Quote:
Originally Posted by H380
Keg , I've painted snares white and tan as well as some with just baking soda. For me I won't paint any more white , yes they work great when the snow is around but unless you plan on changing them out after the recent chinook we had , you just as well have lights on them The white ones stand out real bad now . I like the tan colored ones better than just baking soda because soda ones still have a bit of shine to them . A ll tan next year with maybe a splash of gray thrown in to break up the circle. I talked with the guy from Dakotaline and he says even tho the dye works good to cover , don't use it on 1/16 snares as it has a tendency to gum the locks .
|
I like the tan idea. Thirty years ago we didn't have a lot of options but now there is some real good flat camo paint available.
Where I trapped there wasn't a lot of grass but there was plenty of brush. Willows, Alders, Berry Bushes and second growth. It was relatively easy to camouflage a snare in among the twigs if it were dull gray but I can sure imagine that tan would be a far better color anywhere south of Westlock.
If I wanted a darker snare I would sink them in a muskeg or rank beaver pond for a week or two. I did the same with my traps.
Some beaver ponds did a better job of blackening a trap then any commercial product, and Beaver water, (sewer) is a very natural smell just about anywhere. And it's a strong enough smell to drown lesser smells like well worn gloves or even bare hands.
I found that only some beaver ponds are good for this, but once I found one that worked I never had to worry about there not being enough and there was no clean up to do after my snares/traps were treated.
I also waxed traps and snares I intended to use for Fox, Coyote or Wolves.
Then I would hang them to air out.
The way I figured it, one Coyote/Fox/wolf that backs out of a snare or digs out a trap is one educated critter that could come back to haunt me.
Besides, the next animal that comes along may also get an education if I haven't fixed the set in the mean time.
I don't know how much Coyote and Fox learn from each other but I know very well that Wolves do and they learn a lot that way.
Back around 1985 a young wolf stuck his nose into one of my Marten boxes. That trap must have really stung his nose cause he jumped backward about fifteen feet. For the next several years any wolf following my trails would stop in it's tracks when it saw one of my Marten boxes and they it or they as the case may be, would do a huge detour around my box.
My big brother had a similar thing happen on his line.
I don't know if Coyotes would learn the same way but I wasn't about to chance it.