Deadfalls and Snares: A Book of Instruction for Trappers About These and Other Home-Made Traps

In Short

A. R. Harding’s 1907 classic is a practical manual for wilderness trappers, gathering decades of field-tested wisdom on constructing simple, effective traps from native timber and scrap metal. Through detailed instructions sent in by veteran outdoorsmen across North America, the book details the mechanics of deadfalls, snares, pens, and pit traps designed to capture everything from marten and mink to black bears. It endures as an essential historical artifact of early American bushcraft, recording a frugal, highly resourceful era of pioneer woodlore and pelt preparation.

The Story

The text unfolds not as a narrative drama, but as an exhaustive, step-by-step masterclass in wilderness self-reliance. It opens by establishing the fundamental principles of the wooden deadfall—a weighted drop-pole or stone triggered by notched sticks or strings. The guide progresses systematically through specific designs tailored to particular species and terrains. Early chapters detail heavy timber deadfalls for bears and pan-built pens designed to trap massive predators without requiring the trapper to haul fifty-pound iron traps dozens of miles into the backcountry. The manual then shifts to mid-sized game, describing marten traps elevated on tree crotches to stay clear of deep snow, stone-weighted deadfalls for skunks, and specialized timber falls for otters that can endure for years along frozen waterways.

As the book continues, it branches out into lighter, highly portable designs. The reader learns to construct shear traps, box traps, coop traps for wild turkeys, and an array of ingenious trigger mechanisms—including the classic figure-four, trip pans, and turn triggers. The focus then turns to snares, demonstrating how to harness the tension of bent saplings using spring poles, lifting poles, and twisted brass or wire loops placed along summer sheep paths or river runways. For specialized scenarios where animals must be captured uninjured for menageries, the manual explains how to dig deep pit traps and conceal them with frail brush covers.

In its final third, the guide transitions from capture to commerce. Harding outlines the overall strategy of managing a trap line that stretches for miles, emphasizing proper timing, weather management, and the ethical obligation to check lines regularly to prevent spoiled pelts. He details the precise anatomical procedures for skinning animals—distinguishing between "cased" pelts pulled off inside-out like a glove and "open" pelts ripped down the belly—followed by instructions for fleshing, scraping away fat, and drying hides on hand-hewn boards or wire frames. The book concludes with a comprehensive overview of commercial steel traps, ranging from small web-jaw mink traps to heavy forty-two-pound grizzly bear traps equipped with offset jaws and setting clamps, bringing the reader full circle from raw wilderness timber to the global fur market.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins The guide opens with foundational instructions for constructing basic wooden deadfalls using simple tools like a camp hatchet, jackknife, and string. Trappers learn to build stable pens using driven stakes and to set weighted drop-logs along streams or logs.

Matching trap to terrain The manual moves through specialized builds, showing how to elevate marten deadfalls above snowfall, set heavy timber pens for bears, and lay durable otter traps in riverways before the winter freeze. Detailed attention is given to carving precise triggers and notched bait sticks.

Snaring and specialized sets The focus expands to wire and twine snares powered by bent sapling spring poles, as well as box, coop, and pit traps. These mechanisms rely on animal pathways and subtle trip wires to secure game without heavy hardware.

Harvesting and hide preparation The text shifts to post-capture fieldcraft, instructing trappers on the exact methods for skinning, fleshing, and stretching pelts. It emphasizes using hand-crafted wooden stretching boards and cautions against drying hides near fires or using harsh chemicals.

The commercial market The final section covers the grading of pelts for fur buyers alongside an overview of manufactured steel traps. It details heavy-duty hardware like offset-jaw bear traps, spring clamps, and iron clevises used for commercial trapping lines.

The People

The Veteran Trapper Represented by various seasoned contributors from Colorado, Arkansas, Canada, and the Rocky Mountains, this figure embodies absolute wilderness practicality. He desires an efficient, cost-effective trap line that yields high-value furs without forcing him to haul heavy iron gear across miles of mountain terrain. His primary obstacle is the unforgiving environment—deep snow, frozen ground, thieves ("Sneakums"), and elusive game—which he overcomes through careful observation and hand-carved wooden triggers.

The Novice or Young Trapper The central pupil of the manual, who seeks to learn the craft of the woods, earn income from pelts, and master bushcraft skills. He faces inexperience, frequently making mistakes like misfitting triggers, placing bait too deep inside a fall, or stretching hides incorrectly so they look thin and lose value. Through the book's explicit directions, he learns patience, precision, and proper skinning techniques.

The Fur Buyer The commercial judge at the end of the supply chain who wants clean, well-shaped, undamaged pelts. His standards stand in opposition to careless trappers who stretch noses out too long or burn hides near fires, penalizing poor craftsmanship by grading furs down or paying "southern" discount prices.

In Its Own Voice

"This trap costs nothing but a little time and the trapper's whole life is given over to time."

A Rocky Mountain trapper reflects on the economy of building heavy wooden bear pens rather than packing fifty-pound steel traps through miles of rugged wilderness.

"If you find your bait is caught between the poles you may know the bait is not back in the box far enough."

An Illinois outdoorsman explains the precise mechanical troubleshooting required when tuning a home-made pole deadfall.

"By stretching the skins on the boards with the back on one side, belly on the opposite side, they come off the boards looking smooth and uniform in width, and command a great deal better price..."

A veteran trapper stresses the financial importance of proper hide preparation and disciplined craftsmanship before sending pelts to market.

What It's Really About

Beyond its procedural mechanics, the book is an inquiry into total self-reliance within the natural world. Harding argues that a trapper's true tool is not factory-made iron, but his intimate understanding of animal behavior, physics, and local timber. The text examines how resourcefulness compensates for lack of capital, showing how simple forest materials can yield professional results. Underneath the trap diagrams lies a strict ethos of practical efficiency: trappers must respect weather patterns, avoid wasting animal bodies, and take pride in precise handiwork. It presents wilderness living not as a romantic escape, but as a rigorous, skilled trade governed by careful observation and hard physical labor.

Why Read It Today

Deadfalls and Snares appeals to bushcraft enthusiasts, wilderness survivalists, historians of rural America, and readers interested in traditional folk technologies. Reading it feels like sitting in an early twentieth-century hunting cabin, overhearing a collection of crusty, highly experienced woodsmen trade exact technical diagrams and field notes. What stays with you is the sheer inventive variety of simple woodcraft—how a specific combination of notched twigs, a flexible sapling, and a heavy stone can create a precise, highly reliable mechanism without a single iron nail.

Modern readers should be prepared for plain, unvarnished period attitudes toward wildlife, as the book treats animals entirely as harvestable natural resources and fur commodities. The prose is functional, direct, and heavy with technical trapping jargon, trigger measurements, and regional terminology. Yet for those fascinated by historical self-reliance, the manual remains a remarkably clear, grounded document of pioneer ingenuity and North American woodlore.