Trapping for survival

I have just started to trap animals. I guess I should say trying to trap animals because I haven't been able to get any yet. What I have started with is a 110 conibear, a 120 conibear, a #2 leg hold and a #1 1/2 leg hold.

I have (3) 220 conibears, two duke dog proof raccoon traps and (12) 110 conibears coming in the mail.

What I'm trapping for right now is mostly just for practice and to get a couple of bucks to buy more supplies. I'm trying to trap for raccoon, skunk, coyote and fox.

This winter I plan to trap for raccoon, muskrat, squirrel, rabbit, coyote, fox, mink and skunk

I have built a cubby box for a 120 conibear and plan on building some for the 220 conibears. I tried using a dirt hole set but didn't have any luck. There are many raccoons and skunks around the area and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'm using baits that come highly recomended from many people on the internet.

Are there any trappers out there on ATS, and if so, do you have and tips/suggestions for me?

I would like as much help as possible, because I plan to trap all winter and it is fast approaching.

Thanks for you help

if you're trapping for survival? you need to get a bunch of large wood and spring rat traps and nail them to the trees about 6ft off the ground and put peanut butter on them. squirrels love peanut better

you tube has hundreds of videos on trapping and survival, you might interest yourself to check them out. you'll most likely learn more there than in here.

In SERE School, we were taught that you had to set at least 15 snares to hope that one would actually catch an animal.

reply to post by aliengenes


I've been watching a lot of youtube videos on trapping. They are very helpful.

I plan on trying to trap for squirrels but I can't until sept 1.

reply to post by jerico65


I plan on making or buying a couple of doz snares for small animals and using them this winter when it is eaiser to spot trails made by these animals.

good cheap snares can be made from 18" stainless steel fishing leaders.

just clip off the end of the hook release and leave a little sharp point sticking out, then loop the leader through itself and place the loop through a known rabbit run and pin it to the ground. sometimes i use an extra length of para cord on the tail end so it lets them break their own necks when they hit the end of the noose.

I actually have better luck just waiting until dusk with my pump pellet gun, because they all come out in openings to feed

Watch your smell!
Animals really can pick out the human scent, and they know what it means when they find it in their part of town.
Also animals are much more active around the full and new moon.
the above even applies to fishing too...

In winter I hang out where there is open water where everything else is frozen on nights of the full moon...down wind of the water in a tree with a clear view...everything comes out then...

keep trying

pS i am a big fan of pump air 22 cal pellet guns as well...
on anything smaller than geese
I use un wound guitar strings - .09 to .013 electric

[edit on 22-8-2010 by Danbones]

[edit on 22-8-2010 by Danbones]

reply to post by SUICIDEHK45

I guess I should say trying to trap animals because I haven't been able to get any yet.

I am not even going to ask...


I have however been watching a lot of man vs wild recently and learnt a lot of trapping techniques (non of which I have put to test yet lol).

I used to subscribe to Fur, Fish, and Game magazine. From before my father's generation it has been the best magazine for trappers. It is a small magazine, but devoted to trapping.

I used to trap quite a bit, but haven't in several years. I always found fencelines to be the best locations for snares, finding trails where animals are funneled into an easily accessible gap in the fence.

Also, if you have water sources, such as creeks, streams or ponds, I used tin foil on the trigger plates of my steel traps and placed them in shallow water. The moonlight glistened on the foil and attracted curious racoons. It was much cheaper than bait, also.

fresh cedar twigs bunched up in a brown paper sack works great for dehumanizing your traps and gear. just toss them in and shake the bag around and let stand overnight. you can even wrap small cedar branches around your shoes to help kill your scent. just be sure to leave a set of baseball batters gloves in the cedar bag so when you handle the traps you don't inadvertently add human scent while setting them up

Originally posted by WTFover


I used tin foil on the trigger plates of my steel traps and placed them in shallow water. The moonlight glistened on the foil and attracted curious racoons. It was much cheaper than bait, also.

very smart

just like using goldfish 2 inches underwater on limb lines

reply to post by SUICIDEHK45


Fish Bait

This bait works well on fox, raccoon, possum, skunk, etc.

Chop up a medium sized fish and put it in a plain mason jar and add a little bit of water. Put lid on loosely, or just cover with a small pane of glass.

Put out in the strong sunlight and allow to decompose for about ten days to two weeks. It will smell to high heaven, but that is what you want, and what the animals like. Use about 6-10 drops on your trap site. It works great.

Good luck.

