First try at making a deadfall

[CShepherd]

Hello all,

I've made some spring traps many years ago but had never made a deadfall. Tonight I changed that.

After watching Less Stroud have such a problem setting the figure-4 I decided to try the string & toggle (or whatever it's properly called).

I have to admit, it wasn't too difficult to do, at least in this incarnation. The rock seemed to drop with sufficient speed and weight to actually be deadly to something small. The knife in the pic has a 4" blade for size comparison.

Here's a closeup of the trigger if you will. Of course I would trim the cord.

In fact, I carry a bunch of spiderwire in my kit for making snares, rigging trotlines and anything else, and will try it one day with the spiderwire.

Let me know what you all think.

As a side note, I noticed some fresh gopher holes in my yard. Actually my dog found them for me. What would be a good bait to set for them? Figured I might as well try my newly aquired skills out and get rid of them at the same time.

Charles

 

[T. Erdelyi]

When we were kids hangin' out around the Pine Barons of South Jersey we used to make "em all the time but that was 30 + years ago, it's been a long time since I've made one.

Thanks for the memories, now I'll have to try my hand at it again.

 

[Fieldtestornothing]

Looks awesome. I have about zero experience making them, but I really want to learn. Great job!

 

[CShepherd]

Looks awesome. I have about zero experience making them, but I really want to learn. Great job!

Hardest part was getting the lengths right. When it was all said and done, they were almost the same length.

http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/traps/paiute/paiute01.html

This is where I got the idea. The SAS Survival handbook calls it the "Toggle and Bait Release."

Give it a try. It was a lot of fun to tinker with. Was in the yard with the wife, kid and the dog. I have to admit, my wife has been really cool with the whole preparedness/survival thing. She even said tonight that it's a bit scary to think that there might be a time when we have to rely on these skills but glad that I'm learning them. Hopefully one day I'll get her to learn them too.

Charles

 

[coote]

I agree that playing with deadfall traps is fun.

I've had great success using them for mice and rats. Here's a pic showing a rat that got caught in a simple figure four deadfall that used a slab of rock for a weight:

 

[coote]

In case some folks aren't too sure what a figure four trigger is, it is a simple assembly of whittled sticks that forms an approximate "4" when viewed from the right side. In the diagram below, the trigger is shown from the wrong side. It's a mirror image of a '4' I guess.

The upright stick doesn't have to be stuck into the ground, so it can be set on a lot of different surfaces.

I find it useful to split the end of the bait stick. Bait is then forced into the split so the rodents have to push hard to get at it...thus firing the trap.

With the 'shortened' version as shown in the diagram below, the leverage is generally fairly suitable for supporting a moderately heavy weight...while being sensitive enough to be set off by a mouse.

If more of the angled stick protruded over the top of the upright stick, then there would be greater leverage exerted throughout the system...thus greater friction at the joints... and it would be harder for a small critter to set it off.

Thanks for bringing up the subject Charles. Primitive traps are one of my favorite topics.

 

[CShepherd]

I agree that playing with deadfall traps is fun.

I've had great success using them for mice and rats. Here's a pic showing a rat that got caught in a simple figure four deadfall that used a slab of rock for a weight:

I like that much better than setting the household mouse traps. Won't break my daughters hand if she gets in them. Plus they're much more fun to set.

Gonna have to play with a Figure-4 deadfall tonight I guess.

Any tips or tricks.

Charles

 

[coote]

The trigger in my previous post is quite sensitive to set. The weight of the bait stick with the bait attached may even be almost enough to set it off. So maybe it could be good to start with a trigger that has more of the diagonal stick overhanging the vertical prop to get more leverage ...thus getting a greater load/more friction back through the system.

I have tied the diagonal stick to the bait stick in the past, and this can make the trigger a little bit less 'fiddly' to set. It also may make it easier to find the various sticks once the thing has fired.

I think that the Paiute deadfall is a good trap, but I have become so used to the figure four now that it would generally always be my first choice of deadfall.

Here's the tied version of the figure four:

 

[Eyegor]

I've built figure-4s but have never had much success with either the building or the setting. I'm sure with more practice I could improve. I've seen the toggle trigger but never tried it. You have inspired me.

 

[CShepherd]

I've built figure-4s but have never had much success with either the building or the setting. I'm sure with more practice I could improve. I've seen the toggle trigger but never tried it. You have inspired me.

Definitely give the toggle trigger a try. It was suprisingly easy to set and seemed to trigger quite easily. I'm going to try it with spiderwire, as that's wat I carry in my pack for snares and such to save the paracord for other items.

Charles

 

[k_estela]

Your Paiute looks sound but if you make another, make the trigger more sensitive by making it pointy, not blunt.

Nice job!

 

[CShepherd]

Your Paiute looks sound but if you make another, make the trigger more sensitive by making it pointy, not blunt.

Nice job!

I was wondering about that. it is actually point up against the rock. Should it be pointy against the toggle as well? I was afraid that if it was pointed that it would actually stick more than the flat wood. Perhaps a bit rounded or somethng.

Thanks for all the advice. This is a lot of fun to work on and can be a good thing to know. I want to set the trap along the creek at the back of my property but am afraid of catching a neighborhood pet or something.

Charles

 

[bikermikearchery]

Nice job.
I find that the thiner I get the trigger sticks on the figure 4 the more sensitive the trap will be, and the lower the Angle of the weight the better. Less distance to fall = less time for the critter to get out of the way.
I have only set the Paiute trap a few times but I made both ends of the trigger stick pointed, very sensitive that way.
When I'm fooling around the yard trying to learn a new trap I have used Cheeto's for bait on a box trap and have caught gophers squirrels birds and cats with it (cats didn't get hurt)

 

[coote]

That's a good point about sharpening the ends of the trigger sticks etc. I think that the ends of the critical sticks should at least be 'rounded off' a bit to get a reliable and smooth release.

When Bikermike wrote about the critter getting away, that reminded me of another good point. Despite the fact that my deadfalls appeared to drop quickly, I sometimes found that there was nothing underneath them.

What I try to do now is consider what a mouse or rat would do in a panic situation. I figure they would instinctively head in the direction that they feel is safest. So what I do is put the back of the trap (where the big rock rests on the ground) towards what I think the safest direction is. Then, if the rat, err, 'smells a rat' and suspects that something is about to happen, it may be more likely to scamper further under the trap instead of running out of it.

I use commercial rat and mice traps of course, but there is something very satisfying about bagging a rodent with a rock and some sticks. I once even used a wooden box partially filled with nails as a deadfall weight. This was at a building site and the trap was set over a fairly flat concrete floor. The box of nails was heavy, and there was a lot of force being transmitted back down through the trigger. But I still caught a mouse. However it was almost flat enough to insert into the card slot on money machine.