PRIMITIVE TRAPS ARE JUNK! - Primitive Trapping Vs. Modern Trapping - Who Wins?
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Date: 2021-05-17
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Comments and reviews: 10
Modern
I agree for the most part, at least from my experience. Though, what I have a difference of opinion is with Meat Trappers assessment of preferring snares over a conibear, I think it comes down to skill set. I think it takes a lot more skills to lay out an effective snare line, along with the understanding of animal behavior and environment. Where as, a conibear trap can be employed much easier and effectively baited with a better chance of catching and holding something if it goes off. So for example, someone like myself that is a novice at trapping, I prefer a conibear type trap to make up for my lack of knowledge of snare employment and operations. Im sure once I have mastered these skill sets, snare usage will be more favorable for its weight. Though for a layman or a -weekended bushcrafter- id have to say for best results, the extra weight of a conibear would be more profitable. At least that is my own assessment, based on my own experiences so far. It may also be an environmental factor, where I habituate is at 10, 000 plus feet on mountains in the Rockies were terrain and behavior differ so that must be taken into account as well.
None the less, thank you for this joint video - very informative and holding in my opinion more realistic expectations.
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I agree for the most part, at least from my experience. Though, what I have a difference of opinion is with Meat Trappers assessment of preferring snares over a conibear, I think it comes down to skill set. I think it takes a lot more skills to lay out an effective snare line, along with the understanding of animal behavior and environment. Where as, a conibear trap can be employed much easier and effectively baited with a better chance of catching and holding something if it goes off. So for example, someone like myself that is a novice at trapping, I prefer a conibear type trap to make up for my lack of knowledge of snare employment and operations. Im sure once I have mastered these skill sets, snare usage will be more favorable for its weight. Though for a layman or a -weekended bushcrafter- id have to say for best results, the extra weight of a conibear would be more profitable. At least that is my own assessment, based on my own experiences so far. It may also be an environmental factor, where I habituate is at 10, 000 plus feet on mountains in the Rockies were terrain and behavior differ so that must be taken into account as well.
None the less, thank you for this joint video - very informative and holding in my opinion more realistic expectations.
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John
rabbits eat cambium, birds LOVE gorp, so dont eat all your gorp. Squirrels and weasels will be thrilled to eat your pemmican and your dried fish! Hanging the tape and tarp containers (of stored food) inside your shelter will probably protect them from bugs and critters while you are sleeping, but 1-2 small bags of food should be used as bait, in the trees near your sleeping shelter, during daylight Make a bow and arrows. Given half a day, with the duct tape, paracord, multi-tool and saw, it's easy! You can slip out of the other end of your shelter after seeing a critter or bird working at one of your bags, (you inside the shelter or under your tarp awning) and have a virtual sure shot, at 5m, especially on something big, like a wolverine or coon! Fire hardened, edged wooden blades (serrated) WILL penetrate such critters at 10m and less and then they wont be running far. Snow makes for easy tracking of a bleeding critter! :-) blunt tipped wooden arrows suffice for birds, rabbits, squirrels, given a 40+lb draw, which isn't hard to get with a father-and-son bow, or even a bundle bow (given dead standing -seasoned- saplings or branches)
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rabbits eat cambium, birds LOVE gorp, so dont eat all your gorp. Squirrels and weasels will be thrilled to eat your pemmican and your dried fish! Hanging the tape and tarp containers (of stored food) inside your shelter will probably protect them from bugs and critters while you are sleeping, but 1-2 small bags of food should be used as bait, in the trees near your sleeping shelter, during daylight Make a bow and arrows. Given half a day, with the duct tape, paracord, multi-tool and saw, it's easy! You can slip out of the other end of your shelter after seeing a critter or bird working at one of your bags, (you inside the shelter or under your tarp awning) and have a virtual sure shot, at 5m, especially on something big, like a wolverine or coon! Fire hardened, edged wooden blades (serrated) WILL penetrate such critters at 10m and less and then they wont be running far. Snow makes for easy tracking of a bleeding critter! :-) blunt tipped wooden arrows suffice for birds, rabbits, squirrels, given a 40+lb draw, which isn't hard to get with a father-and-son bow, or even a bundle bow (given dead standing -seasoned- saplings or branches)
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Reality
Good stuff gents! I totally agree that modern traps are much better and far superior to primitive traps. I am a big fan of modern traps and having a modern trapping kit in your preps. The only slight exception I might make with the first part of the video is that -if- a person is going to use para cord effectively to snare an animal it should be using a twitch up or other type of snare that has an -engine- to get the animal up off the ground when it is triggered. The idea being that it will make it much harder for the animal to chew through the cord as it is hanging itself to death. We have used that and locking simple loop snares to great effect at the USAF Arctic survival school on show shoe hares. But snow shoe hares are particularly easy to trap as well. So that certainly helps. But as noted earlier in general you guys are absolutely correct that modern snares are much more effective and worth having at a bug out location or in your bug out load out gear that you are going to move to your location by vehicle or keeping a handful of the modern snares in a BOB. Thanks for the video. Good stuff!
