Ok here's one that should be interesting to see a thread on.

Through my reading and experience most of us use brass wire in our PSK's due to it's ease of use...small diameter and it's cost effective but is it really?

My experience has shown brass wire to be really only effective on small animals such as birds, rabbits and squirrel. Anything any larger such as a fox, racoon etc will simply snap any brass wire. This coupled with the fact that rabbit has almost zero nutritional value..

This brings me to the question what about stainless steel wire such as small diameter aircraft cable? It can be used for both small animals and larger ones effectively...but why don't we see more inclusion of these in our PSK's?

I know many of you will comment and say you need many snare's on average to be effective and trying to store 6 or so stainless steel snare's in a PSK just takes up way too much space.

So outside of that let's see your comments and suggestions.

Grayth

Rabbits have lots of nutritional value-assuming you eat the rabbit <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />. Does the coyote or owl toss out the organs or semi digested plants in the gut? I carry S/S wire in my kit. It is as likely to be used in repairs or fabricating. Snares can be made from paracord,shoelaces, natural materials etc. A snare need only be A. Strong and B. unobserved by the snaree. Brass has the advantage of easy workability and ease in cutting for repair of other items.

I agree with chris.
On top of that in survival your more likely to catch small animals because of there abundance. In other words think small.

Rabbits are high in nutritional value, but you cannot survive on rabbits (or anything for that matter) alone. Since your body needs vitamins and minerals that the rabbit does not provide, you need to balance your diet with vegitation. The popularity of rabbits lies in the fact that they are widespread and very easy to catch. The best ways to catch them are the deadfall and the spring snare.

John McIntire

I agree with the others that stainless steel is the way to go. I've snared numerous animals and had a bunch get away, but none ever escaped my stainless rigs. I prefer hard wire vice woven, cable-type wire; woven might be tougher, but it takes up too much room. I recommend carrying pre-cut pieces as it's almost impossible to cut or break in a field environment; I carry pieces from 18-24 inches. As for a snare not being attended, my most successful set up to date was on a small island in the Pacific (I won't name the island in case the statute of limitations hasn't expired), where I set up a twitch-up snare with a string attached to the toggle. I activated the snare by pulling on the string from about 25 yards away in a concealed position. Long story short: I caught 9 mongooses for my team in about 2 hours, using a piece of hot dog from an MRE for bait. Like everything else in the world, they tasted like chicken. I've also had luck with small to medium game in numerous other places around the world using this technique. I've snared a few animals in unattended snares, but they were generally simple snares placed at dens or trails. My best experience with unattended snares has been with the squirrel pole. There is a reason these things are illegal just about everywhere... they work TOO good. For some reason squirrels see these things as a new toy or "Squirrel Disneyland". If they were legal, squirrels would be extinct. In a survival situation paying a squirrel killing fine is a small price to pay!
George

George : Thanks for the meds. Please describe a "squirrel pole". Lou Tobia

Lou,
Squirrel pole: Take a pole about 6-8 feet long, lean it diagonally against a tree and place several simple snares along the pole facing upward. Squirrels use the pole as a shortcut to run up the tree, get caught in one of the snare loops and fall off the pole, hanging themselves. It's amazing how well they work. If you live in an area with squirrels, just lean a pole (no snares) against a tree and sit back and watch for a while... you'll be sold.
You're welcome for the meds. If you need more, send another envelope; there are plenty left and I just got some more to get rid of.
George

Thanks for the description, George. The new SASE is in the mail. Thanks in advance. Lou

I was checking out some fishing leaders at Walmart, six to a package, precut and each measuring 24 inches. I wonder if these will work good enough? Im sure the strength may be the issue.

The best deal I've seen is carried at all of our local Walmarts. It's called Malin Hard Wire and it comes in 42 foot lengths and in various diameters. I prefer the .014 because it is extremely thin, yet still has a 42 lb. breaking strength. That might not sound very strong, but I tested it by placing a snare loop around my ankle and the other end around a fence post and it took me a while to get out. If it would've been around my neck, I'd still be there. It's available in silver or coffee colors; either is fine.

Be careful handling this stuff, I've run a few pieces almost completely through my hands/fingers. It's as sharp as a needle if cut on any angle.
Hope this helps, George