Not to high Jack the other thread but I'm not sure anyone has ever done this before but I was taking some pictures and started messing around with filters on my phone. Now from my reading most furbears see in kinda a black and white type deal with some color and this looked about right.

First off both snares are about the same loop height 5/64th 1x19 cable bmi lock and I tried taking them from the same angle same place same distance.
Ok so here how we see a brand new in treated snare.

And here's how we can assume an animal will see it


Now here's the exact same style snare but the cable has been treated and spray painted a base coat of duck boat tan and a few streaks of green. Had to zoom in on these a little because they are hard to see lol

And how we can guess they would see it


I'm far from a snaresmen but figured this would be interesting to some

Very interesting. Thanks.

I use the Dakota Line snare dip.

It is interesting. Every time I walk up on a snare that’s to obvious I wish I had some dyed ones. Thanks for the effort.

Dakota Line sells the Ghost Rider model snares that come pre-dipped.

Nice post Wolfdog

Those pics are great. Makes me rethink my snares. Thanks

There Is this guy trapping on the same farm as me. I talked to him and he said he was using A Dakota Line CRs. And I saw his CRs and they are black as the Ace of spades and show up like A neon sign.

He hasn't caught any coyotes and he dosen't know I caught 4 off the farm before he started. LOl

I took some pictures the other day Of a CR hanging In a trail. The next day that CR took a coyote. I'll see If I can talk the boss Into posting some of my pics.

I know the secrete Is to get In set as fast as you can with the least bit of disturbance and get out of Dodge as fast as you can.
The other thing I have found Is DON'T set right at the beginning of the trail. Get that loop hung back In a ways. I believe when that critter comes off a open field and approaches that trail It hesitates and looks around before committing.

Thanks Beav. Keep the advice coming on cable restraints

As for Dakota Lines Ghost Rider product, the ones I've seen (in person) are a dull gray.
I just went to F&T's website, and here's their description for Dakota Line's Ghost Rider model:"The Dakota Line Ghost Rider Versatile Snare is dyed to a dull gray color with Dakota Line Snare Dip to blend into the night."
I then went to Dakota Lines website and I see they sell a black dip. It's possible the guy you saw, Beav, dipped them on his own using the black dip.

Lots of guys also fail to recognize that a cat, fox, or coyotes normal line of sight is only 18-24” off the ground.

You almost got to get on your hands and knees to see things from their perspective.

I use only Dakotaline products for both water & land snaring & go thru many dozen each year. I've only used the ghost rider grey & find it very satisfactory. I think the guy using the black snares died them himself. Just can't bring myself to hang shiny snares tho some good snare men say it prolly doesn't matter, & just a soda bath doesn't dull them enough to suit me. I think any dull color is OK & the $3.00/doz D'line charges mite be a little bit pricey, but they are very uniform in color. I bought some untreated snares from them last Fall along with their gray dip, but wasn't very happy with my results. Will try again later.

I bought some black restraints to try and they actually blend in pretty good. I don't recall where I got them from. Got a few yotes with them in the last few weeks.

You have to remember animals are walking around in the dark. The sun is not reflecting off the cable. I have caught alot fur with Solid black cable, untreated cable, and grayed cable. It's not the color of your snare it's your location that matters. Also you can't catch what's not there.

I don't know abt Va., but in my part of the country, predators move a good bit in the daylight hours.

Here too

One of the most important aspects of setting snares at a jackpot or anywhere in the bush is getting down to the level of the animal to have a look all around.The spots to hang your snares will jump right out at you,that were totally invisible to a human standing.Take note of the background also at the same level after hanging your loops,to see if any need breaking of the outline.

True

Dakotaline also has "Pale Rider" snares which are tan and would blend in well,in dead grass areas.Also agree,Ghost Riders are medium gray,not black.

If we could set In the brush I would have 1000s of spots to hang snares but we can't.

So those of use that have to hang CRs have to be playing our A game.

Bang on!

And bang on!

I like it..The less they see the better.. Nice job Wolfdog..

So with new info that's been presented apparently k-9's at least do see some color so I went took load more pictures with more snares. Now please work with me here because I'm doing this all on a phone so igotta crop and post the color pictures then reedit to black and white then red edit those to the new filter so we can see everything so just work with me

Ok so here's what we're working with from left to right is a untreated snare,fadded snare,fadded and painted and painted snare and a dipped snare. All 1x19 5/64ths cable some longer than others some have larger loops but I tried to keep everything the same with about a 8" loop


Here's our testing area. Just a trail my dogs use going next to this hog wire fence . The fiberglass pole on the right is where my phone will be ant it furthest point from the snare. Half way from the support and the pole is where the second picture will be taken. I treid taking all pictures at a height of around 12-14' off the walking surface. Again all the his is with a phone so i cant be 100%. Also my lighting wasn't great due to cloud cover so those will be re taken at a later point. From the pole to the support is around 2' the close pictures are around 10-12" from the snare.