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Good stuff gents! I totally agree that modern traps are much better and far superior to primitive traps. I am a big fan of modern traps and having a modern trapping kit in your preps. The only slight exception I might make with the first part of the video is that -if- a person is going to use para cord effectively to snare an animal it should be using a twitch up or other type of snare that has an -engine- to get the animal up off the ground when it is triggered. The idea being that it will make it much harder for the animal to chew through the cord as it is hanging itself to death. We have used that and locking simple loop snares to great effect at the USAF Arctic survival school on show shoe hares. But snow shoe hares are particularly easy to trap as well. So that certainly helps. But as noted earlier in general you guys are absolutely correct that modern snares are much more effective and worth having at a bug out location or in your bug out load out gear that you are going to move to your location by vehicle or keeping a handful of the modern snares in a BOB. Thanks for the video. Good stuff!
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John
anyone arguing that primitive traps are even remotely as effective doesn't know jack about the subject. But, cathing 60 lbs of critters, in 90 days, can make the half million - diff! gotta TRY! If you're getting adequate calories from cambium and lean fish, why not make and set traps. Given 10 lb critters, that's just a catch every couple of weeks. Certainly not worth running a trap line for fur, in normal circumstances, but you are potentially clearing -3600 a DAY on the show. even if you're sleeping really poorly, that's a clear -200 an hour. Or say, -100 an hour to 40 hours, -150 an hour for the next 20 hours, then double time to 80 hours, 2. 5x to 100 hours. This show is not about feeding yourself totally from the trapline. It's about gaining 2-3 lbs of fat per week, beyond the calories spent checking, resetting the traps, which is virtually nil, actually. Nobody has much experience at impalement traps, which is what you should be using, cause they are illegal to use almost everywhere.
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anyone arguing that primitive traps are even remotely as effective doesn't know jack about the subject. But, cathing 60 lbs of critters, in 90 days, can make the half million - diff! gotta TRY! If you're getting adequate calories from cambium and lean fish, why not make and set traps. Given 10 lb critters, that's just a catch every couple of weeks. Certainly not worth running a trap line for fur, in normal circumstances, but you are potentially clearing -3600 a DAY on the show. even if you're sleeping really poorly, that's a clear -200 an hour. Or say, -100 an hour to 40 hours, -150 an hour for the next 20 hours, then double time to 80 hours, 2. 5x to 100 hours. This show is not about feeding yourself totally from the trapline. It's about gaining 2-3 lbs of fat per week, beyond the calories spent checking, resetting the traps, which is virtually nil, actually. Nobody has much experience at impalement traps, which is what you should be using, cause they are illegal to use almost everywhere.
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John
you can weave 100 sq ft of netting per day. Fish traps with large enough internal volume don't have to be serviced every day, either. Stripping the sheathing off of paracord is swift and easy, freeing up 7 strands, each of which is plenty strong enough to form fish traps and hand-nets. Its the giant 'v- of net -wings- that guide fish into the trap that make it so effective, along with having both ends -open- and lots of chumming the area, and having lots of floating hook sets. All that food-scent (fishheads and guts) in the water is going to bring fish from all over the lake. To hell with pole and line fishing, tying you up all day! You need to be doing other things, like making and setting animal traps, watching for game and performing short stalks with your field-made bow and arrows, (mostly of waterfowl) making arrows, scouting your area intensely for resources, etc.
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you can weave 100 sq ft of netting per day. Fish traps with large enough internal volume don't have to be serviced every day, either. Stripping the sheathing off of paracord is swift and easy, freeing up 7 strands, each of which is plenty strong enough to form fish traps and hand-nets. Its the giant 'v- of net -wings- that guide fish into the trap that make it so effective, along with having both ends -open- and lots of chumming the area, and having lots of floating hook sets. All that food-scent (fishheads and guts) in the water is going to bring fish from all over the lake. To hell with pole and line fishing, tying you up all day! You need to be doing other things, like making and setting animal traps, watching for game and performing short stalks with your field-made bow and arrows, (mostly of waterfowl) making arrows, scouting your area intensely for resources, etc.
