Last Updated on April 26, 2023 by Lisa Vargas
When you find yourself stuck in the wilderness, you will have to decide how to prioritize your time. The four pillars of survival are food, water, fire, and shelter. These are the things you must acquire in order to survive for any period of time. The rule of threes states that you can survive three hours without warmth from fire or shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food. So why would food be so important?
Why Trapping?
Food is not just needed for survival. When you go long periods of time without calories, it starts to affect your body and your mind well before you die. Your body starts to burn fat, muscle, and organ tissue including brain matter to create energy. This makes you weak, clumsy, confused, and depressed. It makes you uncoordinated and gives you an incredible headache. Survival tasks such as collecting water or building a fire become very difficult in this state.
There are several ways you can acquire food. You can hunt using primitive weapons, but this burns a huge number of calories, burns daylight, and your odds of success are small. Fishing can be a good option, but it also takes time and could require you to get wet in frigid water.
Foraging can get you a large amount of food quickly, but you rarely get the proteins and fats needed for long term survival. However, trapping lets you set a trap line and then just check it once or twice a day to potentially find the meat you need. If you set enough traps, you can bank on a meal almost every day.
Trapping Physics And Design
There are several elements that go into any given trap. All traps have some sort of trigger mechanism. This is the piece of the trap that must be released by the animal for the trap to take action. Some traps are designed to kill the animal instantly. Others are designed to hold the animal in place until you can come by to finish the job.
For traps that hold the animal in place, they usually use a snare, a net, a pit, or a cage all of which keep the animal in place. For traps that kill, they can use weight to crush the animal, head snares to choke the animal, or spikes to spear the animal. All of these elements can be effective if they are implemented properly.
Trap Options
Snares
A snare is a very simple trap design but can be used in conjunction with other tools to create a variety of different trapping options. The snare is simply a piece of cordage with a slip knot of some kind added. All cordage can work, but I prefer thin copper wire. It allows you to shape the loop and is strong enough that most animals cannot chew through it to get free.
There are several different slip knots that you can use, but the most basic uses an overhand knot. Simply fold the end of your cordage back on itself and then tie an overhand knot on the doubled-up section. Feed the other end through the loop you have created, and you have your snare.
You can then tie the loose end to a tree or rock to secure it for a foot snare. You can tie it from an overhanging branch or pole to create a neck snare. You can tie it to a spring pole or weight for an trigger snare. You can tie it on top of a pole to create a squirrel snare. All of these options can work well if they are set up and placed properly.
Deadfalls
The principle behind a deadfall is to use a weight to crush the prey instantly. For this to work, the weight must be significantly heavier than the prey. Otherwise it will just injure the animal. Typically, people use logs or rocks. I prefer a large, flat rock that is wide enough that the entire prey animal will fit underneath. As an example, for a squirrel I would like a flat rock that is about two feet by two feet. There are several ways to set up the trigger and bait stick for a deadfall. I prefer the two-stick method as it is the easiest to master.
You want one stick that is straight with another that is slightly curved. The curved stick is the bait stick and should be carved to a point on one end and shaved to a paddle shape on the other. The other stick is your support stick and both ends should be rounded.
To set the trap, lift the rock and press the paddle end of the bait stick flat against the rock so the pointed end is back towards the lower end of the rock. Then, place the support stick with one end on the bait stick and the other on the ground. You should have it set so that the slightest movement of the bait stick will kick out the support stick and drop the rock. Conduct a few trial runs to make sure that it works properly before you set it and leave it.
Other Options
I almost always use one of the above designs for trapping. However, you can use other options. There are pit traps where you dig a pit and cover it with sticks and leaves so the animal falls inside. They require a great deal of energy to build, so be prepared. The hole must be deep enough that the animal cannot jump or climb out.
There are net and cage traps that drop a net or cage after they are triggered. However, that means you must take the time to construct a net or cage. I actually do like fish traps as they are fairly efficient. However, they do require you to get wet to set the traps. I always try to avoid getting wet in a survival scenario.
