# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Hunting & Trapping >  Do any of you carry nails in your BOB?

## Swamprat1958

When I was a teenager and raccoon pelts were selling for selling for $20 or better each here in the south an old gentleman showed me how to trap coons by using three nails. We were camped and fishing at an old oxbow lake and he had me drive real slow around the lake in a boat. He was looking for hollow logs lying along the edge of the water with one end in the water. When he found one he would look for a knothole in the log, then drive three or four 10 penny finishing nails into the knothole at an angle. Then he would drop a chicken bone leftover from the previous night into the log. He made a few sets this way and we came back the next morning. This lake was lousy with coons and if memory serves me right all but one of the sets had a coon. We motored up in the boat and Mr. Ross would hit them on the head with a heavy stick. The coons would not let go of the chicken bone, which allowed Mr. Ross to pop them on the head.

Now I know this is probably illegal, but in a survival situation a few nails in your BOB could easily provide a few meals if you had something to use for bait.

A couple dozen nails takes up less room than traps or snare and could be used for other purposes if needed.

Have any of you ever heard of this method?

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## BENESSE

Always have some Lee Press On Nails in the BOB.

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## Swamprat1958

I guess whatever works best for you :Online2long: .

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## Rick

I haven't heard of it before. Thanks for sharing. Nails could be handy for spears or even gorge hooks if you had a way to cut them down in size.

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## Stargazer

I used to keep a couple of nails in my pockets when crossing ice.But never thought of them used as you stated.

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## crashdive123

I keep nails in my kits.

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## hunter63

Nails are a great idea, thanks.

Haden't heard about coon.
But,
Story was, this was used to trap ermine, bore a 1 in hoe in a pine tree, drive in the three nails around the hole, at an angle, points into the hole 1/2 in or so.
Bait the hole with some meat (?), the ermine would stick his head in and couldn't get out.

Highly illegal, and like I said a story I heard once, ermine not so good to eat. (weisel)
I guess this could be used for squirrels (?) maybe.

I can see where a few nails would really come in handy for a lot of stuff in a BOB. 
I don't know about y'all, be I generally carry some in my pockets while hunting for fixing tree stands, place to hang bow, etc.

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## Ole WV Coot

Never used nails, used sharpened green sticks for the same purpose. I can see how they would come in handy to carry. I keep a selection in my vehicles and on the atv pack. I load more than most folks mainly because I don't backpack. If I do walk I carry very little.

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## rebel

I have a half-dozen nails.  I hadn't thought of using them for trapping. Thanks for the info.

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## Rick

Stargazer - I guess your reference is to help you crawl out if you fall through?

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## owl_girl

whenever we had a bob it included nails.

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## Camp10

I've never thought of nails for the bob..I could make this same set with some wire and I wouldnt need to hunt up a hollow log but there could be many great uses for a dozen nails or so.  Thanks for the suggestion!

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## Mischief

You betcha, I keep nails in my kits,however, not for Raccoons,never hear of that before,interesting.

Mischief

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## SARKY

> Always have some Lee Press On Nails in the BOB.


That is so wrong!!!!!!!

I don't carry nails but I do have several screw hooks and screw eyes. They are extremely handy when building an engine powered snare. The engine being a weight, ie a rock, dead body etc.

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## SARKY

> I used to keep a couple of nails in my pockets when crossing ice.But never thought of them used as you stated.


Nails or spikes? I would always keep a couple of spikes in seperate pockets when crossing ice in Maine.

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## Mischief

Besides nails I also include some screw eyes,120lb snap swivels and zip ties(w/mounting eyes)
Mischief

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## wareagle69

yup i carry about 20 -4.5 in nails in my bob. no noticable weight added and might be useful

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## oldsoldier

Yes I carry nails, as well as an assortment of nuts,bolts and screws in my gear. hadn't heard of that version of trap but i haave heard of drilling a hole in a piece of wood dig a small hole put a bone in the hole and lay the board over it the coon will stand on the board to reach in the hole and can't pull his paw out while holding the bone and are easy to just walk up un and either club them or shoot it with a .22 short. Yeah I agree it probiblly is illegal now.

