by Tim MacWelch
STEP 1 Gather the sticks and other supplies. To catch an average-size rodent, you’ll need the following: a Y-shaped stick thicker than a pencil and about 8 inches (20 cm) long; a straight stick thicker than a pencil, about 9 inches (23 cm) long; a 2-inch (5-cm) stick that is a little skinnier than a pencil; a slender bait stick half the diameter of a pencil and about 12 inches (30 cm) long; about 8 inches (20 cm) of string; appropriate bait for your critter of choice; and a flat rock that weighs 5–10 pounds (2–5 kg).
STEP 2 Take your 9-inch (23-cm) straight stick (this is called the lever) and tie one end of the string to it. Tie the other end to the 2-inch (5-cm) stick (the toggle). Square knots are fine. Wipe or skewer the bait on the 12-inch (30-cm) bait stick.
STEP 3 Set the trap by laying the rock down on a hard patch of ground. Stand the Y-shaped stick (the post) up by the edge of the rock. Put the stringless end of the lever in the fork of the post, with a small portion of it sticking out toward the rock. Place the rock on the tip of the lever. You should be able to support the weight of the rock by only holding down the string end of the lever. Now wrap the toggle halfway around the post. Place the baited end of the bait stick between a rough spot under the stone and the tip of the toggle. When you can let go of the lever and the rock stays up, you know you did it right.
081 STUDY SURVIVAL SNARES
Snares are a group of traps that restrain or strangle game animals. They can be stationary fixed snares or dynamic traps with complex triggers and engines to lift animals off the ground. Understanding the different parts and purposes of these traps will help you choose one—thousands are available, but the following are trusted performers in the realm of survival. Find out about local trapping regulations, and test the traps that are legal in your area. Here are the two types to know.
FIXED SNARES With rope, cord, or wire that is connected to an immobile object, like a tree or a stake, fixed snares are typically unbaited and restrain an animal until you dispatch it.
ACTIVE SNARES With moving parts in addition to a constricting snare noose, active snares either use bait or rely on habitual animal movement to set off the trap. The classic example is a spring-pole snare that lifts small game by a flexible tree branch or sapling tree.
082 GET YOUR FIX
Fixed snares are simple to make and generally easy to set. They rely on the animal’s passage through the noose to tighten the trap around the animal’s body, preferably its neck.
FIXED-LOOP SNARE The fixed-loop is easy to make and uses wire (solid wire or, better yet, braided steel cable that is designed for trapping) for its odd combination of strength, rigidity, and flexibility. These are usually single-use traps, as the animals often bend and kink the wire, making it vulnerable to future breakage. Sometimes animals can even break or chew through the wire. Balancing out these flaws is the fact that the fixed snare can be the fastest to create and set.
Here’s a quick way to make a fixed snare from solid wire. Find a (breakable) twig that is about 1/10 inch (2.5 mm) in diameter. Wind one end of your wire around the twig two or three times, then twist the twig like a little propeller, which will twist the end of the wire closed. Break the twig and remove it to reveal an eye, which you can use to make your noose. Place these snares over burrows, in small-game trails, or attach them to spring-pole snares for a more secure snare line.
DROWNING SNARE This simple trap can acquire food for you while putting the critter out of its misery faster than many other traps. The drowning snare is easiest to set when you have a steep-banked waterway frequented by creatures of habit. It requires a snare line with a noose, a heavy rock, a float stick, and a stick to prop up the rock in a precarious position.
To make this trap, simply tie the snare line to the rock, leaving a length of line free to tie the float. Set the noose in a run or slide that is heading straight down into the water. Prop up the rock so that it will fall if the noose is tugged, or tie the prop stick to the snare line. Once snared, the animal pulls the rock in after them, which holds your prey underwater. The wooden float lets you see where the rock and animal are located. This trap makes the most sense in cold conditions, as the cold water will keep the animal intact and away from most scavengers.
