Howdy all,
I am interested in snaring beaver. After searching the archives etc. I found nothing about snare sets on a slide wire to drown the beaver as I had thought to do. Everything I have read on this site and others call for fairly long snares and show pictures of live beavers in the snares. I had thought to use a 10" loop with about a 12" tail, swivel, slide lock attached to a #11 slide wire into 4' of water. I forget the type of lock I bought. Is this a bad idea?
Thanks,
Dan

(Edit: Title edited for clarity. -- Hal)

Nope, not at all. But you will need all four feet of water to drown the critter. From your description you're going to be using a 45" snare. Also, bear in mind the beaver will have all four feet active, not like a foothold trap where it would be running on three wheels. They are powerful animals, and you'll need a lot of weight to hold them on the bottom in a snare.

-- Hal

Do you favor having them alive in the snare when you check your set? Is there less fur damage?
Do you dispatch them with a .22 short? So many questions and so little time left. LOL
Dan

No I don’t prefer to have them alive, but as I said it is more trouble to drown a beaver in a snare than in a foothold trap, so if I’m going to catch the beaver in that situation, I’m going to use a foothold trap.

-- Hal

I follow what you are saying. I'm slow sometimes.
Thank you for the info!
Dan

actually Its quite easy to drown a snared beaver and it only takes two foot of water.

You will have to modify your snares a little but its not hard......attach a "L" shaped drowning lock onto the snare between the swivel and the lock, you want the drowning lock to be facing downward towards the lock. Attach some weight( I use old break rotors) to the lock and let the beaver swim once captured.The weight will slide down the cable and butt up to the snared beaver.......its all over then.

It took me a minute to figure that out, but… excellent idea!

Let me get this straight. The snare is pre configured with an extra lock, a "slider lock" on the cable. Except this "slider" lock doesn't have any thing fastened on the leading end of it. When you make the set, you use a typically slide wire system, and attach the snare swivel to the slide wire. You attach the weight to the slider lock, and move this lock back towards the swivel end of the snare. You then position and stabilize the snare.

When the beaver is caught, it starts wrestling around in the snare. When the beaver stretches the snare cable tight, the weight starts working its way down the snare cable, towards the beaver, and the lock keeps it from back up, away from the beaver.

Buy the time the beaver works the snare down the slide wire, into deep water, it is wearing a brake rotor for a necklace.

-- Hal

correct .........it works most all the time.

So this will drown a beaver in two feet of water? What about them tail caught beaver, they'd just stand on that rotor and wait for you huh? LOL

...MM...

Dipstick.........lol

10 inch loop vs 6 inch loop..........lol

Thanks tho.......ya made my day !

Well that does make a difference now doesn't it. LOL I have had a few on their tippy toes in footholds when I went to check em but only cos the water level dropped.

...MM...

I'm a little slow here, so tell me if I'm wrong. You make a regular snare including a swivel. The only difference being, you have a slider lock built into it between the actual snare lock and swivel. You then attach the weight to the "built in slider". The snare swivel is then attached to the slide wire via another slider lock. Sounds like a good idea too me, if I am picturing it right.

RO

Wouldn't this set-up work without a slider wire? What if you just attach the snare swivel at the shoreline or to a drowner stick and place the weight at the shoreline so that when the beaver enter the water and tightens the snare cable, the weight slips into the water with him?

Wm

Sounds like that might work also.

...MM...

Nope. If you don't make provisions for moving the beaver out into deep water, and holding it there (as in a slide wire sysetm) the beaver will march right back to the bank, dragging the weight with it. Remember, the beaver has all four feet working.

-- Hal

To give you an idea as to how strong a beaver is, I have had a rear foot caught beaver bring a 40 pound concrete block to the bank. He was still caught, but he dang sure wasn't drowned. It hasn't happened often, but it has happend. A 40 pound block is square, i.e. doesn't roll easily on the bottom, and must be dragged, and is well over half of a larger (say 60 pounds or so) beaver's weight.
Adios,
45/70,
RKBA !!!

Would Wm's idea work if he rigged the weight to slide one-way on his drowning stick. Not sure how or if it could be done with a snare??

...MM...

I thought I was clear on this, but now I am a little confused. Buzz, do you use a snare rigged with an extra lock and add a weight or a drowning rigg and attatch a snare (also having an L lock turned to slide down the snare)attatched to it, then add the brake rotor. That's how I understood Hal to put it. Seems like the later might just settle where the drowning rigg would be anchored or tangle in a drowning rigg. The first part sounds like a good idea.

That is a cool idea.

(Edit: Post edited to remain on topic. -- Hal)

Would that modification violate Ohio's relaxing lock rule, since the drowning lock is likely to put pressure on the snare lock in a way that, in effect, prevents it from relaxing? Or would it not, since the weight is not connected to the snare lock itself.

Im gonna try after beaver soon too and was wondering if a deep water stake with a drowing cable attached would work. You think they would just pull it to the bank? Sorry, Im still a rookie.

That's a good point creekwalker. I don't know about the Ohio laws but where relaxing laws are in place and if you ran into the wrong game warden he might nail you on that. Of course more than likely a judge wouldn't have any idea about snares or locks so he will just take the officers word that you broke the law. Certainly something to consider.

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