The Cheap Haversack Kit

By Caleb Steck

This kit is designed to be carried in a belt pouch and a haversack. Consequently, it must be quite light. Everything must be absolutely necessary. You are not going to be carrying things like a draw shave, or even a tarp. 

That said, let’s start with cutting tools. First is a quality belt knife. (Click HERE to see an article on that issue) The 4 basics of a good belt knife are: full tang, good grind and temper, and a comfortable handle. My bush knife is homemade, which cost me about $7, some charcoal, and about 2 hours of work, but I already had the forge. (Click HERE to see how make a very basic knife) If you were to buy a bushcraft knife new, it would cost about anywhere from $10 to upwards of $150. But, if you went to a few flea markets, you could find an Old Hickory butcher knife for around $3. 

Next is a belt hatchet. My favorite is the Gerber pack hatchet, but that is rather expensive. The other option is to search flea markets. Look for an old carpenter’s hatchet that’s suits you, and re-furbish it. This is my preference, for if you can find an old hatchet, it was usually made really well. I also carry a “hobo tool” that was my grandpa’s which has a large 4” blade, a smaller blade, spoon, fork, 2 awls, wood saw, scissors, file, cork screw, can opener and a bottle opener. Almost all of these tools I would carry anyway, so having them all in one folding tool is a big bonus. 

Moving on to containers, I have a wooden kuska that is great as a traditional water cup, and I even made the gouge I used to carve it. Next I use a tin can cookset I made, consisting of the following: 1) 18 oz soup can with the sharp inside rim crimped down, 1) 14 oz soup can that nests inside of the other can upside down creating a container, a soda can with the top cut off and the edge crimped down (which nests inside of the smaller can), and my sugar, salt and ‘Ol bay seasoning inside it all. 

Note: if you are planning to stay for longer periods of time, or there is more than one person camping, add a larger pail that can carry gear, but will be used to make soups in. 

Next I have a water bottle, as large as possible, a few plastic bags and a supply of tin foil. For food, I use a bag of rice, a bag of oatmeal, cooking oil, jerky, and a fishing kit.  

During squirrel season I also take along a good gun and a gun care kit, which is paper towels, hex wrench set, plastic bags, a length of bankline with loops on each end for a gambrel string, and a pocket knife (which everybody should already have). 

My main fire source is cotton balls and Carmex, which burns even better than petroleum. Carmex has petroleum, bee’s wax AND certain kinds of oil, all of which are fuel sources. Besides that, I have a lighter and ferro rod in my pocket, and my fire kit. It contains char cloth, a piece of flint, waterproofed strike-anywhere matches, and extra Carmex.

 Another thing I have is a leather belt pouch that I made, which contains my fishing kit, electrical tape, compass, and is a place for my fire kit. 

That concludes the contents if the scrounged belt kit, and I put mine all together almost free. Just scrounging and blacksmithing alone will knock a lot off the cost of this kit. So, while you can go buy $200 worth of brand new gear at Academy, if you keep your eyes open and learn a little blacksmithing, well you can have a $20 worth of gear and you even know how it was built!!

The Ultamate Bush Knife

The Ultimate Bush knife

 

Ok, right out of the gate I am going to tell you this; there is no one-size-fits-all ultimate bush knife, it doesn’t exist.  But I can describe one the most useful knives for bushcrafting in the south. First you must have a full tang. A Mora type knife would be great for carving, but not batoning and chopping. You want enough stability to know that that handle is not going any where. Second, you need a good grind and shape. I like a little lower grinds, where they maybe come halfway op the blade. My preferred handle material is micarta; it is pretty much indestructible, and is also water resistant. As long as it is good carbon steel, most any steel will work. 1095 is mostly what I work with; it provides good hardness and you can strike sparks off the blade in an emergency. And the last of these specs is size. I prefer larger handles, like 4 ½ inches. The blade length should be in between 4 and 6 inches. Now I am going to build the knife we just described, and then show you how well it works.

Ok, two days later here is what I have:

So, the above is a great example, and I would, without a second’s hesitation, trust my life to this knife. But, going back to my previous point, there is no perfect knife. In my opinion an old hickory butcher knife from Amazon or a flea market is a fantastic bush tool, although it is not as sturdy as a thicker knife. Any knife that fits in the categories listed at the top of this article is a good bush knife.

