I may state that I learned all the best ways of setting traps for fox long ago from an old trapper, says A. H. Sutherland, of Nova Scotia. But I never bothered setting a trap for a fox in my life, for the reason that I can catch them with snares on bare ground much easier and cheaper than with traps. But on snow if I could get fox to take bait, I would try poison on him. I may add that the snare is good for other animals besides the fox, such as coon, skunk and wild cat.
Go to a hardware store and get some rabbit wire and put about five strands of it together, and twist it just enough so that it will stay together nicely. Have a small loop on both ends and run one end through the other so as to make a noose of it. Next get some good twine, put a piece about 10 or 12 inches in length into the loop on the end of the snare, that is, the end that is going to be fastened.
Now find a path in an old clearing or in the woods, and select a place where you think best to set your snare. Cut a stake about 2 feet long and 1 1/2 inches through, have a limb on the butt end of it almost 3/4 inch in length. Sharpen the small end of the stake and drive it in the ground, leaving about 10 or 12 inches above ground; then cut a nice little pole about an inch and a half at the butt end and sharpen it, trim off at about an inch at the top end and fasten your snare, or at least take your pole in both hands and force the butt end into the ground till it will be good and firm.
Now bend down your pole and fasten your snare to it, and put the end of the pole under the catch on the stake. Be sure to drive your stake close enough to the path so as to have your snare light about the center of the path and the lower side of the snare about 8 inches from the ground. It is best to have them high enough so the fox cannot jump over them. Of course a man must use good judgment at setting snares just the same as he would in setting traps.
Another good place is a brush fence. Find holes under it where the fox will be going through, put your snare there, and if there are any going you will have some of them. Next find a good stream in the woods or anywhere frequented by foxes, and if you find good trees that fall across the stream have a good sharp axe and give a good slash or two of the axe about the middle of the tree, or at least above the middle of the brook. As I was going to say, give a good slash or two of the axe lengthwise of the tree and make a wedge shape stake and drive it into the tree, and then fasten your snare to a spring pole. If you prefer, you could bore an auger hole in the log and drive your pin in that way, and fasten the snare to the pin about 10 or 12 inches from the log so that the snare will hang downwards, it will do better. Be sure and have the lower side of snare 7 or 8 inches from the log.
THE WIRE LOOP.
Now there is another kind of brass or copper wire that one strand will be enough to hold a fox. If you find that they are cutting your snares put little rollers of wood in the snare boring a hole lengthwise with a 3/8 bit, and have the roller almost 5 inches long and say an inch in diameter. Put that on snare so it will run down to the side of his neck, and he will keep biting at it.