Preparing New Snares

[Fletcher 0]

What do you boys do to prepare new fox snares for action, ie. burying for weeks etc, or do you not bother doing anything. Cheers

[OldTrapCollector 377]

 

 

I made some up yesterday and I have just hung them out on the shed to weather off until I need them. They cannot rust so it does no harm and takes the shine off the wires eventually. I have used brand new wires before and have caught foxes with them, but for these I ran a pinch of wet red clay along their length before I set them which did the same job.

 

OTC

[DUCKWING 302]

WELL FLETCH ,

 

PERSONALLY IVE MADE SNARES ONE AFTERNOON ONLY TO CATCH THE NEXT MORNING WITH NOTHING MORE DONE TO THEM THAN A GOOD RUB ROUND WITH A CLOTH TO REMOVE ANY EXCESS OIL ,

YEP THEY ARE BETTER WITH NO SCENT ON AND THE SNARE SITE ........ HOWEVER THE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE MORE A FACTOR THAN ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS FRONT

THE FACT IS A LOT OF FOXES ARE USED TO THE SCENT OF MAN AND MACHINERY , SOME WALK AROUND FARM YARDS , INTO BUILDINGS WITH NO FEAR ....

 

 

ALL THE BEST

 

DUCKWING

[Fletcher 0]

Cheers lads

[highlander 0]

I agree with what everyone says, personally all I do is hang them up on the fence at the back of the house for a week or two before I use them but I have used brand new ones and caught foxes.

[victoria vixen 0]

Well, I suppose then we are talkin' about aircraft cable snares then....I have no experience with single stran, only multi-stran (1x19 or 7x7). I've always boiled them in baking soda in a clean tub. This not only removes the factory oil but bleaches them as well. Hung out in the sun, they will turn a dull grey colour. On stops or locks that still shine, I spray paint mine a camo pattern, and hit the swivels and locks and a few streaks on the cable as well. Some browns, tans, olive colours all seem to blend the snare so much better. I know of trappers who dye them or soak in vinegar over night, but personally I do not..............VV

[OldTrapCollector 377]

Well, I suppose then we are talkin' about aircraft cable snares then....I have no experience with single stran, only multi-stran (1x19 or 7x7). I've always boiled them in baking soda in a clean tub. This not only removes the factory oil but bleaches them as well. Hung out in the sun, they will turn a dull grey colour. On stops or locks that still shine, I spray paint mine a camo pattern, and hit the swivels and locks and a few streaks on the cable as well. Some browns, tans, olive colours all seem to blend the snare so much better. I know of trappers who dye them or soak in vinegar over night, but personally I do not..............VV

 

VV yes the snares are of 7/7 cables, single strand wire is not very useful for snares IMO. Thanks for the tips - do you find that the smell of the spray paint lingers at all or does it wear off pretty quick?

 

OTC

[snareman 3]

Well, I suppose then we are talkin' about aircraft cable snares then....I have no experience with single stran, only multi-stran (1x19 or 7x7). I've always boiled them in baking soda in a clean tub. This not only removes the factory oil but bleaches them as well. Hung out in the sun, they will turn a dull grey colour. On stops or locks that still shine, I spray paint mine a camo pattern, and hit the swivels and locks and a few streaks on the cable as well. Some browns, tans, olive colours all seem to blend the snare so much better. I know of trappers who dye them or soak in vinegar over night, but personally I do not..............VV

 

VV yes the snares are of 7/7 cables, single strand wire is not very useful for snares IMO. Thanks for the tips - do you find that the smell of the spray paint lingers at all or does it wear off pretty quick?

 

OTCjust put snares in the sink with boiling hot water and liquid soap and rub with an old hand scrubbing brush , rinse them of and dry then spray with a can of auto paint , leave them to air out for an hour , then i fling them into a small tub of rain water for a few days , the cold water also hardens the auto paint and takes the smell away quicker , ive used them and killed foxes 3 or 4 days later , or if you are in a hurry just run a kids waxed crayon green or brown colour along the wire and you can blend the snare into any location in seconds without boiling or painting , ive done it for 20 years , and caught fox after fox , use a big nooseand set high as the fox is looking through the loop , not at it .

[NightRunner 0]

1/4 cup baking soda to 3 gallons of water. Bring this to a boil then drop to a light simmer for 20 mins. Shut down your heat source and let sit over night. The next day take a garden hose and place in the bottom of the pot. Keep the hose on one side and tilt the pot on the other so when you tirn on the water "nothing crazy" the scum will float off. Don't boil them for more than a minute. You don't want to over do it, you'll remove the lubrication from the inside strans causing rust on the inside. I then hang till dry roll each one up and place in zip locks. Your trying to dull it. For mink and coon I don't even bother with the boil.

