Woodland snares

[pegandgun 52]

is that them impossible to snap cavlar snares?

 

 

yes! it was me who showed them, The Snaremen - Scotland.

Somebody is telling lies AGAIN

[Coote 5]

Very interesting thanks P&G

 

Kevlar is different to wire. How do you keep the snares open in a nice noose?

 

How many strands in the snares?

 

Could be good for possums down here in the colonies.

 

Have a great day..... Coote.

[Mitch 0]

Coote how is your snaring coming on?

Taking any rabbits?

[Coote 5]

I haven't snared a single rabbit since I got some brass snares. I also copied these brass snares using copper wire.

 

I originally started asking questions on this forum when I had the challenge of removing some rabbits from a built-up area where I couldn't get permission to use my silenced .22 rifle. I got six of the offending rabbits... two with arrows, one in a leg-hold trap, and three in snares made from monofilament nylon. The owner of the nearby garden has evidently said that he is now "rabbit free" since my hunt and destroy mission. But I've always been keen on snaring so I continued trying to get my British-style snares working.

 

There aren't many rabbits around my home. However I have a buddy called Ed who lives on a small farm near Lake Rotoiti at a height of about 2000 feet above sea level. And he has quite a few rabbits. So I gave him some of my British brass snares, and some of the copper ones I spun myself. Ed has taken to the snares like a duck to water. He hasn't been setting dozens of snares....just a few here and there... and last time I spoke to him he'd taken 11 rabbits.

 

We've just started to get some fresh growth in the pasture after a fairly dry summer. I am not accustomed to looking for rabbit runs, and I think even the experts would have trouble finding runs during the dryest time of the year when the grass is shrivelled or eaten right down. I am hoping now that I may get to spot some runs in the areas I have access to. There aren't hundreds of rabbits here like we have elsewhere in the country... or like you guys apparently have in places in Britain. But there are a few around... and there are some hares. So maybe if I get out when the sun is low in the morning I may see some runs over the dew-covered ground. I am excited at the prospect... to me this is real hunting. I've shot hundreds of animals, but getting them in a snare is quite a thrill for me.

 

I have stopped using my "British" copper wire snares for possums down here. The first possum I apparently caught in one of these broke the snare. Ed tells me that he has had some broken six-strand copper snares as well. He may find that an eight-strand copper one will last longer when catching rabbits, but I doubt that even an eight-strander will hold a possum.

 

I've been snaring a few possums using braided cord... and more recently I have been using polypropylene banding strap for the snares. It is stiff, and the noose stays open quite nicely. However I have had two strapping nooses chewed off it seems. And this seems odd to me because of the previous thirty or forty possums I have snared I don't think I had any cord snares chewed off at all.

 

This afternoon I set 12 possum snares on a neighbour's farm. I will be going out first thing in the morning to check them. I also set a spring-up snare baited with apples in the hope that a wild pig might step into it. I am not particularly hopeful of getting a pig... it is more likely that a fekkin' possum will trip the trap. But it was fun making it, and you just never know what might happen. I don't need any more meat at the moment having recently put some pork and venison into the freezer... but if I catch a pig it will be nice.

 

A short time ago I snared another pig using synthetic rope. Here's a picture:

 

I am looking forward to catching a few rabbits and hares by setting snares over beats like you guys have taught me.

 

Best wishes..... Coote.

[Mitch 0]

I know what you mean, It is rather dry here at the moment and rather difficult in finding runs. Many rabbits come out and feed on shrubs and bushes that are growing on dirt. No grass around at all,

 

But the fenceline they come out from has blackberry on it, so i can see where they are coming from.

[Coote 5]

It's comforting to read that you are having trouble finding rabbit runs too Mitch.

 

I went and checked my snares this morning. As predicted, there was nothing in the pig snare... it had been sprung... possibly by a possum because I saw nibble marks on an apple I left nearby.

 

Here is a snapshot of the countryside where I set my snares:

 

 

Out of 12 snares I had three possums. That's a 25% hit rate.... which is pretty good in my personal experience, although seasoned trappers using poison or leg traps would expect a far higher catch percentage.... something like % or more. But I am experimenting with snares, so I am fairly content with my progress. I had several "knocked" snares. I believe that my loops may be a bit low and/or a bit big in some cases because it seems that some possums may have actually climbed right through the nooses without tightening them.

 

Because I pluck the fur, it is fairly important for me to have a live possum in the snare when I get to it. Cold, dead possums are very hard to pluck. Plucking a freshly killed warm possum is surprisingly easy. This is one reason why I have been using larger nooses.... a neck-snared possum is more likely to choke itself, whereas if I catch them around the body they are nearly always alive and fairly happy when I get to them. If I neck-catch the animals, it is important that they cant reach anything to climb around and catch the snare on.... they often wind themselves up and tighten the noose so that they strangle themselves. The snares are most often set as pole snares... that is I set them on sloping branches or props. If a possum feels something tightening around its neck, it apparently quite often will jump from the branch even if it is a long way above the ground.... and naturally they hang themselves. This was quite an advantage to trappers who wanted skins, because possums should be skinned cold to avoid fur loss. But for somebody who wants to pluck fur it is a danged nuisance.

 

So I have to experiment further to find the best way of setting my snares. But I am thoroughly enjoying myself in the process.

 

Here are a couple of pictures from this morning's effort:

 

 

 

If anybody has some good ideas regarding my snares I would be glad to read them. So far braided synthetic cord has proven to be one of the best snare materials, but because it is so floppy it takes a long time to set. Braided wire cable is relatively expensive, and it is likely that a braided wire snare will be kinked and useless after the first possum has spent a night in it. I guess I need to work on having a quick way of setting up a cord snare... maybe by winding some light wire alongside the nylon cord.

 

Regards to all..... Coote.