Trapping. Or the silent methods for taking game and fish

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Arcticdude

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I've been thinking that there should be a thread here about the taking of game and fish silently. Many people think that taking game can only be done with a firearm or archery. Thats fine if you have time and your not worried about the report giving away your location. Not a problem now, but it could be an issue after SHTF. Theres nowhere in the US that I'm aware of that a few traps or snares wouldn't provide all the game needed for survival. I personally have traps for everything from weasel to wolf and deer. And snares from rabbit up to wolf, deer, bear and elk.
I'd like to hear some thoughts and ideas from others on this subject.
 
Probably the best chance of getting enough meat with a trap at the BOL is beaver. Since they make their presence and activities quite obvious, it's easier to find a good location, especially near a dam. Just break the dam and they'll be there that night to fix it. They used to build their hutches in places that were accessible, but they've learned not to do that, LOL. Now I don't even know where they build their hutches, but the dams are a different story.

But honest, the chances of someone elsewhere hearing gunfire coming from the BOL are slim as it is. Flat land heavily forested. It's not like a gunshot from a mountaintop which can carry for miles and miles. Under certain atmospheric conditions (cold and dry with no wind) you can hear a gunshot from a mile away (The nearest public road is farther than that). But most times you can't. Nobody will ever hear a bow or crossbow. Or suppressed subsonic gunfire.
 
I have snares and cage traps for rabbits, opposum, raccoons, nutria and squirles, I have bow and crossbow for dear and larger critters.
I think bows and crossbows are going to be an important tool for securing game. In many parts of the country its easy to get within range to stick a deer with an arrow. Out west not so much. Traps and snares can easily be placed in game trails and just checked once a day or so. I think in your part of the country PP you can just leave your back door open and you'd get a kinds of critters coming in.
 
Probably the best chance of getting enough meat with a trap at the BOL is beaver. Since they make their presence and activities quite obvious, it's easier to find a good location, especially near a dam. Just break the dam and they'll be there that night to fix it. They used to build their hutches in places that were accessible, but they've learned not to do that, LOL. Now I don't even know where they build their hutches, but the dams are a different story.

But honest, the chances of someone elsewhere hearing gunfire coming from the BOL are slim as it is. Flat land heavily forested. It's not like a gunshot from a mountaintop which can carry for miles and miles. Under certain atmospheric conditions (cold and dry with no wind) you can hear a gunshot from a mile away (The nearest public road is farther than that). But most times you can't. Nobody will ever hear a bow or crossbow. Or suppressed subsonic gunfire.
Whenever possible beaver will excavate bank dens underwater, similar to muskrat only much larger. When I was a kid I'd swim up in to some of these underwater bank dens. Beaver do not have a sense of humor, still have the scars. Breaking a dam is a good option. Just be sure to place the trap deep enough to catch a hind leg. Otherwise they can push sticks in to your trap while repairing their dam. And always use a drowning wire on beaver, or a conibear trap.
BTW, beaver are very good eatting.
 
Whenever possible beaver will excavate bank dens underwater, similar to muskrat only much larger. When I was a kid I'd swim up in to some of these underwater bank dens. Beaver do not have a sense of humor, still have the scars. Breaking a dam is a good option. Just be sure to place the trap deep enough to catch a hind leg. Otherwise they can push sticks in to your trap while repairing their dam. And always use a drowning wire on beaver, or a conibear trap.
BTW, beaver are very good eatting.
I wish I had known beaver was good eating when I was slaying them regularly a number of years ago. They had a hutch right by a levee, and every time I drove by they would be out sunning themselves on the hutch. I could shoot them out the window of the truck with a 22. I've killed a bunch hiding in culverts too. Now I don't see the beavers, just their handiwork. Their hutches are deep in the swamp where no man treads.
 
Unfortunately trapping in Europe is widely forbidden, Bow/Crossbow hunting also. Evidently the idiots here who call themselves "hunters" are incapable of hunting with such ancient tools. I think you can still bowhunt in Scandinavia/Northern Europe.
I have a series of traps stored in my head for anything from all small animals and rodents, ducks and other birds, squirrels or chipmunks and with the right materials up to wild pig and deer. Larger animals like Elk or bear are no longer living anywhere around me. A few hundred miles into Rumania maybe or up in Chech/Poland areas where I will never be...
I have also an array of trapping tubes and fishing tricks for the catfish near me to get food regularly. Need more arrows if the SHTF tho...I make my own arrowheads from cheap balancing weights from car and truck tires, heavy and hard enough to work but low cost and easy to work with and make.
We only have wild pigs, small deer and assorted small birds to hunt for and not many of them anyway...We will probably breed and keep rabbits or chickens if needed to keep us alive post SHTF.
 
nobody is going to have the time for pole fishing either - going to have to use time & effort savings here also >>> methods will depend on the conditions involved - could be the best steady supply of protein for many ....
 
nobody is going to have the time for pole fishing either - going to have to use time & effort savings here also >>> methods will depend on the conditions involved - could be the best steady supply of protein for many ....
That was the point of this thread. Ammo isn't going to last forever after SHTF and time will be in short supply. With growing gardens and foraging for wild edibles there may not be a lot of time for hunting. If your a member of a large group a hunter can be designated. But for individuals and small groups, traps and snares work 24 hours a day. The furs and hides can be tanned and made in to clothing or blankets too, and used for trade.
I think these are skills that should be learned by every serious prepper and passed down to future generations. Ive been teaching my grand kids about trapping since they were 3 years old. They even got their picture in a national trapping publication when they were "helping" me on the trap line.
 
