Feeding yourself is always, and will always be, important.
Even when the world stops turning our stomachs will continue to growl, so you should learn as many ways as possible to obtain fresh food.
Trapping game is one of the best ways, and some of the most effective methods can be seen outlined below.
Ground Snare
Photo by Steve Sanford
Position the snare at head height and tie off the end to a tree, a stake in the ground, or a log that the animal can only drag a short distance as the noose tightens.
Spring Snare
Photo by Steve Sanford
This set a trigger that snatches game into the air as it strains against the noose. It's good for rabbits and game as large as deer.
Fish Traps
Photo by Steve Sanford
Fish swim next to banks at night or move from deep holes into shallow water to feed. They can often be directed into traps from which they are unlikely to escape.
Funnel Trap
Make the walls of the funnel trap with piled-up stones or tightly spaced sticks driven solidly into the river or lakebed. Close the entrance to the trap, roil the water, then either spear the fish or net them with a seine made by tying a shirt or other cloth between two stout poles.Spring Deadfall
Photo by Steve Sanford
The spring deadfall depends upon the game worrying the bait, so it's best used for carnivorous animals and rodents such as pack rats.
Spring Spear Trap
Photo by Steve Sanford
This trip-wire set is effective for game that regularly sticks to defined trails. Make certain the horizontal thrust of the spear is at a level that will impale the body of the game sought.
Bird Traps
Photo by Steve Sanford
Drill a hole into one end of a pole, then drive the other end into the ground. Loosely fit a smaller stick into the hole, then tie a rock to a thin cord and pass that through the hole as well. Make a slip noose with the other end of the cord and place over the perch. When a bird lands the rock will fall and the noose will tighten on its feet.
What makes this list an excellent resource is the fact that it enables you to capture all sorts of prey; with modification, you can use these traps to snag just about anything.
You can just set the traps and go about your other chores while waiting for them to catch the food for you. Just be sure to remember to set multiple traps if you actually plan to capture a worthwhile amount of food.
For more great information on the subject of trapping, take a look at the original article at Field and Stream.
Featured Image via EcoSnippets // Field and Stream
Wes Burkhart Ricky Burkhart Aaron Smith.. might have to try some of these out one a these days.. lol..
Paiute deadfall, spring snare, fish trap, Bird snare all you need
when shtf, them ain’t NOBODY’S cows anymore, and they are still going to be just as dumb as always, at first. The snare needs to be spring loaded or tied off on a sapling that will “give” for awhile before it breaks or the snare pulls through. set these with a clothesline about waist high along a deer trail with an alarm bell rig attached, so you know when to run in and spear the deer. Only desert nomads need live on rats, come on now.
Cliff,,when you say them ant nobodies cows anymore,what do you actually mean? I hope I misunderstand,,but it looks like you are saying my livestock is now yours..well here is my rule..and I will live or die by it..If a person is hungry,,and I can feed them,,then I will..I will split my last meal..this I know to be true..if a person just comes to steal,,then he must bring some friends, ,,so they can bury him.this I know also to be true.
Aint not ant,,sorry
Yes
I wonder if people were starving would they eat their pets. 🙂
u never hear anything about gill nets or seins. why is that?
I’m saying shtf is the absence of law, except that of the gun maybe, you can go to jail for setting any of the traps aforementioned, NOW too 😀
Guido Filippone