We start our story with a person lost in the wilderness. They could be a hiker, a hunter, a camper, or any one of us that spends time in the woods. Let us assume that they do the right thing. They do not panic, and they do not spend hour upon hour trying to hike in a random direction to find help. They stop where they are, assess their situation, and wait for rescue. At this point, they know their biggest priorities are food, water, fire, and shelter. They have found a source of water, have built a makeshift lean-to shelter, and have gotten a fire going. That brings us to food.
We know from the rule of 3s that you can survive three hours without warmth from a fire or shelter, three days without water, but three weeks without food. Surely they will be rescued before three weeks is up. So why would we spend time and energy looking for food? While you can survive several weeks without food, hunger can drastically affect you in several ways. When you go without calories for several days, your body starts to eat itself… literally. It starts by burning fat reserves for energy. This may make you tired or weak, but typically the side effects are not horrible. Then your body moves on to burning muscle mass for energy. This is where things start to get bad. You will become clumsy and disoriented. This can cause you to trip and fall, cut yourself, or get lost away from your camp. You will be weak enough that even basic tasks like collecting water and firewood can be difficult.
Then, your body will move on to burning organ tissue. Now you are really hurting. Your body aches all over, and you are faced with a constant migraine headache. You become confused and have extreme mood swings. It is easy for depression to set in and to give up hope of rescue. Even if you had the energy to get up and complete survival tasks, you likely would not have the motivation. You can also face paranoia and anxiety. You might fixate on an animal in the area and obsess that it is stalking you. You might start to question if anybody is bothering to look for you. All of these side effects of hunger can make it impossible to survive long before you starve to death.
While food may not be my top priority, I am always thinking about ways to find food. One of the easiest ways to get a meal is foraging for wild edibles, but rarely will you come up with protein. The type of food you collect is almost as important as finding food at all. In addition, you must factor in the calories you will burn looking for food as well as your chances of success and risk of injury. Getting a nice warm meal of roasted meat can do wonders for your morale in addition to the physical benefits your body receives. Trapping is one way you can reduce your risk and optimize your opportunity for protein. In this article, we will discuss why trapping is a skill you should know as well as trap designs that you can use in the wild.
Is Protein that Important?
As stated above, wild edibles are a great way to get some calories without burning a great deal of energy. I completed a knife-only challenge in the springtime several years ago during which I had no way to cook meat. I relied upon wild edibles for food and had more than I could ever eat in a sitting. However, my energy level was fairly low and my stomach was upset most of the time. You really need to have foods with fats, oils, sugars, proteins, and calories to keep your body working properly. These nutrients are needed to keep you physically and mentally strong. They also tend to be much more helpful with morale than munching on leafy greens. Meat is what you really want if you can get it. One fish or one squirrel would have been more beneficial than all of the wild edibles I collected on that challenge.
Why Trapping?
You have probably seen survival television shows where a guy covers himself in mud and sharpens a stick to go hunt for wild boar. While this looks pretty cool and sounds like a great deal of fun, primitive hunting is rarely a good idea. Typically you spend day after day hiking through dense brush trying to track an animal. If you are lucky enough to find one, you have to get close enough to kill it with primitive weapons. Often you will injure the animal and then have to track it even further from your camp. You will burn thousands of calories and most often come back to camp empty-handed.
In addition, hunting is a calculated risk. You could easily twist an ankle or fall and hurt yourself walking through the woods. Some animals are more inclined to fight than they are to run, especially if they are cornered or have their young with them. You are also burning daylight that could be used for collecting firewood, working on your shelter, purifying water, or signaling for help.
Fishing is a good way to get some protein, but you again face a calculated risk. Any time you stay near water in a survival scenario, you risk getting wet. Getting wet in an environment where the temperature drops below 60F could mean hypothermia. Getting wet can kill you. In addition, fishing without a rod and reel is iffy. You are likely to come back to camp without any food. While you will not burn a large number of calories fishing, you will spend a lot of time. The only exception would be fish traps that you can set and forget.
