Trapping is a consistent way to catch small game such as rats, squerills, and other rodents in the wilderness. Traps can initially be time consuming to construct, but once they are built you only have to check them once to twice a day to add fresh bait. Effectively using traps is a skill set that can take years to perfect. When building a Paiute Deadfall Trap it helps to camofluage the trap with natural materials like grass and sticks. Small animals are very skiddish and will avoid things that look man made or unatural. In most cases though, the allure of a tasty treat like peanut butter will be too much for the animal to resist. In fact, my #1 food item to carry into the woods is peanut better because it’s high in fat, calories, tastes great, and works amazing for animal bait. When building traps make sure to disguise the scent on your hand so the animal isn’t tipped off.
In this video you will learn how to build a Paiute Deadfall primitive trap using para cord or string. The great thing about this type of trap is you can scale it to any side you want. For example, if your hunting a slightly larger animal like a rabbit or a possum you could make the kill rock much bigger. Towards the end of the video cameras catch the deadfall trap in action as rates get crushed under the weight of the heavy rock.
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