Part V: Hunting & Traps

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By examining the food plants in such an area, it's often possible to determine what sort of animals are feeding there. A diagonal bite that cuts off a plant stalk at about a 45° angle is typical of such rodents as rabbits and woodchucks. Straight, finely serrated bites will often indicate that members of the deer family have been dining . . . while obviously chewed-upon greenery is usually a sign that predators have been rounding out their diets-with a little plant foraging.

You will, of course, want to take special note of exactly what food seems to be preferred by the species you hope to catch. Furthermore, it's best to try to locate a favorite snack that, because it has been pretty much finished off, has been temporarily abandoned for a second-choice edible. If, for instance, you note that all of the red clover around a group of woodchuck dens has been eaten, and that the animals are now resorting to a diet of grasses, it may be worth your while to scout beyond the 'chucks' range and-if you can-bring back a batch of that rare clover to use as bait.

"Naturalizing" your traps, in order to lessen the chance that animals will steer clear of them, will improve your chances of making a catch. Leave bark on the trigger assemblies, and rub dirt on any cut surfaces to prevent them from attracting unwanted attention. When working on a trap, be sure that your hands are well rubbed with mint, leek, or some aromatic weed to disguise the human scent. In the winter, it's sometimes possible to accomplish the same result by smoking a finished trigger assembly over a fire, and then handling it with gloves that have also been well scented with wood smoke. (Some trappers will smear their hands with scat, or with scent from the glands of an animal caught earlier. The notion may sound unpleasant to you now, but there's little room for niceties in a true survival situation!)

Once your traps are naturalized and set, be sure to check them at least once a day . . . to prevent your quarry from being stolen by a predator or (in hot weather) decomposing, and to minimize the suffering of any creature that might have been caught but not killed. Carry your throwing stick when visiting the traps. A hard blow to the back of the head will, for most of the small animals that you'll be likely to catch, result in a quick and relatively painless death.

LEARNING BY DOING

As mentioned above (and over and over in this series of articles), the time to fine-tune your survival skills is before you have to use them. Practice reading animal signs, locating feeding areas, and so on at every opportunity. Carry a throwing stick on your hikes and indulge in a little target practice . . . flinging it at stumps, clumps of grass, and the like.

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