snare question

ccinso

ccinso

New member
I was wondering if any one could tell me if it is possible
to snare beaver and muskrat? I work on a ranch and have gotten
permission to trap on my own time. with the only stipulation
being no leg hold traps, because of dogs. The ranch has almost
two miles of river front and its loaded with beaver and muskrat
plus alot of other game to.the other question i have is besides
snares and cage traps is there any other choices? do they make
a leg trap that wont injur a dog but still big enough to hold
game, if they do maybe i can change the managers mind. im new to trapping and would appreciate any help

casey
 
If its legal in your state i would use conibears in water sets. Only problem if a dog gets in one its no more dog. But if you set under water sets for rats and deep in the beaver runs your chances of dog catches are pretty slim to none. find where the comeing up on land ans set a 330 in the water at the edge where there comeing out and snap your beaver will be there in the morning. Im sure you can snare a beaver but i would think if its not choked out quick it would chew threw the cable unless you used thick cable. Dont know never snared beavers. snared lots of coyotes. can you use locking type snares or are you limited to non locking snares?
 
Snares work fine for beaver. No educating them. If they push them out of the way, reset and get them the next day. Google "snareshop". They sell the heavier snares for beaver. Use a strong support wire to keep the top of the snare from moving and you should be on your way! Good luck!
 
Conni's and snares both work. Caught lots with both.
A beaver will tear up a snare good.
Snares also leave a ring or "C" shaped line on the hide when it's stretched. Fur buyer comments about it but never discounted it.
TS
 
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ccinso, not sure why the landowner would not allow traps and allow snares, both will hold dogs and depending on the snares and the dogs snares could be lethal.

Conibears set underwater at den holes would be the safest option if allowed but also require the most equipment, investment, and experience to find set etc.

Hancocks are a livetrap option, but at $300 a piece not for everyone.

Snares are a great tool but snaring a beaver is not as easy as other animals, just the physical shape etc makes it a harder target, snares have to close fast but not to fast, you want to hit them on the way out before they return with cuttings. Not uncommon for the snare to slide on the round body of a beaver and latch on to the tail, the height of the loop, about a hand above the ground, will improve your odds. they travel higher than most expect. Easier to loop them on even ground than on a steep angle and guide sticks etc to overhang the trail and hide the loop help a lot. Set the trails with numerous snares to increase your odds of a quick catch, beavers can get spooky by just the snaring some of them and move to a new area, this depends on which ones you get first.

I might have made this a little more complex than you would have wanted.

Many more methods of take, leaning tree set with snares, snares on the cross overs of the dams, snares set in deep water, under ice etc.

What about just shooting them in the evenings, you can call them with beaver sounds. Like I said maybe getting into it a little deep.

Maybe your regulations allow for some but not all of these methods??
 
deerhuntrjj:as far as i can tell in the regs the only limitation on traps is jaw size (no wider than 9 inches)
as for snares i believe you can use locking im still waiting
for the trappers educaion packet in the mail

coyoteroed: i realize both can be lethal but i think its one of those better left alone deals at least i have permission to cage trap and snare if i open my mouth i might lose that.i could just hunt but the area with the most
beaver is pretty close to the ranch head quarters and id prefer they didnt here me shooting down there.(its kind of a wierd deal) we hunt all the time but at the other end of the place.i have permission to trap but i dont think anyone
has given any thought to what ill be trapping and some one
might get upset if im shooting those cute beavers.i figured
out a long time ago its best to just fly under the radar
and enjoy it while it lasts (its a corprate ranch)

thanks again
casey
 
I agree with most of the above info.
I like snares for beaver, 10" loop 1" off the ground. Make sure they are anchored well and beware of tying off to small saplings for obvious reasons. You can even run them down a wire as you would a foothold.
As far as muskrats, I'd stick to the 110 conis if the landowner wants to footholds.
Hope this helps, take care.
 
No offense but a 10" loop for beaver is way to big IMO, your going to end up with alot of body catches and smaller beaver getting through them.

I like to head snare them and use a 5-6" loop max and 2" off the level ground, a little higher on a steep incline.

I like cam locks and 5/64ths cable. I use 9ga wire for a support as mentioned above keep that loop as solid as you can and wammys or plastic tubing to connect snare to support wire. Make sure to have a swivel as they will roll alot, but if you can entangle them they give up pretty easy when neck snared. The head caught ones don't seem to damage the cable near as much as body caught roller.

IM000506.jpg
 
I'll try the smaller loop, most of mine have been body snared. I've never a problem with escapes or damage but I do often run them down a wire. Thanks for the input, I'll never take offense to suggestions. Take care.
 
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