SQUIRREL POLE SNARE This trap caters to the squirrel’s love of shortcuts. Select a 5- to 6-foot (1.5- to 2-m) pole that is about the diameter of your arm, and cover it with small wire snare loops. It’s best if the pole has a rough, natural look to it, so don’t carve off all the bark. It’s also helpful if the pole has a fork at one end, which you can stick into the ground or pin against the tree to keep the pole from twisting out of place.
Begin making wire snare loops from 1 º-foot (45-cm) lengths of wire (22-gauge or 24-gauge wire is a good squirrel-size line). Make the nooses just under 3 inches (7.5 cm) in diameter, and zigzag the wire between the pole and the noose to give it some slack. Twist these snares around the pole, and place them all over it. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket by just using two or three snare loops: Do a dozen or more on the pole, with some on the top and some on the sides. Now, pin the squirrel pole against a tree that has a squirrel sign nearby—or a squirrel nest in it.
083 SET A BAITED SNARE
There are many effective baited snares to choose from. Since the scent is doing the work of drawing the animal to the trap, you won’t have to be as precise in your trap placement, but note that many of them will require a tree or other elevated source to anchor to.
GRAVES’ BAIT STICK SNARE This bait-activated spring pole snare, from the long-out-of-print book Bushcraft, by Richard Graves, is my go-to. You’ll need a spring pole, a forked stake, a pencil-diameter toggle, a snare line with an attached trigger line, a bait stick, and bait. Tie the snare line to the end of the spring pole, bend until the snare touches the ground, and drive the stake in—keeping the line plumb is vital. Tie the toggle to the end of the trigger line (attached to the snare), and run it under the fork, keeping it parallel to the ground and at a right angle to the stake. Set your baited trigger at the end of the toggle to set the trap, and test it. If it springs quickly, you’re ready to set up some twigs to support the noose. Then reset. (Note: Never handle the noose with your bare hands after the trigger is set. A misfire can rip skin—or digits.)
OJIBWA BIRD SNARE You can use this versatile trap year-round and in all conditions. You’ll need a pole, a drill to make a 0.4-inch (1-cm) hole, a pencil-size stick for the perch, 3 feet (1 m) slender cord or thick string, and a 3.5-ounce (100-g) rock.
Carve a point on both ends of the pole. Drill a hole through the pole as cleanly as you can. Tie a small bowline knot in the end of your snare line, and pass the line through the loop, creating the snare. Tie the other end of the line to the rock. After you’ve picked a trapping site and driven the pole in the ground, use a twig to thread the snare line through the hole in the pole. Tie a knot cluster in the line close to the snare noose (this stopper knot coupled with the twig forms the trigger system). Lay your noose over the perch once the stopper knot has engaged the twig, and the trap is set. If your noose keeps blowing off the perch, wipe a little sticky pine pitch on the contact points.
FIGURE-4 SNARE The figure-4 snare combines the sensitive leverage trigger of the figure-4 deadfall with the lunch-launching capability of a spring-pole snare. For this trap, you’ll require a good, snappy spring pole, snare line with noose and a side line to the trigger, bait, and the three sticks to make up the “4” shape.
Tie the snare line to the end of your spring pole. Make sure the pole has enough lifting power. Then drive the vertical piece of the figure 4 deep into the ground. This will hold the energy of the spring pole, so drive it 1 foot (30 cm) deep to keep it from being sucked up out of the ground. Assemble the figure 4 by notching the vertical and horizontal pieces to receive the diagonal. Bait the trap, tie on the trigger line, and suspend the noose with a pair of twigs.
084 MAKE A BAIT-FREE SNARE
These snares eliminate the need for bait, though you’ll have
to take pains to make sure the animal still has a reason to go through the noose and activate the trigger. These traps are usually set on an animal’s trails or outside their burrows.
TREADLE SNARE This “spring pole and noose” trap is set off by an animal bumping the treadle stick, stepping on it, knocking it down, or knocking it out of its way while running down its trail. The treadle snare requires a spring pole, a snare line with noose and trigger line, a pencil-size toggle stick, the treadle trigger stick, and a support to hold the trigger stick.
