Steel Traps & a Brief History of their use. PDF Link.

http://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/transactions/WT1951/reference/wi.wt1951.awschorger.pdf

https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/572379433882654198/

My thanks to MedicineMaker for this link.
Keith.

18th Century Eel Pots Video By Nick Post. Plus More......

Distribution - The Longfinned eel is found in freshwater rivers, streams, dams, lagoons and lakes on the coastal side of the Great Dividing Range, from Cape York in northern Queensland southwards through NSW into Victoria and Tasmania.

Size - Reaches a maximum length of approximately 1.7 metres and 22 kg in weight. Commonly found up to 1 metre in length.

Characteristics - Longfinned eels have an olive-green, heavily mottled back and sides and a silvery-white to pale yellow belly. They are the largest freshwater eel in Australia, with females growing much larger than males. It is a good recreational species because of its large size and strength. Commonly caught at night on baited hooks, particularly pieces of fish and earthworms.

Confusing species - Closely related and very similar to the short-finned eel, however, the dorsal fin starts much closer to the head on the long-finned eel. Often incorrectly referred to as conger eel in Victoria and NSW. They may also resemble lampreys, especially when small.

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/saltwater/sw-species/long-finned-eel

A traditional form of Wampanoag eel trap constructed from ash splints and cedar bark for a maritime arts demonstration. Folklife Festival, Seattle, Washington. 2003.

http://www.elizabethjamesperry.com/elizabeth-james-perry.php;

Australian Aboriginal Eel Trap.

http://www.zonein.com.au/history/australian_aborigines/eel_traps.html;

Gutenberg, from spoons to traps. A Link.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/40255/40255-h/40255-h.htm

Wilderness Living. The Raft Duck Trap.

Traps and Trapping. The Figure 4 Trigger and The Cage Trap.

Traps and Trapping. Figure 4 trap trigger and the cage trap Part 2.

Traps and Trapping. The Figure 4 Trigger and the Cage Trap part 1.

Waterfowl Tackle? The Raft Duck Trap.

Traps and Trapping. The Brass Wire Snare.

The Trap Line. Setting a Rabbit Snare.

Please Note: Due to the introduction of steel wire snares with locks, the government in all its lack of wisdom has declared neck hold snares illegal in NSW.

Wilderness living. The trail Snare.

Primitive Skills and Axemanship. Making the Figure 4.

Primitive Skills. The Figure 4 Trigger & the Cage Trap.

I just finished producing another video for a new DVD, and these are some of the still shots.

The cage trap. Built log cabin style. The bow over the top pulls it all together.

Cordage on both ends of the bow secured to the bottom stick in the construction.

The figure 4 trigger.

The bait stick. This trap can be used for rabbits or ground feeding birds.

Butt end of the bait stick.

Centre of the bait stick which notches into the upright.

The upright.

The notch in the prop which fits over the end of the upright. The end holds up the trap.

The bait stick notched into the upright.

The butt end of the prop notched into the butt end of the bait stick.

The top of the upright in the notch on the prop. The trap goes on top of the prop. The weight of the trap holds the trigger in place.

Bird Snare. Video.

Camp Activities.

Camp Activities.

I have been asked several times “what do you do on historical treks?” and “what is there to do when camping?” “Don’t you get bored?” Well actually I don’t think I have ever been bored when camping under canvas, there is always so much going on around me.

I can sit and just watch and listen, and if I get tired I can lie down and sleep. I can brew a cup of tea and listen to the sounds of the forest and watch for wildlife. Sometimes I will take my gun and go exploring, following a trail to see where it goes and note what types of animals have travelled this track. All the while looking out for wildlife so I know what frequents this area.

I also look for edible plants and plant tinders, taking note of where I saw them. Bracket fungus like the Lietiporus Portensosus will spread its spores in the same area each time, so it is wise to keep track of where you find them. If I need tinder I will collect some and take it back to camp and prepare it there, charring the material in the camp fire and placing it in my tinderbox to extinguish it.

There are many skills that are second nature to me now, so I rarely practice them unless I need to, but there was a time when I would practice these skills in camp. Making cordage is a good skill to learn and cordage can have many uses from fishing and yabby lines to traps and shelter construction. Make it heavy enough and you can use it to hang game for skinning and butchering.
Tomahawk throwing is good fun and a good survival skill to practice if you can find a dead tree, and if you have a good fishing hole nearby what a great way to spend some time catching dinner.

One of the things I do make each time I go out is a kettle hook. Simple and easy to make with my clasp knife, yet an essential item in camp. I don’t usually have a need to make cordage because I use the same leather ties that secure my blanket roll and oilcloth to construct my shelter and hang my kettle.

Making traps for practice is always worthwhile if you have not done a lot of it. In a real survival situation setting out a trap line is a priority. Traps will work for you day and night whilst you are working or sleeping. The more you can depend on your traps, the less you will have to depend on your gun, and therefore save powder and lead. Trapping large game will require plenty of strong cordage and knowledge of the trails they use.


