Snares and Traps (for food)

Anyone have any kind of experience using snares or traps to hunt with? I have many diagrams in my Armed Forces FM's--but I've never attempted to setup a trapline.

Apparently, it's much more of an art than I ever anticipated. One must size the snare/trap just right to match the desired animal--as well as look for "game trails" that are commonly used by animals.

Fishing and trapping, and knowing the edible plants of your area could be a lifesaver.

spend a few days walking in the woods looking down alot and you will see the trails clearly. Ive used snares many times and it really is an art. An art that ime not good at. My daughter however has never failed, and my son is catching up. Learning well from big sis.

I live in a very Arctic climate (Alaska) and it seems that in the winter time, trappers used trap lines almost exclusivley via snowshoes to sustain themselves...(in addition to any smoked/frozen/preserved foods)...

I have no doubt i'll be able to find rabbit or fox trails...I'm just not sure on how to get the "human scent" off the wire and to what exact size/placement I need to be aiming for.

I've searched the 'net high and low and found only minimal info. It seems this art of survival is 'nowdays taught via person-to-person.

I look to the native Inuit people's for inspiration. I encourage everyone in their location to study the "native people's habits" in order to assess what needs to be done to survive from nothing but the land itself.

It's a very unfortunate fact of life that some skills need to be practiced to be perfected.

It's even more unfortunate that some skills can't legally/morally be practiced outside of situations that necessitate extreme measures.

The game warden doesn't take kindly to it if you attempt to set traps in the national forest. Additionally, while cats, chipmunks, and squirrels are pretty good practice when it comes to snares, your neighbors will form a posse and take you out if you practice your skills in a residential neighborhood.

There's no good place to practice these skills live, unless you're in a real survival situation and you have some excuse.

That said, you can practice constructing them in the privacy of your home/backyard and it's perfectly legal, but if you don't know how they function/fail you're going to have some nasty surprises.

There are dozens and dozens of traps, but if you know how to construct a handful of them, you'll be alright. Become intimately familiar with just a few, and have at least a working knowledge of a few more. The best ones for a survival situation, IMO, are the ones that require little time to set up, few materials, and don't have any complications in the construction/setup.

My personal favorite would have to be the squirrel snare - it's just a noose fashioned out of snare wire, left loose and attached to a branch or piece of wood that's then leaned up against a tree. You put several of the nooses around the branch, and any squirrel running up the branch has a good chance of running through the noose, which tightens around the critter. They scramble, drop off the branch, and squirm untll you show up to 'release' them.

The same thing can be done at the entrance/exit to rabbit/varmint burrows.

Another easy trap to construct involves a fallen log across a game trail. You either find one or place one, then dig a small hole on one side of the obstacle or the other. Once you've got a hole, you can place a ring of sharpened sticks (points inward) over the hole, and loop a noose so that it will tighten when something steps in the trap and pulls away.

Both of these are relatively easy to throw together with nothing but a knife and some snare wire. In a pinch you can use strips of clothing.

But obviously they're both quite cruel, (most traps, if not all, are quite cruel) and should never be used outside of a survival situation. Frankly, I value my life over any animal's comfort, but that's just me. If it's not a life or death situation, you shouldn't be messing with anything that can cause so much suffering.

So, you see what I mean when I say it's not something you can necessarily practice in civilization, without serious consequences.

Survival fishing, on the other hand, can and should be practiced while you have the chance. If you're going fishing next weekend, try doing it with nothing but some loose line, a few hooks, and whatever you can find for bait (sometimes you can get a bite just using a tiny strip of cloth). You can also try drag fishing - using the hook like a..well, a hook, snagging the fish out of the water instead of waiting them to bite the hook (I think that's legal).

Try making your own hooks, with a bit of wire, or some wood. Try chop fishing at night, with a flashlight, or if you're feeling particularly feisty, try fish tickling - it's the process of fishing with your bare hands. You've got to be slow, and patient, but it can be done.

Anyway, trap construction is a very valuable survival skill, but it's difficult to perfect outside of a survival situation. Are there still some states that allow hunting with traps? Do they have to be certified cruelty-free or something?

Here's a simple, easy trap that works for birds and small animals. It doesn't harm the creature so can be legally and safely tested, even in your back yard. (I used to make them with my friends as a kid, so I know it works)

it's the simple cage/stick/string design.

1. Build a frame out of wood. Make it into a cage, without a bottom, by adding chickenwire/netting.woven grass etc.
2. Prop it up with a stick, and place bait/food etc underneath.
3. attach a long piece of string to the stick, take the other end of the string, and go hide!
4. pull the string when the animal/bird is underneath eating the food.
5. voila! One trapped animal!