First round if pictures will be a far away and up close of how we see the snares.

Shiny/untreated
Far:

Close:

Faded/boiled
Far:

Close:

Faded/ boiled and camo painted
Far:

Close:


Dipped ( not sure in what exactly but the color is black)
Far:

Close:

Now in Black in white. These are the exact some photos.

Shiny
Far:



Close:


Faded /Boiled

Thanks for doing these pictures, it's very informative to newby's like me. When you say snares are boiled, what does that mean? Boiled in some solution?

This really makes you think.
Keef, i think when he said boiled, he means water and baking soda.
How much baking soda do you put in with how much water?

Nice changes my opinion on treating the few I put out

I add about a tablespoon of baking soda into about 1/2 gallon of water and boil 15-20 minutes. Hang'em till they are cool and load them into the truck to set the next day. May be the wrong way but it works for me.

I believe a guy named Wadell paints his darker on the sides and lighter on top and bottom. The darker sides act as guides

I boil my snares in baking soda to take the shine off. This is what a coyote's point of view at 10'.

So far I have caught 27 coyotes In CRs that I have killed. Every Cable I've hung has been hung as they come out of the box. NO cleaning no painting well I did spray 2 of them but so far they haven't caught anything.

A very experienced snare man taught me the fine points. I have hung a bare snare right on a bare rail road track and caught fox.

Good thread Wolfdog.Where I trap,snares have to be blended well if I want to get a coyote in one.Good photographs and good examples.I'm not so sure that animals with good night vision,can't see a shine on moonlit or partial moonlit nights.Again,they don't see like we do.

Thanks for taking the time to take pictures and post, Wolfdog.

Shiny/untreated
Far:



Close:




Faded/boiled :
Far:




Close:

Dipped:
Far:



Close:




Camo painted:
Far:



Close:

good post wolf.

But To be fair you have to have the same lighting and the same back ground for each picture.

High light intensity or low light Intensity changes the view.

I have the best success with CRs that match the envirenment they are hung at, dull grey for woodlands and dead grass for grasslands.
Great Posts Wolfdog, all good points

I'm a BIG believer in camouflage for snares. Sure you can catch without, BUT its about the ones you miss. I ran alot of cameras a few years ago studying this to see if it makes a difference. Boy does it. 68% higher catch/visit ratio with blended camouflaged snares vs shiny or no treated aged dull cable.
This was done with live market snares. 3/32 1×19 cable.

Majority of the coyotes with blended snares were caught before the camera could even come on.
Nonblended there was alot of stopping and looking before deciding to go through, go around or go back the way they came from.

Where's the snow?

Very interesting,Airport Trapper.

As a minimum I want my snares to be a dull grey. Better with splotches of light and medium grey. I don't see bushes and vines growing in circular shapes. To me, breaking up the circle with multi colors is important.

Black and white pictures in this thread show green foliage as looking dark. A 3-part Michigan Predator Hunting article Coyote's Eyes discussed on this forum in 2011 says light green appears as white to a coyote and that darker shades of green appear as varying shades grey. "Man has three types of cone photopigments: blue, red, and green. Canine cells contain only red an blue."

Why not paint them RED ? Red is suppose to be a hard color for canines to see. I know in low light it's hard for me to see. Make checking and finding them easier. Just a thought!

Ttt

It should not make any difference because the background as seen from the animals perspective is generally against a forest/bush dark background rather than snow. Blending in is a matter of coloration of the snare to the background color of the bush as seen from the animal’s perspective. Many have recommended coloring the bottom of a snare loop white for snow conditions. It often looks great from a trapper standing position, but from the coyote lower position looking straight through the snare the white loop bottom will show up against a dark forest/bush background like a sore thumb.

At night It shouldn't make that much of a difference.

It used to not matter , now it does, due to untreated snares hung by uneducated trappers. Now I use snarline dip and break it up with spray paint in the spring so they air off real good. My catch ratio skyrocketed.. Sure wish we could use killing locks tho..

I wonder If snares also give off a magnetic field like cage traps do? Maybe that's why coyotes refuse to go through some of my snares.

It's still a sharp contrast with the background cover compared to a snare treated to accommodate that background cover.

Here's a guy that boils then spray paints.

Watch at the 10 minute mark...

Below 40 degrees it's a non issue, when its warm yep.. Buy Jay Lords book on that subject, very interesting read..

