Watch: DIY Powered Foot Snare Using Common Materials

When the SHTF and it all goes to hell, we still gotta eat. Stored rations are fine for a while, but they’re not really sustainable and will certainly start to get old fast. What then? Trapping might be a great solution.

In this video, an Alabama trapper talks about powered foot snares and describes how you can build your own — and deploy it successfully. Similar storebought snares cost roughly $40 each, which is a fine reason to employ some DIY.

These snares beat traditional traps in that the animal will probably still be alive (and thus the meat fresh) when you get to it, and if you caught the wrong critter, there’s a chance you can free it without having to snuff it.

This version uses a rubber exercise band for “power” together with some cable and 11 gauge trap wire, plus a nail and some fishing line or light cord.

He starts out with the trigger, which is the most important part of the entire thing. It needs to be shaped just right and be able to move freely about the nail on which it pivots. Next, we learn about the spring or stretch band that powers the snare.

This looks like a great system, that can be adapted to work with various materials. It might even work with big game like deer or hogs if you find yourself in a long-term survival situation.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.