Good advise.
Do you just toss the snares into a pot of water & leaves for a few weeks to stain or what’s the staining process without boiling?

I have found that
a quick 5 minutes or less boil with baking soda will remove excessive lubricant and shine, then a quick boil and soak in a light logwood crystal solution will provide a good twig/bark colouring look as in this picture, with the lower snare being the soda treatment versus the logwood soak. You could probably substitute walnut hulls or tree bark for the colouring agent. Snares treated in this way are scent free, work just like untreated snares and generally blend in very well to the background bush, from the coyote’s point of view.

No, it done by using a pile of WET Oak leaves , not a pot of water.
You need the tannins to BLEED on the cable.
That's what stains it !
Watch what happens after a rain, when a wet leaf falls, then LAYS on your vehicle.
Look at the paint, just in 24-48 hours.
The color of the leaf is bleeding out and will leave an imprint.
That's what stains the cable. The color is bleeding out. . .
If that doesn't make sense, pick up the phone and call me and I'll explain it.

* Cold soaking
Now that is done USING A POT OF Rain water
No heating.
Black walnut and similar hulls, will stain 7 X & cable
Now that's 7X7 Galvanized, NOT 1X19 or stainless.
Also ,Cider Vinegar will take the shiny finish off of cable as well as ferules and locks.

Makes sense, that’s the camo for my truck…lol. Is it worth it to collect leaves right now before everything’s covered in snow? Or would the color be leached out from the fall rains/snow melt? Could probably spread a damp layer in a cardboard box, lay the snares, and cover with another damp layer for a few days.

bctomcat, thanks for the snare pictures. I also have used the same methods for coyote & bobcat snares.

On the top snare, Soak Method, the lock and ferrules are still too shiny imho. A little shot of camo paint on the lock area would help it blend in better.

The bottom snare, Boiled in Baking Soda, has a nice dull look to it. This method has worked very well for many western trappers. I like snares!

I do not remove anything from my snares. I build them, load them, paint them, store them, use them. I spray paint my snares with flat camo paint, usually camo brown on the bottoms and tops of the loops and khaki or green on the sides. A light coat of paint, but enough of a coat for coverage. The extension cable end just gets whatever color paint it gets.

If I am building a good number of snares, I’ll line the locks out on a board, prime them, paint them, then put them in my box. I even usually paint my earth anchors. Necessary? Absolutely, positively not. I do it to keep my locks and anchors shine and rust free. If I end up using a beaver snare as an extension anchored snare, I don’t want to have a shiny fang just sitting there. It doesn’t take long to do. They still fire well.

Good information and ideas.