where do you fellow britains get snare wire from, i've looked around and have failed to find any

Go to your local hardware and ask for brass picture hanging wire.<br><br>Or you could try some fishing trace wire from a local tackle shop- the plastic coated ones they use for pike or at sea for conger. These have swivels and snaps already crimped in place.<br>

or you could buy ready made snares at a farm supply shop. Have you tried a shooting shop?<br><br>Justin

What type of knots would I use for the brass snare wire and is there a web site where I can order the same grade and diameter as Doug uses?

You could make your snares before hand with heavy steel fishing line as suggested with crimped ends and swivels like those in the WSI kits <br><br>here:<br><br><br>

The problem I would have with using a commercial swivelling loop like that is that the swivel doesn't tighten up. The SAS Survival Guide recommends a slip knot on a slip knot; essentially (IIRC) you take one end of the wire and fasten it to the main line with a lark's head knot to form the loop. As the animal struggles to get free, it not only pulls the main loop tight, it also tightens up the lark's head knot so the loop will not come loose.<br><br>It sounds logical to me, but I've never tested it in practice; does anyone here have any more informed opinions about it?

when i was taught to make and lay snares i was told that the idea of the larks head knot on the snare is to keep the snare tight and kill the animal as quickly as possible, thereby causing as little suffering as possible to the animal, always a good idea in my opinion. i know other people who use traps without any kind of larks head knot and they seem to be as succesfull, although having said that, i've never found a live animal in one of my snares whereas friends who don't use a larks head frequently find live animals in theirs. so basically, in judging by my experiance i don't think the larks head makes any difference to how effective the snare is at holding an animal, it just makes a difference as to how effective the snare is at killing animals.<br><br>hope that was helpfull. <br><br>take it easy.

Problem is that your setup does not hold the animal if it stops pulling. The loop relaxes and the animal is released. The military (US) has snares with a one-way cinch that only tightens but does not release.<br><br>Doubt the advantage of snares from a practical standpoint.<br><br>Best regards!