Thanks for all of the great advice. I will definately be trying out all of your sugestions. I will keep you all updated on the results.

I think you should also practice the use of snares, as a small roll of wire is much easier to carry with you than a number of traps. Depending on your part of the country, rabbit snares will aslo catch partridge and grey squirrels. The much smaller red squirrel has a bitter taste that makes them almost inedible, due to their main diet of cedar seeds. Muskrats, squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs, raccoons and beaver are only a few of the smaller animals that are good to eat. You should also practice the setting of "deadfalls"... traps comprised of a log or good sized flat rock and propped up with a figure 4 type trigger to which you also attach the bait. There are even larger spiked "whip" typetraps that will bring down deer, but be careful as they are also "man killers". Even in practice, one should never waste what they may catch, and please be careful where you set your traps and snares, since you might end up catching someone's cat or dog. My 30 yrs old son has been spending time alone, sleeping in the bush and living off what he catches since the age of 10 yrs. Because of the way the world is heading, outdoors survival is definately good to know.
Good luck!

reply to post by SUICIDEHK45


This is going to be a long reply, just to warn you. I am a trapper, my dad was a trapper, and he was self taught, I have trapped in the Midwest, and now in Alaska. This is some very very basic trapping advice, if you have more specific questions, do ask, and I will do my best to answer in a forum such as this.

First. Fur fish and game used to be a great trapping magazine. As far as a magazine, subcribe to The Trapper and Predator Caller best out there for trappers.

Next, as others have stated, keep your scent away from your trapping area. Keep clean gloves only for setting traps, and wipe them often on spruce or pine trees. Dont smoke, spit, or do anything else that will put your scent on land. Below water line trapping it really doesnt matter.

Traps that are new will have manufactures oil and residue on them. All new traps (and old ones) should be waxed or dipped. Google trapping dips, or trapping wax. This will get rid of any human scent on them. Again, for water trapping, this can be skipped.

Talk with local, proven trappers. There is alot of small detail about how to set your pan triggers, how to not catch yourself in a conibear, areas, etc... that only locals can know.

About your target animals.

Squirrel. Set up small snare lines, I use piano or framing wire to make the snares, cut down a bunch of small sticks about 6-8 feet long, inch in diameter, tie your snares to them, place at 45% angles around trees, known squirrel locals, etc... I generally place 4-6 snares per pole, sometimes catch two or three on one pole, have caught weasels in these as well. I dont bait mine, but peanut butter would make sense. Same concept for rabbits, wait until they have started showing you where their trails are and hang snares all over the place. Be sure that the snare is guarded on either side forcing the rabbit through the snare. Its amazing to me, Ive been doing this for years, and they still find a way around or to trip my snares and escape, but you'll catch them eventually.

Coons. No coons up here, but in MI, I used the Grizz Getter Traps. Go to your area, push them in the ground, add bait (fish or something sweet) and then place a white styrofoam cup on top of the trap. Keeps the rain out, acts as a visual attractant and is easier to check to see if you have a catch.

Skunk. Why target skunks. If a skunk sprays, that area is going to be devoid of game for a good long time. However, if you go after them, they are very curious. Dirt holes in front of natural depressions, or manmade, such as culverts are very good.

Rats/Mink. I like small sets in the water, exposed, with fish bait and an attractant burried into the bank. You can make elaborate box sets for mink, but that seems like a good deal of work you dont need to do. Make sure you have your trap tied off to something heavy in the water. Concrete blocks work well if you cant find anything else. I have 1/2 inch chunks of plate steel with a hole punched in them. Should you choose to use your 110's for mink and rats, find natural channels, shouldnt be that hard, will be a water way about as wide as a mink. Set your trap in the middle, half above, half below the water, use sticks on both sides of the trap to ensure they must go through the connibear.

Fox/Coyote. Depending on where you are, I would highly reccommend hold off on predators until you are more comfortable with the basics. Get used to taking the "easy" animals, before attempting to outwit a coyote. I would even venture as far to say that going after beaver would be a better idea than predators.

Other things to keep in mind. Have a quick and HUMANE way to dispatch your catch. Have a way to let incidental catches go. Dogs bite and dont really like being caught in a trap, owls arent legal anywhere and are a nightmare to get out of a trap.

Glad to hear you are trying to learn this skill, even with early setbacks, read everything you can, go to trapping shows, ask lots of questions. Trappers are predominately a good bunch of people.

reply to post by salchanra


Thanks for all of your input. I will make sure to try to use all of your suggestions. I will still probably try to trap for coyote and fox, just because I always try to do the hardest thing first when I start something.

