Wilderness Survival Skills: Camp Alarms

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Adding the knowledge of how to set a camp alarm to your wilderness survival skills can give you greater peace of mind if you are concerned about intruders.
Adding the knowledge of how to set a camp alarm to your wilderness survival skills can give you greater peace of mind if you are concerned about intruders.
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For a more effective camp alarm, tie six or eight booby traps instead of just one.
For a more effective camp alarm, tie six or eight booby traps instead of just one.
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If you want a louder camp alarm, try this tin can snare. Make sure the trip line is attached loosely to the trigger, so the cans will drop far enough to make a lot of noise.
If you want a louder camp alarm, try this tin can snare. Make sure the trip line is attached loosely to the trigger, so the cans will drop far enough to make a lot of noise.
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Dale Martin presents a variety of do-it-yourself traps, snares, camp alarms and pathguards in
Dale Martin presents a variety of do-it-yourself traps, snares, camp alarms and pathguards in "The Trapper's Bible," from small wire snares and transplant traps to defensive mechanisms.

Wilderness survival requires many outdoor survival skills, not least how to find food and defend your camp. The Trapper’s Bible(Paladin Press, 1987) by Dale Martin has instructions for snares, traps, camp alarms and pathguards that range from discouraging to deadly. With a little practice, you can set snares to capture anything from rabbits to deer and moose, build transplant traps for nuisance animals or set up your camp so you will be alerted—or defended—in case of intruders. The following excerpt is from chapter 4, “Camp Alarms.”

At times you can feel more secure if the paths into your camp at night are set with noisemakers to let you know if someone is walking up on you.

A Simple Camp Alarm

The most handy little device I’ve ever run across is in the realm of fireworks. It, most simply, is a firecracker with a string coming out of each end. When either end is pulled, the firecracker explodes. You do not have to light it with a match or a lighter of any kind. These fireworks are cheap. They sell for about a dime a box, and a box contains twelve. I do not see how they are made so cheaply, much less retailed for that price. They are sold under different names, but most people call them booby traps. At Christmas and other holidays, I stock up. You can buy hundreds of them for two or three dollars.

In case the use of these booby traps is not apparent to you by now, this is how they can be used as a primitive alarm system. Run a string across any likely paths into your camp. Tie one end firmly on one side of the path to whatever solid object is available (tree, stake, limb, etc.)

  • Published on Dec 17, 2014
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