Puzzle me this, snare miss.

Definitely a catch and a miss.

Backstory, a little rule bending on some flood control retention ponds. This on in particular is the lower pond in the unit and is currently being lowered, over four foot in the last 24. Drains into the head of Utoi Creek if we have any War Between the States aficionados.

So, these beaver are traveling beaver bouncing between the four ponds, mostly overland as the drains between them are mostly culverted under an old golf course on this former federal installation. Well I found the "crossover" from this lower pond to creek skirts the large concrete overflow/sluice gate then crosses a hardtop goes under a guardrail and along the top of the concrete spillway before turning to rejoin the creek.

Well here's where the rule bending comes in. Dryland snaring is a no go in Georgia save for beaver only within ten feet of water. So I set the trail along the top of the concrete tying off to the handrail. As you can see from the photo I'm well within ten feet vertical of the water



The snare in question was hung from the left hand vertical. As you can see from the catch on the right I have a good catch circle before he decided to end it all. The left none so I figure it went straight for the high dive and it wasn't the hanger as no other snare marks on it.

Working theory, neck snared inspite of my always hanging for a one or two foot inside the loop catch and never had one by the neck alone. Being neck snared only when it hit the end of the wire it slipped right on out. At least that's my best guess. No floaters in the creek as there is a grate fence where the creek exits along the fence in the background. If there were a floater it would have still been on the property.

BTW, I could've set 330s but dryland 330s even I'm hesitant even if ten foot still applies. Long chain footholds possible but restricted to coyote sized as ten foot doesn't apply to footholds. Only thing I might have done different is provide a longer leash to let them swim but I really need them cold upon arrival as there's other loud noisemaker restrictions at that location that aren't so easy to rule bend..

PSS

This is the same location across the creek yesterday prior to hanging wire.



I counted twelve does total in that bunch with a medium sized eight on the hill in back to the left. Surprised it still had it's headgear this late.

Looks like it had assistance.

Anywhere else I might have thought that but on this site you ain't coming through the gate unless personally vouched for and multiple NDAs signed.

Besides why take one and not the other. If coyote, and this site has more than their share, that's three foot of water below.

The coyotes are my next project as they pulled down and stripped a big doe Tuesday night. I've been on site all this week but have had to wait until the crowd cleared out to get down to my real work.

But hey, I've got fresh bait.

Warrior,
Just out of curiosity, is that a purchased snare or homemade?

Built them myself. Yeah, I know looks like...

I never had that happen with a snare, but also never set one with that kind of drop nearby. I think you're right about neck only and a dive off the wall.

Btw...It dont appear you are bending rules. 10ft is 10ft. Looks legal to me.

Thanks, figured it was in fact if not spirit.

I was led to believe the why is our tidal waters on the coast and I've always felt like it was somehow taking advantage to use that rule this far inland.

Lock failure! A neck snared beaver with a decent lock will not slip off, especially when diving off a ledge. Washers are not good locks. Washers are always made of the cheapest grade of metal as they are only designed as a spacer on a bolt and nut. Holes saw right out with cable. Expand the picture and look at the hole where the cable goes thru that lock, it is way too big. Lock backs right off and released your beaver.

Sent you a PM.

Beaver can remove a snare from their neck with their feet.They are used to grooming and it is nothing for them to get a snare off their neck,especially one with hole lock that is too big for the wire.
They wont often get out when flank snared(behind the front legs).

Thats why I aim for at least one foot in. But these are new to me locks and they're pretty quick firing. And they don't lock up as tight as I like.

Hole locks lock up tight only when the hole is matched to the cable.Oversized hole locks on a cable-like a 3/32 adams lock on 5/64 cable or 5/64 adams lock on 1/16 cable is pretty much useless for good locking ability.

Is that a 3/32 lopro lock on 5/64, 1x19 cable?

I dont know what kind of lock or cable he used.
But with any hole lock(as opposed to a cam or wedge cam) it is critical to have the hole size match the cable for proper lock up.
You can tell a hole lock that has not locked up properly-it will show wear around the hole because of the excessive play.

Agreed. I have seen this be more of an issue with 1x19 than 7x7 as the stiffer 1x19 will wear the bur that is supposed to hold the lock faster whereas the lock can “bite” the softer 7x7 to a degree. This is without a spring behind it and just my experience.

Good eye Boco. I can't understand why so many people pretend not to like you. What's not to like?
I miss a number of coons in snares every year. Not a lot, but a few. They have fingers on all four feet to unlock snares as easily as I can.

I thought everyone liked me on here?

That depends on the lock itself. I strictly run oversize locks, and both of my preferred locks, kill without entanglement or a spring... just locking ability.

Blackdog lopro locks from Southern Snares.

Thought I would give them a try as they are supposed to be more forgiving of a poorly loaded snare and I'm not the most consistent in my loading technique.

So far so good as I'm catching with them with only that one swing and miss BUT I haven't had one of those with the mocros I was using. Just trying to determine if that miss was due to that lock or one of those things that can happen with any lock.

Basically nitpicking this new lot of snares I made up.

There is a reason they make specific sized hole locks for specific sized cable.
Will an oversized lock hold and kill an animal,yes,but not efficiently.You get waterhead which indicates an inefficient snare.Animals not dispatched quickly,and as we all know the longer a live animal is held in any kind of trap the more chance it has to escape or wreck itself.

Murphy's Law. If It can go wrong It will.

True that, just trying figure out that mick's dirty tricks so I don't get pinched by his traps again. LOL

You are using locks of poor design if you get waterhead with an oversized lock. Not all locks are created equal.

No I dont use oversized locks.
I have snared thousands of animals.

I have snared thousands of animals as well...with oversized locks. Including leg snaring. How many locks did you try on smaller cable to reach the opinion you have?

What is the reason one would prefer to use an oversized lock?

I use different locks for different animals,have used them all,discarded many.
Like all things trapping related simplest is best,for cats and fox I have settled on two locks the dmd adams and the cam.
For wolves I use a wedge cam with a kill spring.Occasionally I use a thompson type(hole lock) with a kill spring.
For beaver under ice you dont need a lock of any kind if you use beaver wire,for cable the dmd adams is it.With the correct size lock for the cable you will catch beaver by all extremities which is not uncommon using under ice baitpole.It is imperative that the lock up is solid when you catch by foot,tail, nose,or toe tooth etc.
Rabbits and squirrels i use wire so no lock necessary.

The reason some trappers I believe go to an oversized lock is because they dont know how to correctly construct an efficient closing snare,and have problems with a closely fitted hole lock binding which will not happen on a properly constructed snare.

Like a lot of fur handlers they try to make up for deficiencies by taking shortcuts which create a lot of problems they dont even realize.

Speed and strength. Especially when you deal with things like hogs.

Boco, again, a good lock design even used oversized will lock exactly the same on smaller cable. I have even caught nutria and armadillos by the tail.