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John
you have to bait the snare area for while, so an animal comes to associate your scent with food, not danger. You also have to put things in their way, forcing them to go where you want them. You need dozens of traps. not one. For the purposes of the alone show (only reason you'd not use modern steel cable) you CAN profit (immensely) by catching a few small critters, cause the different taste and fat can help you choke down all the cambium and fish you'll have to eat. You're making -200 an hour out there, even while you sleep, cause lasting 100 days means you'll win. -500, 000 divided by 100 days is -5000 a day, divided by 24 hours is -200 an hour. 10 lbs of animals caught can mean being able to stay another 2 weeks, by helping you eat the other, totally boring food, get it?
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you have to bait the snare area for while, so an animal comes to associate your scent with food, not danger. You also have to put things in their way, forcing them to go where you want them. You need dozens of traps. not one. For the purposes of the alone show (only reason you'd not use modern steel cable) you CAN profit (immensely) by catching a few small critters, cause the different taste and fat can help you choke down all the cambium and fish you'll have to eat. You're making -200 an hour out there, even while you sleep, cause lasting 100 days means you'll win. -500, 000 divided by 100 days is -5000 a day, divided by 24 hours is -200 an hour. 10 lbs of animals caught can mean being able to stay another 2 weeks, by helping you eat the other, totally boring food, get it?
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John
there's good reason why the pros all say -fish first-. Fish are easier to find, easier to bait, easy to catch, easy to process and prerserve The problem on the alone show will be to get the netting and traps made, get the pontoon raft made, get the drying/smoking racks made. In a month, tho, you should be preserving 10 lbs of fish per day. Whether or not you can choke down enough fish (and cambium) to keep your will power alive, that's another issue! :-) But the calories CAN be had (on a lake. Much harder to do on a winter sea shore, where storms threaten to steal/destroy your nets/traps. in warm weather and neck deep (or less water) this can be done without a craft.
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there's good reason why the pros all say -fish first-. Fish are easier to find, easier to bait, easy to catch, easy to process and prerserve The problem on the alone show will be to get the netting and traps made, get the pontoon raft made, get the drying/smoking racks made. In a month, tho, you should be preserving 10 lbs of fish per day. Whether or not you can choke down enough fish (and cambium) to keep your will power alive, that's another issue! :-) But the calories CAN be had (on a lake. Much harder to do on a winter sea shore, where storms threaten to steal/destroy your nets/traps. in warm weather and neck deep (or less water) this can be done without a craft.
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Mark
Conceptually, the idea of using traps to acquire food seems like a no brainier. However you make a valid point that building a setting a primitive trap in a short term survival situation likely will only yield energy lost.
However, if you were attempting survival over the course of years, surely the investment in any primitive trap which remains set for a long time is still worth it? Although the density of small game is much less than in the past, eventually you might set enough traps that it starts to pay off?
Reaching that point without supplementary food from agriculture or large game seems impossible though.
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Conceptually, the idea of using traps to acquire food seems like a no brainier. However you make a valid point that building a setting a primitive trap in a short term survival situation likely will only yield energy lost.
However, if you were attempting survival over the course of years, surely the investment in any primitive trap which remains set for a long time is still worth it? Although the density of small game is much less than in the past, eventually you might set enough traps that it starts to pay off?
Reaching that point without supplementary food from agriculture or large game seems impossible though.
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John
you have to have attractants to get the animals to NOTICE your sets. You have to leave bait there without having set the traps, so critters get used to your scent and think that it means food. You have to create brush -funnels- that force the critter to position itself where you want it. This is all IF your plant foraging and your nets/lines are feeding you adequately. If they are not, best work on those areas, cause they are far more likely to be a return for your calories/time invested than are animal traps.
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you have to have attractants to get the animals to NOTICE your sets. You have to leave bait there without having set the traps, so critters get used to your scent and think that it means food. You have to create brush -funnels- that force the critter to position itself where you want it. This is all IF your plant foraging and your nets/lines are feeding you adequately. If they are not, best work on those areas, cause they are far more likely to be a return for your calories/time invested than are animal traps.
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John
you can hook and net fish while under the ice, but it's a dangerous, difficult, low return thing. Best avoid it until the ice is REALLY thick/hard, always carry a hook pole when you are out on the ice and always have spare, dry clothing, and a fire/heated rocks ready, in case you fall into the water. If you dont, you can easily be unable to unzip your sleeping bag in just 1-2 minutes and if you dont get naked/dry before you enter the bag, it will just get soaked and help freeze you to death.
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you can hook and net fish while under the ice, but it's a dangerous, difficult, low return thing. Best avoid it until the ice is REALLY thick/hard, always carry a hook pole when you are out on the ice and always have spare, dry clothing, and a fire/heated rocks ready, in case you fall into the water. If you dont, you can easily be unable to unzip your sleeping bag in just 1-2 minutes and if you dont get naked/dry before you enter the bag, it will just get soaked and help freeze you to death.
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