Snaring rabbits?

[pikeie]

recently ive become interested in snaring snowshoe hares. i have not set any snares yet but i plan to soon. i was just looking through the regs online and i cant seem to find a limit on the number of snares a person with a valid small game licence can use? does anyone know?

 

Thanks

Matt

[Paully]

Here you go ..

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/239852.pdf

 

let us know how you make out.

[Sinker]

Here you go ..

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/239852.pdf

 

let us know how you make out.

 

There is nothing in that link about snaring rabbits. I have never heard of a limit on the # of snares you can set out. Just make sure you check them EVERY day.

 

I wish I could snare them down here........not only is it illegal, but there are no freakin rabbits left!!!!

 

Good luck, and post pics of your success!!!

 

S.

[outllaw]

funny this came up. i run my dogs daily. last week my dog got caught in a snare. . last year my other dog also. i tore the snares out. i went to the sportsman club, gave them to the bartender. told him to tell the poacher that they all knoow to quit. seems that did not work. its sad when the riverside sportsman club in windsor knows, of a member doing this. nothing has been done. the mnr are strapped.. so in closing please be carefull on or near the gnatchio trail in windsor.

[ricoboxing]

There is nothing in that link about snaring rabbits. I have never heard of a limit on the # of snares you can set out. Just make sure you check them EVERY day.

 

I wish I could snare them down here........not only is it illegal, but there are no freakin rabbits left!!!!

 

Good luck, and post pics of your success!!!

 

S.

maybe you should start snaring coyotes :D :D

[BITEME]

Old habits die hard

[Dara]

Dogs are supposed to be on a leash

[ketchenany]

Survivorman set up 10 on one of shows in Temagami and got squat. Wonder if he has a licence?

[outllaw]

dogs on a leash. not in an area there allowed to be worked. i have trained dogs for 35 years. this is an area within that allows no hunting.im not looking for a debate. i love to hunt?fish myself. in fact i just got back in and i destroyed 3 more snares. the idiot marks them with floro tape. i cant wait for the next snow. i will walk the whole line with a pair of side cutters. if your a legit sportsmen do harvest. this guy sells walleyes, dont wanna work. the mnr have him on there list here.

[Dara]

dogs on a leash. not in an area there allowed to be worked. i have trained dogs for 35 years. this is an area within that allows no hunting.im not looking for a debate. i love to hunt?fish myself. in fact i just got back in and i destroyed 3 more snares. the idiot marks them with floro tape. i cant wait for the next snow. i will walk the whole line with a pair of side cutters. if your a legit sportsmen do harvest. this guy sells walleyes, dont wanna work. the mnr have him on there list here.

 

 

lay in wait for the dude

[Governator]

Survivorman set up 10 on one of shows in Temagami and got squat. Wonder if he has a licence?

 

 

He was a wilderness guide in Northern Ontario in the 90s then moved to Yellowknife being an outdoor instructor. I think it's safe to assume he has his license.

[pikeie]

Well it's totally legal up here. And where I plan to set them, no one walks there dogs that far back. I think I gunna play it safe and set 6, considering that's the legal limit for snowshoes up here.

 

EDIT

just looked agian and in my wmu there is no limit on hares.

Edited January 20, 2010 by pikeie

[troutologist]

Good luck, if you have the time, I would be interested in seeing/hearing how it goes.

[pikeie]

Here's my set up

i only set up 4 today just to give it a shot. i can improve on the design? or should this work? there all on well established trails.

[Gerritt]

Mmmmmm Rabbit Fricassee!

 

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Rabbit-Fricassee

 

 

it's Wabbit season, no duck season, no wabbit season... ad nauseam...

 

enjoy!

 

and Look forward to a report complete with pics

 

G

[anders]

whats your size of the opening of the snare? We used to do it with the opening the size of our fist, max, otherwise they may get through.

 

Just a thought for ya

 

 

 

Nice set up though, i like the tunnel

[pikeie]

ya they might be a little bit big. they are 4 inches across, when i check them tomrrow ill make them a little bit smaller. Thanks for the tip!

Edited January 21, 2010 by pikeie

[shane]

We used to snare rabbits when I was a kid in Manitoba. We would always hang our snares from above. Find an active trail where it's entering some bushes. Hang your snare from an overhead branch right where it narrows down to a tunnel.

And I agree with Anders. Your snare looks a bit big. Ideally, the bunny will just get his head through. If he gets his front legs through he has a good chance of wiggling out.

Good luck.

[redneck666]

meh, just shoot em with a pellet gun

[highdrifter]

I'd add a bit more brush over the snare to "heard" em in a bit more.

 

And be sure to check em everyday... Hares are screamers and tend to bring in the scavengers pretty quickly.

 

cheers

HD

[walleyejigger]

hard to tell from the pic, but lay some brush or branches on the sides of ur tunnel so the bunny is less likely to go around the new obstruction

 

bunny, can of bravo, mushrooms, celery, oninons cooked slow and long (preferably slow cooker) over spaghetti, mmmmmmm good

[xeon]

Good luck with that. You'll need more than 6.

