What size piano wire do you carry?

valcas1

valcas1

Joined
Feb 25, 2007
Messages
934
As I improve my PSk, and BOB I am curious to see what everybody carries along with them for snare wire and general lashing.

I have heard many times Piano wire for snares and such. Having never actaully handled piano wire can anybody tell me what size they are using? I also have thought of using Stainless steel fishing leader material but it has a tendency to break very easy if you get a kink of any sort in it. Please chime in with real life experiences as usual as well as your best guess.

Thanks in advance

Paul.
 
Depends on the size of the piano (sorry :D) I'm a believer in carrying along a few feet of different wire for making things; coathanger, aluminum or copper electrical wire, fence wire, they are so easy to work with; pot hooks, lamp hooks, fish gigs. For fast and easy lashings, I'd prefer paracord or duct tape. The piano wire I have tends to kink, but a few feet of it is so light weight, I'd try some out anyway.
 
You can get copper wire out of any old electrical appliance cord and choose how many strands to use depending on size of snare. I also like real brass picture wire for use in survival kits.

Other than sometimes using military tripwire, I use 550 paracord for lashing, tie-down applications.
 
I carry real brass snare wire in my kit. I have used it to fix, lash, tie and otherwise repair many things. Even a pair of glasses once!
 
Picture wire.

BTW, FYI, in Ontario the only legal wire to use snaring is 22-24 gauge brass or copper.

Doc
 
I don't carry any snare wire. It just doesn't fit my strategies. Trapping would require stopping in one place for a while and waiting, and hoping that I luck out. Hunting could be incorporated with moving. Stopping to fish- is still stopping- BUT you can get an idea of how an area is within a couple hours, usually. And, if I was fishing for survival rather than sport- well, there's some very unsportsmanlike cheats that I could easily apply.

For general purposes, I carry 550 and sometimes lesser grade theatre cord, twine and other nylon cord. There is methods that I could use to make snares with cord, if I ever needed to. However, it would really be a last resort if I got to the point of trying to snare game. It's hard enough to get within 50 yards hunting. Imagine how much harder it could be to choose the EXACT tree- the exact path that sucker is going to take. I know there is numbers, it just doesn't correspond with my strategy. I guess snares could be applied during the night- rabbits do tend to move more at night as do some other critters... I guess it could be applicible without altering my strategy too much. Will need to think about that. Maybe other improvised traps would be a good idea...
 
I figure, ya gotta sleep sometime, might as well have the chance of waking up to a meal. Not hard to set a dozen snares before you bed down, and if you have the knowledge of tracks and sign, you'll find some good potential spots in most places, either runs or trails. There are some "un-sporting" traps and means of snares as well, like ya said, might be woth at least thinking over and looking into. Your mileage may vary though.


Gautier
 
mp510 said:
I don't carry any snare wire. It just doesn't fit my strategies. Trapping would require stopping in one place for a while and waiting, and hoping that I luck out. Hunting could be incorporated with moving. Stopping to fish- is still stopping- BUT you can get an idea of how an area is within a couple hours, usually. And, if I was fishing for survival rather than sport- well, there's some very unsportsmanlike cheats that I could easily apply.

For general purposes, I carry 550 and sometimes lesser grade theatre cord, twine and other nylon cord. There is methods that I could use to make snares with cord, if I ever needed to.
Click to expand...

YOu shouldnt be moving if you are lost. SHTF zombie scenario aside.

Rabits and animals will chew through cord in seconds, I have tried it and lost a majority using cord. I use copper snare wire. Its cheap and effective.

Skam
 
skammer said:
YOu shouldnt be moving if you are lost. SHTF zombie scenario aside.

Rabits and animals will chew through cord in seconds, I have tried it and lost a majority using cord. I use copper snare wire. Its cheap and effective.

Skam
Click to expand...
I wasn't thinking "lost" so much as not where I want to be. Also remember that in my AO, if I was lost moving will eventually hit a road or homes- most likely within a days worth of foot movement, max- in my neck of the woods we don't have large parcels.
 
skammer said:
Rabits and animals will chew through cord in seconds, I have tried it and lost a majority using cord. Skam
Click to expand...
That's why you use some kind of lifting pole with a cordage snare. I believe Coote prefers cordage snares because they can be reused a lot easier than mangled wire snares. Hopefully, he'll jump in here and elaborate.

Doc
 
DOC-CANADA said:
That's why you use some kind of lifting pole with a cordage snare. I believe Coote prefers cordage snares because they can be reused a lot easier than mangled wire snares. Hopefully, he'll jump in here and elaborate.

Doc
Click to expand...

A spring lift will work but is much more labor intensive than just setting simple ground level snares. I can set a slip in 3-4 minutes each depending. Takes longer any other way. When you are setting 100+ snares you dont want to piss around.

