Trapping Basics 101

TRAPS AND SNARES- BASIC 101

For an unarmed survivor or evader, or when the sound of a rifle shot could be a problem, trapping or snaring wild game is a good alternative. Several well-placed traps have the potential to catch much more game than a man with a rifle is likely to shoot.

To be effective with any type of trap or snare, you must—

• Be familiar with the species of animal you intend to catch.
• Be capable of constructing a proper trap and properly masking your scent.
• Not alarm the prey by leaving signs of your presence.

There are no catchall traps you can set for all animals. You must determine what species are in the area and set your traps specifically with those animals in mind.

Look for the following:

• Runs and trails.
• Tracks.
• Droppings.
• Chewed or rubbed vegetation.
• Nesting or roosting sites.
• Feeding and watering areas.

Position your traps and snares where there is proof that animals pass through. You must determine if it is a "run" or a "trail." A trail will show signs of use by several species and will be rather distinct. A run is usually smaller and less distinct and will only contain signs of one species.

You may construct a perfect snare, but it will not catch anything if haphazardly placed in the woods. Animals have bedding areas, water holes, and feeding areas with trails leading from one to another. You must place snares and traps around these areas to be effective.

If you are in a hostile environment, trap and snare concealment is important. However, it is equally important not to create a disturbance that will alarm the animal and cause it to avoid the trap.

Therefore, if you must dig, remove all fresh dirt from the area. Most animals will instinctively avoid a pitfall-type trap. Prepare the various parts of a trap or snare away from the site, carry them in, and set them up. Such actions make it easier to avoid disturbing the local vegetation, thereby alerting the prey.

Do not use freshly cut, live vegetation to construct a trap or snare. Freshly cut vegetation will "bleed" sap that has an odor the prey will be able to smell. It is an alarm signal to the animal.

MASKING HUMAN ODOR:

You must remove or mask the human scent on and around the trap you set. Although birds do not have a developed sense of smell, nearly all mammals depend on smell even more than on sight. Even the slightest human scent on a trap will alarm the prey and cause it to avoid the area.

Actually removing the scent from a trap is difficult but masking it is relatively easy. Use the fluid from the gall and urine bladders of previous kills. Do not use human urine. Mud, particularly from an area with plenty of rotting vegetation, is also good.

Use it to coat your hands when handling the trap and to coat the trap when setting it. In nearly all parts of the world, animals know the smell of burned vegetation and smoke. It is only when a fire is actually burning that they become alarmed.

Therefore, smoking the trap parts is an effective means to mask your scent. If one of the above techniques is not practical, and if time permits, allow a trap to weather for a few days and then set it. Do not handle a trap while it is weathering.

When you position the trap, camouflage it as naturally as possible to prevent detection by the enemy and to avoid alarming the prey.

FUNNELING:

Traps or snares placed on a trail or run should use funneling or channelization. To build a channel, construct a funnel-shaped barrier extending from the sides of the trail toward the trap, with the narrowest part nearest the trap.

Channelization should be inconspicuous to avoid alerting the prey. As the animal gets to the trap, it cannot turn left or right and continues into the trap. Few wild animals will back up, preferring to face the direction of travel. Channelization does not have to be an impassable barrier.

You only have to make it inconvenient for the animal to go over or through the barrier. For best effect, the channelization should reduce the trail's width to just slightly wider than the targeted animal's body.

Maintain this constriction at least as far back from the trap as the animal's body length, then begin the widening toward the mouth of the funnel.

USE OF BAIT:

Baiting a trap or snare increases your chances of catching an animal. When catching fish, you must bait nearly all the devices. Success with an unbaited trap depends on its placement in a good location. A baited trap can actually draw animals to it. The bait should be something the animal knows.

However, this bait should not be so readily available in the immediate area that the animal can get it close by. For example, baiting a trap with corn in the middle of a cornfield would not be likely to work. Likewise, if corn is not grown in the region, a corn-baited trap may arouse an animal's curiosity and keep it alerted while it ponders the strange food. Under such circumstances it may not go for the bait.

