Posted: 1/1/2013 9:45:39 AM EDT
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I'm not much of a survivalist but I have recently started some pretty basic steps towards disaster preparedness, ammo fort, bugout bag, stockpile of canned goods. The more I do the more interested I get.
One area where I'm lacking is basic wilderness survival skills. I am now particularly interested in learning primitive trapping as I see that as a valuable skill to have if needed. I've watched a bunch of youtube videos and have practiced making dead falls, spring snares and the like. Most of these traps employ a toggle or dog bone trigger system. I'm looking for ideas for different traps especially the triggers, any that maybe you have came up with yourself or any good resources for ideas on the subject would be appreciated. |
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There was a user on here a while back that made and sold very good quality basic snares. If my search fu wasn't so weak, I would fine out if he still makes and sells them. Snares are the easiest route to go, very few parts and you are able to place/remove them quickly and easily.
If you are rural, find a local trapper and spend a season or two with them and learn the ropes. A half a dozen conniber traps goes a long way to putting food on the table if you have to. |
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+1 on that.
Local trappers, while getting scarce, are still around. Check out GoGoVarmintGo message board as well. Very nice bunch of fellas and there's still a few cats hanging around that actually still do that for fun & profit. Any store that sells real trapping gear is a great place to go if there's one near. Good luck to ya, sir.. d:^) |
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Trapping for food and pelts are 2 very different things.
Trapping for food, one can do very well for themselves for a short while with snares. You can pick up a dozen or for $15-$20. I would recommend trapping and area of about 10 acres with 2-3 dozen snares. Your prey will be rabbit, squirrels, raccoon, and other small game. Numbers are very plentiful and they repopulate themselves very easily. That being said after a year or so of trapping a 10 acre area you can easily eradicate populations of rabbits and squirrels. So make sure you rotate trapping areas every spring. If trapping for food survival going after larger game like coyote and cats is not the route to go. One they are terrible eating, two they are very difficult to catch even for a seasoned trapper, three there are not enough of those types of predators around to sustain you, so once you trap them out they are gone. |
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I agree that modern traps like the conibear, snares and power snares and such are the way to go and if I can maintain access to them then by all means that is the route I am going if I get into a situation where food is scarce. Anyway now that this has been brought up stocking up on a few more of these just to have ahead of time is not a bad idea.
I was thinking more along the lines of a lost, or stranded type scenario where I had no access to modern traps. Having the ability to create traps with materials collected from out in the bush. |
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I agree that modern traps like the conibear, snares and power snares and such are the way to go and if I can maintain access to them then by all means that is the route I am going if I get into a situation where food is scarce. Anyway now that this has been brought up stocking up on a few more of these just to have ahead of time is not a bad idea. I was thinking more along the lines of a lost, or stranded type scenario where I had no access to modern traps. Having the ability to create traps with materials collected from out in the bush. Dead falls and pits will be your best bet. Even better the combination dead fall pit trap works well. I have never tried one because it would be incredibly cruel to kill an animal that way, but in survival all bets are off. Trap that I have heard works the best is a pit dug 2-2.5 feet down and 12-14 inches in diameter. Sapling (must be green wood) sticks slightly larger than pencil diameter 6-8 inches long sharpened to a point and a barb notched into the stick. Cover the hole with a small end of a branch (make sure none of the twigs on the branch are larger than a tooth pick, also the drier the better do not use green wood stick them i the ground at the bottom of the pit. Cover the hole with leaves. Place in the middle of a well used bunny trail. Build a funnel in both directions to the covered hole. Set a dead fall with a flat or round rock, make sure the rock is 4-5 inches smaller than the hole. The pit should be enough but the rock will help keep any critter down on the hole until it expires. Again I don't recommend the above method unless it is an emergency. It takes way too long for the animal to die and they don't die a clean death. Fish traps can be made as well. Reads and nice green wood can make a very strong basket. Make a basket with a funnel in it maybe place some bait in it. Night crawlers, grubs, etc, work great just sprinkle above the fish trap and they will float down in it. |
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I have always been interested in this style of bird trap. I first saw it in a book a few years ago. Birds of all sizes tend to be plentiful and move around a lot, seems like this trap when properly made could likely get you a little protein. http://www.thecampfire.co.za/run/images/stories/primitive_trap_05.jpg Neat idea! |
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Dead falls and pits will be your best bet. Even better the combination dead fall pit trap works well. I have never tried one because it would be incredibly cruel to kill an animal that way, but in survival all bets are off. Yes this knowledge is for survival only situations. Lots of ways to test and simulate with out actual critters. |
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I have always been interested in this style of bird trap. I first saw it in a book a few years ago. Birds of all sizes tend to be plentiful and move around a lot, seems like this trap when properly made could likely get you a little protein. http://www.thecampfire.co.za/run/images/stories/primitive_trap_05.jpg Neat idea! I can see that working great and it would not be that time or resource consuming to build several. |
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I have always been interested in this style of bird trap. I first saw it in a book a few years ago. Birds of all sizes tend to be plentiful and move around a lot, seems like this trap when properly made could likely get you a little protein. http://www.thecampfire.co.za/run/images/stories/primitive_trap_05.jpg Neat idea! I can see that working great and it would not be that time or resource consuming to build several. That is the Ojibwa bird snare. I used to use it when I was a kid, and it does work. Used to use a hand drill to bore the hole. |
| If it ever comes to it, I'm sure that I can put far more deer in the pot with snares than by hunting. Deer paths are easy enough to find, add a snare across a few of these paths, and it shouldn't be long until you find a deer caught in one. Doesn't have to be fancy either. Same goes for waterfowl. Wasting shotshells on waterfowl, and potentially alerting every hungry person around to your location seems risky. There are tons of Canadian geese around here year round, and some netting staked down with loops tied all over near a water source ought to get me plenty of ducks and geese. Of course I can pop them with suppressed .22s too. |
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I have always been interested in this style of bird trap. I first saw it in a book a few years ago. Birds of all sizes tend to be plentiful and move around a lot, seems like this trap when properly made could likely get you a little protein. http://www.thecampfire.co.za/run/images/stories/primitive_trap_05.jpg That looks great. I accidentally trapped a bunch of robins as a kid. My brother and I had made WWI trenches for our plastic army men, complete with "barb wire" made from thread from my mom's sewing kit. Well, when I left the house in the morning for school the next day, there were at least 10 robins tangled in the stuff. Easy pickins. |