Trap Placement
In many ways, your trap location is more important than the trap itself. If you just randomly set traps anywhere, you likely will have no success. You need to set your traps where you know animals will be. There are several signs you can use to accomplish this. Game trails are the best. There are paths worn into the forest floor where animals travel every day. Most mammals are creatures of habit and will take the same path to food and water every day.
Scat and tracks are other signs that help. Scat is the droppings of your prey and tracks can be used to identify the species and direction of travel. Finally, water sources and food sources are always good general areas to set traps. Keep in mind that it generally takes 20 to 30 traps to have daily success. This does not need to be accomplished all at once. Set out a few each day until you have a trap line that will bring you consistent success. Then check it once or twice a day to make sure your kill does not end up as a meal for scavenger animals.
Bait Selection
You will not always have access to bait for your traps. If that is the case, placement and number of traps is even more important. However, if you have access to bait you want to be selective about what you use. Peanut butter is always a good option. Pretty much all small game will go after peanut butter. Honey is another good choice. Sometimes bits of jerky will work well for omnivorous animals.
If you are using found bait, nuts and berries are always good choices. If you are able to get a kill, always check the stomach contents. This will tell you what the animals are eating and may even give you a little undigested bait if you wash it off. You can also use scraps from a previous kill to draw in predators or omnivorous small game.
Setting Traps
There are a few general rules you must always follow when setting traps. Always test your trigger to make sure it works properly before you set it and walk off. Also, try to cover your scent when you set traps. You can use dirt, ash from a fire, or evergreen boughs to cover your scent.
Pay close attention to your feet and hands. Try to disguise your trap as best you can. Use leaves and sticks to cover up anything that does not look completely natural. Finally, find ways to funnel animals into your trap. Use sticks or brush to create barriers that force the animal to walk directly into your trap. Doing these things will ensure you maximize the traps that you set.
Processing Game
Once you find that your trap has been successful, it is important that you process and use the catch as quickly as possible. Typically, a smaller knife with a gut hook works best. However, any knife will get the job done. When selecting a knife, be sure the steel is high quality so it does not dull quickly.
Take the time to sharpen your knife before you get started. With most small game the process is similar. I always like to gut the animal first. Use the gut hook or the tip of the knife to make an incision from the sternum down to the crotch. You want to cut through the hide and inner membrane, but be sure not to cut open the guts.
Spilling stomach content could taint the meat. Then, reach in and pull out all of the internal organs. Set them aside as the heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver are all edible. In addition, remember to check the stomach contents for bait purposes. Cut off the genitals as well.
Next, I typically remove the head and the lower parts of the limbs. There is little meat from the paw to the first major joint, so you can discard that part. Finally, strip the hide from the carcass. With animals like rabbits you can just pull it off like a sock. For mature squirrels you will need to work it off gradually.
I like to leave the tail attached so I can step on it for more leverage. Save the hide to potentially use for gloves or other survival projects. Save the bones to either make a soup or grind for additional fats and calcium. In a survival scenario it is vital that you use every part of the animal.
You can cook the whole animal on a spit or cut it up for soup. You can also slice it thin and slowly smoke it to make jerky. Do keep in mind that the smell of a fresh kill can attract predators, so you may want to process your animal away from your camp.
Trapping small game for survival can be challenging, but it is often your best bet to get the protein and calories needed to keep going. You will want to practice well before your life ever depends on this skill.
First, practice setting the traps so that you know which designs you like best. Make sure they function properly every time. Next, find a place that will allow you to try out your traps. If you do not have your own land, ask a friend or a local farmer. You can even trap on public land if you have a permit, pick the correct season, and check your traps regularly. When you are not checking traps regularly, always trip them so that an animal will not be killed without reason.
Final Thoughts
The more practice you can get, the better you will be. Always remember that this is a numbers game. Just setting up one or two traps will bring you no success. You need to work up to a full trap line if you intend to survive on your efforts. If you take the time to perfect this skill, it may very well save your life.