Edited January 20, 2010 by xeon

[Dabluz]

I do a lot of snaring for snowshoe hares where I live. Some times, I set up 9 snares and the next day I have 9 rabbits.

 

I prefer the steel monel snares.....020". I make my circle by grabbing each end of the wire and pulling it over a small tree trunk. The circle is clean and perfect....plus it removes any human scent.

 

I then set up the size of the circle so my fist just makes it through the cricle. I have a small fist.....4". The circle is a bit smaller because it deforms a bit when my fist goes through it so about 3 1/2 inches is about the best. I sometimes go to 4 inches later in the winter when the rabbits are larger. I then make a bend where I want the circle to stop. Then....I carefully close the circle almost completely and then open it back up to the bend. This way, when the rabbit touches the wire, it springs closed about 1/2 way or more.

 

No snare limits or rabbit limits where I live. We can even sell the rabbits and there are butcher shops that buy them and resell them to customers.....it's legal.

I also make fences so that the rabbit is lead into the gap where the snare is. I don't put a small post under the snare. I just make sure that it is low enough to the ground....about 4 fingers (3 inches) off the ground.

 

I like to put some wide evergreen branches over the snare to remove any possible glare that the moon could reflect on the snare wire. In any event, the rabbits like to sit under branches.

 

I have seen rabbits come up to a snare....get caught and before I could get to them, they died due to blood not getting to the brain. They did it in complete silence. They will struggle and scream if they get a front leg or half their body into the snare.

 

If possible....do not walk in the rabbit trail. If you do, make sure that the rabbit can continue to use the trail.

 

I leave my snare wire outdoors for a good while (to make them as dull as possible).

 

The best snare wire is aircraft locking wire .020". I wish I could get more somewhere. I wish I had scarfed more when I was in the airforce.

 

To make the tiny locking loop at the end of the wire, I use a small nail and I make the turns so that both the turning wire and the main wire twist at the same time. This is the strongest loop and this is how the twists are made when using this wire on aircraft bolt heads and electrical fasteners. The tiny loop is 90 degrees to the circle of the snare....you want the least amount of friction possible. The small loop will prevent the snare from loosening after it is closed around the neck of the rabbit.

 

I'm not much for putting out hundreds of snares like a lot of people I know. I look for main trails where the rabbit trails converge. If I can install 12 snares in a day....I'm happy because I know that I will have rabbits in most of my snares. Rabbits make a lot of tracks so it doesn't take long for the snares to come up empty. When I have too many empty snares....I remove them, restaure the trail like it was and place the snare elsewhere. I now use my GPS to mark my snares because there are a lot of guys who spend their time just looking out for marking ribbons and then steal the rabbits.

 

For snaring....the colder the better. Wind keeps the rabbits immobile unless the snares are in really dense cover. Every once in a while, the rabbits love to move out into open spaces and run around in groups......usually on nights with full moon, no wind and cold. Snaring success goes a bit down during these evenings because the rabbits run everywhere. I guess the full moon also makes the snares more visible.

 

There are no snare limits or rabbit limits in my region. It's even legal to sell the rabbits. Many butcher shops buy them and resell them to customers. This does not affect the rabbit population. However, there are regula variations in rabbit populations...it's usually a 6 to 10 year variation from many to few rabbits.

Edited January 21, 2010 by Dabluz

[Sinker]

Dabluz knows his stuff!!

 

I grew up snaring rabbits too. Everything he wrote there is bang on, you can pretty much follow that to a T. I like to suspend them from the top too. I've seen rabbits push a snare to the side of the trail to avoid it, but when its hanging from above, you seem to have more success. A cold, clear, windless night is the best. Look for a natural funnel to set the snare in, too much altering thier trail and they will go around it, jump over it, or stop using the trail all together. Try not to step on thier path at all if possible. The trick about pulling the wire around a branch to make it round and remove scent is the way to do it. Check them EVERY day, and make sure you know EXACTLY how many you have out, and EXACTLY where you put them. Make sure the snare is fastened to something solid. Those snowshoes will tear the place up, and drag a branch a long ways. The one in your set could be missing in the morning.

 

 

The guy who is snaring rabbits in Windsor should be reported to the MNR. I would even get the cops involved in a case like that. If my dog got caught in a poachers snare, rest assured, I"d be waiting there until he came to retreive his rabbits with the cops or a CO. Take pics of his sets, or even wait and get his plate #. Rabbit #'s are low enough in southern ontario, we don't need some poacher taking them illegally!!!

 

I wish I could snare them around here!!!

 

I'd really like to see your results. Its kinda like snaring rabbits vicariously through you

 

S.

Edited January 21, 2010 by Sinker

[pikeie]

So i just got back in from checking the first sets...NOTHING lol... . Although i did have a set of tracks go AROUND one of my snares lol. so i beefed them up alot, with piles of spruce, and balsam fir. i also made the snares smaller less then 4 inches now probably 3.5 inches. Thanks for all that info Dabluz! it is really appreicated! i never would of thought to make the loop on a tree, such a good idea! im going to go set 5 more tomarrow sometime and if i have any luck ill be sure to post the results!