Stiring the pot i see lol

Great post. Lots of good comments for those willing to learn. I was under the impression that they do not see black and white like we see black and white. As far as hunting goes, I'm a firm believer that UV plays a much bigger role than camo patterns. Those old lucky hunting jackets or bibs are lucky because they're faded. I don't know how that applies to snaring, but maybe it does.

It's hard to beat dulled cable for simplicity. I never saw a difference between white snares and faded cable, but letting it age to be dull takes some time. I do not boil or see the need. I know lots of people do, but the concept of losing the microscopic oil between the strands sticks in my mind. I have soaked new snares in a bucket of water to dull slightly in my entryway for a few days and went and set. They caught on first checks.

Like some others have said checking line of sight at K9 level has really helped me. Its amazing how many locations pop out that way that are overlooked from above. On that note, I have hung plenty of snares I thought were perfect, crouched down 20 feet away, and realized that they will probably never catch. This tip seems to get overlooked by new trappers, but it is literally a snare life rule.

Agree with Beav on setting in a little ways from cover change. I don't want anything to distract the animal while it trots down the trail. Natural cover changes I think do that, also heavy blocking. I think it is a natural response to want to crowd blocking, but doing so is counterproductive in my opinion. Finding the tolerance of adding a little, but not too much was something I learned and benefited from.

I use flagging and check as much as humanly possible from the vehicle. Putting nice single tracks along cover edges has worked well for me. Keep the vehicle tracks neat, walk in them instead of making footprints, and approach perpendicular to hang in the snow. They will still exit my tire tracks and take their off ramps into cover. I think it helps to not dismount or exit right at the set.

These are things that helped me.

The snare I see the most photographed , isn't properly loaded, for starters.

I have, in certain situations, gone to a method where the lock isn't on the top, it's near the bottom ( 5 or 7 O'Clock).
I've shown this to only few students and a few friends.
The lock then, on most animals, will end up against the carotid artery , on a neck catch , resulting in a quicker death.
It takes the right lock on the right cable, with the right manipulation of the cable, but it can be done an is extremely fast.

This is, of course, is the perfect scenario.

As far as boiling cable, I stopped that long ago when I noticed rusting on snares kept from one year to the next.
If you use it the same season you boiled it, you seldom see a problem.
I always make up more than I can use, often keeping them until the next year or beyond.

I now 'stain' my snares using tannic acid from wet oak leaves in the fall.
It stains the cable to color of an oak leaf, which is as natural as you can get.

A lot of animals have been caught in shiny snares, enough to say it does work.
A mink for example, will see the loop and try to jump through it...
A coyote, (may) see it and avoid it, even though it isn't sure what it is.
It simply sees it as unnatural.

When you say : " vs how they see it " , that's merely your interpretation. You're not an animal. You're only going on what you've heard somebody say.
I want a snare the color of the environment. I want to have trouble seeing it, when I know it's there !
I want it to look like it GREW THERE !

For the most part, animals don't know what a trap or snare is.

I like a cable that is hard to see, yet as LT stated I do not boil anymore for the same reason, leftover snares may rust inside and I never know it till it is too late. Then again maybe in other areas, they won't rust. When folks talk to 10 different good cable men, they will get 10 different ways that YOU HAVE TO DO IT LOL When you come to the South Jersey Trapping and Snaring School, you will see Newt, Morgan and myself show you 3 different ways to make the cable disappear color-wise but we are the same on one thing. Make the cable blend in with the background 5 to 10 feet beyond going both ways. (animal eye level, not our eye level) I may use formula 1 on some cable, but if I need more cable midseason and in a rush, I will spray paint similar to what Robert did. or just like LT I always have a batch that soaked in the leaves. A grey cable, brown cable, camo cable can all stand out to the animal like a sore thumb or can disappear, simply by paying attention to the background the animal see past the loop and making the loop blend into that. I have new videos that I will be showing at the school next year of animals avoiding cable for no other reason than 3 feet back the animal viewed the cable as something to walk around or go under rather than go through, the loop was an obstacle rather than an easy push through. They were not afraid, they just viewed it, seems like an easier, not to go through. I showed a video at the school this past year of a red fox hopping over a 7-inch loop 7 inches off the ground, yet that same fox gets caught down the trail in the same 7x7 set up just on a bend in the trail where it blended in. I call this sightline, sight picture. There is a lot of good info on these 3 pages that work and is useful for the cable men that pay attention to what their ground looks like, and how the animal moves and travels.

I wonder if you could spray paint your snares bright orange. I know when I'm training my labs they have a hard time seeing the orange bumpers in short grass. White ones they can pick out no problem.