Trapping is often your safest bet for getting protein in the wild. You can set up a few traps whenever you have time, and then just come back once or twice a day to check them. You do not burn as many calories as you do with hunting, and you do not spend as much time as you would with fishing. Set up a few traps in the morning, go complete other survival tasks, and then set up a few more in the evening when you check your traps. Do this every day for several days and you will have a pretty good trap line. Don’t get me wrong. There is no guarantee with primitive trapping. However, if you get 20 to 30 proper traps set you to have pretty good odds of getting enough protein to stay strong. It is a very efficient way to improve your situation on a daily basis.
General Trapping Strategies
When you start to consider spots to set up traps, there are specific strategies to implement. You need to think like the animal you are after. Consider their motivation on a daily basis, and this will tell you how to get them into your trap.
- Location – Your spot for trap locations should factor in a few different items. Land mammals travel for only a couple of purposes. They like to walk to a specific sleeping area in the evening and leave that area in the morning. They also have a specific path to food and water locations. Most of these animals will follow a fairly strict routine, so typically you can see game trails where the animals have been walking. There will be a path worn into the vegetation or you can see where grasses have been parted over and over. Fish travel mostly based on water temperature, sunlight, and barometric pressure. They like to be near the surface when it is cold and deeper when it is hot. Fish become more active right before or after a storm because of low barometric pressure and higher food supply. The lower pressure makes their stomachs expand causing them to feel hungry. Fish also move to the surface and to the edges of the water in the low light of the morning and evening when their own hunting efforts are more successful.
- Bait – If there is any way to place bait in your traps, this will give you the best odds of success. While traps can always be placed in locations where animals are likely to walk, bait allows you to bring the animal directly to your trap. Some traps require you to direct the movement of the animal to set off the trap. Bait allows you to direct an animal to a specific location. If you have food, just pinching off some jerky, bread, or any other morsel can make a huge difference. If you are able to get a kill, you can use the guts from your animal to attract scavengers and predators. You can use the contents of a fish’s stomach as bait to catch fish of the same species. You can also collect nuts, insects, or berries to use as bait if you don’t have any.
- Animal Movement and Size– Many primitive traps will target a specific part of the animal’s body. For example, snare traps are typically designed to snare either the leg or the neck of the animal. How you set your trap should be determined by the type of animal you are targeting. If you see signs of rabbit in an area, snares should be set for the neck. The shape of the leg and the jumping movement of a rabbit make them tough to snare by the leg. The smallest animals such as mice, rats, and chipmunks are difficult to snare. You are better to use a deadfall. Large animals such as boar, raccoon, and possums require very large deadfalls, so a pit trap might work better.
- Channeling Animals – However you set your trap and whatever animals you target, you should always find ways to direct the animal in a specific way. For land animals, you can drive stakes in the ground to make fences that will force them into your trap. You can also just use brush and grasses. Animals will typically take the path of least resistance. For fish traps, you are typically directing them into a channel by design with stakes or rocks. However your trap is set off, you must direct the animal to that specific trigger. This could be the trip stick on a snare, the bait stick on a deadfall, or the breakaway floor of a pit trap.
- Scent and Appearance – Keep in mind that most of the animals you will attempt to trap have very good senses of smell and vision. They can pick up on anything that is out of the ordinary. Unlike domestic animals, these critters are used to surviving based on their wits. Before you go out to set traps or to check them, mask your smell. You can rub ashes from your fire, pine needles, or dirt on your feet, hands, and body to help cover your smell. Take the time to camouflage your trap as best you can so it looks fairly normal. Try not to use anything shiny that will appear out of place.
Snares
I use a snare trap to catch land animals more than just about any other primitive trap. All you need to build a snare is a piece of cordage. You can use shoelaces, fishing line, wire, paracord, or you can even make your own cordage with natural materials. You will need one end tied into a slip knot. There are several ways to do this, but the easiest way is to fold over one end of your cordage and tie a simple overhand knot. This will create a fixed loop. Then, feed the other end of the cordage through the loop creating the slip knot. Wire works better for snares than other types of cordage because you can bend the wire to position it in place. However, any cordage can be positioned using sticks or other natural materials. Once you have a standard snare tied, there are several traps you can set:
Simple Snare – This snare is the most basic design. You will tie the loose end of your snare to a stationary object. This could be a tree, stake, rock, or anything else that will not move. Then, you want to position the snare upright so that the loop is perpendicular to the game path. You want the head of the animal to go through the loop as it walks past. The loop of your snare should be just larger than the animal’s head so it does not get loose. Use stakes, sticks, or vegetation to direct the animal into your snare. Once the animal gets its head stuck, the snare will tighten down. The more it struggles, the tighter the snare will get.
