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[Spinach]

Created for #288 Griz 

[jigglestick]

#288 GRIZ is an avid outdoorsman. trapping is just one of his passions.
trapping is a minority sport, but it has a loyal following. it will take time to build that following, but it will come.
i know goose is a old trapper from way back. i could assume it won't be hard to get him to contribute from time to time as well.
it is something i have always wanted to do, but i have not had the time to enter another hobby into my schedule. maybe someday.
i would like to know enough about it to introduce my kids to it though, so lets get this party started!
thanks pat / GRIZ.

[Brandon_Collins]

I think it is a blast i have done it with my grandpa in lake of the woods. Nothing better than finding a pissed off fisher in your traps flinging dirt at u and hissing. I have had some pretty wild stories.

Brandon

[GRIZ]

Sorry guys.

haven't been able to get on confuser for a couple days. My father who has a built in diffibulater and pace maker got zapped when his dryer shorted causing a 220 jolt. He is fine he had to go to the U of M to have his equipment recalibrated but is still in some pain from a bruised or cracked rib when it blew him into the corner of a table. I'll be bringing him into the dr. today for x-rays on his ribs.

Well here is my introduction

I'm gald to see this forum here though not numerous trappers are a dedicated group. My trapping exprerience began when I was 5 targeting pocket gophers for a 25 cent bounty. I trapped them until I moved to town for a few yrs, sometimes making my own snares out of rubber bands which proved funtional at catching them but not so well at holding them as they would chew through the rubber bands.(I was quite young when I tried that one) Anyway when I was about 12 yrs I managed to catch enough gophers to buy 5 dozen mink/fox/coon traps and a brand new honda 185 three wheeler.

Nothing was safe now I had 5 dozen traps, a rifle, shotgun, some fish poles and a means of transportation. The critters of the county should have been scared but it took a bit more than I thought to really figure everything out. It helped my trapping education out a bunch being a fifth generation trapper on dads side and fourth generation on moms.

Now 32 yrs later I still love to trap with my favorite target being mink. I have successfully trapped many species but have a few yet that I'd like to pursue. I have trapped in a couple of states but have a couple more that I'd like to trap in also. I have trapped everything from leeches to coyotes and everything in between, for a number of yrs making a living doing it.

Since the fur boom trapper numbers have went down which is sad to see. I've heard from a number of people they know of some young person or themselves who shows an interest in it and would like to try trapping. This is one of the reasons I think a trapping forum is a big plus, not everyone interested has generations of trappers to talk to for information. Being fewer in numbers than other sportsmen trappers are also the first ones attacked by groups such as peta and the like. Which makes it important to have support from other sportsman so we can educate the general public.

I'd like to help or see that any person interested in trapping gets some knowledge to help them get started. If anybody has ? I'll do my best to answer them and would like to see others input as well.

Well now I must tell you 2 guys that used to trap and who have kids who are interested one thing. Get out there this fall and show them how to do it. You will not regrete it, you and your kids will have a blast.

I'll also be contributing to the other forums spearing and west central areas in particular

[luckyfarmer]

I am new to the forum, been on 2 days.  The trapping stories makes me want to write.  I bought furs for 30 years in North Missouri and spent lots of time in Iowa and Mn. when the prices fell I gave it up because labor was a big factor. I spent many weeks in Canada, New york and New Jersey fur auctions.  I trapped as a kid and still love the stories about trapping.

thanks

[jigglestick]

lucky farmer. welcome to our site.
my hunch is you love telling the stories as much as hearing them. feel free to stir the pot here in any area you feel comfortable in.

i did hear the other day that fur prices either are going up or are already high. a sudden swing in the market. any truth to this?
are we going to have to round up all the traps in the neighbor hood and re-kindle old hobbies, or introduce folks such as myself who have never, to the sport of trapping?

[luckyfarmer]

jigglestick, I don't keep up on prices since I quit but I can't see them getting much higher when we have a class of women who would rather have a pair of jeans with holes in the butt over a fur coat

[jigglestick]

i heard all that!

[GRIZ]

Some of the fur is rather high like otter but still some is on the low side too.

The biggest difference is in the competition. You might get more for each fur when prices are high, but when prices are low ya have that many more animals to catch due to lack of competition and higher populations.

To my way of thinking this is the perfect time to learn how to trap. A beginning trapper learns from the animals caught and the ones they missed, so by haveing more action at the sets a person would learn faster.

Now to the prices (i'll use mink as an example)does it make a difference if you'd catch 2 mink a day at $40 or 6 a day at $15. You bet your learning more. The extra time it takes to skin the 4 extra mink is worth it in the knowledge you gain. I didn't have the opportunity to learn when prices were low, everybody and thier brother were trappers when fox were at $100and mink at $60 everything was high. When prices are low it's my thinkin that a person will catch enough e-xtra animals to offset the cost of running that same line.

There are other benefits that I explain on another topic when I get the chance, gotta run some errends b4 stores are closed.

[luckyfarmer]

Griz

you have a wonderful mink here but the best I know of is the beautiful Red River mink.  always top dollar and the easiest to sell.  most of the good mink went to Italy, they wanted wild mink over the ranch mink.

you are right, what a great time to learn  how to trap

[wapiti]

I grew up on the mississippi, i hold fond memories of waking early before school heading up the river to check traps.  Early morning fights with coon, and how every snowstorm guaranteed a mink.  Its great to hear other peoples stories and appreciation for this seemingly lost art.

[GRIZ]

luckyfarmer

Most of my mink get graded and sold as red river mink. I am a ways from the red river but my local fur buyer told me the red river mink extends down through my area. He is good on mink prices has a buyer someplace overseas.

[luckyfarmer]

Griz

I will tell you a story relating to fur going to other areas.

I had 600 grey fox ready to ship, I took 300 to Loren Lamb in Iowa who was a good friend and big shipper.  He sent them to a New York broker.  I sent 0ther 300 to same broker..  Loren sold his for $2 more than I got. I called broker and ask why he got more than I did.  He explained the Iowa grey fox were better than Mo fox.  I bought them in New Port, Ar

[GRIZ]

Yea I heard about that sort stuff going on b4. I know the way they are bought and sold can be hard to understand. This fur buyer I was talking about said he had a contact direct overseas. What he had to do was pay a broker a fee to have them exported. I really don't know how that end of it works, does that sound about right.

What I do know is he will beat the price of auction houses on the average price. The auction houses will have a higher top end price but the average will be lower, plus they then take a fee out of the check  afterwards.

This is on mink, other fur he is about the same on prolly a bit lower but I get my check on the spot.

An example is one yr I sent an equal amount of mink to an auction as I brought to my furbuyer. I made the piles even. I'm not an expert grader but evened them out as to size and primeness. The auction I averaged around $47 for the male mink where at the buyer I averaged a bit over $58. After that I never sold mink to an auction again. Maybe it was a deal that happened only that time but other trappers told me the same thing.

The fur that I'm better off shipping to auction is beaver. Why is only speculation on my part.

Any ideas on why this would be luckyfarmer?

[luckyfarmer]

at the auction house you are competing with a shipper sending 1000s of hides.  we alway get paid more than the trapper

you have a good place to sell your mink, stay with him