Snared Hog

Managed to snare a hog this morning, I think my loop was too big and ended up with just his back legs getting caught. I am after a big boar hog that won't go in a trap so I will keep at it.

Keep after em

Snaring a big boar by the snout is an exciting thing to experience

I have thought about trying snares for some time, but have been scared off by my fear of catching deer in them. Is it just a matter of how you set the snares that makes them work only on hogs?

Caught one about the same size around the snout once. It was dead the next morning when we checked the snare. Guess it suffocated.

Use deer stops on your snares.

If you keep them low on a trail that is a known hog trail you are usually good. I have never snared a deer, yotes, foxes and hogs is about all.
There are deer trails in this area that the hogs use but I do know where the deer travel and slip into the woods and I stay off those trails.

That and careful placement.



I rarely catch non-target animals and have never caught a deer.

Yep.

Caught this one around the snout. He was very much alive and unhappy when I found him.

It gets a little Western when they are alive and big!

Our old lease was overrun with hogs we hunted trapped and eventually snared. After a while snaring was the biggest payoff. Several deer were killed though. Also caught many coyotes coons and porcupines. Big ones that were still alive is about as close to dangerous game on th charge as I will get. Fortunately our cables never broke when they needed to hold most!

Flintknapper....that must have been a pretty exciting experience with that large guy in the snare !! I have a box of snares in my garage that a friend gave me and have some trails where they should be productive. I guess maybe I will have to give them a try...

HAHAHA, I spit coffee all over the place on that one!! Oh man, I bet it gets spirited for sure!!!

Fence crossings and trails are good places to set snares. Typically, I put a game camera on the area I plan to place a snare first. That way...I can confirm it is hogs (or mostly hogs) that are using it AND I get an idea of the size of the hog and whether or not a mature hog is in the lead or little ones. You'll want to adjust the size of your loop and height placement accordingly.

At fence crossings I will place dead limbs in a 'Vee' shape right before the snare to help direct their movement into the snare. When you consider the relatively small size of the snare loop and the fact that a hogs heads needs to go inside of it (not brush along side it) you have to be pretty precise. Deer more often jump a fence rather than go under it, but it just depends on the location. If you see fence crossings with ONLY hog tracks underneath it (and hair on the wire) then it's a pretty safe bet no extra measures are needed to avoid catching something other than the hog.

You can place objects around and over the trail if needed to discourage deer from using it. Hogs will push right through it.

I don't like to set up snares at terminal sites (water holes, bait station, bedding area). The reason for this is that when hogs approach these areas...they will generally slow down and either surveil the area of approach it with caution. We don't want that since snares work best when an animal goes through them briskly. Under most conditions..hogs travel more quickly at night so consider where they are going at that time and set your snares in those areas.

Check snares as early the next day as conditions allow. Any hogs that have not been dispatched by the snare will definitely start pulling/fighting against it. A big hog will eventually twist or kink the cable enough to break it, even when using swivels.

And don't underestimate the power of a Feral Hog, anchor your snares to something stout.

^^^^

But they CAN, so always approach with extreme caution. Until you get right up on the animal you can't see if your cable has been twisted or kinked. If there is much slack left in the cable a hog can strain it pretty good. A hog only needs 2 or 3 jumps to be up to full speed and popping a compromised cable (or the cable stop) is a very real possibility.

I can count on one hand the number of live hogs that tried to run the other way when I approached, versus those that wanted in your back pocket. Always take a firearm and shoot from a distance if they are still alive.

The worst ways to catch them in descending order are:

1. Around the neck AND one leg slipped through.
2. Around the upper snout only (mouth was open when they went through).
3. Around both the upper snout and lower mandible. (they make less noise this way...but are plenty lively).

Lastly....only use snares with a Cam Lock ( will not loosen or relax the cable) IF your intent is to let the snare kill the animal. Other types of locks are unreliable or bend when big hogs are caught.