Snare Wire ?

In a "root hog or die" situation, I would have no qualms about using the plants I know to conduct a fish kill (I can empty a pond or section of stream in less than an hour), or slay any animal in my environment by whatever means regardless of seasons and regulations.

If you have checked your state/parish/province regulations and they have no restrictions, or if they do but you wish to carry restricted devices anyway, fine. I am just suggesting that you know your laws and either be in compliance, or be prepared to suffer the consequences if caught. Taking, or attempting to take fish and game out of season or with illegal methods does have consequences in most jurisdictions. If you don't care, as Runningboar said, that is your business.
 
Your point is well taken by me Codger. It's very simple....it's illegal.

I want to learn how to do it though, if nothing more than to have the confidence of knowing I can. That doesn;t mean I'm going to set snares all around and accidently snare someone's cat, or set snares as if I'm mocking law enforcement (they I am), I just need to know I can do it.... and I think that's probably most everyone's point. Even if you don;t leave the snare's out, I, for one, have to go through the act of tying the knot, adjusting the loop, hanging the circumference at the proper height, setting the trigger, etc.

Again...I hear what you're saying......
 
If it's any help, I purchased a few chickens from an amature farmer I know and set up some baited snares for them, got to see if they worked in action and also got to throw a Kick butt BarBQ after. It might sound a little cruel but if your like me and need to know for sure if something will work, and if your not objected to eating what you catch Any live poultry market will sell a variety of foul and rabbits for relatively cheaply, and they will be sold as food anyway. It'll also give you a chance to practice game prepping skills (if you are not already familiar with them) just a thought, I know it might sound crazy.
 
Me too. In fact, if some of you are really interested in learning snares, check out the trapper magazines and associations. Your local wildlife office has lots of information too. A skillful trapper does better than you think with his sets. And knows how to target animals he wants, and avoid non-target animals. It is worth the effort to learn to do it right if you are really interested.

Codger
 
I'm thinking snaring the chickens is a pretty good use of resources. We still have 6 drakes and 5 ducks that I need to trim down, so maybe the ducks get to be chickens in the next few weeks :D I need to bring the ratio down to about 2 drakes to 5 ducks, so........

Let's see here....which one of those dogs dug that hole in the yard? Naw, that aint right. I could train those dogs to stick their heads in a noose. What kind of a challenge would that be?
 
Codger_64 said:
The point...simple posession of a killing device in wildlife habitat is prima facia evidence of intent to use it. ... If you are lucky, you will not have hunting and fishing license priviledges revoked and suspended for several years.
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Sorry, Codger--I can't see where I said anything to the contrary. But more than one of you thought I confused the situation. So I'm very sorry to all. (Unless it was my use of the word "train?")
 
Sorry Watchful I should have explained what I was saying when putting train in quotes. In order to train snaring it requires that you build traps and ultimately catch and kill animals, which is highly frowned upon by LEO unless you meet certain criteria. Those LEOs could care less if you are training or not, it is just as illegal regardless of what you call it.

I am sorry for coming across as a smartass, and I agree that if you plan to use a skill in a survival situation you need to train before it is a life or death situation. My only caveat was make sure that you know the laws about that activity beforehand. Chris
 
IUKE12 said:
Here it is, good stuff, looks like stainless. I have some test wire outside in the elements wrapped around a deck post to see how it weathers. No rust whatsoever after 4 months.
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It says "galvanized" on the package in your photo.

I imagine that most of the real operating differences with one wire type or another is the temper. Some are going to be harder to bend into eyes and "springier" when formed in a loop. The braided picture hanger wire would be more slack and it is harder to form an eye by twisting as you can with monofiliment wire, but you can tie knots in it. I've never done any snaring so I can't vote for which would be better. I had some galvanized in the shop from other projects, so I put a few feet in my kit.

Some other wrote about the game wardens. I can't imagine getting busted for snaring if I have a few feet of wire in a container that is obviously full of survival gear-- unless I was being an idiot in some other way--- like having fishing gear out of season and no license. I ***assume*** it is just like answering that your knife is a tool rather than a weapon-- the wire is for repairs, not for snares. I could make snares from the small diameter braided nylon line I carry too.

I view many of these items as "oh-heck-why-not" additions to my PSK as they are light, cheap, don't take up a lot of room and have many possible uses. There are a couple long zip ties in the bottom of my pack, etc. If I were stuck out in the woods and could move around well enough to place snares and skin and cook a wabbit, I could probably just walk out anyway. BUT, I don't mind having that extra bit of insurance for a couple grams and a few cents. A little wire is cheap CYA. You keep fiddling with your kit until the McGuyver lamp is lit :cool:
 
runningboar said:
Sorry Watchful I should have explained what I was saying when putting train in quotes. In order to train snaring it requires that you build traps and ultimately catch and kill animals, which is highly frowned upon by LEO unless you meet certain criteria. Those LEOs could care less if you are training or not, it is just as illegal regardless of what you call it.

I am sorry for coming across as a smartass, and I agree that if you plan to use a skill in a survival situation you need to train before it is a life or death situation. My only caveat was make sure that you know the laws about that activity beforehand. Chris
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Thanks, Chris--I acknowledged early on that snaring is subject to local laws, but I think everyone needs to understand that as a general reminder.

My sole point is that if you're putting snaring wire into your PSK, you might want to re-think that: snaring requires signficant and precious survival time. A PSK, I believe, should address worst-case immediate survival needs... and snaring probably isn't where you want to invest that time... versus, say, foraging.
 
