# By Any Other Name



## Lastofthebreed (Jan 4, 2016)

Deer season has been closed a little over a week in upstate SC and, as usual, I am going through withdrawal pains. It's the same every year. I have conditioned myself over the past 3 1/2 months to be in the woods with a rifle in my hands and I get kinda down in the dumps and really struggle finding something interesting to do for a few days.

The first few days of this week weren't too bad. It was kind of cold out, but we had bright sunshine and I was able to get to the gun range and do a little shooting. That seems to help get me over the hump.

Today, however, was a different story. Cloudy, windy, periods of rain and cold - not a good day for being outside.

After breakfast I spent a couple of hours at my reloading bench and restocked some of the ammo I had burned up earlier in the week. This left me with some time to burn and I remembered a conversation I had with a friends grandson a few weeks ago.

I had mentioned to him that, when I was a boy, I had spend considerable time trapping rabbits for the table. I told him I had built my own "rabbit gums" and would check them every morning before going to school. This was before daylight savings time and a young man, if he was on the ball, could check 8 or 10 "gums" and still make it to school on time.

I had, unconsciously, referred to my rabbit traps as "gums" which was the local colloquialism for a rabbit trap. He asked me what a "gum" was and I explained it was a rectangular trap about 18 inches long with a falling door at one end. A rabbit, upon entering the trap, trips a trigger which allows the door to fall and trapping the rabbit inside the "gum". I promised I would build him a couple at some point in the future and today seemed custom made for that task.

I had a couple of old boards in the basement and, a couple of hours later, here is the result of my labors.

I enjoyed building them and I hope he gets a lot of pleasure out of trapping a few bunnies. Remember, it can be a "rabbit gum", a "rabbit trap" or a "rabbit box". Don't matter what you call 'em, I call 'em fun.


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## supercanoe (Jun 12, 2006)

How does the trigger work? Can you post a picture?


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## Lastofthebreed (Jan 4, 2016)

Supercanoe: Here is a link to a pdf that gives you detailed plans on how to build one. It is from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The only thing I would add is to use seasoned lumber. I always build mine out of boards I have salvaged from barns or outbuildings that are being torn down. Enjoy.

http://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2010/05/4525_2245.pdf

A youtube video.


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