Well, I hope this little tidbit helped you,

and keep on bushcrafting,

-Caleb

Hunting Seasons

Just a reminder, hunting seasons start up soon, so be sure to check the parks and wildlife website for your state, that's where the dates are posted. For Texas the website is tpwd.texas.gov. For wood and smith counties fore sure, SQUIRREL SEASON STARTS TOMORROW!

Learning from Cooking Mistakes

In this post, I am going to discuss my gear modification, and we're I went wrong with my backwoods cooking, so please learn from my mistakes. Since my last post, I have completely redone my hut, and my gear pack. On my hut, it is now just a roof which is a combination of a tarp and debris, with a overhang covering my fire pit. My gear pack now consists of the following:

Homemade Mora knife and sheath, hatchet, folding knife, ferro rod, bankline, paracord, twine, lighter, steel wool, rock salt, beef jerky, 2 bandannas, frying pan, stew pot, soup can , compass,  oil, water bottles, hard tack mix, johnny cake mix.

First, I started work on the fire, and since it had rained the past 4 days, this was not an easy task. I got a cedar bark tinder bundle and as much tinder as I could. I lit the bundle and it burned up without igniting the sticks. Then I used 0000 steel wool and that didn't work, so I moved to grass and the third bundle with that had enough coals that I was able to blow them to life. That done, I put the pot on the fire and got some water to a simmer. I say simmer because that's all that it was, wet wood does not burn very hot. 

Then I cut a couple slices off the frozen squirrel I brought out there, and put them in the water. I added the potatoes and when they were done, I served myself and my brother. Neither one of us liked the meat, but the potatoes disappeared instantly. I put the meat back on the boil, and broke out the jerky.

Next I went to work with my Johnny cake mix. I added water to it, and then realized that I had used corn starch instead of corn meal. Well, that was a bust. Next I did the hardtack mix. I added water, and then fried it. You bake hardtack. So I threw that out, and put some more mix in some aluminum foil and put that in the fire. It cooked real good, but when I went to eat it, it tasted like I was eating pure salt cake. So I threw it out. By now the squirrel meat was looking good so I took it off and ate it all. Clean up was simple; boil water and use the bandanna to wash the plate and knife off, then burn the trash.

WHAT I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY

First, I would make a bigger fire. Next I would use a "just-add-water" cornbread mix. Lastly I would stew the meat with some vegetables in a larger pot. Lack of cleanliness pretty much made the process miserable, and next time I will have a large bucket of warm, soapy water to wash all the dishes and utensils. 

The Rocky Mountain Fur Trappers and Price Inflation

What they paid vs. what we pay 

The beaver pelt was the staple trade item of the early eighteen hundreds, hence the name “Fur Trade Era”. The beaver trappers of the early eighteen hundreds would go into the mountains, trap beaver through winter and spring, then rendezvous at a previously agreed location. While there, they would sell off their skins to men like William Ashley and John Jacob Astor, who in turn would sell them to distributors who could make then into hats, or sell them one at a time to individuals.

With the money they received for their pelts, (which, in 1829, sold for $5.25 a pound, with each man averaging about 74 pounds of fur each), they bought the supplies they needed to do another year of beaver trapping in the mountains.


Some of these supplies sold at the rendezvous sites were; fishhooks, traps, coffee, sugar, tobacco, lead shot, knives, cloth, and blankets. These were the staple items meant for use, but there were a few more like cloth, beads and awls which were almost strictly for Indian trade. From the Lewis and Clark expedition, all the way up to the late 1800’s, trade with the Indians was a priority. On the Lewis and Clark expedition, there were over 4,600 needles, 70 square yards of red cloth, many shiny medallions and hundreds of pounds of kettles and army jackets strictly for Indian trade.


In John Jacob Astor’s inventory of tools, he has over 300 knife blades, over 11 gross assorted awls, 70 files, 509 assorted axes, 300 log dogs and 1,050 assorted hooks, most of which were for trade with the Indians. That is how important trade was.


