Snares

[Wanderer]

So far I've only been constructing small squirrel snares and placing them near inhabited trees, and have had no luck. I've been using wireto tie into two loops, one around a stick or branch that is set at a 45 degree anlge that anchors the other half of the wire which is also tied into a loop, the idea beign that the squirrel wants to take a short cut and ends up hanging himself. I'm pretty sure I've just been tying the wire loop too tieght to its branch. Sounded very interesting when I came across it and its what caught my attention. Whatever.
This just set me off into an entire project, and I want to set up a lot of small game snares all around the forest and was wonderin if any of you have some practical, cheap, and previously excercised ideas.

[INCH06]

Place the snare over a used run or where tracks have been left. You could also use bait, again being cautious not to get your scent on it.

Disturb as little as possible... If they can smell your scent they won't go near the snare, wear gloves and smoke the materials you are using... If you snap a twig/branch cover it with mud to disguise...

Animals aren't as dumb as some think...

(Runs - Rabbit holes/routes) For rabbits, the snare 'hole' should be about the size of your fist... I dunno about squirrels, they're nigh extint over here, you'd get fucked for killing em. (UK).

[S25]

Snares rarly work by hanging the animal anyways the most common output with rabbits i found was they got stuck and chewed off there own leg then died a few metres down the road from blood loss.

[INCH06]

I don't design them to catch the leg, I aim to catch them by the neck, the more they struggle the tighter the wire gets. Thus, choking them.

[S25]

That being said i agree to aim for a neck but in practice i found that rarly worked....Animals are rather unpredictable.

[INCH06]

Yeah, that's a good point to remember.

[Armalite]

They aren't heavy enough to hang from the neck.

[INCH06]

It doesn't hang them... It chokes them... The loop goes over there head, around the neck... The more they struggle the tighter it gets.

No one mentioned hanging them.

[Armalite]

How does it tighten? Most contraptions I can imagine would require more than an average squirrel's weight to work properly. A thin wire in a slipknot? In order for the pressure on the neck to cut off air supply it would need much more weight. Thats just the first thing that popped into my head. A person hanging from a rope around the neck has a substantial amount of weight pulling him down and all that pressure is centered on the point of support, the neck. A squirrel is very light, and probably won't suffocate from the pressure.

[INCH06]

Ah sorry, I'm talking about snares with rabbits in mind.

This method work successfuly for me on many occasions and most farmers up here use it as an effective pest control means.

Squirrells I dunno, I should still think them struggling and fighting for there life would be enough to tighten and choke them, if it doesn't choke them it's not gonna let them go so when you turn up I guess you could quite simply club it.

[Adrian_Faythe]

Here's a few pointers.

After picking a run you wish to attempt snares, never set up right there. There's a much better chance of you leaving behind scent or disturbances that will cause prey to flee. Always set up elsewhere, and bring the parts to your location, thereby minimising the amount of time and effort you have to spend in one spot (reducing chances to leave "warning signals").

It's all but impossible to conceal human scent from items, but it's relatively easy to mask them. Smoke is good, but rubbing gall bladders, urine, etc. on them works even better. Most animals are intrigued by such scents, and want to see who was there. Obviously, don't use human urine.

One good idea is to coat your hands with mud while setting a trap or snare. not only does mud mask scent, it also conceals parts of the mechanism, making it less likely to be noticed.

Never use freshly-cut wood (if your trap involves wood). New-cut bleeds sap, which alarms prey.

I'll think of more stuff later.


EDIT

As far as specific types of snares go, here's one for you , derived from www.wilderness-survival.net

Squirrel Pole

A squirrel pole is a long pole placed against a tree in an area showing a lot of squirrel activity (Figure 8-8). Place several wire nooses along the top and sides of the pole so that a squirrel trying to go up or down the pole will have to pass through one or more of them. Position the nooses (5 to 6 centimeters in diameter) about 2.5 centimeters off the pole. Place the top and bottom wire nooses 45 centimeters from the top and bottom of the pole to prevent the squirrel from getting its feet on a solid surface. If this happens, the squirrel will chew through the wire. Squirrels are naturally curious. After an initial period of caution, they will try to go up or down the pole and will get caught in a noose. The struggling animal will soon fall from the pole and strangle. Other squirrels will soon follow and, in this way, you can catch several squirrels. You can emplace multiple poles to increase the catch.

Accompanying diagram:
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/figures/fig8-8.gif

[Lando2]

I was just going to recommend the Squirrel Pole, me and my dad set one up and caught one. It was cool, dead when we found it but then again it was a while before we checked. I have also done snares that involve the "Tree Snare" method, that way, the animal has less of a chance to get away (Squirm like on ground). It gets suspended and has nothing to grab.

My main concern with this snare was when it got into the trap, the anchor got loose and all, that the rabbit would cling onto the tree and somehow get out, what I found that if the tree is bent long enough, it doesnt go back to its natural position, the animal hangs far enough away from the tree that you dont worry about it.

Another thing, make the wire with a heavy "Loop" (At the very end which completes the slipknot). This way, if it slides down to the animals neck, it will stay there, and creates less of a chance for it to come loose. To add more weight, just tie a few heavy knots around the end. I dont know for sure if it makes a huge difference, but it just sets me at ease when there is more weight for the animal to get out of.

And if you really need to get food, snap traps work almost full proof. It's not the correct term, but it is the trap that involves a heavy object (Rock) and a few sticks. Basically, set the sticks up as a 4. it is to difficult to explain without pictures, so try and find a survival ste or something that shows it. The Figure 4 works best for these kinds of traps from what I've seen.