I'm sure everyone knows about the old-style mouse traps, the small plank of wood with a spring-loaded snap and trigger mechanism mounted on it. A larger version is made for rats. I wonder if the larger trap can be used for getting game such as squirrels, bunnies or even birds? Baited appropriately (and probably best anchored somehow), does anyone think these might work? I thought they might spook game, but I'm thinking if I whittle away at the base to 'soften' the square shape, and then scorching the top with a torch, they might look more natural.

I think that the larger mouse/rat trap would certainly work on various squrrels, Rabbits might be stretching it a little. My grandparents used to use these to keep the chipmunks out of their wood pile. The "camouflage" technique you suggested wouldnt be needed. You could sprinkle dirt,small twigs and leaves around it to mask its shape easy enough. Howevever, to be effective you might need to carry several of them and in my case I would think that to be too much bulk and added weight for my pack. Might work for your intended "kit" though IMHO.

A rat trap might work pretty well on small critters, but you might give the small conibear 110 a look.

While they weigh more, and cost more, the conibear is far more effective.

I think your on to something thinking about very small game like squirrels, rats and, rabbits.

My thinking is that for the most part practical survival is more about staying alive to get out or get rescued than living off the land or homestead. The later course is romantic, reenacting Grizzly Adams episodes and imagining yourself to be a pioneer, but IMO very unrealistic.

That said if there is going to be any living off the land I think that concentrating on small game is the way to go. I really think that too many people are focusing on a live off the land strategy and compounding the error by concentrating on a high-risk/high-yield large game strategy.

IMO small game are far more promising for several reasons. First, small game are much more adapted to living around people and the urban and suburban environment most people live in. Second, small game are fast breeders and highly resistant to being depleted.

Additionally, small game take less in the way of resources to process and consume in a limited amount of time. Kill an elk and an average family is going to need to think about preserving the meat and start worrying about the consequences of when this system fails. This can lead to a feast and famine situation where people gorge themselves to consume the resource before it goes bad and then it is lean times until you get another. This is not a situation that is conducive to being mobile or active enough to self-rescue or efficiency. Smaller meat animals can be harvested to better match consumption and eliminate worries about storing meat.

For harvesting small animals I would give some thought to construction simple snares and/or tip-up traps. The base material for a simple snare or tip-up can be be as simple as some strong and flexible but light wire.

Go to the fishing section of any store and you can find solid leader wire or stranded stainless. These are both light and very compact. You can pre-cut these to length but if your kit includes a pocket tool, or even nail clippers, you can wait and give yourself a bit more flexibility.

I think the best trap is the 110 conibear for survival both long term and short. It's simple to set up, can be used for squirells, rabbits, raccoons, and opossums some even have reported useing them for fish. I used one the first day I bought it to bag a opossum that was living under the my house and messing up stuff. Just sat it in front of the hole dug under the house and staked it down with a broken limb and overnight I got the critter. That same trap has bagged several pests since I bought it and a few rabbits that made thier way to the frying pan and the soup pot. Best part is they only cost 5.00 - 6.00 and weigh practically nothing in a pack are thin and only 5"x5" square.

The braided steel line from the fishing section of the local tackle store is what I use for my snares as well. I precut several and used the small steel crimping collars (sold in the same section of the store) to form the small eyelets at each end of the snare. (Less construction time in my lap under a tree). And they can be used for other things as well such as "choke" one around a cup to hang over a fire.

The large rat traps will definitely work for squirrels. I inadvertently trapped one while trying to get rid of a chipmunk infestation. I was using either shelled peanuts or pecans for bait.

Larger traps will work, but if you have no plans to go trapping and want something to carry with you, then snares like those mentioend by mtnlvr68 seem like a good idea. Snares weight as much as the length of wire and little more and are easy to stick almost anywhere.

In theory, to catch birds, you can use 4-8 snares attached to two pieces of wood, attached to and perpindularly bisecting each other. Attach the snares to the ends of the wood, lay out the loops to form a circle, and spread something the birds will want in the middle. I'd try it out, but it's just not going to happen in my area of Manhattan.

I have some snares in my BOB that will hopefully never be used.

Yup, they work fine for squirrels and other similar sized critters. PB from your food stash works great as a bait...

Reminds me of the movie "Never Cry Wolf", where the researcher disovers how the wolves survive while waiting for the caribou to show up: namely by eating on all the rodents. He joins them and comes up with various methods of capture and consumption. Very funny part of the movie.