Steel or brass wire?

C

cardimon

Joined
Sep 20, 2000
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I've read that wire is a good item to keep in one's kit for repair purposes. It can be called snare, bailing, or mechanic's wire, but I see both steel and brass wire mentioned in various articles. Any recommendations as to whether I should seek out steel or brass?
 
I use 7 strand deep sea stainless fishing line. It's small but strong and wraps up into small coils very nicely for storage in your survival gear.
I think that length for length that the brass wire will weigh more.:eek:
 
I've used both solid stainless steel leader wire and braided stainless leader or picture hanging wire. Both seem to work. However, a guide I met in the Yukon used copper wire for all smaller snares. He said it was easier to handle and form, but strong enough for the job. Also harder for animals to see. I bought some black coated stainless leader material to address the visibility issue, but haven't tried it yet.
 
For the budget minded (Read: Poor like me) a friend who plays guitar is a usefull source. I have used old guitar strings and they seem to do a pretty good job on the small stuff.
recondoc
 
When I was tought to snare rabbits by an old forester we used brass wire. It was cheap, worked and weathered well. There are also some animal wellfare issues and legality reasons why brass is prefered over here in the UK. For fox snares then its steel. No locking systems are allowed.

In survival it doesn't matter what you use. I carry fishing pike trace braided leader wire. I think its 25 lbs breaking strain, but it might be 30. Its very fine and well strong and can be used for fishing. The big reason is that I can carry a good length of it. Setting is not hard just remember to set them high enough off the ground, rabbits don't crawl.

Less than ten snares and you are not going to catch much. My old boy would set 50 or more and catch a couple of rabbits nearly every night.

If your snare is not tough then use a mechanism to lift your catch off the ground. Check your snares twise a day.

Snares are the scourge of wildlife conservation, in my view on par with indiscriminate laying of anti personel mines. Snares are very efficient and don't care what they kill.
 
Originally posted by GREENJACKET


Less than ten snares and you are not going to catch much. My old boy would set 50 or more and catch a couple of rabbits nearly every night.

If your snare is not tough then use a mechanism to lift your catch off the ground. Check your snares twise a day.

Snares are the scourge of wildlife conservation, in my view on par with indiscriminate laying of anti personel mines. Snares are very efficient and don't care what they kill.
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My Dad used to snare rabbits in western Ireland growing up in the '30's. He used brass wire, too. Unfortunately, my state (Washington) recently passed an initiative banning snares and other grasping traps. I don't think it applies to survival situations, just to licensed trappers. Ah well, I keep the wire in my pack anyway, and if I need to trap in a survival situation, I'll gladly pay the fine when I get home ;) :D

Bye the way, I currently have copper wire snares made up from 8 to 10 strands of electrical wire. I read about it in a book by Ragnar Benson, who used copper wire snares while growing up, and found them to be strong enough for small game. Any thoughts on this?

Patrick
 
Outdoors;
Bye the way, I currently have copper wire snares made up from 8 to 10 strands of electrical wire.
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Does your wire still have the elec. coating on it or have you stripped the coating and twisted the 8-10 strands together? :D
 
Many of you seem to use wire more for trapping than for repair.

Has anyone had occasion to use or need wire for gear repair in the field or on the road?
 
Originally posted by muzzleup
Outdoors;


Does your wire still have the elec. coating on it or have you stripped the coating and twisted the 8-10 strands together? :D
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Ron: You're supposed to strip the coating off? #&*! I wonder if that's why I keep catching those electric rabbits from the dog racing track! ;) :D

Cardimon:
Wire for repair, Hmm. The wire I carry is a bit too fine for most repair work. I think I'll need to include a few feet of thicker wire for repair in my kit as well. Thanks!

Patrick
 
cardimon,

I once used wire to repair my glasses. The screw that holds the lens in worked its way out and I couldn't find it. So I threaded a piece of wire through the hole then used my leatherman to twist the wire tight and clip off the excess.

I also used it once to make a teepee style pot holder to go over a camp fire. I used wire since it's more heat resistant than rope.
 
Hi Josh,

May I ask what gauge wire you used? I'm curious as to what thickness of wire could be used to repair spectacles. I myself am quite nearsighted, and if my glasses are non-functional, so am I.
 
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