Snare Traps: Figure-4, Wire Snare, and Paiute Deadfall

Reading Animal Sign: Location is Everything

A snare on a dead trail is worthless. A snare in the right location catches animals reliably.

Signs of active small game use:

• Runs: Smooth depressions through grass or brush where animals have traveled repeatedly. Rabbit runs are often a few inches wide and slightly flattened. The edges of the depression are worn smooth.
• Tracks: Fresh tracks in mud, snow, or soft soil. Note direction of travel.
• Droppings: Rabbit pellets are round, brown, and scattered. Squirrel cuttings (nut fragments) fall from above.
• Feeding sign: Gnaw marks on bark, cut grass stems, stripped berries.
• Pinch points: Trails that funnel through a narrow gap — between a log and a rock, under a fence, through a thick brush patch. Animals must pass through these narrow places regardless of which trail they use.

Priority locations:

1. Where two trails converge into one
2. Under a log crossing a trail
3. The opening in a brush pile where animals enter
4. The narrow gap between obstacles on an active run
5. Near water sources at dawn/dusk movement times

Wire Loop Snare (Rabbit)

The most reliable and simplest snare for rabbit and other small game up to the size of a fox.

Materials

• Wire: 24-gauge galvanized wire or 28-gauge wire. Pre-cut wire snare sets (available commercially) or communications wire (salvaged from field phones, etc.) work well. The wire must hold a loop under tension without straightening.
• Anchor material: A sturdy stake, small tree, or rock to tie off the support wire.

Loop Sizing

Loop size determines what you catch:

• Rabbit: Loop 4 inches in diameter, set 3-4 inches above the trail surface (rabbit belly height)
• Squirrel: Loop 3 inches in diameter, set at the base of a tree on a known climbing path
• Larger game (raccoon, fox): Loop 6-8 inches, set 6 inches off the ground
• Grouse/ptarmigan: Loop 3-4 inches, set at bird head height on a walking trail

Building the Wire Loop Snare

Setting Placement

Position the loop in the trail's natural opening. The loop should be:

• Perpendicular to the direction of animal travel
• At the correct height for the target species
• Stable — not swinging in wind
• Camouflaged — no shiny wire visible, no disturbed soil around the set

Wear gloves when handling wire. Human scent on the wire reduces effectiveness, especially for wary species.

Figure-4 Deadfall

A classic friction-based trigger that drops a heavy weight when an animal disturbs the bait stick. Effective for squirrel, chipmunk, rat, and other small animals.

Materials

• Three straight sticks (wood or bone), each 6-10 inches long, finger-thickness
• A heavy flat rock or log (the deadfall weight), 5-10 pounds minimum
• Bait (nut, berry, dried meat)

Carving the Trigger

The figure-4 requires three notched sticks:

Stick 1 — Upright: Cut a flat diagonal (about 45 degrees) on the lower end. Cut a notch about 1/3 from the top on the same face — this notch holds the horizontal bait stick.

Stick 2 — Diagonal: Cut a squared notch at the lower end that hooks into the upright's diagonal cut. Cut a point at the upper end that supports the deadfall weight. Cut a small notch on the side toward the middle — this engages with the horizontal bait stick.

Stick 3 — Horizontal bait stick: Cut a diagonal at the end that hooks into the upright's notch. Attach bait to the far end.

Assembly

1. Place the upright vertically with the diagonal end on the ground.
2. Hook the diagonal stick's notch onto the upright's diagonal. The upper end of the diagonal rests under the deadfall weight.
3. Hook the bait stick horizontally between the upright's notch and the side notch of the diagonal stick.
4. The three sticks form the figure "4" shape — hence the name.
5. The assembly holds the deadfall weight balanced; when an animal touches the bait stick, the trigger releases and the weight drops.

Critical: The system must be sensitive but not hair-trigger. Adjust notch depth and stick positioning until the trap holds stable but releases with light pressure on the bait.

Paiute Deadfall

A more sensitive variant of the deadfall principle, using a toggle and cordage trigger. Preferred for small animals like mice and chipmunks because of its lighter trigger weight.

Materials

• Two sticks and a short length of cordage
• One small toggle stick (about 2 inches)
• A flat rock or weight (2-5 pounds for small animals)
• Bait

Assembly

1. Support stick: Propped under the weight at the center-front edge, braced at the top.
2. Cordage loop: Runs from the base of the support stick, under the rock, to the toggle.
3. Toggle: A short stick wedged horizontally against the front edge of the rock and held in place by the tension of the cordage. The bait is tied to the toggle.
4. When an animal pulls the bait, the toggle is dislodged, the cordage releases, the support stick falls, and the weight drops.

This mechanism is more sensitive and can be made lighter-weight than a figure-4, making it better for very small animals that cannot generate enough force to release a stiffer trigger.

Trail Snare (Improvised Cordage)

When wire is not available, natural cordage snares are possible but less reliable. Braided dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum), stinging nettle fiber, inner bark of basswood or cedar, and other strong natural fibers can be twisted into cordage.

Limitation: Natural fiber snares are weaker than wire and more prone to chewing through by captured animals. They work best on trails with consistent use (high probability of catch on first night).

Construction: Same as wire loop snare, but use braided 3-strand cordage with a loop knot (timber hitch modified to slide) rather than the wire loop mechanism.

Multi-Snare Strategy

Set snares in a cluster around productive habitat rather than scattered over a wide area. 10-15 snares within a quarter-mile of a productive pond, brush pile cluster, or mast crop is more effective than 10-15 snares spread across 5 miles.

Check daily. A caught animal decomposes quickly in warm weather. An animal that escapes the snare can lose a limb and die uselessly. Check at first light, every morning without fail.

Reset immediately. A productive location often catches again the same night.

Camouflage your footprints. Avoid stepping on the trail near the snare. Animals avoid areas of human scent. Approach from the side.