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## Ted

Wow!... what a bunch of great ideas on here, thanks for sharing guys.

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## hunter63

Note, when carrying nails in pockets, take out of pocket before washing.
Jambs up pump impeller.
I telling you this for free, as it would have cost me a $100 service call if I wasn't able to fix it my self.

Still a good addition to BOB

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## trax

I always try to make sure and have a few nails in my pack when I go out in the bush. Lots of uses

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## Ted

You take nails in the bush?, wow!,,,, you are one tough mutha!

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## crashdive123

> You take nails in the bush?, wow!,,,, you are one tough mutha!


Maybe.



Maybe not.




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## Ted

LOL! Now those would be handy for removing ticks and lice "In the bush"

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## mccaw69

A book from my youth,yes we had books back then,called where the red fern grows,tells of using nails to trap raccoons in hollow logs with nails.

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## Alaskan Survivalist

> I don't carry nails but I do have several screw hooks and screw eyes.


In my smallest kit I use a 5x7 tarp that is small for most sets but I use 3 nails to drive into fallen trees to hold one side of tarp to make a leanto. I like your idea using eye screws better and will be giving it a try. They should save weight, be easier to remove, and hold better. Thanks!

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## COWBOYSURVIVAL

> A book from my youth,yes we had books back then,called where the red fern grows,tells of using nails to trap raccoons in hollow logs with nails.


Mine and my Daughters favorite movie and yes I have nails in my BOB for many reasons. Bait for this set can be as simple as a ball of tinfoil....coons are very curious!

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## jack trapper

They use that method for catching monkeys in africa.  They put food in a termite mound and the monkey will reach in and grab it.  Like the 'coons' they won't let go, and their fist won't fit through the hole.  Saw it on discovery I think.

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## Rick

Dang it! My wife has a similar device. She has a hole in the front of the fridge with a beer inside. I can grab the beer but I can't get it through the hole. I've worked for hours trying to get that thing out.

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## FVR

Guess I will putting a few nails in the haversack.

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## EdD270

All the old timers, Kephart, Nessmuk, etc., wrote about routinely carrying nails in their packs for shelters, traps, furniture, etc. I never have done that, figured it's just more weight, and I'd need to carry something to drive them in with. I just carry paracord and some snare wire. 
Might re-think that, and add a few nails to the pack.

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## Stryker1

I keep a few various size nails. 16d and below. Also I have some military trip line kits that have a few nails in them as well. Works awesome for snares along with a lot of other uses.

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## vahtryn

Isn't this how the kid caught the raccoon in Old Yeller to teach the dog how to track the animal?   I think it was Old Yeller, or some very similar book I read in the 80s as a child.

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## JasonCT110

funny enough, I remember reading about this technique in "where the red fern grows" as a kid.. you can toss anything shiny in the bottom of that hole too..

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## Old GI

The only nails (16d and above) that we carry are for my bride's breakfasts. :Thumbdown:

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## vahtryn

> funny enough, I remember reading about this technique in "where the red fern grows" as a kid.. you can toss anything shiny in the bottom of that hole too..


That's the book I was thinking about.  I haven't read either in 20 or more years.  So everything kind of blurs into one.

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## Mad Cow

Wow, that takes me back to fourth grade. We had to read "ware the red fern grows". Awesome book. Due to the fact that I grew up in Long Beach California I never got to try it but always planned on it. I remember when I asked my Granddad about it, he told me that monkeys are trapped in a similar way .As far as "is it legal", a game warden here in Texas told me that I should look into the methods of take in the regulations and if the method is NOT covered there it is unlawful and I will get a ticket. And in the book, the bait was a shiny piece of metal.

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