Snares are something new for us Pa. trappers. I will admitt I know very little about them. My question is, is the damage on beaver hides enough to reduce the worth of the hide? Does the snare mark make a differance in tanning? Does the snare mark cause some fur buyers to refuse the skins? I have Hals book and video, both very informative and well worth the money spent.

Snares cause damage. Especially in animals that are not neck snared.

The possible exception is beavers snared under ice, where they drown quickly.

-- Hal

Hal: If I'm snaring a beaver on land, should I tighten the loop in an attempt to snare him around the neck. The book says to make a beaver snare 9" - 10". Should I make it 8"-9" or should I make it even smaller?

Thanks, Wm

You should make it even a little smaller. But mind you -- you are going to get a number of misses and refusals with a loop that small.

-- Hal

I have noticed that if you set the snare so the beaver will not get tangled up in something the snare mark is not as bad. I also think getting the snare off the beaver and working the hide around real good where the snare was helps reduce the snare mark.

The way I look at it is that a beaver with a snare mark is better than no beaver at all. I usually set a snare where I don't have deep enough water to drown the beaver, no real good 330 location, and/or it is a high trap theft spot. If I don't get him in the snare I am probably not getting him at all at these locations.

I don't use the cable restraints in WI, just too little time and too many restrictions for me to want to try that now. I do not know the average snared coon concerns but I saw a group of snared coons at NAFA a year ago in December and they were not pretty. The pelt was damaged and cut and that makes dressing a big issue plus the fur is damaged on the other fur side too.
Coyotes seem to handle snaring pretty well when compared to the coon from my quick preview.
Bryce

Dated for search.