become docile in the snare and just sit and wait for you still alive. Just shoot them in the head with a 22 short. Make an 8 inch loop, 10 inches off the ground at the top and the bottom 2 inches off the ground. You can make the loop larger to keep the small beaver from being caught. Snares are truly selective when you are chasing beaver. Just snare the larger beaver off and leave the smaller ones for next year. Food and fur on the long term plan.
To prepare snares, boil them in water with 1 cup of baking soda and place outside to weather. The snares don’t really rust, but will become dull after 10 to 14 days. You don’t want to use shiny snares for animals.
Remember snares are hard to find so make darn sure you are keeping track of them. Some trappers use surveyor tape to mark the snare locations, some use sticks against nearby trees. Whatever you do, make sure you know where and how many you set. This is especially important in a survival situation where you can’t buy more snares.
Dogs once again will come up. Generally, dogs will not be harmed when caught in snares. Dogs once caught in a snare, stop fighting the snare and think their master just stake them out there instead of at home. Most dogs will sit and patiently await your arrival to release them. This is in general because there is always one dog that will fight the snare and die. Remember what I said in the dog article about the rabid dog I caught. All nice and friendly until the animal thought I was in his strike range and then changed in an instant, trying to attack me.
When checking any type of snare or trap, be careful! I have grabbed live muskrats in foothold traps that I was sure had drowned and were dead, only to have that dead animal come alive and attack my hands. This is a very enlightening experience on fight or flight. The muskrat knew he was going to bite me 200 times a minute, and I didn’t know how a drowned muskrat could move so fast. Needless to say, I choose to fight and became very wet in the process. I somehow managed not to get bit and humanly dispatch the muskrat. How long can a muskrat hold its breath ? I don’t know, but it seemed like we were under water for at least 10 minutes. That is all for now.
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Buckshot
