Trap For Your Life

Part 6: The Spring Snare

In part 3 of our Trap for Your Life series we learned how to construct the trigger snare. The trigger snare is a snare made from two sticks, paracord, and some snare wire. One of the two sticks must have a man-cut groove so that the sticks may latch onto one another.

In this article we will be constructing the spring snare. The reason I refreshed your mind with the trigger snare is because the trigger snare and the spring snare are very similar. They are almost the exact same trap. They work the same way. In my experience with these two traps, I think that the spring snare is far easier to construct while the trigger snare is far more effective. The trigger snare will trigger if an animal barely walks through it. Meanwhile, the spring snare will have a harder time triggering.

The key difference between the two snares is that the spring snare is made from to sticks that can naturally latch onto one another. This means you will not be need to use a knife, unless you need to sharpen up the point of one of your sticks to put in the ground. Let’s get started!

What You’ll Need:

• 20 to 24 gauge wire
• A pencil or twig
• Pliers
• Paracord
• A sapling (tree)
• Two sticks that can naturally latch onto each other. We will talk more about this later on in this article.
• A knife (optional)
• Natural bait such as acorns or seeds (optional)

Steps:

Get your knife and the two sticks. One of the sticks should be an upside-down “L” shaped stick and should be at least two feet long.

The “L” stick is the one on the left.

Sharpen the end of the “L” stick. The other stick must somehow be able to latch onto this one.

This stick can naturally latch onto the “L”. The part in the red circle will be the piece that will be able to latch on. Looking for a stick like the one above is ideal. I call this stick the latching stick.

Using your pliers, cut about 15 to 30 inches of wire. Grab your pencil and the wire. Loop the wire around the pencil twice and twisty-tie the loop to the other part of the wire.

Pull the pencil out. Put the normal end of the wire through the loop, and make that loop 3 to 10 inches in diameter, depending on the size of your targeted animal.

Attach the snare onto the bottom of the latching stick.

Get your paracord and tie it onto a sapling that is flexible. Then find a good and tight length from the sapling to set the snare. Once you find your length, tie the other end of the cord to the top of the latching stick.

Put your “L” stick in the ground, pushing in the pointy end. Pull down the other stick. Push it down to the other stick and latch them together. It should hold; if not, find a better latching stick. Make sure your snare is upright and make sure it is ready to trap for your life.

Notice how the sticks latch onto each other.

Full view of the trap.

A lower view of the trap.

Watch the video below to see the spring snare being constructed.

Now that you've trapped your food, you need to be able to cook it. Check out our article “6 Off the Grid Cooking Tips” for some pointers.

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