9 or 11 gauge, which do you prefer? I've always used 9, never tried anything else.

#9. I have used lots of others, none are as solid as #9. If you're anchoring them off close to trees or something you could go lighter but from the ground or reaching out from a killpole or something #9 is the best. You don't want the support to move at all until the snare fires shut.

I snare cats and fox in brush with lethal snares.
I use a tie-off/support wire of either single 11ga or double 14ga.

I also use the same to tieoff/support under ice beaver snares.

When snaring wolves I cable off to a solid tree usually with an extension and use either 9 or double 11 ga for a support inserted into a whammy which makes the loop adjustable while still allowing full support directly at the lock.

Free standing snare supports for coyote here in trails through grasses and old pond dams, I use lengths of #9 wire. Stiff enough for decent support by itself but also pliable enough to bend and shape it.
Jim

#9. I don't want my support to flex

It's not so much as to what gauge the wire Is. It's about how stiff that wire Is. Some 14 gauge wire Is stiffer then some 9 gauge wire.

Actually stiff (galvanized) wire can be kind of springy in the smaller gauges, I had to pull and reset 200+ snares, years back, that I had set with #11 galvanized, and replace it with #9 annealed wire after having tons of them knocked/pulled down and empty and the few catches were around the body/one leg through. I'd say a good rule of thumb would be any support wire that reaches further than 10-12" from a solid support should be #9 wire.

Depends on the cover, I use mainly 11 gauge in more open country.
#9 on the thicker areas .

Almost always #9 on beaver snares.

Not much cover this year at all, an if there is cattle are thining down to dirt.

They eating the willows along creek s to .

Not going to be much snaring on my line this year.

9 for everything... It's not hard to camo wire unless you're snaring in bare ground or deep snow.

I generally used #11 for cats, coyotes and wolves in timber areas.

I don't know what gauge wire I have but It's fairly thin and It's so stiff that if you bend It too many times it will break.

14 for every snare muskrat/mink to wild hogs

9

Ive gone to 14 like newt. I like only carrying one roll for everthing and 14 is most versatile in my world. Im snaring beaver, and when i need a support I double the wire, leave one tag a little longer, and twist coil that tag around the cable then crimp to hold it tight.
When i ran coyote poles I used 9 on those, but they were pre attached, and I still carried a roll of 14 for all other needs.

Depends on how you use it in my opinion. For heavier snares like hog snares, I prefer 9 gauge or non annealed 11 gauge. This allows me to reach a little further without drooping.

For beaver snaring, at least for me, I have a use for both large wire and small wire. On crossovers, I use a stiff wire (9 or 11), but in the water (beaver KPs, floating snare sets, trees) I much rather something light like 14 or 16 gauge. The light wire is easier to snip and work with.

I found a whole bundle of that ceiling grid support wire(it was free). Not sure what gauge it is, but i use it

Pretty sure that stuff is 11 guage, maybe 12. It had a different stiffness that say the galvanized 11 you get at the hardware store for fencing or clotheslines.

I have snare supports made of # 9 wire and 1/4 inch smooth rod

Free standing #9, in timber close to existing saplings or trees #14.

#9