Would railroad spikes work to make snare supports

I have a bunch of them. Could a person weld #9 ga on them. Would they work or not a good idea?

I would think so , i use some big nails. But more 1/4 cold roll than anything.

Anything you can weld a 9 wire to that sticks in to the ground will work. Railroad spikes might get heavy though. Just need something to hang the snare and keep the support from rotating in the ground. I'm a horrible welder and using 120 volt 20amp cheapo, so you can laugh at my welds. Coyotes dont mind though. Ha.

I am in welding class now at night.. I dont care what it looks like as long as it works. Coyote or bobcat dont care. I have got a small wire welder. I can get all the spikes I want. But I did see some used big nails too. I looked at some well built snare supports for 30.00 a dz. I will use my fiberglass rod snare supports. Until I can build some with nails or spikes to try.

I'm sure they would work fine,just a little heavier than some.

Ya might want to try something a little heaver.

I use up all of my cold rolled steel supports with a short piece of 9 wire welded to them before I grab for anything else.

They have the least amount of give compared to the others pictured. The longer the 9 wire the more it flexes and can keep the lock from closing quickly. The steel doesnt twist and bends significantly less.

They work well for me. I've tried several types of supports and like the RR spikes the best. I guess maybe they are a bit heavier than other options, but I rarely pack more than 20 at a time, which is nothing when all you have is some cable and a few tools. Give them a try alongside the other options and see for yourself.

I am going to give them a try. I picked up around 30. I like them because if the ground is dry u can get them in. I dont care to carry 20 or so. In the wind the fiberglass get blown around. But the spikes wont. I like the fiberglass on beaver works good. The Titanium 125 amp weld I have from harber freight to just do my trap welding stuff. Should work for the job just fine .

I agree. I build mine like the freedom brand (second from left) except I don’t put the 45 degree angle on them. One boy cutting cold roll, one cutting flat iron, one cutting support wire, and me welding. I can make a boat load in a hour.

They work great but I end up with a tangled mess after I bundle them. Haven't tried it yet but thinking a piece of pvc about 3 feet long. stick the #9 wire in and leave the nail sticking out. How do you guys keep it from being a time consuming tangled mess?

Danny, I don’t have any good suggestions. Mine are always a mess after I’ve made 3 or 4 sets. PVC is a great idea!

Mark s at dakotalime snares has a tool that really makes it simple!

I fount some rr spikes with the top gone. Going to give them a try too. I got to checking out of #9 wire. I only have #11. Going to try a few pieces of #11. May not work as good.

bobcat_trapper, #11 will work fine. I actually prefer it over #9.

That's why I picked some up. I was going to use it on my fiberglass ones. But I didnt know how good it would weld. How long should I cut the wire to weld on?

If I was in welding class I'd be making my own DPs instead of welding a piece of wire to a chunk of metal. Anyway you don't need to weld wire to anything to make a great snare support. Just bend the wire in a U or V and stick it in a hole. Works great. Been using that for 40 years.
just

What length wire r you using? Is 20 inch #11 long enough?

If you are trying to support snares off the ground with #11 wire you better at least double the wire. They will NOT be held stable enough for the snares to preform correctly. You'll have a BUNCH of knocked down snares. You can easily double the wire by bending a long 5' piece in half, clamping the two tag ends together in a vice and attaching your drill to the loop end. Just stretch it out tight and begin twisting until it its twisted tight. OR use the black annealed #9 wire and save that step.

I check when I got home. I have a roll of #9 and #11. I was going to weld to spikes. I didn't know how long to cut wire to weld to stake.

Height of bottom of loop above ground plus diameter of loop from lock to bottom of loop plus 1” to weld to your spikes = length of #9. Double + 2” and twist as described above if #11

Start with 30" of #9 and 5' doubled on the #11. You can trim off a little if you need to but its hard to add on a couple extra inches of support wire.

This was a method of a well known snaring expert in using railroad spikes, but you do not weld. You or a machinist drills holes in the spikes for the support wire. The best wire was galvanized telephone wire long before the cell phone era.
Put in the effort in drilling as is forever, and welding is what you will regret always.

I fixed a dz last night in class. Going to drill a hole and try that. I have some the head is missing. Going to weld another dz tonight. I put some with 30 nch wire. That is a little to long . I learn fast it will melt wire. Got it down now. I built a stake puller too. Just like MN trapline beast stake pu. Saved slot of money last night. Free snare supports and free stake puller. Just have my time invested in them.

Ttt