Any of you Mt. Men trap?

[Ron LaClair]

The art of trapping is akin to our love for muzzle loading. I just wondered if there were any trappers out there.

Here's a picture of one of my sons and I with a winters catch.

 

[musketman]

I use to trap, back in the 80's (thats 1980's) until the bottom fell out of the market...

Still have all 300 of my traps...

"Beaver will shine again..."

 

[Ron LaClair]

The value of fur skyrocketed from the mid to late 70's. I use to take the whole month of November for my vacation from work. I could make more money trappin than workin. :shocking:

Of coarse every trapper knows that trappin ain't work....not really.... right? :winking:

Even though fur ain't bringin what it used to it's still a great hobby. An nothin says lovin like a fur coat for Mama that her trapper man catched hisself. :thumbsup:

 

[leadball]

I did starting in the late 70s to late 80's. Mostly muskrat, beaver, mink, coon, some otter never a fox. That was in the days of BWK(before wife and kids). Had fun, made alittle spending money

 

[Rebel]

Until we moved over to the west side of the Cascade mountains recently, i trapped for bobcats, coyotes, and some muskrats. Haven't found any place around here to trap yet.

 

[Holley]

Yea...I set out a trap once....caught me a 6'4" man... threw him back six years later. :results: :what:

Have not set those traps out again. :nono:never know what kind of varmit will fall in. :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :youcrazy:

 

[the skrat]

i used to trap back in my school days but gave it up when i graduated. trapped for coons mink rats and a few beaver and caught a brook trout in a culvert set for mink my dad was pretty proud of me for that one. i started trapping a few years back for bobcat and have cought 10 of them hope to catch a couple this year. my oldest boy is six and plan on taking him next year for mink.

curly maple

 

[waksupi]

I started trapping when I was about eight, and gave it up, like many, in the early eighties. Just didn't pay out anymore. The extent of my trapping now, is a few pack rats in the fall. A couple of our club members trap beaver regularly, and just finished cleaning up a problem colony for a landowner. It seems they were flooding thier basement.
We had our local ML club meeting tonight, and I did a seminar on brain tanning for them. I got a couple beaver tails from the guys, and skinned them out for a shot flask and ball bag for my smooth bore when I got home. It reminded me of why I quit trapping beaver. Darn greasy things. Not bad once you get them laid open, then it's just like filleting a fish.

 

[Huntinfool]

Yea my dad and I trapped all our lives. I started trappin' seriously back in the late 60s before the fur boom of the 70s.

I still remember an old fur buyer named Tom that rode around on a pony buying furs. He "parked" his pony at the top of my muddy red clay drive way. And walked down to the house over a 100 yards cause he saw me skinning a fox at my old skinnin' tree! Never did figure out why he didn't ride on down. Maybe his pony was spooky around dogs I had a dog tied to every tree there coonhounds and such.

He used to be at the Jackson County Courthouse parking lot with all the other buyers every Sat. mornin'. I pulled in there one Sat. mornin' and he greeted me before I set foot out of my truck. Asked, "what ya got son?" I took him around to the back of my pickup and he grabbed the red fox pelt I had quicker than duck would a Junebug. "What ya gotta have out this." he said. I didn't get two words out and he said, "alright ya twisted my arm" and handed me a 100 dollar bill. I said whoa, wait there a minute I got 7 gray foxes too. He said "Alright 55 a piece for them too.

I was tickled to death because the week before I'd only got 50 for reds and 35 for grays. But I wasn't nearly as happy as old Tom he took off across the parkin' lot a grinnin' with all 7 or 8 of his teeth. A yellin', "Hey looky what I got a here fellers" All the time a wavin' that prime red. Gloatin' big time later I found out that was the only red sold that day. And old Tom just wanted it to gloat with cause some buyer had bested him the week before. That was the most I ever got for a red after that I sold several for 90 bucks and less.

The last time I trapped was 2001. I busted my left knee and been crippled up ever since. Had to give it up for now. Some day I may be able to get some trappin' done again sure miss it them was shinin' times for sure!

YMH&OS,
Chuck :redthumb:

 

[Terry Zboril]

Tipisholly,
Sometimes the biggest coyote will be "mangy" :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:

What took so long to throw it back? :: ::

Terry

 

[Holley]

Dedication to making something work. :shocking: :shocking:
Oh! Well!!!! the next trap I set will be a better one. :RO:

 

[Nightwind]

Tipis, You've gotta' stop using yourself as bait, Otherwise, they'll keep coming from all across-country to the lure. Maybe ya'oughta just try throwing the trap in front of the gooduns'? Or ifn' you think thar's a really good one coming along, throw a whole bunch of traps!

 

[Nightwind]

Longhunter, you must be aways up north in Michigan, I don't see any coyotes in the pic!

I trapped till the middle eighties. Someone must've been following me aways back one evening, 'cuz next morning found almost all my regular and box traps gone!

 

[Holley]

Hey, I have a problem with men in this time period. Bring them home for the first time...and all they see are the guns, tommahawks, bow cases with bows and the other art work on the wall and they get a bit squimish. :shocking:

And I am not going to make the house more livable for them. :m2c: I like it the way it is. They just do not understand the smell of braintan, porky hair and the tipi in the backyard. Or is it the collection of knives on the fireplace mantle :: :: ::

Now.....how did you boys tell the little ladies about your hobby? I divorced one husband :huh:because he decided to become a Preacher and burried the Winchester 76 in the backyard. :nono: :nono: I found the rifle and got rid of him. The gun was worth more. :RO:

There are traps we make for animals and traps we make for ourselves. ::

 

You need to watch for a long-hunter Tipis. Sometimes we have to hunt long and steady to find something worth keeping. That takes a spell of time and a heap of patience.

I was single for 10 years, my wife for 16.

We met at a rondy and I would have married her that day. I watched her set up her camp and knew she was where she needed to be.

Our house looks like yours sounds, and we have moved the vehicles out of the garage due to lack of room for the tents.

She thought me buying her jewlry for Christmas was a waste of money, until she found out the jewlery was new babbles for her catilaine.

Hang in there, I thought all the good ones were taken too!

 

[Nightwind]

Tipis,
Speaking of knives; my daughter is into the medieval arts and re-enactments. I've bought her several swords ($$$$$) to hang on the walls at home. Now, the average father would think she would just leave them hanging there, right? NOOOO, she decides to learn how to scare the begeezus out of people with them. One day she demonstrated what she'd been learning all those years at medieval camps and martial arts. She spun that thing up, over, under, and around that little delicate body of hers so fast, I about had a heart failure!!! :shocking: :shocking: She can stick a dagger into a playing card at 10 paces almost every throw! :thumbsup: I have pity for anybody that decides to break into her home if she's there! :nono:

 

I was single for 10 years, my wife for 16.


ghost

So you were 11 and she was 17 when you got married? :youcrazy: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:



Woody

 

[brushbuster]

back in the late 70's and 80's until the fur market dropped ,my brother and i trapped and hunted coons for xtra cash ,and when i went to college , trapping paid my tuition for two years,all i have left of thirty leg hold traps and ten conebear traps are four conebear traps i keep around for varments thet bacome a nuisence.