Figure 4

N

needlejr

Joined
Nov 30, 2005
Messages
19
So having some free time I decided to put the theory to practice and build a figure 4 deadfall. This is my first attempt, it was done after dark in sub 0 temperature for added entertainment value. In case people wonder, and this being a “knife nuts” forum - buck 110 was used. The “trap” was then set up in my garage with lights and out of the wind. Touching the trigger with the tips of the hairs on a broom set it of.

f4.jpg
 
Nice job, I have a question for the experienced trap builders here, what makes the better, more reliable, figure four, the setup where the trap is directly under the deadfall, or a setup where the diagonal stick is cut longer to allow the trap to sit outside the deadfall. See pictures of what I mean here
http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/traps/figure4/figure4.html
I'm guessing that the parts would spring away better if the trap is not directly under the deadfall.
 
Cool, I did the same thing....my first one. I was amazed at how much force actually came down on the animal....a little more practice and then I am on to snares.
Figure4.jpg
 
IUKE12 said:
Nice job, I have a question for the experienced trap builders here, what makes the better, more reliable, figure four, the setup where the trap is directly under the deadfall, or a setup where the diagonal stick is cut longer to allow the trap to sit outside the deadfall.
Click to expand...



I am by no means an expert, but when I made my first #4, it only seemed logical to set up the weight to fall, just next to the vertical support. I did not want the traps' sticks to get in the way of the "fall" possibally creating a barrier, "space", where the full wieght does not hit the animal. make sense? John
 
one thing that helps a lot to set any deadfall is to put some stakes at the side(at least one in each side) so the heavy object doesn't tilt to the sides...
then you can set up the deadfall trigger a lot more easy.
IMAG0713.jpg
 
IUKE12 said:
Nice job, I have a question for the experienced trap builders here, what makes the better, more reliable, figure four, the setup where the trap is directly under the deadfall, or a setup where the diagonal stick is cut longer to allow the trap to sit outside the deadfall. See pictures of what I mean here
http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/traps/figure4/figure4.html
I'm guessing that the parts would spring away better if the trap is not directly under the deadfall.
Click to expand...

If I understand correct you want to know what part the length of the diagonal plays in the making of the trap. If memory serves me correct then the farther the base of the diag is from the vertical stick the quicker the trap will be. Either way it will be pretty quick and if you need something quicker then you can move to the Piute (SP?) fig 4 trap.
 
Lots of helpful tips, thanks. datsgor, yes my sticks got in the way preventing the full force of the weight from falling in my tests. zorrro, that's a nice option.
 
datsgor said:
....a little more practice and then I am on to snares.
Click to expand...

Snares are fun as well. I always preferred the togggle, plug and pencil triggers. They seems to be the easiest and most practical. I found the ones like the wishbone and pin snare to be to complex and time consuming to be practical.
 
@ Datsgor...

How are you planning to cook that guy once you catch him? He looks sneaky... watch out.
 
coyotesniper69 said:
Snares are fun as well. I always preferred the togggle, plug and pencil triggers. They seems to be the easiest and most practical. I found the ones like the wishbone and pin snare to be to complex and time consuming to be practical.
Click to expand...



This guy at work was telling me about a snare that has some kind of hook device so if the animal starts to back out before triggering, it will snare the fur and trigger anyway........more to come on that one. John
 
coyotesniper69 said:
If I understand correct you want to know what part the length of the diagonal plays in the making of the trap. If memory serves me correct then the farther the base of the diag is from the vertical stick the quicker the trap will be. Either way it will be pretty quick and if you need something quicker then you can move to the Piute (SP?) fig 4 trap.
Click to expand...
makes sense to me. I cut a longer diagonal today and improved the snap by at least 50%. Now onto the Paiute although I think I would rather rely on the standard fig-4 trap.
 
IUKE12 said:
makes sense to me. I cut a longer diagonal today and improved the snap by at least 50%. Now onto the Paiute although I think I would rather rely on the standard fig-4 trap.
Click to expand...

Thanks Iuke for the link I'll review it later. Does it have the other traps you mention? Completely new to the figure four deadfall but was always curious about them. Everyone says they're too much fuss in a survival situation or too hard to build. Is that really the case?
 
Shotgun said:
Completely new to the figure four deadfall but was always curious about them. Everyone says they're too much fuss in a survival situation or too hard to build. Is that really the case?
Click to expand...

Just my opinion but I see it very differently. What if you are stranded with only a knife and nothing else. I think it would be easier to make a fig 4 than construct cordage and then build a snare. Fig 4 has the advantage of killing the game for you, snares only hold the game. I know some twitch ups will kill the game if they are properly caught around the neck but that dont always happen. And fig 4's are real simple to construct once you learn them. Of course there is alwas the 2 stick deadfall which is even easier to construct.
datsgor-
I think I know what you are talking about with the hook. When you make snare out of snare wire you will have a little tag at the end, just fold that inside the loop and as the loop tightens it catches in the skin. ITs real effective, I know because I set one off on my hand and it drove the wire all the way in.
 
BTW... now that I am at my home computer where I can see all the pics I just wanted to say you all did a great job on your fig 4's. :thumbup: :cool:
 
Shotgun said:
Thanks Iuke for the link I'll review it later. Does it have the other traps you mention? Completely new to the figure four deadfall but was always curious about them. Everyone says they're too much fuss in a survival situation or too hard to build. Is that really the case?
Click to expand...
That link just covers the figure 4. You can see some other stuff here. http://www.geocities.com/aliciainelpaso/snaresntraps.htm
Too much fuss? I don't think so if you practice constructing them before you really need them. The first one I attempted to make was a lot of fuss, version 2 and 3 less so, you get the point. Building a fig4 of any size will become about as much of a fuss and tying your shoes.
 
coyotesniper69 said:
Just my opinion but I see it very differently. What if you are stranded with only a knife and nothing else. I think it would be easier to make a fig 4 than construct cordage and then build a snare. Fig 4 has the advantage of killing the game for you, snares only hold the game. I know some twitch ups will kill the game if they are properly caught around the neck but that dont always happen. And fig 4's are real simple to construct once you learn them. Of course there is alwas the 2 stick deadfall which is even easier to construct.
Click to expand...
Precisely why I think it best to stick with the standard figure4 over the Paiute, don't need no stink'n cordage, just my trusty knife.
 
datsgor-
I think I know what you are talking about with the hook. When you make snare out of snare wire you will have a little tag at the end, just fold that inside the loop and as the loop tightens it catches in the skin. ITs real effective, I know because I set one off on my hand and it drove the wire all the way in.[/QUOTE]




Yep, that sounds about right...I'm gonna learn about it tomorrow......pretty cool gig i think. John
 
IUKE12 said:
Precisely why I think it best to stick with the standard figure4 over the Paiute, don't need no stink'n cordage, just my trusty knife.
Click to expand...


Ah- but I can make the Paiute witn a strip of plant fiber and NO KNIFE! I love them both!
 
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