When I started building snares, I used #11 support wire and a plastic support collar that was snug. I’ve since graduated to plastic tubing that will take a #9 support wire. The problem sometimes is the plastic is stiff and it doesn’t want to take the #9 support wire without some effort.

My dentist gives away a lip balm product like chapstick. There is no odor. So I’ve begun using it as a lubricant on my support wire and it works very well. There is enough resistance to hold the snare until it over-peaks and the loading fires the snare.

I’m sure someone will come up with a joke/play on words. Have at it.

I paint my snare supports a flat grass-tan color. The paint may be making the support collar and support wire connection too tight. The chapstick type product makes life easier.

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Just stop using plastic tubing and go with a metal coiled WAMMY designed specifically for that size cable.
Chuck the #11 gauge and start going with #9 gauge.
You' ll be a lot happier with the results.

Plastic will not expand in cold temps, it in fact seems to do the opposite, making it difficult to work with in colder weather,
Most of my snare line in in freezing temps and snow.



Becoming a better snare man, well, that starts with using better equipment !


* Feel free to contact me direct. Always willing to help out a fellow trapper and /or snare man.

I don’t trap/snare under extreme weather conditions anymore. In fact, except for spring beaver, I’m done for this season. I tried metal whammies and wasn’t impressed. That’s why all my snares are set up with plastic tubing. But I’ve gotten away from using #11 wire even though Newt Sterling and other snaremen use it quite a bit.

In 2019 I attended the Ron Jones/Newt Sterling/Morgan Bennett snaring school. Their methods, plus those of Dale Billingsley and others have shaped my efforts at stringing cable.

There’s no question I like snaring. It’s simple, fast and effective. Next season I’ll only run snares and DPs.

I started going to the black tubing a long time ago when 10 gauge wire was starting to be sold as 9 and my whammies werent tight on the wire like it was supposed to be.

I like poly vinyl because it’s versatile.

At one spot I may diving into a patch of buffalo berry, anchoring a snare off the main trunk and wrapping some 11 gauge around some brush and rolling on. Quick and sweet.

I like 11 gauge for this application. Easier to work with.

The next stop I may be in an open grass trail, driving a rebar anchor/support utilizing 9 gauge wire. I like 9 gauge for this application. It’s more rigid and supportive in the longer lengths required for this application.

Polyvinyl allows me to utilize both systems with the same snare.

The tightly wrapped metal collars are to size specific, and I’m not gonna start making/carrying two types of snares around.
The corkscrew type collars, well they just suck.

I use poly down to some stupid low temps. Does it get stiff? Sure. But it’s still workable.

The biggest drawback to it is if you have some snares that make it a few years of carryover the polyvinyl starts to dry out. This makes them real hard.

This seams odd but when my tubing gets to cold/stiff to get the wire in i put a lighter on it for a couple of seconds. Makes it nice & pliable for the wire..

Rubber gas line tubing.

Good posts.

I like to use clear vinyl tubing and #9 wire. I put a countersink on the end of the tube that will accept the wire, and I taper the end of the wire on a belt sander. The taper is about the same as the business end of a chopstick and rounded blunt at the very tip. Doing it this way ensures that the wire will get started on the vinyl collar and it makes for a very tight connection. I like the fact that I can push the wire in the collar so it's good and tight, and then simply rotate the collar in either direction if the snare needs the angle of the dangle adjusted. I think this setup would probably work with #11 wire also.

I like your idea a lot. ‘Make up about 50 support wires in my off season so all I have to do is grab on my way to the set location. The support wires get a coating of grass brown spray paint so they’ll blend better. So do my snares.

Used the clear ice maker tube material for years and like others have said it wasn’t good in cold weather.
Over the past 10 years I’ve gone to a black rubber tubing sold at places like Auto Zone that’s used for windshield washer fluid. Stays very flexible to well below zero and I usually just hit it with spray paint when painting snares and color isn’t an issue. It’s flexible enough that I can use it on either #9 or #11 wire with no problems.

I much prefer the real metal wammies sized to fit my cable+#9 wire. I use #9 for all my supports.

Newt uses a “W” bend at the end of his snare support wire to hold the snare tight and in place. As I recall, he uses 14-gauge wire for this. I tried to do it, several times, and decided the plastic/poly collar was just easier to use.

I'm surprised Dale Billingsly didn't show you the U bend in the end of the support wire that I showed him way back when after Keith Gregerson had shown me .

Then crimp it litely with you're pliers after a few quick wraps of the cable around the support wire and you're done .