In 1813, if a man wanted 1 dozen fishhooks in town, he could get them for about $0.50 cents, depending on where he got them. The Current Price Equivalent (CPE) of that is about $7. If a man wanted a dozen fishhooks at a rendezvous, he would loose $1.50. The CPE of that is about $22. We can go to Wal-Mart and get ½ dozen hooks for $0.95. In 1832, Jonson Gardener, a free trapper, paid $2 each for a lot of butcher knives, CPE is about $52 EACH. Those same knives were bought by the seller for less than $0.20 cents each in town. Now we can order those same knives for $8.00 a piece.

The reason for such inflation was the cost in getting the supplies to the rendezvous site. He had to carry them on horse back or buggy many hundreds of miles at the risk of his life and still make a profit. Now I come to awls, which were the #1 trade item with the Indians. Today a good leather stitching awl is $6.50. In 1812, you could get a dozen shoe awls for around 5 cents, a CPE of $0.06 each, as opposed to $6.50. Blistered steel sold for 7 cents per pound, CPE $1.05 a pound. Today it is as much as $30 for maybe 3 pounds of steel. So as you can see from these few examples, the price of some things has gone down, and the price of other things has gone way up. I wrote this article as an insight into what money was worth back in “the good ‘ole days” and what the trade items were worth. I really hoped you liked it and learned something from it.

Journal of the Backwoodsman 4

June

I recently acquired some carving tools from my grandpa; a bowl gouge, a hand chisel, and a carving knife. After I got them, I started whittling on a spoon. A spoon is one of the easiest beginner carving items. I shaped it with the knife, then carved out the dip with the gouge. Then I made a spatula, using the carving knife and a draw knife. That is just how easy carving is, and now I have 2 useful tools, and the experience to make more.

I also went to a few stores with my grandpa. First was a flea market here in town, and I am friends with the owner. It is just a small shop with just about everything, from fishing lures to knives. I go there quite often and get almost everything I can't get at Ace. This time I got a WWII mess kit, 4 bags of bass lures, and a plastic-handled diamond sharpening rod for 8 dollars. Then I went to the store next to it and got a 5 dollar topwater and 2 spinners for $2. Then we went to Wal-Mart and I got a emergency space blanket for 2 dollars. I do think I scored big!

I hope you learned how much you can get for just a little at those flea markets and junk stores. Have fun ,

Caleb

Journal of the Backwoodsman 3;

June 19

Tonight I did a short little campout in my back yard for testing my gear in a 24-hour scenario. (I did not actually sleep out on this, although I have, for the reason that it is 90 degrees even at night) I only had my paint can day pack, tarp, water bottle, a hunk of wax, and my hatchet, along with the stuff on my person including 3 knives and a fire kit.

I really think the beginner can learn something from this. The first thing I started working on is my shelter. I have a raised bed and a permanent ridge pole I setup a while back, along with my 7' by 7' tarp. I rigged this as shown, with out staking directly to the ground for increased air flow. My paint can is hanging on a hand-forged hook nailed to the tree. Once I got all that done, I headed for the nearby woods.

First I got 3 good strong poles for my tripod. Then I grabbed some sassafras roots, and some fatwood from a dead cedar. These I brought back to camp. I made the tripod first, lashing it with some wire from my paint can day pack. Then a paracord loop was attached to a stick with a few bail notches so I can raise and lower the pot as needed. Next made a fire in my keyhole fire pit, so I could rake coals into the narrow part for easier cooking. I made it with a dead grass and shredded cedar bark tinder bundle and a ferro rod with char.

Over that fire I made some sassafras tea, and while that was going I started messing with the wax. I wanted to see if waxed paracord held a knot any better than the regular paracord. So melted a little wax in one of my spare tins, and lightly waxed about 1'. When it was dry, it held the best knot I have seen in a long time. You could also do this with nylon to help with tying it. Alright, back to camping. Now the tea was ready and I added sugar ( another thing from the paint can) and sat down to sip. Then I started throwing my knife and after that I used a stone to make a bone spear head. By this time it was dark, so I just sat on my bed and took it all in. 