SKam
 
Skam,

Let me start by saying I know nothing about the subject. Is that what you would suggest for a typical survival situation? If you set out 100 snares and there is average wildlife activity what would one expect as a conversion ratio. another question, when you mention 100 snares Is it safe to assume you are talking about ground snares for rabbit and such or are you talking about trying to snare squirrel with 6-7 snares on log?
I am trying to gather as much real life experience as possible on the subject to see if it is a viable means of putting meat inthe pot for survival. Can you give me any tips as well?

Thanks Paul
 
valcas1 said:
Skam,

Let me start by saying I know nothing about the subject. Is that what you would suggest for a typical survival situation? If you set out 100 snares and there is average wildlife activity what would one expect as a conversion ratio. another question, when you mention 100 snares Is it safe to assume you are talking about ground snares for rabbit and such or are you talking about trying to snare squirrel with 6-7 snares on log?
I am trying to gather as much real life experience as possible on the subject to see if it is a viable means of putting meat inthe pot for survival. Can you give me any tips as well?

Thanks Paul
Click to expand...

Sorry Paul I will clarify. My family grew up trapping hunting etc... Where I live it is not unusual to find 300+ rabit snares in one area from one person. This is a meat industry and thus numbers matter. This is not a survival situation I am talking about.

For survival purposes a dozen or 2 well placed snares should net you something within a few days. Even a half dozen is better than one or 2 which is what most carry and why they dont catch much.

A dozen snares worth of wire is not a lot of wire. A snares payback is one of the largest vs energy output.

Skam
 
Skam,

Thank you! That's what I was thinking. I figured there was a good chance you were referencing a trapping line. Those are also my thoughts when it comes to a large payback for a very small investment.

That being said. I do not believe people bring along enough snare wire in their PSK's. In order for it to work effectively. One should have enough supplies for a dozen or more snares, not just a 3' piece of snare wire. It really doesn't add that much weight to the kit and once set up it is constantly working at getting you some grub while you tend to other things in camp. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Paul
 
May I suggest another source of wire that's useful not only for snares but for fishing leaders if the fish are toothy? Go to your nearest general aviation airport (that's for small planes, not commercial airliners) and stick your head in the shop where aircraft mechanics work. Ask to buy or borrow a little safety wire. Safety wire is used on many nuts and bolts on airplanes to prevent them from vibrating loose. This wire is single strand, stainless steel, strong, and ductile, and it's useful for quite a variety of projects and repairs. Been there, done that. It comes in one pound spools (that's a lot of wire) and in various sizes. I suggest you try some that's .021" and some that's .032" in diameter for small game and comparable fish. Experiment with it and see how you like it. If you're serious about using it, see if you can get a copy of a thin booklet that tells you exactly how to use it according to FAA regs. The techniques are applicable to non-aircraft uses, as well. Just a photocopy of a page or two from an aircraft mechanic's toolbox reference may be all you need. Get a mechanic to show you how to use those special wire twister pliers they use, too. You might want to buy a small pair. I've seen affordable imported versions in some of the common discount tool catalogs like Harbor Freight and Northern Tools. The U.S. versions are not what I'd call cheap. If you use them daily, quality is worth it, though. By the way, if snaring is on your agenda you need to read everything you can find about trapping and snaring by Ragnar Benson!
 
Thank you Dr. Mudd

I will take a closer look at that. I have a small airport right around the corner from me. Looks like me and the kids are taking a road trip to look at the planes tomorrow.

Paul
 
valcas1 said:
Thank you Dr. Mudd

I will take a closer look at that. I have a small airport right around the corner from me. Looks like me and the kids are taking a road trip to look at the planes tomorrow.

Paul
Click to expand...

Please keep the children under close supervision. Aircraft, even those that are not running, can easily hurt you. There's an old saying: "All aircraft bite." The reason I bring this up is that I once saw a kid get snatched out of the way of a propeller, and several times I've seen adults walk into the trailing edge of the wing of a small Cessna and get a nasty cut on the head. It's easy to do if you're not paying attention. One more thing now, don't touch and don't let the kids touch any plane without the owner's permission and close supervision. Small planes are delicate and easily damaged! Please excuse my rant, but I know these things from experience.

But I think you will find aircraft safety wire of an appropriate size a handy thing to have around, even if you're not snaring game with it. If you only get one size, make it .032", but some .020" or .021" is handy, too.

Go to Amazon or to Paladin Press and try to find what Ragnar Benson has written about traps and snares. Buckshot's Camp has a website and I think they still sell ready-made snares which can be more effective than the homemade variety. Look at their Conibear-style steel traps, too. Buckshot really is an old, experienced fur trapper, so he knows a lot. Go to www.buckshotscamp.com and take a look there. I've corresponded with Bruce (Buckshot) some over the past several years, and he's a good guy I think. He's also just an ordinary little fellow trying his best to scratch out a living however he can, so buy something from him if you can.

Remember, if you're going to strangle an animal, be sure you eat it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top