What Did You Learn In The January Challenge?

[Guyon]

First, congrats to all the winners. Great job to everyone. :thumbup:
I thought Md 25v put it over the top with that homemade cordage, and I was right.
But Ethan also acknowledged the pedagogical bent of that post, and he's right there as well.
There are a lot of processes shown and lessons taught in Md 25v's post.

I thought Just thought I'd query the folks who competed (or anyone for that matter) and ask about what they learned.
I'd done quite a few Figure 4's before, and that one I found pretty easy.
However, on the Paiute and the L7 Spring Trap, I was learning from ground zero. Here's what I figured out.

• On the Paiute, I thought it was helpful to choose a trigger stick that is thin and lightweight. With light tension on the trigger, a heavy stick just falls too easily.
• I also found it practical to sharpen the tip of the trigger stick so that it had a light but effective grab on the deadfall.
• I also flattened the sides of the trigger (tied to the string) and found the flat surface particularly valuable on the side that engages the trigger stick.
• On the L7, I figured out that it's easy to adjust the tension on the snare based on how fully you engage the L7 trigger.
• Also, when setting the spring trap, I thought it was a good idea to make a "pilot hole" in the ground with a throwaway stick. I spent a lot of time carving my "7" piece, and I feared pounding it into the ground might crack the end.

 

[paperairplane]

I had / have a ton of trouble tuning a piaute trap. I will be playing around with that one for some time. That little stick and string makes me angry.

The figure 4 is fun to play with - all the notches amuse me and are fun to carve.

The L7 I really had fun making. I ended up carving barbs in my 7 so that it anchored tighter and would hold more tension. I want to make a bigger set - something more like 3-4" diameter, just for fun. Be a good warmer weather project. Was interesting to play with the engagement - kind of like the sear on a trigger - always balancing hair trigger vs strong enough to hold the tension.

 

[Bladite]

i don't remember the L7 by name. visual guy. also, booze

 

[NixKustoms]

Thanks Guyon!! :thumbup:

I learned a lot from it being that I've never done any traps before, and I still have a lot to learn. I will be practicing these and others in my back yard and on the trails. Md 25v will be getting a bunch of questions from me on these and other traps.

I've learned that these are not easy to do as others make it look like with their videos and pictures. As you can tell from my videos I was having a hard time with 'em. So I still have a lot to learn. I think the most important thing that I learned from this was not to have the vertical stick directly under the dead fall.