AS you'd imagine this can take a lot of patience, but it works great with birds, and with small animals too as long as you're quick once you've trapped it. Animals like rabbits and the like tend to be able to dig or scramble their way out pretty fast so you have to get to them quickly.

One could make practice even safer for the animal by padding the lower rim of the cage with soft material, placing it on a soft or grassy surface, and leaving off the chicken wire so it can freely run off. Even a plain old plastic hula hoop can be used. If you manage to drop it round the animal, you can count that as a "kill". You'll still learn about the bast locations, baits, hiding places and times of day to hunt like this.




[edit on 18-12-2006 by nowthenlookhere]

Oh and while we're at it, here's my super humane mouse trap design..again, tried and tested!.

1. take a large sweet jar... the foot high, one gallon type they have behind the counter in a traditional sweetshop.
2. prob it up at a 45 degree angle with some books.
3. grease the inside with sunflower/vegetable oil. ( i found sunflower oil worked best.. maybe it's the smell?)
4. put some sunflower seeds, grains etc at the bottom of the jar, and a small trail of them up the book "steps".
5. Go to bed, and wake up to find a greasy mouse at the bottom of the jar!

Don't laugh.. it works! I've recovered lost hamsters too that way


[edit on 18-12-2006 by nowthenlookhere]

This method works well for killing birds like geese, ducks, and pigeons that are accustomed to being around humans in cities and parks. It works like a charm and requires very little in the way of tools.

You'll need a bit of bread, grain, seeds, corn, etc.........
Pretty much anything your target will eat.

The Canada Goose will walk right up to you if you have some food, and the same goes for most good sized birds that live in urban areas. Hell, if your hungry even a gull or crow can become a meal.
Crows can be pretty smart though, and they're fast.

The only other tool you need is a heavy stick, branch, board, etc....
Anything you have handy that's about 3-4 feet long and has enough weight to it that it will maim the bird enough for you to catch it after one swing.

Gain the birds trust with the food and swing as hard and fast as possible, you may only get one chance.


Another simple tool for catching urban birds is a 6 X 6 foot fishing net with a few lead sinkers attached around the edge for weight. You simply throw it over the bird once you've gained its trust with the food.
But again, speed is important, and your net needs to be thrown down and away from you because the bird will try to go in that direction when you make the sudden move.


And like any trapping method, these should be practiced before you really need it.
Large cities could be without food for a long time after the world goes to hell and your ability to catch the local game may be your only chance to feed yourself.

Originally posted by WyrdeOne



Survival fishing, on the other hand, can and should be practiced while you have the chance. If you're going fishing next weekend, try doing it with nothing but some loose line, a few hooks, and whatever you can find for bait (sometimes you can get a bite just using a tiny strip of cloth). You can also try drag fishing - using the hook like a..well, a hook, snagging the fish out of the water instead of waiting them to bite the hook (I think that's legal).

In my area Snagging as its called is not legal thanks to PETA

Try making your own hooks, with a bit of wire, or some wood. Try chop fishing at night, with a flashlight, or if you're feeling particularly feisty, try fish tickling - it's the process of fishing with your bare hands. You've got to be slow, and patient, but it can be done.

When Fish tickling, stand in water above your waste but below your chest in a area ware there are pan fish. Spit in the water, the thicker the saliva the better. hold your hand a little ways below the saliva. The fish will come up to investagate the saliva. If you quick you got yorself a fish.

Anyway, trap construction is a very valuable survival skill, but it's difficult to perfect outside of a survival situation. Are there still some states that allow hunting with traps? Do they have to be certified cruelty-free or something?

Trapping in my area is still legal with a license its called a fur harvesters license Generally its done with spring loaded leg traps that close hard and fast on the leg of the animal breaking it. As a kid We couldn't afford jaw traps so I used homemade traps when we got enough pelts we sold them and I invested in jaw traps. I found them more cruil then my homemade traps. So I went back to using my home made traps. that way no broken bones I decided if the animal lives or dies. If I decided life I set the animal loose and they scampered away unharmed. In a spring trap the leg is broken and all odds are if you set the animal loose it will die. So if you are in a area that still allows fur harvesting I recommend using homemade leg snares. not jaw traps. they are more humane if your only doing it for practice, not food or fur.

opps posted twice stupid WIFI could a mod deleat this second post please or tell me how to do it

[edit on 18-12-2006 by angryamerican]

Try looking up " noodling" or "grappling" for cat fish. It wont do you any good in Alaska though but it is fun to watch