In the morning I got the fire going again, and at once began making breakfast. First I got some tea on, then I got a good coal bed raked into the narrow part of my keyhole fire. Over this I set a baking pan and I used the hot surface here to cook on. I made bacon and bannock, which tasted really good. My bannock recipe is on the journal of the backwoodsman 

1;http://lessonsfromatrapper.blogspot.com/2016/06/journal-of-backwoodsman-1.html  . After I ate, I started picking up. In about 5 minutes I had everything up except the tarp tent, which I plan on leaving. I hope you liked my adventure, and that you learned something. one more thing I did; I sealed a plastic bag over a  branch, and let it sit over night. In the morning there was a few drops of condensation, but not enough to drink. have fun camping, 

Caleb

Journal Of the Backwoodsman 2-----fishing and fire

Today about noon I went fishing with my younger brother. I used live minnows for bait, hooked above the spine about 6" under water. I got 2, 2 IB bass, although I hooked and caught another until he got off. My brother didn't have any luck. Then I made a small fire, (in the forge for safety reasons) using flint and steel. I tried chert first, but the sparks weren't hot enough. My tinder bundle was really dry, fine cedar bark and dead grass. That is the way to go. On the fire I made some sassafras tea. I make my tea by putting about 8" worth of pinky-sized root into a pot of water, and boiling it until it's very dark, about 10 minutes. Then I add a generous amount of sugar for taste. While the fire was going, I started burning out a wooden spoon, but It didn't turn out. That is all I have for you today.

Have fun!

Caleb

blacksmithing series

Hey subscribers, 

A while back I started a series on blacksmithing. I would like to continue that series, but I need your help. Please tell me, as a comment, what you would like to learn how to make, and if I can even try to make it, I will do a post on it.

Journal of the Backwoodsman 1

This is a series in which I will record, as in a journal, my bushcraft practices. I hope it will be as fun for you to read as it is for me to write. Please enjoy!

my campsite

June 7th: (They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I hope to use as many pictures as possible so that you understand better) Today I worked on a semi-permanent shelter, a lean-to. I only got the bed and main pole done. Tomorrow I will work on the structure more. The ridge pole and the two long bed poles are cedar, the bed is called a sack bed; it works by wedging the bag/sticks taut.

  Also, I cut firewood, gathered some fat-wood, which is the sap-rich wood right where a branch  meets the tree on a evergreen tree ( you want it as close to vertical as possible), and put some bannock mix put together. Bannock is 1 cup of flour, 1 tsp of baking powder, 1 TBSP dry milk, a pinch of salt, and berries, which are optional. Just add water till it's a good doughy texture, then pat it into cakes and fry it in bacon grease. If you have it, you  can top them with maple syrup. This mix always comes with me. To conclude this post, I will give you a bullet point list of the items I use in my projects. Here it is:

1. TOOLS:

·       CUTTING

1.    knife

2.    saw

practising the upside down fire

3.    hatchet

5.    sharpening rod

·       COMBUSTION

2.    lighter

3.    flint and steel

4.    sun glass

5.    candle

·       COVER

1.    tarp

2.    reflective blanket

·       COTTON

1.    bandanna

2.    spare cotton socks for charring

·       CONTAINERS

1.    8oz metal cup

2.    18oz metal cup

3.    stew pot

4.    frying pan

5.    backpack/paint can

·       CORDAGE

1.    paracord

2.    jute twine

3.    nylon string

4.    bankline

·       EXTRAS

2.    nails

3.    gloves

4.    gun

·       FOOD

1.    fishing kit

2.    frog gig

3.    snares

4.    rat trap

5.    jerky

6.    trail mix

7.    bannock mix

8.    PLENTY OF WATER!!!!

The 9 Do-It-All Survival Tools

Do you ever wonder what very few tools you would take on a light weight backpacking or camping trip? Or what you would take in case of an emergency? In this article, I hope to help you figure that out, and tell you what I would use. But, before I start, let's go over what all your tools need to cover. You need some kind of shelter, a way to make fire, a generous amount of cord, a good cutting tool, stuff to cook in, and a water filter. That is the basis on which I picked these 9 tools.