Tie your snare line to the end of the spring pole and tie the toggle stick to the end of the trigger line. Pull the spring pole down, then lap the toggle over the support, using the treadle trigger stick to hold the toggle in place. Set the noose of the snare line so it hangs beside the treadle, and wait for your dinner. A snare hung on each side of the treadle is even better, as it will catch an animal coming or going.
PEG SNARE This trap is easy to set up and to carve. You’ll need a spring pole, a peg driven into the ground, a snare line with noose, a peg to act as a trigger, and maybe some bait. That last part will depend on whether you want the trap to be bait-activated or to wait for the animal to pass through.
Drive your peg into the soil, and carve a hook near the top. You could also saw off the top of an existing bush or sapling, which could provide an anchor for your trap. After you make your peg in the ground, carve your trigger peg with a matching hook, which will grab onto your peg in the ground. Tie your snare line to the spring pole and tie the trigger peg onto the line, tying the knot on the side of the peg you have cut the hook into. Attach bait to the trigger peg with the noose hanging around the baited part, or set the noose in a trail near the peg trigger.
ROLLING SNARE The rolling snare uses a pair of wooden hooks to trigger a motion-activated spring-pole snare trap, and is ideal for trails and runs. You’ll need a couple of forked sticks and a snare line with a noose.
Find a slender forked branch and cut a point on the nonforked end to drive it into the ground near the edge of a small-game trail. Find a similar, smaller fork to tie to the snare line. Engage the two hooks so that the free one will roll off the hook that is staked to the ground (not so they will hook together, which would prevent the trap from going off). Set your noose in the trail, propped up with twigs or tied in place with thread. No baiting is required.
085 BADGER ATTACK
IT COULD HAPPEN
I was hiking deep into the woods to check my trap lines.
I should have known to dispatch it properly—
—it was too late now!
I woke up hours later, my head killing me and very disoriented.
I felt too weak to head back to the truck; luckily another trap had caught me some dinner—and, much to my surprise, a familiar foe.
I came across a big badger in the first trap and prepared for a feast!
I thought the animal was out cold, but when I loosed the trap, it sprung up! Very much awake . . .
. . . and mad!
A few scratches later, he ran off, and I went to reset the trap, a little shaken up.
Suddenly . . .
And, boy, was he delicious!
086 POACH SOME WILD EGGS
Stealing songbird and game-bird eggs is illegal in most areas, but if you’re in desperate straits and you happen upon a nest of fresh eggs, you can fry, hard boil, or poach your way to a delicious, protein-packed meal. And the good news is that there are no poisonous eggs. Just be aware that bird eggs develop at different rates, so you may end up with a yellow chick inside that shell instead of the yellow yolk you were expecting.
Collecting eggs for food has been around as long as we have been around—and in a dire situation, it shouldn’t be ruled out. Sure, ostrich eggs are the biggest wild-bird eggs, but goose eggs are pretty big, too, and more likely to show up in your hunt. They’re the largest wild bird eggs you’ll find in North America, and a female goose can lay half a dozen at a time, each twice the size of a chicken egg. Due to the size, their standout white color, and the protective presence of both parents, goose nests are often easy to spot—but that’s where the easy part ends.
Fiercely protective, the geese will not give up their eggs without a fight. Running at the nest and grabbing one or two eggs is your best approach. This keeps you from impacting the bird’s population too much—or from getting bitten. Goose eggs are typically found in late March or early April, depending on the latitude and temperatures. They also take about a month to hatch, giving you about a week before the eggs start to look like embryos.
087 BECOME A SHORT-ORDER SURVIVAL COOK
They say hunger is the best spice, and if you sprinkle that atop a meal that already tastes good, you may have the makings of a five-star feast. Here are some of my favorite wild-egg meals.
WILD CHEF SALAD Collect tender spring greens and flowers like chickweed, violets, dandelion, sorrel, and whatever else is locally abundant and tasty. Wash the greens in safe water and plate them like a salad. Hard boil your wild eggs for fifteen minutes and allow them to cool. Remove the shells and crumble the eggs over the green salad.