That was the point of this thread. Ammo isn't going to last forever after SHTF and time will be in short supply. With growing gardens and foraging for wild edibles there may not be a lot of time for hunting. If your a member of a large group a hunter can be designated. But for individuals and small groups, traps and snares work 24 hours a day. The furs and hides can be tanned and made in to clothing or blankets too, and used for trade.
I think these are skills that should be learned by every serious prepper and passed down to future generations. Ive been teaching my grand kids about trapping since they were 3 years old. They even got their picture in a national trapping publication when they were "helping" me on the trap line.

As I am looking at my trail cam photos of my driveway while I was gone, I am seeing your point.
Alot of food going up and down that superhighway I call a driveway.
 
Right now I guess I am just not hungry enough to want to kill an animal anymore. I’d rather watch the deer and rabbits here than shoot them. But if hungry I could forget how beautiful a deer is in a heartbeat. I’m sure a roast with vegetables is beautiful too. I’ve always thought snares and traps were cruel as they don’t kill quickly like a bullet or arrow. But in a real survival situation I can’t think of a more productive or effective way to get food than trapping. I would love to see designs here of traps that can be homemade to add to my mental skills if ever needed.
 
Right now I guess I am just not hungry enough to want to kill an animal anymore. I’d rather watch the deer and rabbits here than shoot them. But if hungry I could forget how beautiful a deer is in a heartbeat. I’m sure a roast with vegetables is beautiful too. I’ve always thought snares and traps were cruel as they don’t kill quickly like a bullet or arrow. But in a real survival situation I can’t think of a more productive or effective way to get food than trapping. I would love to see designs here of traps that can be homemade to add to my mental skills if ever needed.
The point of this thread wasn't so much about using these skills today but more for after a real SHTF event.
If done properly trapping does not cause any suffering. There are body grip traps that kill immediately, methods for drowning the catch if near water and foot traps that just restrains the animal. Its not uncommon for me to come up on a bobcat, coyote or fox in one of my traps that's laying there sleeping. Quit listening to the anti-everything group.
Also many deer and elk wander off to die after getting stuck with an arrow or shot with a bullet from some POS hunter that doesn't know what he's doing. My neighbor had several cows shot with arrows that wandered around for days, weeks before finally dieing.
 
The point of this thread wasn't so much about using these skills today but more for after a real SHTF event.
If done properly trapping does not cause any suffering. There are body grip traps that kill immediately, methods for drowning the catch if near water and foot traps that just restrains the animal. Its not uncommon for me to come up on a bobcat, coyote or fox in one of my traps that's laying there sleeping. Quit listening to the anti-everything group.
Also many deer and elk wander off to die after getting stuck with an arrow or shot with a bullet from some POS hunter that doesn't know what he's doing. My neighbor had several cows shot with arrows that wandered around for days, weeks before finally dieing.
I wasn’t judging about trapping. As for me hunting now I’m just not hungry enough to do it currently. If pressed with tough times I’d be the first to sign up. I am sure many animals run off to die later on after being shot with bullets and arrows too. As far as snares and traps go, I never heard of any with quick kill before, but really would like to see some of what you’ve used or are out there, just in case we ever get to the point of economically needing to make them. I’ve always thought traps were the most efficient/intelligent way to provide food. But I also have that image in my mind of the wolf chewing it’s leg off to get out of a trap.
 
I don't kill many deer anymore, but I still get out in the woods and go hunting to keep those skills intact. Something about staying all day long out in the elements freezing your buns off that makes you appreciate life.
And then walking back to camp in the dark and hearing the coyotes strike up one of their hellish choruses a hundred yards from you making your blood run cold. LOL.
 
I wasn’t judging about trapping. As for me hunting now I’m just not hungry enough to do it currently. If pressed with tough times I’d be the first to sign up. I am sure many animals run off to die later on after being shot with bullets and arrows too. As far as snares and traps go, I never heard of any with quick kill before, but really would like to see some of what you’ve used or are out there, just in case we ever get to the point of economically needing to make them. I’ve always thought traps were the most efficient/intelligent way to provide food. But I also have that image in my mind of the wolf chewing it’s leg off to get out of a trap.
The type of killer trap, aka body grip, that I use is called Conibear. They're made in size for weasel up to beaver. Most times when I catch something in a Conibear the animal never moves.
Contrary to the animal "rights" nutjobs animals don't chew their legs off. However, some inexperienced people will use a trap that's too strong for the target animal and they could break a leg. In some cases, rarely, a coon will chew on his toes because they've become numb. Now they have "dog proof" traps available that will only catch coons, and an occasional skunk. With the DP trap a coon can't reach his foot.
 
Arctic,could you or do you have any vids for someone like me how to make snares and what to make them from?
 

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