Review From A U.S. RSOG Commander
(Survival, Escape, Resistance and Evasion) S.E.R.E. Instructor
Buckshot,
My instructor cadre and I are constantly testing (rigorously testing) and trying to improve the techniques, training programs and equipment that we use in the field. Your "Survival Snaring" video was shown to my people, we all agreed that it is the best on the market for "real world" content. We train military units all over the world in SERE (survival, escape, resistance and evasion). We go out of our way to provided the most cutting edge realistic training that we possibly can for the time that we are given. We have found that using the traditional military way of teaching students survival skills does not give them the real world ability to feed themselves. Our long time belief has been that if you want to know how to utilize primitive trapping techniques then the individual needs to learn how to trap first with traditional methods (leg hold traps, box traps, conibears, etc.) And we also stress video material over written material to shorten the learning process so we can get the student into the field faster. So the bottom line is if you want to learn to trap, talk to a trapper. Preferably an accomplished trapper that is forward looking and improves on the "old ways" and still covets those traditional methods. Through your trapping videos and your book we believe that you have conveyed that expertise to your listening audience. With the Survival Snaring video and your lures and snare kits an individual that is stranded in the "wild places" can feed himself / herself. Commercial grade locking snares can easily be incorporated and enhance primitive snaring sets. We try to emphasize to individuals during our class time and in our manual, that if you want to live through a crisis you must stay healthy enough fight-on. And the best way to do that is to set up miniature mechanical ambushes for game a.k.a. trapping. Whether it be trapping fish or turtles or deer, the story is still the same. An individual must provide him/herself with protein and fat. And the best way to do that in quantities that will keep the human body healthy is to trap. One adult raccoon that is fattened up for the winter can keep a young warrior alive for 4-5 days. That's 4 or 5 days of a high calories intake of meat protein and fat. That's 4 days that an escape and evading solider has just added to his own rescue by friendly forces. And the more time that rescue team commander has to prepare, the more likely the individual will come home. But that individual has to have those all important skills. And any additional equipment that he/she carries to fight the odds stacked against him/her will only help. We recommend to our students that if they are going to carry a butt pack size survival kit ( in a ruck sack, aircraft, vehicles, combat harness) that they carry commercial grade locking snares for small and medium game and game scents for the common game in their area of operations. And that is where the "Survival Snaring" video can teach not just soldiers but any would-be survivor. It equates to real world video for real world skills. To date the Buckshot game scents are the best that we have used. We use them in bait dens with deadfalls as well. Our "game caught" percentage has went through the roof.
Which has a lot to do with the fact that the scents work really well, that motivates my instructors to use the scents with more of their traps that they would not usually use a scent with. We transfer the scents into smaller bottles for my instructors kits ( pour them into empty sterilized purification tablet bottles).
Another big problem we have with students is their lack of traps set (amount) and their poor snare construction. An individual must understand that just setting a couple of traps does not guarantee him/her meat. We have a 5-1 ratio that we preach (one catch per every 5 traps set). We were glad to see that in the video Buckshot points this out as well. I believe the Buckshot ratio is 4-1, but that just shows you know your trade very well. We try to show students that if you are going to improvise a snare make sure that it is a locking snare and stout. All of my instructors to the man, carry at least one or more of the snares from the Buckshot Emergency Snare kit. And there is a good reason why. My people can construct good improvised snares (booby trap wire, wreck salvage, cordage etc.) but when there is a "sure hit" set that is being used heavily, you want a guarantee that the snare will withstand anything. Because that first catch gives the survivor a buffer while the rest of his/her improvised methods are being utilized. The Buckshot Emergency Snare kit is probably to heavy, for an individual to carry on his/her person in it's entirety. But the kit can be broken down to fit the individuals needs. For the price it just couldn't be passed up (inexpensive for the quality & content). It is an awesome kit for a group (such as a fire team or squad, aircraft crew, life raft kit) that has to feed themselves. As an individual the extra that is left over can be used as replacements for snares damaged by game (which is 25-50% of the time). What most would-be survivors don't understand is that animals that are caught in snares wreak havoc on snares. That's why it is so important to use well built snares. When a commercial grade snare is mangled by a captured animal it usually (98% of the time) still dinner in the pot. With an improvised snare that mangled snare equals a missed meal, period. In the kit that we received, there was a special deer snare. That snare would be very hard if not impossible to improvise in the field. It has a special lock mechanism on it that is unbeatable by any improvised lock. It is one of about three in the world that I would recommend for medium sized alligators( not to exceed 6-7 feet) or wolverines, if the survivor is trapping in the tropical regions or Canada/ Alaska. A locking snare is not just about holding an animal but also killing it quickly. That's why we like Buckshot's deer snare (we ordered more after using the one in the kit) it will dispatch the animal in quick order. We emphasize that the survivor set animal specific traps. Which means the individual must have at least a basic knowledge of the pursued quarry (trapping books and field time). This again is where the animal lures/scents come into play. Most survival kits are over packed with needless junk. The survivor will be much better served with 5 of Buckshot's small game snares and at least 2 of his medium game snares plus the beaver, coon, and muskrat lures in small portions. Add 30 fishing hooks and line and a commercial frog /fish gig (optional), then build the rest of the kit around that (butane lighters, space blanket, purification tabs, 550 cord, etc.). Its our bread and butter to test and know the best equipment that we can get our hands on for our students. We are sure that we haven't went wrong when we say, "that the knowledge and equipment that Buckshot has brought into the field will only save lives in the future."
George W. Jasper
Commander U.S. Rescue &
Special Operations Grp.
U.S. Rescue & SOG Website
Would like to see a kit made up like this ? E-mail me and let me know - we are glad to arrange special kits for folks.
Buckshot
