The trigger mechanism built on the drawing in the very bottom of that page looks very much like a paiute deadfall trigger, which is very hard to describe in words. Larry Dean Olson's Outdoor Survival Skills depicts a paiute trigger, and the construction thereof. I would say, on the use of them, that if you have snare material, make snares. slightly less reliable when properly employed, but easier to make in time and material. If you have no wire or strong cord, go ahead and make a deadfall, using whatever trigger you know of. Were I in a long term survival situation, I would make deadfalls, but later on, and probably as a thing to do with my time. I would be inclined to build non-fixed deadfalls, unlike what they show here. But these folks lived off the stuff they caught, I've never had to. They might know something I don't.
If you are wondering about the mechanics, a deadfall has some way of supporting something heavy to drop on yer animal. This picture has a small tree with one end raised up as the weight. I believe the 'fall' part is actually on the stump. I assume they will bait it for martin, some dead tidbit of something else. The trigger depicted has a small stick for the trigger, held in place by pressure from another stick. When this small stick is displaced, the rest goes into motion. The pressure being applied is from a string wrapped around the falling part, back around a stationary part, with a loop around the pressure stick. When the trigger is moved, that pressure stick flips up, the loop slips off, and it all falls down.
I hope that explanation made sense and was worthwhile. I've built triggers before, but only set one out for mice, and that was an evil bugger keeping me awake in my tent chewing on foodstuffs I'd stoopidly left in my tent. I ended up catching him by hand. He didna bother me much more...
I'd like to hear experiences with the paiute deadfalls and a figure four deadfall (Which is the only kind I've built) and which is preferred for those who've used them...
Stryver
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