Canine furbearers, including foxes and coyotes, tend to follow the same tracks again and again. Hang a snare where you see fresh sign. (Shutterstock photo)
March 18, 2025
By Jeffrey Miller
The cold wind moaned across the edge of the woods as I followed an old logging road. Crunching through crusty snow, I made my way toward my first canine set. The support, a slender steel rod, looked forlorn and empty, and the thin steel cable was twisted in a patch of buckthorn. At the end, a giant male red fox was waiting. The simple snare had paid off again.
The use of snares predates recorded history, with early man utilizing bark, leather, hair and other materials to capture wild animals for food and clothing. Although the materials relied upon have certainly evolved over time, the concept remains the same. At its core, a snare is nothing more than a simple noose used to catch furbearers. Today’s snares, obviously, are much more durable, being made of steel aircraft cable and components. However, they’re no less effective than their predecessors, and may in fact be more so.
KNOW YOUR SNARES As snaring regulations vary widely from state to state, the first step to becoming a successful snare user is reading and understanding the rules where one will be trapping. Common restrictions include height and width limitations, which are designed to protect deer and other large ungulates. Break-away devices, usually an S-hook, are often required as well. These devices are designed to open and allow large animals like deer and wolves to escape once a certain level of pressure is exerted. In areas with lots of deer or domestic dog sign, I refrain from setting any snares. Caution and intelligence must be exercised with any form of trapping.
Non-Lethal Snare Setup: A non-lethal snare uses a relaxing lock (1) and break-away device (2)and is set far from trees and brush to prevent entanglement. A snare support (3) keeps it at the right height, while a stop button (4) behind the lock sets the maximum width (dimensions vary by state). It’s anchored to a rebar stake (5). (Illustration by Peter Sucheski) For instance, in North Dakota, a snare cannot open wider than 12 inches, and it must be affixed to an immobile object. It also cannot be set more than 12 inches above the ground, it must have a break-away device with a 350-pound threshold and it may utilize a non-relaxing lock. A non-relaxing lock uses a cam lock to prevent the snare from loosening on the animal. When anchoring the snare to a tree, bush or rebar stake and setting it near small vegetation, the snare is lethal within a short period of time. The snare will wrap around the brush, causing entanglement, and cinch down on the caught furbearer.
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Conversely, in Wisconsin, non-relaxing locks are not allowed, nor can there be any entanglement within the length of the snare. Wrapping around a tree or shrub can cause the snare to become a lethal set. Snaring in states with these regulations is more accurately called “using cable restraints.” The snare holds the animal much like a dog on a leash. The anchor end of the snare, which features a swivel, is staked down, away from any large object. The swivel ensures the snare can twist without binding on itself. Drags, or non-fixed anchors, are not legal when using snares. They allow the animal to move away from the site and can cause entanglement issues or even allow for escape.
PICK A SPOT Snares shine during the dead of winter, when snow is deep and temperatures are on the wrong side of freezing. Chopping out a trap location and bedding the trap is nearly impossible then, and the trap will often freeze down. In these conditions, I can string up a dozen snares in the time it takes me to make one foothold set.
Besides the steel snare, all that is needed is stiff, 11-gauge annealed wire, snare supports, a heavy hammer, rebar stakes and a cable cutter. I like to carry all my gear in a soft-sided tool bag.
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The adage of setting on sign has never been more correct than when it comes to snaring. I’ll slowly weave through likely looking habitat, searching for canine tracks. Foxes tend to stay more in the open and hug cover, whereas coyotes will hunt in both open country and wooded areas.
Canines, especially in snow, will follow in nearly the same tracks. It may take a week for the animal to make the same loop, but a snare has unlimited patience and can wait them out. Once a string of tracks is found, it’s time to hang the snare.
In more open areas or with cable restraints, I look for small pieces of cover. It can be as simple as a tuft of grass or dried ragweed near the tracks. Even though I’ve had success with placing snares in wide-open areas, a little cover makes me feel more confident in the set.
Snare supports are slender steel rods with stiff wire on the top. The wire can be bent into shape to hold the snare at the appropriate height without swaying in the breeze. Simply drive the support into the ground and adjust the wire—in an S-bend for support—to allow for the bottom of the snare to be 6 to 8 inches above the ground. Then, attach the anchor end to a steel rebar stake and drive it into the ground. Once caught, the animal will pull the snare away from the support and exert all of its force on the stake or tree anchor.
Lethal snares can be set where tracks thread through brush or trees. In my neck of the woods, lilacs, prickly ash and buckthorn make for excellent entanglement. If the tracks are close enough to a shrub, I’ll attach some stiff wire to a stem and thread the snare on it after running it through the loop at the base of a small tree.
CONSIDER BAITS In the dead of winter, I’ll go a step further and place some bait or lure in an open spot in the woods. Bait can be as simple as deer bones from a successful late-season archery hunt, or even turkey scraps from a holiday meal, but refer to your state’s regulations on what constitutes legal bait.
Lethal Snare Setup: A lethal snare uses a non-relaxing lock (1) to prevent it from loosening. It’s often anchored to a tree or bush and set near vegetation. It tangles, quickly tightening and becoming lethal. It, too, has a break-away device (2) to let larger animals escape. Stop buttons (3) set the width. Stiff wire (4) holds it at the right height. (Illustration by Peter Sucheski) Skunky, long-distance call lure can be smeared high on a tree, where it can waft over the countryside. When using sight-exposed bait, however, make sure to abide by your state’s setback rules. Sight-exposed bait can attract birds, and setback regulations ensure that they are not caught in traps or snares. Follow the tracks of furbearers that have found the bait, then move back some distance from the bait before setting snares.
Predator control is a key piece of wildlife management, but foothold trapping is a skill and art that can be difficult to master. While I enjoy the cat-and-mouse game of luring and catching a canine in a foothold set, I’ll admit I get excited when the snow flies. Setting snares in frigid winter conditions is both a great way to spend a day outdoors and to hang some prime pelts on the stretchers.
This article was featured in the Month Year issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe .
