Click here to advertise on this page

TRAPS

 Squirrel pole

A squirrel pole is a long pole placed against a tree in an area showing a lot of squirrel activity.  Place several wire nooses along the top and sides of the pole so that the squirrel trying to go up or down the pole will have to pass through one or more of them.  Position the nooses (5 to 6 centimetres in diameter) about 2.5 centimetres off the pole.  Place the top and bottom wire noose 45 centimetres from the top and bottom of the pole to prevent the squirrel from getting it feet on 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 get caught in a noose.  The struggling animal will soon fall from the pole and strangle.  Another squirrel will soon follow and, in this way, you can catch several squirrels.  You can emplace multiple poles to increase the catch.

Ojibwa bird pole

An Ojibwa bird pole is a snare used by Native Americans for centuries.  To be effective, place it in a relatively open area away from tall trees.  For best results, pick a spot near feeding areas, dusting areas, or watering holes.  Cut a pole 1.8 to 2.1 meters long and trim away all limbs and foliage.  Do not use resinous wood such as pine.  Sharpen the upper end to a point, and then drill a small diameter hole 5 to 7.5 centimetres down from the top.  Cut a stick 10 to 15 centimetres long and sharpen one end so that it will almost fit into the hole.  This is the perch.  Plant the long pole in the ground with the pointed end up.  Tie a small weight, about equal to the weight of the targeted species, to a length of cordage.  Pass the free end of the cordage through the hole, and tie a slip noose that covers the perch.  Tie a single over hand knot in the cordage and place the perch against the hole.  Allow the cordage to slip through the hole until the overhand knot rests against the pole at the top of the perch.  The tension of the overhand knot against the pole and the perch will hold the perch in position.  Spread the noose over the perch, ensuring it covers the perch and drapes over on both sides.  Most birds prefer to rest on something above the ground and will land on the perch.  As soon as the bird lands, the perch will fall, releasing the overhand knot and allowing the weight to drop.  The noose will tighten around the bird’s feet, capturing it.  If the weight is too heavy, it will cut the bird’s feet off, allowing it to escape. 

Noosing wand

A noose stick or “noosing wand” is useful for catching roosting birds or small mammals.  It requires a patient operator.  This wand is more a weapon than a trap.  It consists of a pole (as long as you can effectively handle) with a slip noose of wire or stiff cordage at the same end.  To catch an animal, you slip the noose over the neck of a roosting bird and pull it tight.  You can also place it over a den hole hide in a nearby blind.  When the animal emerges from the den, you jerk the pole to tighten the noose and thus capture the animal.  Carry a stout club to kill the pray

Treadle spring snare

Use a treadle snare against small game on a trail.  Dig a shallow hole in the trail.  Then drive a forked stick (fork down) into the ground on each side of the hole on the same side of the trail.  Select two fairly straight sticks that span the two forks.  Position these two sticks so that their ends engage the forks.  Place several sticks over the hole in the trail by positioning one end over the lower horizontal stick and the other on the ground on the other side of the hole.  Cover the hole with enough sticks so that the pray must step on at least one of them to set off the snare.  Tie one end of a piece of cordage to a twitch-up or to a weight suspended over a tree limb.  Bend the twitch-up or raise the suspended weight to determine where you tie a 5 centimetre or so long trigger.  Form a noose with the other end of the cordage.  Route and spread the noose over the top of the sticks over the hole.  Place the trigger stick against the horizontal sticks and route the cordage behind the sticks so that the tension of the power source will hold it in place.  Adjust the bottom horizontal stick so that it will barely hold against the trigger.  A the animal places its foot on a stick across the hole, the bottom horizontal stick moves down, releasing the trigger and allowing the noose to catch the animal by the foot.  Because of the disturbance on the trail, an animal will be wary.  You must therefore use chanalisation. 

The figure 4 is a trigger used to drop a weight onto a pray and crush it.  The type of weight used may vary, but it should be heavy enough to kill or incapacitate the pray immediately.  Construct the figure 4 using three notched sticks.  These notches hold the sticks together in a figure 4 pattern when they are under tension.  Practice making this trigger beforehand; it requires close tolerances and precise angles in its construction.

Paiute deadfall

The Paiute deadfall is similar to the figure 4 but uses a piece of cordage and a catch stick.  It has the advantage of being easier to set than the figure 4.  tie one end of a piece of cordage to the lower end of the diagonal stick.  Tie the other end of the cordage to the other stick about 5 centimetres long.  This 5 centimeter stick is the catch stick.  Bring the cord half way around the vertical stick with the catch stick at a 90 degree angle.  Place the bait stick with one end against the drop weight, or a peg driven into the ground, and the other against the catch stick.  When the pray disturbs the bait stick, it falls free, releasing the catch stick.  As the diagonal stick flies up, the weight falls, crushing the pray. 

Bow trap 

A bow trap is one of the deadliest traps.  It is dangerous to man as well as animals.  To construct this trap, build a bow and anchor it to the ground with pegs.  Adjust the aiming point as you anchor the bow.  Lash a toggle stick to the trigger stick.  Two upright sticks driven into the ground hold the trigger stick in place at a point where the toggle stick will engage the pulled bow string.  Place a catch stick between the toggle stick and a stake driven into the ground.  Tie a trip wire or cordage to the catch stick and route it around stakes and across the game trail where you tie it off.  When the pray trips the trip wire, the bow looses an arrow into it.  A notch in the bow serves to help aim the arrow.

Pig spear shaft 

To construct this pig spear shaft, select a stout pole about 2.5 metres long.  At the smaller end, firmly lash several small stakes.  Lash the large end tightly to a tree along the game trail.  Tie a length of cordage to another tree across the trail.  Tie a sturdy, smooth stick to the other end of the cord.  From the first tree, tie a trip wire or cord low to the ground, stretch it across the trail, and tie it to a catch stick.  Make a slip ring from vines or other suitable material.  Encircle the trip wire and the smooth stick with the slip ring.  Emplace one end of another smooth stick within the slip ring and its other end against the second tree.  Pull the smaller end of the spear shaft across the trail and position it between the short cord and the smooth stick.  As the animal trips the trip wire, the catch stick pulls the slip ring off the smooth sticks, releasing the spear shaft that springs across the trail and impales the pray against the tree.

Bottle trap 

A bottle trap is a simple trap for mice and voles.  Dig a hole 30 to 45 centimetres deep that is wider at the bottom than at the top.  Make the top of the hole as small as possible.  Place a piece of bark or wood over the hole with a small stone under it to hold it up 2.5 5 centimetres off the ground.  Mice or voles will hide under the cover to escape danger and fall into the hole.  They cannot climb out because of the walls backward slope.  Use caution whilst checking this trap; it is an excellent hiding place for snakes.

KILLING DEVICES

There are several killing devices that you can construct to help you obtain small game to help you survive.  The rabbit stick, the spear, the bow and arrow, and the sling are such devices.

Rabbit stick

One of the simplest and most effective killing devices is a stout stick as long as your arm, from fingertip to shoulder, called a “rabbit stick”.  You can throw it either overhand or sidearm and with considerable force.  It is very effective against small game that stops and freezes as a defence.

Spear

You can make a spear to kill small game or fish.  Jab with the spear, do not throw it.  See spearfishing below.

Bow and arrow

A good bow is the result of many hours of work.  You can construct a suitable short-term bow fairly easily.  When it loses its spring or brakes, you can replace it.  Select a hardwood stick about a metre long that is free of knots or limbs.  Carefully scrape the large end down until it has the same pull as the small end.  Careful examination will show the natural curve of the stick.  Always scrape from the side that faces you, or the bow will break the first time you pull it.  Dead, dry wood is preferable to green wood.  To increase the pull, lash a second bow to the first, front-to-front, forming an “x” when viewed from the side.  Attach the tips of the bows with cordage and only use a bowstring on one bow.

Select arrows from the straightest dry stick available.  The arrow should be about half as long as the bow.  Scrape each shaft smooth all round.  You will probably have to straighten the shaft.  You can bend an arrow straight by heating the shaft over hot coals.  Do not allow the shaft to scorch or burn.  Hold the shaft straight until it cools.

You can make arrowheads from bone, glass, metal, or pieces of rock.  You can also sharpen and fire hardens the ends of the shaft.  To fire harden wood, hold it over the coals, being careful not to burn or scorch the wood.

You must notch the ends of the arrows for the bowstring.  Cut or file the notch; do not split it.  Fletching (adding feathers to the notch end of the arrow) improves the arrows flight characteristics; bit is not necessary on a field-expedient arrow.