Getting plenty of firewood in is important during the colder months, because with only one blanket you will be relying on your fire and its rock reflector surround to keep you warm. Some kindling must be stored under your shelter, in case your fire should go out in the night. Should it rain or snow you will need that dry kindling. The other firewood should be stacked outside your shelter, but close up against it so you can stoke the fire in the night without having to leave your blanket.


Sometimes there are repairs to be made to moccasins; packs that have got damaged on the trail and of course your clothing. This is a good time to check things out and make those necessary repairs before the return trek. Check out your tools, do your blades need sharpening? Or your gun need cleaning? If you carry a journal as I do now is a good time to record things that have happened so far. If you are new to woodsrunning you might want to note down items that you carry that were not needed, or perhaps and item you wished you had taken with you. How is your food supply working out? Do you need to make changes to food choices or quantities? This is a good opportunity to note how much of any particular food you use. If you are out for say two nights, take note of the food used and work out how much you would need for say 8 nights.

I always carry the same amount of everything regardless of the length of time I am away from home. In this way I get used to the weight, and I know that if I can not get back for some reason, I have enough food. In reality on a long trip my food would get lighter. Once the meat was gone that I was carrying, I would hunt for more, eat what I needed, and dry some of the meat over my fire to take with me. If you should ever get sick, having enough food will be important, because you will not be able to check your trap line or go hunting.


On one trek I started constructing a half-faced shelter. Although I live in the forest I have other work to do, daily chores. So I only had a day to spare on site. I cut the poles and stacked them ready for next time. On the next trek I started erecting the shelter, and so it went on until the shelter was finished.

Firearms, Traps & Tools of the Mountain Men, By Carl P. Russel.

My friend over at www.thesharpenedaxe.blogspot.com  mentioned this book in his comments today, so I think it is only right that I post an image of this book here. This is an excellent book for the later period, the 19th century, but it has got some earlier equipment in its pages. As I mentiond before, the fur trade started much earlier than the Rocky Mountain beaver trapper period, so it only stands to reason that there be earlier equipment being used in a later period. This is something to pay attention to when interpreting, you did not just suddenly appear in 1825 with all 1825 equipment, you have a history!

Author's copy scanned.

My thanks to my friend over at the sharpened axe for reminding me about this book.
http://www.thesharpenedaxe.blogspot.com/

Another Good Link. Camp Life & Etc.

CAMP LIFE IN THE WOODS AND THE TRICKS OF TRAPPING AND TRAP MAKING

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17093/17093-h/17093-h.htm

The Preditor Trap. PART ONE.

I had a request from Dave at: http://www.davesact.com/  to supply information on primitive trapping methods. I can't authenticate all the methods used in the 18th century, but snares were used back then and have remained in use until this present day. I doubt very much that anyone now can devise a method that has not already been used in the past 300 years.

The Preditor Trap. PART TWO.

18th Century trapping methods.

Every country has deer or s substitute for deer. Here in Australia it is the Kangaroo, of which there are many types and hybrids all known as Macropodoidea.
The woodland Indians it is said snared deer on the many deer trails that criss crossed through the forests. Snaring, and trapping in general is still far the best and surest way of obtaining food for the time spent, and Kangaroos can be snared for survival purposes just as easy as deer can. If you are a woodsrunner, regardless of gender, then you should know how to make primitive traps, and you should have some knowledge of trapping.
Once the trap line is set up it will work for you day and night. You can hunt when checking the traps so no time is lost. 

This trail snare will catch any game animal if set at the correct height for that animal, and of sufficient size and strength, from rabbits to Buffalo. For anything larger than a hare, but smaller than a buffalo, I suggest using a sapling or small live tree as a spring to lessen the chance of breaking the snare. If the animal runs or fights the snare it will eventually break the snare unless it is of sufficient strength, but a spring will take out a lot of the strain. There is however always the chance that an animal will break the spring. Traps should be checked morning and night unless you are only setting them in the evening.

Small game snares with leather thongs for tying off.

POST SCRIPT.

I know there are a lot of people who dislike the idea of trapping, this is mainly because these people do not know enough about trapping. I dislike steel jawed traps/leg hold traps, but I can also see that there is a place for them in certain circumstaces. I only trap for food, or in the case of ferral animal damage, such as ferral cats and dogs. I use snares because they do no physical damage if used properly.

If someone is a meat eater, then I don't think that they have a right to criticise other people for hunting and trapping. You have to think about where your meat comes from, and what that animal has to go through before part of it finds its way to your table!

The reason animals are being poisoned and killed slowly with viral infections distributed by local coucils, is because people complained about the use of jaw traps and had them banned! Now you think about this, because we are all human animals. If you had a choice of being caught in a steel jawed leg hold trap and then when discovered dispatched quickly, or being poisoned to death, or dieing from a viral infection that makes your eyes bug out of your head until you go blind, then it slowly destroys your body and brain until you finally die, which would you choose?! I know which one I would choose.