How To Make Snares for Wilderness Survival

Well, isn’t there a 7-11 or an In-and-Out burger where you’re camping, hunting, or fighting for survival? Kidding aside, it isn’t always convenient or smart to catch  animal prey with a rifle especially when the animal in question is small like a squirrel or a bird. What you need is different types of snares to serve your purpose. Before you decide which type of snare to make, you need to determine the following:

  • Type of prey you wish to trap.
  • Ease by which you know you can make snares by hand. Face it. If you can’t construct a simple snare, you have a problem.
  • Know how to hide your scent. Animals aren’t as stupid as humans make them out to be. They know when they are in clear and present danger one of which is the scent left by humans.

Once you are certain you can really make snares while meeting the conditions above, you can proceed by making the following snares.

Basic snare

You’ll need a sturdy cord. It’s best if you buy a cord that will blend in with the environment. As mentioned, animals aren’t stupid. Stake out the breeding, eating, or living area of the prey that you want to catch. Make sure you have a stake firmly planted on the ground from which to hang the cord.

Form a loose noose that will tighten the more the prey struggles. Cover the hanging noose with vegetation. This type of snare is not designed to kill. It will keep the prey in its place until it tires out. It is up to you to keep watch until you can overpower the prey.

Drag snare

If you see an animal trail covered with thistles or small patchy trees, this type of snare would be perfect. Take a lengthy and sturdy cord. Make a noose and hang the edge of the cord across the very tops of the thistles or low-hanging branches of the trees. Adjust the noose accordingly.

When your prey enters the trail and gets its head into the noose, you can be certain it’s going to make a run for it. As it does, the thistles or branches will prevent the prey from moving out of the trail by dragging it back to the point where you hung the noose.

Twitch, lift, and snare

This is not for the soft-hearted. Indeed, if you think you’ll experience nightmares from seeing your prey struggling and gasping for dear life, this is not for you. Better skip this part. However, if you are feeling particularly brave, read and learn.

You will need a young tree sapling that you can bend and secure to the ground. If you’re smart you can already visualize where this is all going. Poor prey, indeed! Anyway, once you find the sapling of your choice, get your sturdy cord and make a noose at the very edge of the sapling. Bend the sapling to the ground under it forms a circle. Secure the noose on an opposite low-lying plant.

Create a trigger by securing a stick that will give way when your prey steps on the circle of the noose. Once the trigger snaps, the sapling twitches, and the prey is lifted up into the air trapped in the snare.

Squirrel snare

Next to the basic snare, this is the easiest to make. You only need to find a tree limb or log where squirrels love to burrow into. Tie a cord around the log and make a very tiny noose. Well, the size of the noose will depend on how large the squirrel is.

Keep the noose upright and make sure that when the squirrel is caught that it will hang from the tree limb or log. If the squirrel hits the ground standing upright it can easily chew through its noose. Once the squirrel walks through the noose it will tighten up. As the squirrel struggles, it will fall from the log or tree limb and strangle itself.

These are the basic snares you can practice on and make if you are doing it for wilderness survival. Best of luck mastering the skill!

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