Survival Trapping
Survival trapping is the lost art of our ancestors but hard times may bring that life saving skill back to light. Trapping supplies not only provides a form of income for many, they can also serve a critical survival role but to be effective you need the right gear. Here at Snare Trap Survive (A Hamming Outdoors Company) we strive to offer the best trapping supplies while keeping you within budget. When it comes to survival, specifically survival trapping it becomes critical to understand the gear at your disposal. We will discuss this topic and define exactly how traps fall into the survival genre.
If you are old school you probably know all there is to know on this survival trapping. You understand that trapping put food on the table for our ancestors for hundreds of years. The newer generation (aside from the lets pet the fuzzy creatures club) need to learn how survival trapping could someday save their lives. We live in a world where hunger is fast becoming a super killer. One large scale event can disrupt the food supply and throw us into total chaos. Get lost and you find yourself starving. It should not be this way, not when there is so much wild game out there to be taken. (Pretty sure I heard PETA outside my window).
My children ages 22, 13 and 10 are all outdoors types. They understand that God has given us these creatures for a purpose and no its not to pet them (yes I am on a roll with the pet a fuzzy creature club). They understand that survival trapping is a critical need, not just a sport. Read this below and ponder this for a moment. The next time you hear someone say we are not to eat the animals, give them this verse. This should lay it out clear but for some reason only a few get it in this twisted world today.
Genesis 9:2-3
The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
Moving on to how trapping supplies fall into the survival trapping category. The Duke 110 body grip trap is the perfect example and yes we are teaching as we go along so pay attention students! The Duke 110 is the perfect survival trap. Here is a picture of this essential little tool.
As you can see it is essentially a square jaw trap that closes shut on the body of its intended target. The trap is triggered by the trigger mechanism seen in the center. The dog on top holds the trap open until the trigger is moved by the target animal pulling at the bait placed on the two prongs. This makes the Duke 110 body grip trap an excellent survival trapping tool able to take squirrel and rabbit however its use does not stop there.
Recently we decided to make a trip out into the field and standing next to a pond I was thinking how I would love to go fishing but all I had in my pack was a 110 body grip trap. Then a sudden idea hit me. I would place some bait on the trigger and lower it into the water and see what happens.
I found a nice large worm, threaded it onto the trigger, located a grub and added him for good measure, tied on my rope and in it went. The water was about waist deep so I used a roped tied onto the trap. After a few minutes went by I saw the rope jump and lurch forward. I pulled it out and lo and behold, I gazed upon a catfish about 4 lbs. He has about 6 inches of his head and body in the trap. I plan to recreate this and film it very soon so I will update this article with that information.
I really began to see for myself how general trapping supplies played a big role in survival trapping. This was when I really started testing the Duke 110. Of course I knew that others had done this before but I wanted to see it for myself. Place a corn cob on these and set them out where grouse tend to lurk. You will be amazed how well they catch them. I had a friend tell me that he used one to nail a turkey. I am not sure if that is legal and for ass covering purposes I have since forgotten his name.
Most survivalists want something that can be used on the go and the Duke 110 body grip trap is lightweight and easy to pack right? The size of the 110 body gripper trap makes it the perfect survival trapping tool. Coming in at just a meager 4.5 inch jaw spread, they fit easily into a pack and they only weight around 1 pound. You can chunk 3-4 of these in a pack and you have means of catching food when lost of if the SHTF scenario comes around.
The uses for the Duke 110 as a survival trapping tool are vast. You can catch squirrel, rabbit, ducks, pheasant, grouse, turkey and sometimes smaller birds like quail and dove however it’s much harder due to their body size. Sometimes with smaller birds the jaws close around them never touching their body and off they go laughing at you. The Duke 110 can be modified in many ways to make it more efficient (watch for more articles on that soon).
So what about other trapping supplies that can double as on the go survival trapping tools? The Duke Dog Proof Coon Trap (pictured above) is small, light and easy to pack along. These little traps are easy to set and when placed along a river or creek you will be sure to find breakfast or dinner the following day. The Dog Proof raccoon trap weights right around 1 lb so its benefits don’t weigh you down so to speak.
Mix and match is always the best idea, add two of these with your 110 body grip traps and you increase your survival trapping efficiency.
While we are here we will toss in the mention of snares. While its not technically a trap .. or is it? .. it is a very critical survival trapping tool. Snares come in many sizes and different cable types. Here at STS we use the 1/16 Rabbit and Beaver Snare and 3/32 Micro Lock Snare as well as the Cam Lock Snare in the 7×7 configuration. If you don’t know what this means you can learn here in our article “How to make a snare“. We like to use the cam lock snare as it is the most effective. The cam lock is a kill snare and when it locks down it stays locked. Anything caught in this snare is going to stay in it. We use 4ft small snares with mini cam locks and 7ft snares for medium to big game. You can easily take deer in these during a survival situation.
We are often asked why a survival website is selling trapping supplies, well now you have your answer. Trapping and survival trapping go hand in hand.
If you are looking for trapping supplies to add to your arsenal then check out our trapping supplies for great prices. Don’t forget baits and lures that help increase your chances of landing your next dinner… or fur underwear, whichever you prefer.
Remember to spread the knowledge about survival trapping. It is a lost art and in the world of rising prices and food shortage, survival trapping is going to once again become our savior.
In upcoming articles we will discuss how to use these traps and snares in an effective manner along with video and image illustrations.