Wips

[Coote 5]

When you guys use a wip for making a spring-up snare for rats etc, do you have a preference for a particular kind of wood? Is hazel the ultimate wip material? Do you prefer green branches or seasoned wood?

 

Thanks in advance.... Coote.

[woodga 170]

When you guys use a wip for making a spring-up snare for rats etc, do you have a preference for a particular kind of wood? Is hazel the ultimate wip material? Do you prefer green branches or seasoned

we also use holly to good effect experiment , any springy wood will work just recently my [bANNED TEXT] has been using plastic fence poles what hold up electric sheep fencing and he has been having good results if your planing on taking possum you will need stronger and thicker whips same principale aplies though good hunting all woodga :ph34r:

[pegandgun 52]

Spot on woodga

I find Ash,Hazel and birch are the best wips to use.You can use them green no probs,or you can dry them at the back of your shed .

I would think a five foot wip around an inch and a quarter at the base would hold your possems no problem.Do they chew when they are in snares and traps Coote??

[moley 115]

Spot on woodga

I find Ash,Hazel and birch are the best wips to use.You can use them green no probs,or you can dry them at the back of your shed .

I would think a five foot wip around an inch and a quarter at the base would hold your possems no problem.Do they chew when they are in snares and traps Coote??

put up a pic of the wire springs you make for rat snares ,peggy

[pegandgun 52]

NOOOOOO Moley,you will copy off them.Buy my new dvd and all will be revealed

[Coote 5]

I am just a beginner at this trapping business, but in the short time I've been doing it I have never had a possum chew at the snare.

 

When possums are trapped for skins, they have to be cold for skinning otherwise the hair falls out when you are handling them. So pole snares used to be set in such a way that the possums would feel the noose tightening around their neck and jump off the pole....thus hanging themselves. They died very quickly too.

 

Because I generally want to pluck the fur, I prefer the animals to be alive when I get to them (so they are warm and easy to pluck)...so I set my pole snares low so that they can sit on the ground until I get there. Therefore they have plenty of time to chew...but they apparently don't. Also, I make my nooses a bit bigger and often catch them behind the front legs...they are less likely to die that way if they tangle themselves up...so once again this makes it easier for them to get their teeth on to the noose... but they don't seem to think of it.

 

Thanks for the information on wips. Although I have hazel and holly (the "deck the halls" kind) growing nearby, I will try to find some more common local alternatives. But it is good to know what the standards are . When I planted a hedge of hazel a few years back, I did it for the nuts and maybe for the arrow shafts they might produce - especially if I coppiced them. I didn't know that I was growing good wip material at the time.

 

I must say I really appreciate and enjoy this excellent website. I'm grateful to you all.