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How to Make a Simple Snare
Knowing how to make a snare can be very helpful in an emergency situation. Imagine that you are stranded in the woods and need to find food quickly. If you have some snare wire in your backpack or emergency kit, you can easily catch some dinner.
Follow these instructions to learn how to create a snare in order to catch some food!
Location
The first thing you’ll need to determine is where the prey is located. It’s not going to do you any good to set a trap where no animal will be.
You’ll want to look for signs of animals like tracks, droppings, plants that have been eaten, flattened vegetation, etc. The best area is probably around feeding areas or watering holes.
Noose and Loop
The simple snare is the basic tie behind any trap. Ideally, the animal would walk straight through the loop and set off the trap. You can start creating a simple snare by following these instructions:
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Wrap the end of the wire a few times around a stick. |
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Twist the ends of the wire together and over each other a few times. |
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Remove the stick and you should have a nice loop. |
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Thread the other end of the wire through the loop. You should be able to tighten the snare by pulling on one end. |
Engine
You’ll want to set up your snare near some type of tree or shrub. A young tree is always a good engine because it’s bendable and quick to snap back into place.
You’ll be bending the sapling over and tying it down to the snare in order to act as tension. If you find yourself in an area void of trees or shrubs, you can always use dead weights like rocks.
Trigger
The trigger consists of two parts: The hook and the leading line. The leading line connects the trigger to the engine – usually a wire of some sort.
The trigger is connected to the noose and should tighten very quickly when pulled by the engine.
You can build an effective trigger by finding two pieces of wood and carving interlocking notches into the sides of each. The base of the trigger should be sturdy and stay in the ground. The hook in the trigger should be able to slip out at the slightest touch, so that if an animal passes through the noose, the trigger will slip out and tighten up by being pulled with the engine.
You can also modify the trigger to connect directly to a fishing line. When the fish pulls on the bait, the trigger will release and the engine will tug on the fish – hooking it in. However, you have to be careful not to have an engine that pulls too hard and rips right out of the fish’s mouth.
Here are a few different options when building a trigger:
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Carved Trigger. This trigger is very effective but requires a knife or some type of carving utensil. |
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Y Trigger. This trigger is great when you’re stuck without a knife or carving tool. You can simply find two sticks and roughen the two edges. |
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Peg Style Trigger. Rather than having a base that sticks into the ground, you can stick a peg into a nearby log, tree or stump. This also allows you to apply bait to the peg. |
Thanks to Willow Haven Outdoor for many of these ideas.
Your Ideas
So, have you ever had to use a snare before? What did you find helpful? Comment below to share your knowledge.
I’ve used snares just like this one and they work great. I’ve seen them catch any thing from a rabbit to a wild pig believe it or not. You can build them in a very short time so you can make several to have a better chance to catch food. Great detailed information. Thanks Mr Prepper.
January 18th, 2013 at 1:52 pmThank you for this information. What a great presentation…
January 18th, 2013 at 11:36 pmphotos very good
BUT
it means a dead or sick animal so we dont encourage in town
accidents happen in woods walking with the blind
or with the short sighted
human anklees are sometimes cut by wire
and it assumes you want meat and have the power to cook it
really you want to know your berrys and vegetation
and know what is safe to eat in small quantity for survival
and quite honestly
most people wouldnt want to stay in the great opne outdoors for long
so a nature trail trip is best prepared for
and a means of eating and getting home thought about
i know you write well on shelter too
January 19th, 2013 at 4:22 ammrs julie a neary, all I can say is , wow.
January 19th, 2013 at 5:58 amI was well put together with a lot of good information.
January 19th, 2013 at 7:22 amDo you have any books on making snares that are for sale.
January 19th, 2013 at 8:06 amMrs Julie –
Thanks for your comments and of course all of us readers here value everyone’s opinions, but – I believe this article is geared towards survival in the wilderness, not snaring animals in city parks. If you are in a situation where you need to eat it having the ability to catch a good source of protein and nutrition could mean the difference between life and death.
Remember the context of the website and article, this is great information we all need to have in an extreme emergency – which is why I read the articles on the Ready Store.
Thanks!
Chuck
January 19th, 2013 at 8:31 amRemember … your human scent will be all over the wire and any trigger you may incorporate in your snare. Hold all parts of your snare in the smoke of a fire. And, before “smoking the parts” be sure to rub in dirt/mud and take off the “shine.” – V/R – Byron.
January 19th, 2013 at 9:30 amThanks for this great information. I made sure to share it with my fans!
January 19th, 2013 at 12:50 pmIt is also important to test a snare. If you have access to a school or a playground, small kids are great way to test these out. I bagged a 3rd grader last weekend, and something else. Not sure what the other one was because it chewed off its leg to get out of the snare. It wore size 5 Adidas.
January 19th, 2013 at 12:53 pmKeep up the good work with these survival tips and DIY articles. Phots are always helpful. You stand head & shoulders above the other web sites out there. Mrs Julie…seriously? This is for a SURVIVAL/EMERGENCY situation, not play time during recess. Byron: excellent tip!
January 19th, 2013 at 4:30 pmGreatly useful, and appreciate the visuals. Thank you.
January 20th, 2013 at 3:13 pmgreat article but nothing like a little comic relief!
January 20th, 2013 at 8:59 pmMy Grandpa taught how to make this snare when I was a kid. I saw him catch a squirrel with it.
January 23rd, 2013 at 5:39 amBill–you made my day!
January 23rd, 2013 at 1:28 pm(Sick. We’re both sick, I tell you) (and Tom is, too!)
So, animals just walk into the trap – no bait or anything?
January 24th, 2013 at 8:01 amGood basic article on the use of snares. A word of warning though. While rabbits would be a seemingly obvious target for capture with a snare a diet of rabbit meat alone will kill you. Seriously, it will, unless you can introduce fat into the diet as well as vegetation. It is a condition known as rabbit starvation where the hopeful survivor starts with diarrhea that dehydrates the body. A continued diet of rabbit and water will hasten the death. Food for thought. Lesson learned? Fat is an essential part of a survival diet.
January 24th, 2013 at 9:08 amCliff,
That’s why you need to site the snares along a game trail–which means you need to know how to spot a game trail like the article said.
January 26th, 2013 at 9:13 amthe neat lincoln logs make great hook and base parts. All you have to do is cut one side down into a point for the base and for the hook if you so want to with the hook. Just an idea for people putting together a bug out bag.
February 19th, 2013 at 1:13 am