Siting here thinking after looking at the geting out started thread. It reminded me of my first snare catch and why I used one.

I was in my first or 2nd year trading and targeted coom in this ditch. 3 days in a roll my trap was set off or pulled out of the bed not fired. I made adjustments and added another trap a little below the sit similar to what the guy that made that post did. Didn't help.

On th 3 day I saw a single coon track in the sand at a bend by the set that went under a grape vine . I had some snares in the truck but had not tried to use them befor and knew nothing about them except what the guy that told me how to place and set them.said. so I hung one from the grape vine. The next morning I had a 3 footed large coon in that snare hip caught. Looking back my loop was a bit low and large but it worked and I learned a few hings.

Since then I have used them mostly for coon and beaver. Love them on beaver since I dont trap for them much and they are easy to snare and beaver traps are expensive.

That catch is as memorable as my first every other species. Now days I like playing with different types of set and traps experimenting.

What was your first time connecting with a snare.

Several years ago I was was reading up on snaring. I set my first snare on an active groundhog hole. First check was a huge surprise, a big skunk!

Snaring is how I cut my teeth trapping. When I was a kid I went along with an older man that all he did was snared. He taught me many things, my first catch was a fox back when fur was good money. With that fox money I bought much equipment for trapping. I still think of the older man and our trips in the woods.

Ha ha. My first tire set catch was in a bee yard. My calm bees became hot so I figured something was messing with them. Saw the trap was gone and grabbed the wire and pulled it trying to figure out what happened. My son saw it luckily because I didn't had a skunk and it was in the tire. I nearly yanked it right out. It was hind foot caught so would have came out backwards business end facing me.

yote

I was in 8th or 9tggrade, XL beaver in an L shaped homemade snare lock with clothesline wire; beaver nearly broke the wire.

Beaver or yote happened about the same time both sets were in the same ditch and were culvert sets, the beaver was 50 percent under water, the coyote was on top and I remember pulling him out of the pipe just about did me in that day.

Pretty sure it was a raccoon. Used the 3 hole system from Bernie Barringe's book. Still use that system today, mostly for beaver though since even when I recycle everything the snare still worths more than the coon.

Fox or rabbit can’t remember what came first.

Red Fox

Coyote, took weeks and weeks to finally connect. What an amazing feeling walking up on that big dog. He wrapped around a birch tree and was expired in a bit of leaves. I remember thinking he must not have struggled much because there was no disturbance in the leaf litter.

red fox

Beaver, the only legal target for snares in the two states I've trapped in.

It was beaver for sure. I don’t have any pics of my first one, would have been about mid to late 80s .
I remember making a lot of beaver snare sets that sort of looked like this and cleaning up on beaver. I could t afford 330s but I had a snare someone gave me with a washer lock and I made a bunch of them up with some cable and old washers I had in the garage: I pounded nuts flat as my ferrules. They weren’t annealed I just pounded them to grab the cable and they held just fine.
I had a ball snaring beaver.
Jim

Under ice beaver

coon

The regular coon first night under fence

My best bobcat so far.
Trail set snare.

I tried sharing chipmunks when I was very little, with no success. The first furbearer I snared was a raccoon, by it's hips. The snare clipped off a little of it's hair.

Keith

Coon on a crossing log