One bait that works well on small mammals is the peanut butter from a meal, ready-to-eat (MRE) ration. Salt is also a good bait. When using such baits, scatter bits of it around the trap to give the prey a chance to sample it and develop a craving for it. The animal will then overcome some of its caution before it gets to the trap.

If you set and bait a trap for one species but another species takes the bait without being caught, try to determine what the animal was. Then set a proper trap for that animal, using the same bait.

NOTE: Once you have successfully trapped an animal, you will not only gain confidence in your ability, you will also have resupplied yourself with bait for several more traps.

CONSTRUCTION:

Traps and snares crush, choke, hang, or entangle the prey. A single trap or snare will commonly incorporate two or more of these principles. The mechanisms that provide power to the trap are usually very simple. The struggling victim, the force of gravity, or a bent sapling's tension provides the power.

The heart of any trap or snare is the trigger. When planning a trap or snare, ask yourself how it should affect the prey, what is the source of power, and what will be the most efficient trigger.

Your answers will help you devise a specific trap for a specific species. Traps are designed to catch and hold or to catch and kill. Snares are traps that incorporate a noose to accomplish either function.

Stay Prepared! Stay Alive!


Charlie

Small Game Noose Snares

Simple Small Game Noose Snare

Quail Snare

Squirrel Pole Noose Snare

Funneling Game

A simple snare consists of a noose placed over a trail or den hole and attached to a firmly planted stake or bush limb. If the noose is some type of cordage placed upright on a game trail, use small twigs or blades of grass to hold it up.

Filaments from spider webs are excellent for holding nooses open. Make sure the noose is large enough to pass freely over the animal's head. As the animal continues to move, the noose tightens around its neck. The more the animal struggles, the tighter the noose gets.

This type of snare usually does not kill the animal. If you use cordage, it may loosen enough to slip off the animal's neck. Wire is therefore the best choice for a simple snare.


Squirrel Pole:


A squirrel pole is a long pole placed against a tree in an area showing a lot of squirrel activity and uses the simple noose technique. Place several wire nooses along the top and sides of the pole so that a squirrel trying to go up or down the pole will have to pass through one or more of them.

Position the nooses 2 to 2 1/4-inches in diameter about 1 inch off the pole. Place the top and bottom wire nooses 18 inches from the top and bottom of the pole to prevent the squirrel from getting its feet on a solid surface. If this happens, the squirrel will chew through the wire.

Squirrels are naturally curious. After an initial period of caution, they will try to go up or down the pole and will be caught in the noose. The struggling animal will soon fall from the pole and strangle. Other squirrels will soon be drawn to the commotion. In this way, you can catch several squirrels. You can set up multiple poles to increase the catch.

When placing snares on game trails or near holes, place them in area where there are naturally occurring funnels.  If there are no naturally occurring funnels, make some.  See the diagram above labeled funneling technique. Also, read the post on snare 101 for baiting and scenting information.

Stay Prepared! Stay Alive!

Charlie

Improvised Wooden Knife

When you hear the words "wooden knife"- what comes to mind? To me it used to be something I made and played with as young boy, not knowing it's potential deadliness. Now when I hear the words "wooden knife", I know it is something that could save my life in a wilderness or urban survival situation.

When I was a young and handsome boy, I was only allowed a pocket knife, one which could cut and cause wounds, but would require a lot of strength and skill to kill a person or large animal. But, with that small knife I was able to whittle larger knives and put fancy rope handles on them. I made wooden knives large enough to kill with little skill needed.

With my small knife, I was able to make bows, arrows, spears, darts, boats, forts (which we survivalist now call shelters) and other things to play with as boys my age liked to do.

Now put this same life experience into a survival situation where the only cutting tool you have is a small pocket knife with about a 2-3 inch blade. I would not want to try and fend off a charging wild pig with a small pocket knife, especially in a close quarters situation, like waking up in your survival shelter with one staring you in the face to see if you are potential food or not.

With a wooden knife the size of a Bowie knife, you have a much better chance of surviving a close quarters incident. True, you may have a spear, but how fast can you grab it with a two hundred pound Javelina named Godzilla getting ready to use you as a play toy! Think about it...

Stay Prepared! Stay Alive!

Charlie