I just received lil grizz in the mail today. I plan on trying them out this week. I found an area very thick with coons and a farmer willing to let me trap on it. I read somewhere on the net that I wouldn't "need" to dip my traps if I boiled them in water just making sure to keep the traps off the heat source. Is this true?

I bought some Koon Kicker from Dakotaline snares and plan on trying it out with the lil grizz. Would it help to put some exposed fish around the trap or will the Koon Kicker be enough?

What kind of gloves do you suggest I use?

The area that I plan on trying for coon this week is an old abandoned farmstead with regular human traffic and many man made items in the area. What if the animals are somewhat used to human scent? Will the scent of the traps still scare them off?

After all of the suggestions about getting some snares I purchased some and will be trying them out this winter.

Once again thanks for all of your help

I set two Duke lil grizz coon traps last night, and when I checked the traps today I had a raccoon in one of them.

What I did was put some sheep's wool under the trigger of the trap, then I set the trap and soaked the wool with fish oil. The trap worked great, the "lure" worked great and so far all of this has been a good learning experience.

reply to post by SUICIDEHK45


And, just like that, you are a Trapper! Congrats!

Years ago, when I was trapping a lot, I would use live traps on farms and ranches where the presence of livestock prevented the use of snares and steel traps. One day, I found I had caught three young racoons in a single trap.

Not enlightening, but I thought it was interesting enough to pass on.

reply to post by SUICIDEHK45


Glad to hear you caught something. Always nice to be rewarded for your efforts.

First. Gloves. I use the cheap "work" gloves that you can find anywhere. Generally cotton. They really pick up the pine scent well and should you get lure on them, doesnt cost much to replace.

Ive never heard of boiling instead of dipping. Suppose it could work, but youre traps are liking to rust more easily. Some people like a little rust, some dont, its a trial and error thing.

As for exposed baits. Never been a big fan. Two many bad things can happen. Keep in mind things such as eagles, hawks, owls, etc... search by sight, not smell. Exposed baits will bring them into your set area. Ive met a few who have caught eagles, I dont wish that on anyone.

Coons arent the brightest animals out there, so if the area is allready heavy in human scent, dont go overboard covering yours up.

If you insist on going after predators, this is what I did in the lower 48, and it seemed to work. (Note:trapping down there is much different than up here, so I will keep my comments to what I remember from those days)

Find places animals are naturally drawn to. These would include deer trails, edges of fields, edges of old gravel pits, logging roads, etc... Think like an animal, is it easier to run through the woods or on a trail next to the woods? Also, look for old scat or new scat for that matter, an obvious sign predators are in the area. Some, myself included, would actually collect scat (dry) to use as an eye attractant, more on that later.

Once you have figured out where the animals are, or will likely be, find your set location. A little off the beaten path, an area with natural backing, i.e. a rock. The idea is to have the animal approach the set from one direction only. Predators will not step over sticks, rocks, etc.. to get to your bait. Oh, this is a basic dirt hole by the way. Place your trap a few inches back and to the right of where the bait will be. Use some type of pan cover, I like waxtex, and if it may freeze where you are, coverhauls are a good idea. Scent free and wont freeze. Lightly screen some fresh dirt over the set location, be sure to remove any twigs, pebbles, etc...

Now place the bait of your choice. There is alot out there. Miranda and Minnesota Trap Supply are my personal favorites. This should be in a hole behind your set, hence dirt hole. Now for the lure. Bait isnt enough to bring them in. You will need two lures. One is a local, the other is called a long distance call lure. For the local, take a small twig, dip in your lure bottle, and place somewhere the wind can pick up the scent, on top of the rock that your bait is under would be a good spot. Now for the long distance lure, and most of this stuff is wicked smelling. Find a nice, nearby tree, put a drop on a limb about 5-6 feet up. This is so the wind can carry it further and call in animals from further away.

Lastly, is your eye attractant. Again, some use it, some dont. Some do on certain sets, its an experience thing. If you use scat, feathers, or something else, be sure it is not from that area. The idea being the animal runs this area often, and when they see something new, they will be more likely to investigate and be less concerned about human involvement. Finally, step back from your set, and make sure everything looks "right" no wax paper on the ground, no footprints, it looks natural. Check the trap the next morning and best of luck.

Also to note. When setting fox, wolf, coyote, cat traps most trappers will set 2 or 3 sets in the same area. If one area misses, maybe another one will not. Just dont overdo it.