Patrick Kelley
Trapping Tips for Beginners
When it comes to hunting, many choose to take the trapping method. We’re not going to argue whether it’s the best or worst way to hunt, but we will give you some reasons to go this route as well as some trapping tips.
It’s a little more complicated than that picture above, but trapping doesn’t have to feel like an unattainable skill.
Benefits of trapping
- You can set it up and leave it for long periods of time. If you struggle with patience, this one’s for you.
- You can theoretically catch more prey. If you don’t have to sit and wait for your prey to come to you or go out to find it like with traditional hunting, you can set up multiple traps in your area. As long as all are done well, you can have multiple catches in one day.
- It could be safer. Using a gun, bow and arrow, or another weapon to hunt down your prey can put you and other humans around you in danger. We would hope that anyone who hunts knows what they’re doing, but sadly, that’s not always the case. Trapping keeps you away from amateurs with weapons, weapon malfunctions, and angry beasts that get shot but don’t fall right away. Trapping keeps you pretty distant from your prey and from other hunters.
Trapping tips
- The more traps, the more chances you have of catching. Set up multiple throughout the area to increase your chances and to gather more prey.
- Camouflage. Always hide your traps by using the surrounding environment to camouflage them. Use leaves, sticks, dirt, branches, bushes, debris, anything to make it look like it’s part of the earth.
- Block escape routes around your trap. Make it nearly impossible for your prey to avoid the trap. Block other paths with branches, trunks, bushes, and anything else that would deter your prey from taking that route.
- Always test your trap. There’s nothing worse than putting in all the effort to set up a trap, only to come back later and find that the bait has been taken but the trap wasn’t triggered. Test it once, then test it again.
- Remove your scent. Animals can easily detect your scent, both on your person and on the trap. Cover it up by washing away sweat and covering yourself with the soil, mud, leaves, and debris around you. Do the same for your trap to ensure your scent isn’t on it.
- Always keep a survival kit with you. While trapping can usually be safer than hunting with other weapons, there’s always the chance that you’ll get hurt or end up in a survival situation. As always, be ready for anything. Keep your essential gear on you at all times, carry some type of weapon to be used in the case of an emergency, and be ready to act fast if things happen to go awry.
- There are plenty of different types of traps to choose from. There’s no universal “right” way to trap; it’s dependent mainly on your environment, your prey, and your own skills. This article details plenty of different types of traps and how to utilize them correctly.
Now you’re ready to get out there and start trapping! If you have any questions about trapping or hunting in general, or if you have more tips to share with your fellow BattlBoxers, head to our Facebook page and get to talking.
