Today I will show you how to make a primitive survival trap.
The trap we're going to make today is called the Feather Spear Trap and it works especially good on wild hogs.
Animals always use the easiest path, therefore we're going to look for an animal trail.
This tree is placed right next to our animal trail and it will be the base of our trap.
We're going to start by cutting a piece of fresh wood that is going to act as the spring in the trap.
Tip: Use a thin stick. It has a better spring effect than a thick one.
This stick is about 6 feet long. The bottom part will be on the ground and the other end will be tied to this tree hard and tight.
Now we're going to take a pole that is about an arm's length, and we're going to sharpen one of the ends. This will hold up the other pole that acts as a spring.
We will take the sharpened pole and drive it into the ground. It has to be on the same level as our spring on the tree.
Now we're going to take two sticks about 7 1/2″ long and sharpen one of the ends.
Make sure that they are very sharp because they will be the spear points of our trap.
Then we will tie the spear points to the bottom of the spring stick. Make sure the pointed ends are facing inward, toward the tree.
The points must be tied very tightly.
Now we're going to start making the trigger mechanism of our trap.
The first thing we're going to do is make a ring out of this greenwood.
A good tip is to clean the bark off because then the triggering mechanism will work smoother.
Tip: Soften the wood first so it will become more flexible.
Then tie the two ends together.
We're going to take two sticks and strip the bark off, removing any branches or notches.
Tie the shorter stick to the pole that we drove into the ground, a few inches from the top. Give a few inches of cordage between the pole and the stick.
Tie a short stick (just a little bit bigger than the ring we made earlier) to a cord that goes to the tree. The cord that goes to the tree should be long enough to make these two sticks meet.
The trap is complete, now it's time to set it. When setting the trap, always make sure you are behind the spears.
Here is how the trap works:
First we get this stick that we tied to this pole earlier.
That stick is twisted around this spring stick and is held by the ring.
The longer stick goes from this side of the pole to the opposite side of the spring stick.
These two sticks are pressing outward like this, so the ring is what holds them together.
This is the line that goes to the tree, and on the other side of that line is this little stick here.
This string is going to pull off the ring when the animal runs through the trap.
Now the trap is complete. I've put a water bag behind me to represent the animal. Let's give it a try.
If you want to increase your chances of catching an animal, drive more stakes into the ground to cut off other paths and make your trap the center of the choke point. The animal will see no other way through but through the trap.
For the full video tutorial, check out the video below.
Want to learn how to make more awesome traps for catching wild game? Check out our Trap For Your Life series!