Squirrel Pole – To make this trap, find a pole that is three to five feet long. Attach several wire snares to the pole and position them so that the loops are resting on the pole itself. They all need to be on the same side. Then, lean the pole at roughly a 45-degree angle against a large tree. If you can find a den tree with several holes in it, this is your best bet. Make sure the loops are resting on the top of the pole. Squirrels will take the path of least resistance. It is easier for them to run up a slanted pole than it is to climb a vertical tree trunk. As the squirrel runs up the pole, it will get its head snagged and hang itself. This trap does not need bait, but it can never hurt if you have some.
Spring Snare – This trap is built by attaching your snare to a spring pole. You can use a small tree, or you can drive a pole into the ground. Attach the end of the snare to the end of your pole and pull it down to be sure that it aggressively snaps back into place. Drive a stake into the ground near where you want to set your snare loop. Be sure it has a notch in the side near the top. Attach a separate piece of cordage to the spring pole and tie another notched stick to the end. Pull down the spring pole and fit the notches on the two sticks together to hold everything in place. Then gently position your snare loop where you want it. It is best to have the loop propped up vertically with sticks if possible. When an animal gets caught in the snare loop, it will pull the trigger stick loose releasing the spring pole. This will then jerk the loop tight and sometimes lift the animal off of the ground. The benefit versus a simple snare is that the animal is less likely to get loose.
Two Stick Deadfall
For small animals, deadfalls are sometimes the best way to go. The most effective deadfall for small animals uses a large flat rock that can crush the animal. There are several ways to build a deadfall trigger, but the most simple is a two-stick trigger system. You will need one straight stick that is rounded off on one end. You will also need a slightly curved stick that has been shaved flat on one end and whittled to a point on the other. Place bait on the pointed end of the curved bait stick.
Raise up your flat rock on one side and place the flat end of the curved stick flat against the underside of the rock. The stick should curve back so that the bait is close to where the rock meets the ground. Then, place the support stick so that the rounded end is up against the flat part of the bait stick and the other end is against the ground. You will have to adjust it until is stays upright. You want to set it up so that any movement of the bait stick will knock over the whole assembly. You may want to test it out a few times and make adjustments before you move on to set other traps.
Fish Trap
There are two easy fish traps that you can set in almost any survival scenario.
Heart Trap – This trap just requires shallow running or still water with a good amount of fish in the area. You can use either sharpened stakes long enough to reach from the surface of the water to the bottom, or you can use rocks. Pick an area that is somewhat isolated and start forming a heart shape with the stakes or rocks being fitted closely together. You can use the shoreline for part of your barrier if you find a good spot. At the cleave of the heart, leave an opening just large enough for a fish. Then sprinkle some bait inside your barrier. The fish will enter the opening looking for food and will not be able to find their way out.
Bottle Trap – Take any plastic bottle, remove the label, and cut off the top just below the tapered part. Remove the lid, reverse the top, and insert it back inside the base. If you have cordage, use that to secure the two pieces together. You may want to cut the opening wider to allow for larger fish. Place some bait inside along with some rocks to weigh it down. Sink it in the water, and the fish will enter but will not be able to get back out.
In Conclusion
With just some simple natural resources and some time, you can put together a thorough trap line that targets several species in several different areas. Make sure you are diligent in checking your traps once or twice a day so predators do not get to your kill first. Day by day you will build up your line so that eventually you can bank or a regular source of protein. Trapping success is largely trial and error, so constantly evaluate your traps and make needed adjustments. A great idea is to test out your traps designs well before your life actually depends upon it. If you have a wooded area that allows trapping, set up a few and see what happens. If you get some practice in advance, you will be in much better shape when you must rely upon success.
Ryan Dotson is a survivalist, writer, photographer and prepper. Mr. Dotson was raised in the Ozark Mountains. His interest in survivalism began with the Boy Scouts. His father, uncle and grandfather continued to teach him how to hunt and fish. Currently living in Mid-Missouri, Mr. Dotson has begun to write about his experiences of survival here at SurvivalistWarrior.com.