How to make a loop for a hare

Snares for hares are usually set at the same time as traps for other animals in order to collect as much prey as possible, and not to beat the legs in the hunt for one hare. As a rule, placing snares on hares is carried out in winter. At this time of year, the hare actively moves in search of food along well-trodden paths, since movement through snowdrifts in addition to paths is difficult. In addition, in the summer it is more difficult to place loops in the right places, since the paths are invisible. The success of such a hare hunt depends on the correct installation of the snare and the material from which it is made. For a successful hunt, it is better to familiarize yourself with the recommendations on how to make a noose for a hare.

Loops for a hare can be made from horsehair, fishing line, nylon thread, or copper wire. These materials are not strong enough, because an animal can easily gnaw through such a loop. Therefore, to make a trap, steel wire up to 0.7 mm thick, capable of supporting a weight of 20-25 kg, is usually used. This wire can be obtained from clutch cables and telephone cables. Wire bundles are removed from the cables and cleaned of insulation. After this, they need to be cut into pieces at least one meter long and burned in a fire so that it becomes softer and can take the shape necessary for the snare. It should be burned not in fire, but on coals so that it becomes red-hot. Then the wire must cool, after which you need to get rid of the characteristic metallic smell, which will scare away the hare. To do this, you can boil the wire in a pan with grass and tree bark of the area where the snares will be installed. It’s even better to add pine twigs or pine needles: the resin envelops the wire, neutralizing foreign odors. After this, the snare must be placed in a clean bag, not brought into the room, and it must be placed on the path only with clean gloves. The gloves that will be used for installation can be boiled together with the wire in a pine decoction. The wire must be solid, without knots, breaks or pinches, since the hare will easily break such a loop when trying to escape from the trap.

Making loops for a hare

A hare trap is made as follows: you need to make something like a noose. To do this, at one end of the wire, by twisting the short end around the long end, tighten a ring with a diameter of 5-8 mm. Then the opposite end of the wire must be passed through the resulting ring. For convenient carrying, you can roll the loops several times.


Hare trap

The diameter of the loop itself should be 15-20 cm so that the snare closes around the animal’s neck, which will minimize its attempts to escape. If the snare is too large, it will be pulled across the body, which will increase the hare's chances of untangling itself from it. A hare may bypass a trap that is too small or it will not work. More specific snare sizes are established by experienced hunters based on the individual dimensions of the animal, which can be determined from special literature or from its tracks in the snow.

Before installing the snare, you need to check it for traces of oil, rust, constrictions, and knots. If you are not sure that the thickness of the wire will support the weight of the animal, you can make a double loop, make it jerky or overweight. If there is such a possibility that the hare will chew through the wire, a 10 cm long tubular bone should be pulled through it so that it moves freely along the wire, but the snare should be jerky.

How to make a snare for a hare: installation

Once the correct wire for making the trap has been selected and properly prepared for installation, it is necessary to correctly place the made snare. To prevent the wire from twisting and breaking when an animal tries to escape, you can tie a strong nylon thread to its end, attaching it to a tree so that the trap is perpendicular to the path. The bottom edge of the snare should be 10-15 cm above the ground. If there are no trees or bushes nearby, it can be tied to a wooden peg inserted into the ground. When the animal falls into a trap, it will tear out the peg and, dragging it along, will get caught in the nearest bush, where it can be easily found by following its tracks. Instead of a peg, you can insert a long stick at an angle to the ground; the hare will not be able to pull out such a pole. If the path passes through bushes, you can install several loops (from 5 to 10 pieces every 3-5 meters).


Hare trap diagram

The trap is placed only on a fresh hare trail, i.e. you need to make sure that the animal has passed through it more than once. If there has been no snow for a long time, then there is no certainty that the tracks are fresh. It is better to ski when setting the trap so as not to leave marks.

When installing, a small bend is made in the snare, in which a ring of wire is locked, making sure that it does not tighten itself.

Traps are set for 1-2 days. As a rule, this time is enough to catch 1-2 hares, but not enough for predators to find them faster. Snares should not be installed in areas where hunters pass to prevent dogs from getting caught there.

How to make a net-shaped hare snare

In addition to the loop, the hare can be caught using a net, which is knitted from nylon thread with diamond-shaped cells measuring 66 mm (autumn) and 77 mm (winter). Its height should be 1.2-1.3 m, width - 30 or 50 meters. The net must be attached to pegs or trees using a nylon cord so that it falls on the animal when it gets caught in it. At the same time, the hare is rutting. You can make a trail using a net: a rectangular mesh 1.0-1.2 meters high is attached to pegs at the bottom, and at the top with rings and a cord, stretched similarly to the method described above. At the same time, when the animal gets caught in the net, the thin branches on which the rings are attached break, catching the hare.

 

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