 

You can dip them in 1 cup vinager to 3 gallons water soak over night also. Paint is another choice but you'll need to air for 2 weeks. Problem with paint is here, you use brown you get a snow. You just want to blend it in.

 

In areas I have snared with no trapping pressure I don't even bother with the any of the treatments. Just set and catch. If you have compition then treat them.

[victoria vixen 0]

1/4 cup baking soda to 3 gallons of water. Bring this to a boil then drop to a light simmer for 20 mins. Shut down your heat source and let sit over night. The next day take a garden hose and place in the bottom of the pot. Keep the hose on one side and tilt the pot on the other so when you tirn on the water "nothing crazy" the scum will float off. Don't boil them for more than a minute. You don't want to over do it, you'll remove the lubrication from the inside strans causing rust on the inside. I then hang till dry roll each one up and place in zip locks. Your trying to dull it. For mink and coon I don't even bother with the boil.

 

You can dip them in 1 cup vinager to 3 gallons water soak over night also. Paint is another choice but you'll need to air for 2 weeks. Problem with paint is here, you use brown you get a snow. You just want to blend it in.

 

In areas I have snared with no trapping pressure I don't even bother with the any of the treatments. Just set and catch. If you have compition then treat them.

 

These are all very good post. Just goes to show you that there are a lot of different way to do things. Personally, I used Gregerson snares for years, just bleached out in baking soda, as they have a thin lock. On cam-lock snares, I have bleached and then camo painted, and I try to do mine in the summer sun , as I feel the paint smell disapates much better in the heat. I have though, done it indoors during the winter months and caught animals a few days later too. I always prided myself in blending a snare as good as anyone...but I've seen guys catch (some) animals in shinny new ones or snares dyed jet black. To each his own, I guess. Whatever works for you, I say keep it up until something proven more effective comes along.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

What an absolutely Fasinating Thread! Brilliant to see all these quirks and wrinkles.

 

Must admit, I'm probably one of the Least experianced snaresmen with the brass neck to chip in here ~ but that's possibly only because I like exposing my own weaknesses to show others how not to bother trying!

 

I too have gone to the shop. Bought some fox snares. Set them, without much more thought or consideration and, lo and behold, had one the next morning. Proper, country foxes too. So, yes; One more vote for That camp.

 

Bright, shiny new 'Mink' snares? Been there. Done that. Had results. They work too. 'Nuff said!

 

Rabbit wires? I've always prefered to leave them out in the elements for about as long as I could do. That said; I've made them up around one or two, bare hands and smoking a fag, and watched Fluffty hit the b*stards like a train at four! I do wonder - in retrospect - about my fetish for aging brass or copper wire. I can't really see now what a light coating of verdigree does for the running of a wire .....

 

As for hitting bigger wires with the spray can?! Oh, come onnn! Give the poor buggers a chance! Surely?! That's Got To add up to the THE deadliest trick in the book, surely?! I wish I'd thought of that one! Scares me to think how well such a trace would vanish into the enviroment!

 

 

<Remembers that he's going into town tomorrow; Makes a note to pick up a fresh can of Juncus Green spray paint!>

[moley 115]

Bright, shiny new 'Mink' snares? Been there. Done that. Had results. They work too. 'Nuff said!

 

"had results"you kept that quiet

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

"had results"you kept that quiet

 

Told you about that one in PM, Mr Memery Banks One I had going under that branch, down into the dry ditch. But he managed to ball up and break the wire.

[snareman 3]

"had results"you kept that quiet

 

Told you about that one in PM, Mr Memery Banks One I had going under that branch, down into the dry ditch. But he managed to ball up and break the wire.

dithy, there is no need to leave rabbit wires hanging out mate , ive set a hundred brand new shiny wires and had rabbits next morning , its the human thieves thats the problem , and you will catch foxes no problem in a brand new undyedfox snare , except in certain conditions where you will not get them in a new wire , pm. me and i,ll tell you when you won,t be able to get them and why.snareman.

[NightRunner 0]

If your setting a trail that is straight you can get away with an untreated snare for fox. A little trick is hang a piece of fur about 20 yards down the trail 6 feet off the gournd before and after the snares. They will focus on on it and you'll have plenty of skinning.