Deadfalls and Snares: A Book of Instruction for Trappers About These and Other Home-Made Traps — John Shaqi
Deadfalls and Snares: A Book of Instruction for Trappers About These and Other Home-Made TrapsHarding, A. R. (Arthur Robert)
General
Deadfalls and Snares: A Book of Instruction for Trappers About These and Other Home-Made Traps
Harding, A. R. (Arthur Robert)
Animal traps; Animal traps -- Juvenile literature
I will describe a deadfall for bear which I use, and which works the
best of any I have tried, says a Montana trapper. I have two small
trees about 30 inches apart, cut a pole 10 feet long for a bed piece
and place in front of trees then cut a notch in each tree about 27
inches above the bed piece, and nail a good, strong piece across from
one tree to the other in the notches. Cut a long pole five or six
inches through for the deadfall, place the large end on top of bed
log, letting end stick by the tree far enough to place on poles for
weights.
Then cut two stakes and drive on outside of both poles, and fasten
top of stakes to the trees one foot above the cross piece. Then on
the inside, 30 inches from the trees, drive two more solid stakes
about 2 feet apart and nail a piece across them 6 inches lower than
the cross piece between the trees. Then cut a lever about three feet
long and flatten one end, and a bait stick about two feet long. Cut
two notches 6 inches apart, one square on the top and the other on
the bottom, and both close to the top end of bait stick.
Fasten bait on the other end and then raise up the deadfall, place
the lever stick across the stick nailed between the two trees,
letting the end run six inches under the deadfall. Take the bait
stick and hook lower notch on the piece nailed on the two stakes and
place end of lever in the top notch, then cut weights and place on
each side until you think you have enough to hold any bear. Then put
on as many more and it will be about right. Stand up old chunks
around the sides and back and lots of green brush on the outside. Get
it so he can't see the bait.
It doesn't require a very solid pen. I drive about three short stakes
in front and leave them one foot high, so when he pulls back they
will come against him, and the set is complete. You can weight it
with a ton of poles and still it will spring easy. The closer
together the two notches the easier it will spring.
This trap can be built lighter and is good for coon. In fact, will
catch other fur bearers, but is not especially recommended for small
animals, such as ermine and mink.
CHAPTER III.
OTTER DEADFALLS.
At the present day when steel traps are so cheap and abundant it may
sound very primitive and an uncertain way of trapping these animals
for one to advocate the use of the deadfall, especially as every
hunter knows the animal is much more at home in the water than on
land. But on land they go and it was by deadfalls the way-back
Indians killed a many that were in their packs at the end of the
hunting season.
Of course these wooden traps were not set at haphazard thru the brush
as marten traps, but were set up at the otter slide places, and where
they crossed points in river bends, or it might be where a narrow
strip of land connected two lakes. These places were known from one
generation to another and the old traps were freshened up spring and
fall by some member of the family hunting those grounds.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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