#1) A good stout belt knife. You should have a lot of faith in this blade. 3 things to look for in a good blade are; a 90 degree spine, for scraping bark and fine shavings, a good grind like a Scandinavian or full flat, and a comfortable handle.
#2) Machete. I like the Gerber gator Jr. machete, because it has a good sheath and a comfortable rubber handle. That being said, any good machete will work, as long as it's comfortable. I would chose a machete over a hatchet because it can be used as a food source; you can easily kill snakes and gar with one.
 #3) 100' of black paracord. This stuff is great, you can use it to make a good shelter, and it ties really strong, so you can use it for just general use.
 #4) 75' of jute twine. I love this stuff for lashing spears, and making things as needed. It ties strong, and you can unravel it and use it as tinder.
#5) To cook in, it's hard to beat a good cooking pot with a frying pan lid, but not to big of a pan. This can also be used for holding some stuff like your paracord and twine.
#6) Ferro rod, or BIC lighter. This is where it depends on the trip your taking. If your in the mountains where you could break an ankle, the BIC would be the better, so there's minimum tinder-gathering. But, if you are in the woods, there is tinder readily available, and a ferro rod would be easy to use, take one of those, it will last a lifetime. (Be sure to get the good ones like sold from self reliance outfitters)
#7) Water filter. I don't have a preference, but I like the LifeStraw, it is very compact.
#8) Tarp. A good tarp can make making shelter very easy.
#9) Sleeping bag.

These 9 tools are the core of my camping kit, and they cover everything! From food to shelter, (if you know your stuff) these can save your life, or if you like camping simple, try taking only these. Yes, that's a challenge.

Basic Blacksmithing Projects, Part I

THIS is part 1 of what I hope to be a many part series on blacksmithing. In this part, I will go over the tools and equipment, plus making a basic rebar knife. For those of you who have not subscribed, now is a good time to do that.

TOOLS:
First you will need a forge, which is the heart and soul of this whole thing. There are still a few available you can buy, although it is a lot easier to build one. Check out my making the trap spring knife post to see a link to a swallow forge video on doing this. Be sure to use coal or charcoal in your forge, only they will burn hot enough to really forge.
For holding the metal while its hot, a pair or five of tongs are a must. You can find these at flea markets. It is best to go ahead and get a good anvil at the beginning, you wont regret it. These can be found at junk yards and bought online. You will also need a stand. If possible, you can cut a stump off at the right height, and fasten your anvil to that. If this feat is not possible, just a large log that is even at top and bottom is great. A quenching bucket is like a paint can, or other can filled with oil. If you are only working with medium steel (rebar), then water will work fine, but oil is a must for high-carbon steels. And it doesn't have to be special oil, just cooking oil or old car oil. All this does is keeps it from cracking when you harden it. Then grinders. A good bench grinder is a must and a belt sander with metal belts works fine to put a good high grind on your knife. Then last but not least, safety equipment. I use good calf leather gloves and clear safety glasses. When you are working with heavy metal, a good leather apron is a good guard against melting or burning your shirt. And those are the basic tools.

MAKING THE KNIFE:
To start with, get a 2' piece of rebar red hot in your forge.

nice and hot!

Then start flattening out about 5" at one end. Stop when its about 3/4", and square the sides off. It should end up being about 1/2" wide, and 1/8" thick.

It should end up being about 1/2" wide, and 1/8" thick.

handle shape

Get the whole flat end hot again, and curve it around the end of your anvil, like in the picture. That is the handle.

almost done

For the blade, go about 1" up from the beginning of the handle, and measure how big you want your blade. Then, with a hacksaw, cut it off. Now, go about 1" up from your handle again, and flatten and shape your blade, then, with angled blows, put a little taper on it.





When you have the desired shape, get it a dull red, and set it aside to cool, no water. after it's cool, it is very soft, and you can do what ever grinding you need. When that's done, put it BACK in your forge and get it a glowing red, and quench in oil. It is now very hard and brittle. We need to take some of the hardness out. Polish the knife blade, but quench about every 4 seconds, so you don't ruin the temper. Once it is shiny, grab the handle with vise grips, and put it spine DOWN in your forge. Do not turn on the billows. You will see a yellow, then a blue coming up the blade. When the yellow reaches the edge, quench it in water very quickly, NOT OIL. Your knife it now the correct hardness, so you may finish grinding, but keep it very cool, quenching every 2 or 3 seconds, then put an edge on it.

finished knives

Have Fun,

Caleb
P.S. please comment!!!!