SPICY GOOSE EGG OMELET Pour scrambled goose eggs in a nonstick camping fry pan, and add some minced wild onion. When the omelet is ready to fold, add chopped watercress and any other spicy greens you can find, such as wintercress, bittercress, and any of the peppergrasses.
EGGS IN GAME BIRD This dish is not quite as over-the-top crazy as a turducken (in which a chicken is stuffed inside a duck that’s stuffed inside a turkey), but it’s not exactly conventional, either. To make this dish, dispatch a game bird, pluck and clean it, and then fill it with whole raw eggs. Bake it slowly at a low temperature in a Dutch oven (or similar) until the meat is falling off the bone. Enjoy your finished roasted bird with cooked eggs.
088 MAKE A LOW-TECH X-RAY
Most people have a natural aversion to cracking an egg over a hot frying pan and having a partially formed chick fall out. A simple trick can help you to discern the egg’s level of development.
“Candling” refers to the old practice of placing a candle or light source behind an egg and observing the condition of the air cell, yolk, and white.
Many species of birds (but not all) have translucent eggs, and the light passing through can help you detect bloody whites, blood spots, or meat spots, enabling you to see how far along the chick inside is.
You should candle your eggs in a darkened room or outside at night by holding the egg before the light at an angle. White-shelled eggs that are only a few days old will still clearly show the yolk and white. Older eggs will have a reddish area with blood vessels extending away from it like a huge red spider—this is the embryo inside the egg. If the whole egg is dark, you have a chick inside. The egg is in fact edible throughout all of these stages, even if you’d rather not take advantage of that fact.
089 COOK IN THE SHELL
For maximum calorie conservation, hard-boil your eggs. This process is just the same in camp as it is at home—but if you have no pot or water is scarce, then it’s time to try cooking your wild eggs in the shell.
STEP 1 Use a knife or sharp stone to chip the pointy end off the egg. Remove less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) of shell for best results.
STEP 2 Use a twig to poke the yolk and stir up the egg contents. Think of this as making a scrambled egg inside the shell.
STEP 3 Place the egg in the ashes near your fire, turning periodically. Keep it close enough to cook, but not so close it boils over. Never put a whole egg close to the fire: It will explode, wasting your food source and leaving you with egg on your face—for real.
090 EAT THE BUGS
Maybe your fishing trip isn’t going so well. Perhaps the only “catch of the day” is the bait you’ve wrangled up by flipping over rocks, ripping open logs, and scouring the bushes. Well, as long as they’re not poisonous, you can eat your bait bugs. Here are a couple of creatures that you can munch on when the fish aren’t biting.
TERM
ITES Ripping open a rotten log may seem like a lot of work, but the payoff might be worth the trouble. Termites have the highest calorie count of any bug you’ll find. You’ll have to work to get it, though, as these little guys will go scurrying for cover anytime you damage the wood they reside in. Once you’ve got them, roast them in a dry pan—some species even take on a shrimplike flavor.
SLUGS Let me say from the beginning that the choice between eating slugs or starving is not one I would relish. I’ve eaten slugs before, and I hope I never have to repeat the experience. But they will pass for food in a pinch. Terrestrial slugs and snails (those found on land, not in the sea) are generally safe for human consumption—always after a thorough cooking. And their nutritional value certainly justifies the effort. These critters have about 90 calories per 3 1/2 ounces (100 g) of meat, and they’re high in protein (12–16 percent) and rich in minerals.
091 ORDER THE ESCARGOT
If you did have to (or wanted to) eat slugs and snails, the safest choice is the snail. Slugs are more likely to eat toxic mushrooms, while snails tend to eat plant material—when they’re not eating dung, of course. If you want to try slugs and there are toxic mushrooms in season nearby, put the slugs in a container for a week with some damp cornmeal or moist lettuce to allow them to purge. Psych yourself up for a challenge, and try cooking these mollusk meals.