Watchful said:
........
My sole point is that if you're putting snaring wire into your PSK, you might want to re-think that: snaring requires signficant and precious survival time. A PSK, I believe, should address worst-case immediate survival needs... and snaring probably isn't where you want to invest that time... versus, say, foraging.
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I have to disagree. The point of learning to use and carrying snare wire is not to spend time camping in the environment and snaring animals. The fact is, most persons stuck in a life&death survival situation DO NOT eat or should not eat. Without sufficient water, eating can be deadly. But, that's not why I disagree...

In a survival situation, your goal is to remain alive until you come upon civilization or are rescued. In almost all cases, survival experts recommend staying put. This point can be argued of course, but the fact that most experts recommend it cannot....they simply do.

Here, one of your biggest challenges is overcoming boredom.... boredom that may lead you to make a faulty decision, such as.....trying to walk out and abandone the general rule of staying put. You've tended to your wounds, you've constructed your shelter, you've managed to build a fire, you've gathered firewood, you've located water, you've made the best of what you have for signaling...... now what? If your situation turns into a week-long ordeal, you may not need to eat to survive, but you should eat if you can. Here is where you spend the time to set snares, try to fish, try to gather....

Avoiding snares because it's time consuming doesn;t make sense when, after the first two days (assuming you're healthy) time is what you'll have most of.

EDIT: Additionally, snares are not as time consuming or maybe even not as dangerous as gathering. You don;t have to go too far from your site to set snares and, once they're set, you can go gathering. But gathering is risky too.... it involves ranging certain distances, increasing the chance of encountering large animals, injury due to slips, falls, poisonous or irritating vegetation, and, most importantly, the risk of getting lost from the original place you might have been lost in...your site! I wouldn;t discount a single technique that might help me survive. That's what it's all about, doing everything you can to survive.
 
Watchful said:
Thanks, Chris--I acknowledged early on that snaring is subject to local laws, but I think everyone needs to understand that as a general reminder.

My sole point is that if you're putting snaring wire into your PSK, you might want to re-think that: snaring requires signficant and precious survival time. A PSK, I believe, should address worst-case immediate survival needs... and snaring probably isn't where you want to invest that time... versus, say, foraging.
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Respectfully, foraging for plant food is a lot less efficient than snaring critters in just about every environment and season, with some possible exceptions. If you are trying to survive on a plant based diet, alone, in the bush, you are probably going to starve. Generally, more calories will be expended than are gained in that kind of scenario. And how much plant based food can you find, say, in the north country, between November and May? And I’m sure that other locations have similar problems with availability.

Now, I’m certainly not against foraging for wild foods, in fact, it’s been an interest for 40 years, but, if I’m up against it, I’ll take the snare wire every time. And that’s not even considering the other possible uses for the wire – shelter building, making expedient snowshoes, lashing, fire making, repairing equipment (like wiring together the frame for your glasses when you lose a screw :( ), and a whole bunch of other things. BTW, I was a vegetarian for 6 years, so it’s not like I’m slagging veggies, but this was only possible because of the abundance and variety of plant nutrition available at the local grocery.

As to wire material, a friend of mine has been snaring Snowshoe hares for 40+ years (yes, we’re old geezers ) and he prefers stranded picture wire to anything else. He also says that brass wire (one of the only 2 legal materials for snare wire for non-licensed trappers in Ontario – the other being copper), under certain conditions (warm days, below freezing nights) can become brittle and break if enough pressure is applied.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Doc
 
I do not know where you guys go camping or hiking, but I have never had a conservation officer, park ranger, etc ever do anything more than say hi, lift the lid in the cooler and tell us to have a good day. And lifting the lid on the cooler has only happened two times. Once when we were 19 and the drinking age was 21 and another when they were doing spot checks on fish takes on the highway. We run into them alot, but they never confront us.

If i had a my pack with and in the bottom were 3 unused snares, they might raise a eye brow, but if I said emergency use only, I would walk. same with hiking someplace with an obvious PSK with 4 or 5 hooks and some line wrapped around a film can with some sinkers. Even if i did not have a fish license, it would be no problem. F&W or DNR or what ever you call them are not dummies, they understand that carrying a fire starter and some tinder does not make you a "burning ban" violator, just as they understand a few hooks and line does not make you a fishing violator. They may ask, but they are not going to hit you with a citation.

Now going in to a wilderness area with a bucket of minnows, a pole and latest reel out of fishing season will get noticed. Walking in with knee high boots, a bundle of conibear and snares dangling from your trappers basket will get you similar treatment if you are out of season. I spend as much time as i can in the woods. No one has ever made an issue of a few small items buried in a psk type package.

Speaking of learning how to do it. Ask your DNR DFW or what ever it is in your area if they have someone who can teach you a bit more. I was in a coffee shop years ago and bought the DNR guy who came in a cup of coffee and asked him where i could learn it from, he gave me his card and told me to call him on monday (his paperwork day) and he would set me up. I got to learn a great deal about trapping from a guy in the DNR who managed the trapping enforcement. I got to be good friends with him and learned how to run a trap line properly. Beaver, muskrat, coyote, and hares were all different and he taught me a TON. This guy seems to know his stuff too, when i ordered some stuff from him it was like talking a good city desk guy ordering parts, a, b, c? no but we got d which is just like c but made by x, yup thank you for the order.
http://www.buckshotscamp.com/Ent-BS-Camp.htm

another good source of snare wire for slightly bigger animals is stainless brake cable from bikes. Tough, strong and stranded it is easy to use,
 
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