254 FUR FACTS 



STEEL TRAPS AND OTHER TRAPPING DEVICES 



In the early days of trapping, it was necessary for the trapper 

 not only to have a knowledge of the habits, signs, and tracks of the 

 furbearers, but also to be able to build deadfalls and to make snares 

 that would successfully catch the elusive and suspicious animals, 

 such as the mink, marten, and the fox. Up until the invention of the 

 steel trap this was the only method in use. About seventy five 

 years ago Sewell Newhouse invented the steel trap, and this gradually 

 came into general use. Today deadfalls and snares are used very 

 little as it requires considerable skill and knowledge on the part of 

 the trapper to build them successfully. On the other hand the steel 

 trap can be purchased at a very small cost. The trapper equipped 

 with a dozen steel traps can set them out in as many different places 

 and thereby greatly increase his chances of success, where to build 

 a dozen deadfalls would require a great amount of work, and fur- 

 thermore they cannot always be erected at desirable spots. It is 

 therefore safe to say that practically all modern trapping is done 

 with the steel trap, and the other accessories that go with the steel 

 trap, such as Triple Grip Jaws, Holdfast Jaws, Radiolite Tin Fish, 

 Animal Bait, etc. One of the advantages that the deadfalls do have 

 is that they usually kill the animal; the two trigger steel trap is also 

 designed to kill the animal instantly. 



One of the most popular deadfalls and one that is easily made is 

 the Figure Four Deadfall. The 

 figure four may support a large 

 flat rock, or a heavy log, or 

 any other heavy object, that 

 will drop quickly and crush 

 the animal that springs the 

 trigger. The Figure Four is 

 made by cutting three sticks 

 as shown in the illustration. 

 The sticks should be about one half inch in diameter and of 



well seasoned strong 



liH % ~fyl. | wood. The success 



of this method de- 

 pends largely on care- 

 fully making the Figure Four. One of sticks should be about 

 fourteen inches long. We have illustrated both the side view and 



