Monday, August 1, 2011

Snares

Why use snares to procure food, fur and hides rather than the steel  leg hold and body gripping traps? There are many valid and compelling reasons, especially for those that are on a limited budget, have limited and quite often little free time to devote to making and setting somewhat complicated trap sets that are required by standard trapping methods and equipment.

Snares were probably one of the first tools that early man utilized. By 15,000 B.C. snaring was already a sophisticated and commonly practiced art. Cave art in Europe and Africa show ancient hunters using snares as tools to gather food.  Of course, there’s a big difference between the snares used by our ancestors and today’s modern steel snares. Likewise, the techniques are much different, and in my humble opinion, much improved.

Snaring is quiet, very efficient, low cost and very simple to do once a few very basic guidelines and basic methods are learned. The tools required to set a snare are simple, lightweight, inexpensive and easily transported in a small backpack or possibles bag and in most cases can be found and collected right at the site.

Unlike steel leg hold and body grip traps, snares are easily made as needed by the trapper and can actually be made up while in the field to suit specific situations and/or target animals.
Just like steel traps, snares are out there working for you 24/7. Once the simple basics of properly setting traps are learned a survivalist can set dozens of snares in a fraction of the time it would take to make and set the common leg hold type sets,  and with much less effort.  Meaning much less time expended, fewer calories burned and much less energy wasted.

Of course the big difference, especially for someone thrust into a survival situation, is that you can make your snares from natural materials. Try making a steel  leg hold trap from scratch!!  I know of no where on the globe, the source being plant and/or animal, that one cannot find some natural material to make a snare.

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