Part V: Hunting & Traps

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Your most important task will be to locate areas of high game activity, generally by "reading" the landscape. Usually (the wilderness always produces exceptions to human rules) the most productive areas to scout will be those around sources of water . . . and those in edge environments, where forest meets field, field meets meadow, and so forth.

In such a location, you may well be able to spot specific trails, runs, day beds, lays, and feeding areas. By doing so, you can place your trap in such a way that it'll have the best possible chance of being encountered by the animal you're after.

Trails are heavily used tunnels or paths. When following such a wildlife "freeway", you should be able to note animal scat, hair, and such that will indicate the type of creature most often using the path. Remember, though, that even if deer tracks-for instance-have all but eliminated any other signs from a trail, odds are that a number of smaller animals are using it, too. Wild creatures will follow the easiest route available unless they're either pursuing or being pursued.

Runs are the smaller arteries that connect established trails to feeding, bedding, and watering sites . . . and are subject to change as food and water supplies come and go. Since each run's use is typically limited to one species, its size will often provide some clue to the type of animal using it. (Traces of scat and fur, again, will help you make a positive identification.) By following runs-carefully, causing as little disturbance as possible to these potential trap locations-you may be able to find the areas of animal concentration to which they'll usually lead.

Day beds and lays are spots in which beasts seek cover and/or sleep. Beds are generally used quite frequently (though one animal might well have several of them), and usually appear as well-worn depressions in the grass or ground. Lays, on the other hand, are less obvious-often showing up as areas of partially crushed weeds or brush-and are typically found near feeding sites. The pattern of beds and lays surrounding a known food source can help you predict routes of animal travel, and thus choose good locations for your traps (this is especially true when setting snares, as your quarry will actually have to run into such a trap to be caught).

Feeding areas-which can be located by careful observance of the signs described already-will, for herbivorous animals, likely be locations rich in grasses, clover, and tender new growth . . . or, especially in winter months, young trees and brush with edible bark, twigs, and buds.

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