Hi, <br>I was wondering if someone could tell me what the benefits of including snare wire in a survival kit would be. I ask because everyone recomends having some, but I can't think of a use for it that couldn't be accomplished with parachute cord, which I already carry.<br><br>Thanks in advance for all replies.<br><br>Chris.<br><br>PS --- I've learned a lot from this site, thanks for all the advice and help.

brass wire has some advantages over para cord.<br>the main advantages are size and flexability.

Yes you can make snares from para cord. They are quite effective as well. The advantage to snare wire in my opinion is that one it maintains its shape of a loop so that the animal will walk through it. Even when supported by twigs para cord tends to sag where the animal can walk around it. Secondly the wire slips into a noose easily enough, but once tightened the friction of the wire keeps it tight.<br><br>

You can use it for a lot of tasks other than snaring. The smaller diameter is an asset. When you wind it around something, you can easyly tighten it by twisting the ends. As brass wire is an electric conductor is can be used to patch low power wiring until you can repair it properly. You may also need some wire to fix things which might get hot too.

Yes you can use paracord but the average animal can chew through it. Snare wire defeats this problem.<br><br>Wire can be used as a handle on a billy can or used to melt holes in scavenged plastic containers. Can wire pack frames or shelter frames together. Can replace bootlace. Plenty of other uses you may think of. Less volume when packed than paracord.<br><br>Carry the paracord as well if you have the space!

Have you ever tried to snare anything? Were you successful? <br><br>I didn't think so. I would not count on snaring anything as a means of survival.<br><br>Just my ranting.

While the practical usefulness of snaring wildlife for food is debatable, after all, food is rarely a necessity in a short term survival situation and very few last longer than a couple or three days, I and others I know have successfully used simple snares to trap squirles and rabbits. Experience and hunting skills help a great deal in determining where best to set snares. The instructors at USAF SurvivaL School have told me that their experience with their students is about 10-15% sucess. That's one reasosn to set out lots of snares, if you want the best results and have limited experience. Just another data point.<br>

Doug,<br>The point of my comments is that the vast majority of us have ever set a snare. Likely as not, very few have any meaningful knowledge of where to set a snare (how to identify a small game trail).<br><br>I have two snares in my army survival vest. I doubt that I could employ them with any real expectation of catching anything. I would think that to have an expecation of using a snare successfully, you would need to use one with some frequency. <br><br>Sort of like the threads on fishing knots. If you don't fish, it is not realistic to think that you are going to go out and subsist on your catch in an emergency.<br>

I think that's what I said. <br><br>As for fishing, the record seems to indicate that this requires far less knowledge and skill and that even the inexperienced may have reasonable success. Given a choice, I'd taking fishing over snares any day.<br>

For the record, yes. Rabbits only, and only a few at that. But I have had one meal in two days from six snares, made from GI tripwire.<br><br>I agree that fishing is much easier and generally a better payoff for the effort involved, and for the average joe who isn't either hunter or fisherman.

I just wanted to say thanks again for all the replies. <br><br>Chris.

Another thing that nobody mentioned (although Max said something close) is that you can't jury-rig an antenna from parachute cord. (Well, actually, you might be able to - there's a Ham in England who successfully made contact using a cotton string soaked in salt water as an end-fed antenna. Fresh water didn't work, but salt water did. But I'd rather use a length of snare wire if I had to. :-)

Doc,<br><br>I tend to agree with you, despite having no problem snaring small game myself. In my experience, it takes several sets to reliably produce something everyday. And they really should be checked everyday, of course. There are many variables... it is just a method of trapping.<br><br>IMHO, minks are pretty easy to catch in snares, the little bloodthirsty things - but yeeech! Nasty to eat. Most of the predators can be readily baited, all things remaining equal. Herbivores can take a lot more thinking, as placement is EVERYTHING. Rabbits are trivial IF you are snaring the edges of a brushpile and take a lot of snares to be productive in you're not... etc. It's not a skill one lucks into from reading about it, I think. Spending a month or a season with a trapper would be a pretty good "undergraduate course", but who has the time?<br><br>Interesting paths this conversation leads me on. But I keep wire in my repair kit / PSK anyway - it has too many uses, snares or not.<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Tom<br><br>

Basically, that's why I took the snare diagrams out of my cheat sheet. But I still have the wire in my kit, mostly becasue it can used for other things (like a bail handle for an an aluminum foil pot ).<br><br>I have never set a snare in my life (although I did manage to trap a few chipmonks once, but that's another story), but her's my take on survival snaring.<br><br>Knowledge of setting snares is not a function of how to tie the larkshead knot or how to carve a trigger out of a stick. It requires an true understanding of the prey you seek, where to find them and how to trap them.<br><br>For example, you won't find many rabbits in a mature stand of Sugar Maples or Oaks because the dense canopy prohibits growth of underbrush that rabbits use for food and shelter. You will find squirrel though. But that doesn't mean you'll be able to snare them. You still need to apply your knowledge of prey with the snaring skills with a good deal of practice. <br><br>We often preach on this forum that all survival skills, such as fire lighting, should be practiced before you find yourself in a survival situation. I would suggest snaring would be no different.<br><br>That being said, how would one go about "practicing" snaring? I know trappers get licenses, would the casual "trapper" need o do the same? (I would guess the answer is yes) And remember, that you should also dress and cook the meat.<br><br>If one doesn't have the knowedge and skill, then you should have the expectation of being able to trap food in a survival situation. Hence, you should stock your PSK in accordance to reality and perhaps place snare wire as a low priority if you need more room to make space for higher priority items, like water purification tablets or personal medications.

Most of the small game where I live can be caught with the hands.Just wait for them to come out of their holes. With squirels one will run the opposite direction of the rest to confuse the predator.<br><br>As far as snares, they just need to be placed so that the game will stick their heads through. Thats the difficult part. Most more often a squirrel will walk through pushing the snare out of the way.

I feel the biggest hurdle in securing wild food is not procurement, so much as cultural bias. I was in a poultry production class ( using up my G.I. bill after securing my degree). Several people were incapable of slaughtering their animals. I find insects and grubs palatable, but I like escargo, an excellent primer meal ( overlooking french waiters who make faces at your wine selection). After one dead seagull in survival school and a balut in the Phillipines it's all good LOL.

Very well said.

Thanks.<br><br>BTW, of the snares I've seen diagramed, two outwardly seem to be more sutable to novices. One is a pole with a series of stiff wire snares on top and baited to catch squirrels. Ive seen enough of them to know how they could get caught in the snare. The second, a bent sapling bird snare, is more complex but I suspect I could locate suitabl locations with bird populations much easier han finding a fresh rabbit run.

<<One is a pole with a series of stiff wire snares on top and baited to catch squirrels>><br><br>That works; it takes a lot of snares / more than one pole to be effective day in and day out. Good placement does not require bait. We are talking tree rats here, not those tiny ground-burrowing red squirrels out west / up north - they can be caught easily enough as well, but... This same set-up works for mink. <br><br>Snares that use a trigger to release stored energy (counter-weight, springy pole, etc) are very effective as long as a proper critter pops into it. I well remember learning to make figure 4 triggers and the like when I was a Scout. Years later... I can attest to the higher efficacy of an energy-release snare. But they take a LOT more time and effort to construct, so there is a trade off. Fewer numbers with more critical siting... it's all learnable.<br><br>If your backyard permits... you can learn some valuable things with unbaited live traps. Just don't forget to check them daily and release anything that gets trapped in the cage.