The Woodsman' "Possibles"

The Woodsman's "Possibles" 

The fur-trade era Mountain man had a bag on him at all times. This bag he called his "possibles", and it held his flint and steel, his spare knife, his beaver pelts, and the other necessities for living on the move. Most likely it was made of buckskin, with fringe and a leather strap. I would like to go through in a little depth what you can put in your possibles to make it a great, all-round tramping-camping kit. In Dave Canterbury's book, Bushcraft 101, he tells you all about the 5 C's of survivability. They are*:

Cutting 

Cover 

Cordage 

Containers

Combustion (fire)

With these in mind, now we can look at what exactly to use. For CUTTING, there are knives, axes and saws. 3 good knives to have are a pocket knife, a really good belt knife (like a trap spring knife), and an extra fixed blade knife in your bag. For axes, a good old-fashioned hatchet will do, but as long as you are not building a cabin, I recommend the little Gerber hatchet, with a rubber handle. They cost a pretty penny, but it’s worth it. For a saw, if you are just going out in the woods for a few days, you just need a wire saw, or a very small hack saw. COVER is very important, especially if it is cold out side. In winter, you want a small, lightweight tent, or to build a debris hut with a sleeping bag. In summer, on the other hand, you can just bring an oilcloth tarp, or a roofed hammock. CORDAGE can range from fishing string, to 1000 IBS test rope. Along with a fishing kit, you should always have 100' of paracord, and some nylon stuff. The paracord can be used to rig up tents with a tarp, or to make a snare. The nylon string is for the in-the-middle jobs, like hanging food from trees, and making pack frames. Also, you can take jute twine, which can take the place of the nylon, and double as a tinder source. Just remember, everything in your kit should have at least 3 uses. CONTAINERS will hold water, food, bait and supplies. You can use hard ones or cloth ones. A good, all metal water bottle and cup is a must. And you need a bag to carry your kit in, in the first place. And don't forget the handkerchief. They can be used to cover wounds, slightly filter water, and catch crayfish. COMBUSTION, meaning any way of making fire. This includes matches, lighter, flint and steel, fire piston and magnifying glass. Matches are very susceptible to the elements and you are never sure of a light, so I do not recommend them. A regular, $1.50 BIC lighter is the best fire starter you can get, because it is waterproof, it provides an open flame, and it is very compact. In addition to your lighter, you may use a magnifying glass (sun glass), or flint and steel. The sun glass is a little harder to use, but it does not require a special tinder, while the flint and steel with char cloth or cotton balls is very to start a fire with.

That covers the five C’s, but not food and water. For FOOD, trail mix and canned soup is what I take. Even better is a can of soup, a bag of trail mix, a gun, and a fishing kit. WATER can be pre filtered water taken in bottles, for a small hike, but, just like the food, I say mix it up a little. Take a large all stainless steel bottle and 2 stainless cups, and a good water filter. Before you go, fill the flask with water, then when you run out, you can use the cups to filter more.

If you pack all this, you are ready for anything that could “possibly” happen to you in the woods.

Have fun trekking,

CALEB

*Dave Canterbury has written the 2 best books I have ever read on bush craft, called Bushcraft 101, and Advanced Bushcraft. If you want to learn how to smooth it in the woods, then get those books, and go to his website @: www.selfrelianceoutfitters.com   

making pine pitch glue

Here is a great way to make some old-timey glue that still works today! 

Step 1) gather about a cup of pine pitch, (don't measure) and bring to a boil. (it is very flammable, so do it on low heat. if it does catch on fire, then cut off the air to it, dont try to blow it out.)
Step 2) when the pitch is at a low boil, add some ground up herbivore dung, and ground up charcoal
Step 3) stir well, and wind on sticke to make pitch sticks. after it is hard, you can melt it off.

now you have a good glue you can use for waterproofing, gluing and its fun to make!

enjoy, 
caleb

Product review: Trapper's World

Are you tired of there only being one or two articles in Fur-Fish-Game that are trapping related? I know I was. If you would like more stuff on trapping, and less stuff to skip over, then I would recommend trying out a one year subscription to Trappers World. It is produced by Tom Parr, and there are articles by many " professional trappers " like Craig O'Gorman, Kyle Kaatz Mike Marsyada, Dave Canterbury and Mark  Zagger. It is well illustrated, and very affordable @ only $19.95 per year, putting out 6 issues per year. There is also a place in there for kids, they have a coloring section and a young trapper spotlight, so they can send in your article, and you will get printed! There is also a fur market report, a product spotlight, and a trapping calender. If you wish, you can also get back issues or only $5 each post paid! To get a subscription to this wonderful magazine, go to www.trappersworld.com.
Thank you, and happy reading

--Caleb

Using The Right Traps

This post is mainly for the beginners, although some experienced trappers can benefit from it too. That being said, I will cut to the chase.