Sling

You can make a sling by tying two pieces of cordage, about sixty centimetres long, at opposite ends of a palm size piece of leather or cloth.  Place a rock in the cloth and wrap one cord around the middle finger and hold in your palm.  Hold the other cord between the forefinger and thumb.  To throw the rock, spin the sling several times in a circle and release the cord between thumb and forefinger.  Practice to gain proficiency.  The sling is very effective against small game.

FISHING DEVICES

You can make you own fishhooks, nets and traps and use several methods to obtain fish in a survival situation

Improved fishhooks

You can make field-expedient fishhooks from pins, needles, wire, small nails, or any piece of metal.  You can also use wood, bone, coconut shell, thorns, flints, seashells, or tortoise shell.  You can also make fishhooks from any combination of these items. 

To make a wooden hook, cut a piece of hardwood about 2.5 centimetres long and about 6 millimetres in diameter to form the shank.  Cut a notch in one end in witch to place the point.  Place the point (piece of bone, wire, nail) in the notch.  Hold the point in the notch and tie securely so that it does not move out of position.  This is a fairly large hook.  To make a smaller hook, use smaller materials.

A gorge is a small shaft of wood, bone, metal, or other material.  It is sharp on both ends and notched in the middle where you tie cordage.  Bait the gorge by placing a piece of bait on it lengthwise.  When the fish swallows the bait, it also swallows the gorge.

Stakeout

A stakeout is a fishing device you can use in a hostile environment.  To construct a stakeout, drive two supple saplings into the bottom of the lake, pond, or stream with their tops just below the water surface.  Tie a cord between them and slightly below the surface.  Tie two short cords with hooks or gorges to this cord, ensuring that they cannot wrap around the poles or each other.  They should also not slip along the long cord.  Bait the hooks or gorges. 

Gill net

If a gill net is not available, you can make one using parachute suspension line or similar material.  Remove the core lines from the suspension line and tie the easing between two trees.  Attach several core lines to the easing by doubling them over and tying them with prusik knots or girth hitches.  The length of the desired net and the size of the mesh determine the number of core lines used and the space between them.  Starting at one end of the easing, tie the second and the third core lines together using an overhand knot.  Then tie the forth and fifth, sixth and seventh, and so on, until you reach the last core line.  You should now have all the core lines tied in pairs with a single cord line hanging at each end.  Start the second row with the first core line, tie it to the second, the third to the forth, and so on.

How To Construct a Gill Net 

To keep the rows even and to regulate the size of the mesh, tie a guideline to the trees.  Position the guideline on the opposite side of the net you are working on.  Move the guideline down after completing each row.  The lines will always hang in pairs and you always tie a cord from one pair to a cord from an adjoining pair.  Continue tying rows until the net is the desired width.  Thread a suspension line easing along the bottom of the net to strengthen it.   

Fish traps

You may trap fish using several methods.  Fish baskets are one method.  You construct them by lashing several sticks together with vines into a funnel shape.  You close the top, leaving a hole large enough for the fish to swim through.

You can also use traps to catch saltwater fish, as schools regularly approach the shore with the incoming tide and often move parallel to the shore.  Pick a location at high tide and build the trap at low tide.  On rocky shores, use natural rock pools.  On coral islands, use natural pools on the surface of reefs by blocking the opening as the tide recedes.  On sandy shores, use sandbars and the ditches they enclose.  Build the trap as a low stonewall extending outwards into the water and forming an angle with the shore.

Spear fishing

 If you are near shallow water (about waist deep) where the fish are large and plentiful, you can spear them.  To make a spear, cut a long, straight sapling.  Sharpen the end to a point or attach a knife, jagged piece of bone, or sharpened piece of metal.  You can also make a spear by splitting the shaft a few inches down from one end and inserting a piece of wood to act as a spreader.  You then sharpen the two separated halves to points.  To spear fish, find an area where fish either gather or where there is a fish run.  Place the spear point into the water and slowly move it toward the fish.  Then, with a sudden push, impale the fish on the stream bottom.  Do not try to lift the fish with the spear, as it will probably slip off and you will lose it; hold the spear with one hand and grab hold of the fish with the other.  Do not throw the spear, especially if the point is a knife.  You cannot afford to lose the knife in a survival situation.  Be alert to the problems caused by light reflection whilst looking at objects in the water.