Snare set failure.

[williaada]

I am trying to capture a family of woodchucks with snares. The snares are cinching down, but there is no animal in the snare. I have attached a picture of my set can someone please provide me with some pointers on what I am missing. Thanks

 

[ozyclint]

Is the locking mechanism on the right way? Looks like it needs to be the other way round. Does it lock?

 

[Billy Goat]

I haven't ever caught a groundhog in a snare, don't think their body shape and actions are conducive to it. No problems with coyotes, foxes, skunk, or coons.

Try either box trap or conibear in my opinion.


Maybe someone else knows a trick.

 

[sniper61]

2" off the ground otherwise i think they will go under it. 220 conibear is just right.
light a fussy and shove it down the hole, a few shopping bags plug the hole and no more ground hog. works for skunks to ,they tell me.

 

[Phaseolus]

220 Swift always worked well for me.

 

[Oregon]

Is the locking mechanism on the right way? Looks like it needs to be the other way round. Does it lock?

Kinda of what I was thinking.??
I’ve never trapped a woodchuck, but I’d like to think if it breathes it can be snared

 

[thinhorn_AK]

The lock definetly dosent look right. All my skates are put away for the summer otherwise I’d snap a pic for you.

 

[williaada]

Is the locking mechanism on the right way? Looks like it needs to be the other way round. Does it lock?

I am not sure what you mean by the locking mechanism, and how I could have it turned around? The wood chucks come out and climb up and under the fence into my yard.

thanks again for the help.

 

[ozyclint]

Put your hand in it and pull against the snare line. It should lock onto your wrist. If when you stop pulling and have slack on the snare line it comes lose then it's not working.

You should have a nice round loop. It looks as though your lock should be around the other way to achieve that. Is the lock on a swivel? Maybe the other end of the snare line was passed through the lock in the wrong direction?

A conibear is another option as others have said.

 

[DenverCountryBoy]

 

[ozyclint]

Yep the lock looks to be wrong somehow

 

[Reburn]

its very hard to tell if its set right. And Ive never snared a woodchuck, however the cable diameter looks way too big to close fast enough to catch a woodchuck

 

[Travis Hobbs]

It doesn’t look right to me either, a better pic, a close up of locking mechanism would help.

 

[chinook907]

Have not snared a woodchuck but have a number of other species. I would think it would be tough to hold a woodchuck around the neck.

The lock does look funky.

If it were me, I would: check the lock as above; open the loop more hoping for a body catch; and, ideally, shorten the cable and put a new cap on at the far end of the cable so that the far end of the cable is close to the wrap of your support wire.

 

[Huntin wv]

Raise your loop up an inch or so. The main problem is your support wire is WAY too long. It needs to be short and solid so the snare can be pushed against with it moving out of the way. That is heavy wire but at that length it won’t give much support.

Can’t tell what is going on with the lock. The picture gets too blurry when I zoom in. Looks like you might have two locks connected by a breakaway?

I have caught a few woodchucks as incidentals while snaring fox so it can be done. I have also snared several beavers on land which have a very similar body shape.


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[jmez]

Use a bigger loop. You need to snare it around the body. Has to get at least one front leg through or you'll never hold it. Bigger loop and have loop right on the ground so they walk into the loop.

Like snaring a beaver, you have to get a leg.

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[williaada]

Thanks for the help on my sets. This morning I sat out, and watched the woodchuck come out through the fence, and learned a couple of things. The snare went around the woodchucks head, but the deer stop did not let the loop get small enough to keep it’s head in the loop. The other people thing I I did notice was the wood chucks head was hitting the bottom of the loop coming up through the fence. The snare came down when it went back down through the hole under the fence. Is due to my support wire being too long?

 

[Huntin wv]

You could probably just tape the snare cable to that log and not need the support wire. Part of the animal has to push against the bottom of your loop to pull it closed. The snare lock should close very easily and not slide back the other way. Don’t know how your deer stops are setup but it looks like you have a breakaway instead of a stop. Here the stop has to leave a 2” diameter loop which should be plenty small enough to hold it unless you only had a leg.


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[Agross]

Do yourself a favor and get a 220 Conibear. I have a major woodchuck problem. I have shot three, and got 9 so far in the conibears. All in the last two months.

 

[Rizzy]

I 2nd the coniber, Now that they know something is up, tie wire it so it doesn't go off for a day. Let them get used to going through it with no consequences.