RACCOON'S AND OPOSSUMS are now the most commonly caught fur, it being what most of the beginners start with. the best trap for them is the dog proof trap. they are VERY productive and safe. If you can not get any of these gems, then the #11 is the next best. It is better than the #1 1/2 because of its small jawspread, which makes it harder for raccoon's to chew. It has tremendous holding power, but should not be overtaxed.
COYOTES are big, hefty animals and although a #2 will hold one, it is not preferred because of its small jawspread. The #3 is a whole lot better because if he steps on that pan, you have him hard. (I like the Victor longsprings myself)
FOX are smaller than the coyote, and trap sizes should be thought of in this way. If you are sure that you are just going to catch fox, than a 1 1/2 offset coilspring is ideal. If there are a mix of foxes and coyotes, than a #2 is preferred because you will not loose a coyote as easily.
BEAVERS AND OTTERS are also big and tough, in fact it may be the hardest-fighting animal you trap. the 280's and 330's are wonderful, but if you are trapping in a colony, than it can scare the other beavers out of their wits. When this happens,try replacing the conibear with a #4 longspring on a drowner, or a 5-foot snare. MOST OF THE TIME this works, but nothing is foolproof.
MINK are probably the softest fur we catch. They are small animals, and the 110 is best for most sets (esp. blind sets), but the #1 stoploss is the best foot trap, for you can drown them in short order.
SKUNKS are very interesting animals, and they will, when caught, readily chew their foot off to get out. because of this, the stoploss and double-jawed traps ( preferably #1) are the best choice. I got my first skunk in a #2, and he chewed his whole leg off, but stayed in there by about 1/2" of stub.
  

My season 2015-2016 :part 1

I trap two different locations: my great grandpa’s pond, and a very nice man named Mr. fisher’s land. At the pond, I trap raccoon
and possum. At the trail I trap Fox and coyote. It is a gravel road, and what I can trap is on one side between road and a fence .
After catching two raccoon at the pond, I wanted to change things up and start land trapping. So I set 4 #2's ( two dirt hole sets,
and two urine post sets ) using stinky Pete’s overtime lure , and fox urine. Day one I checked the traps, and ...nothing . Day two
same thing. On the third day it had misted that night, and I turned around to my second dirt hole set and saw a skunk . Mom was
not quite happy about that one . I skinned it and gathered the essence into a small bottle . It stunk for weeks. I remade the skunk
set , but after two days I had to pull up traps, the skunk being the only thing I caught . After Christmas I set more traps , but a
week of nothing said that I should probably pull up and start trapping at the pond. At the pond I use cage traps because of dogs, my bait is marshmallows and there’s so many raccoon's I don’t need lure. I set three snares, one 2 door cage trap, a mink box and a 1 door trap. The next morning I had 2 raccoon's; one in the mink box and one in the single door cage trap. I dispatched these, and reset the cage. The mink box I pulled up . Next morning, to my surprise I found a 43 inch male raccoon in the un-bated cage. It was on a sandbank where there was high sand and Low sand. The high sand formed a funnel where the cage trap was, forcing the raccoon into it . The next day , there was nothing . The bait was gone from the two-door trap, which happens very often. Unfortunately, I did not do anything about it, but left everything how it was . Next morning was Saturday and I was pulling up traps, and again nothing. Now I was at one skunk, five raccoon's, and zero possum. One of the raccoon was a record raccoon at 43 inches long, and no possums was a record too. A week later I was back to land trapping, making a urine post set, and a dirt hole set at the same location were I got the skunk. On the second morning, the dirt hole set connected with a prime red Fox, my first canine! I dispatched the fox and re-made the set. After 3 days of nothing, a friend of mine that trapped in Alaska for 20 years came over and we made two more sets, and lured them all with Dobbin's Back-breaker. That was Sunday. On Friday, after it had rained, and we had to go to Arkansas, so I pulled up my traps. 
To be continued........