Trappers?

[HillRunner]

Anyone trap on here? What where ya'lls takes last year? Mine was 30 Rats 4 Red foxes 5 Coons and 2 minks.

[maleyfarm]

I usualy trap real hard from the start to end of season, last year I didn't trap near as hard as low fur prices where predicted (talk about a bite in the but at the end of year when prices where decent) but still caught a few. I'm not sure on exact numbers but somewhere about 60 coons, 100 possums (or more) about 2 dozen rats, 1 mink, a few otter and some beaver.
I didn't hardly land trap last year at all but still caught a couple mangy yotes.

I know the numbers may seem high to you but they are low for what I do most years. but most years I run 40-50 sets daily and jump from area to area, trap hard and move on. most of my trapping last year was under bridges on my way home from work. I have a 35 mile trip from work and have several different ways to travel and its all country roads.
try not to get to caught up on numbers but figure the number of traps you run, I try to get a 20% target catch ratio. (i don't count possums as target catchs) some days I do better than others, there has been days when I've checked 50 empty traps and days when I can't get a brake from skinning.

[fishhead]

What were coon and fox selling for last season?

[whatrset]

Coon 32
possums 15
Yotes 2
G fox 4
Bobcat 1
Beaver 1
Otter 2

Fish, Coons were $3 tops and Fox were $5 tops here. I amade more on coon meat at $10/ea

[maleyfarm]

I sold some of my best coon to a local buyer and averaged $6 and he was very selective on what he took. I shipped the rest to NAFA and averaged $13.22 per pelt. I'm still kicking myself for selling to a local buyer. but I needed the propane tank filled so I had to do, what I had to do.

[fishhead]

I think the last time I did any serious trapping I got $50/coon, $70/fox and even $70 for a really nice silvertipped badger.

Even at $10/coon a guy could make some decent money on coon in some places.

What do skunk bring?

[maleyfarm]

I only had a couple skunks and depending on how much white they have makes a huge difference. my low skunk brought $1.50 and my high brought $13.00 and both graded as SEL.

[Owldancer]

Well I don't trap, but I do use furs in my reenacting.

Does anyone know a place to get tanning done inexpensive but good quality?

Then I would be interested in buying some of the furs. Especially beaver, mink, bobcat, etc. Ok so most anything that would of been in the New French region around 1700.

[Trapper]

Been trapping for a lifetime and just never grew out of it. Last year was my fiftieth first year of chasing critters with steel. The experience of this last year was one I am sure I will be writing articles about in the future. It meant more because I have been blessed with a recovery from a contest with cancer. Believe me when I say that I have had much better years as far as numbers and monitary returns. The idea of having the strength and stamina to persue the challenges it takes to set maintain a active trapline and to also to keep up in the furshed left me with plenty of pride and satisfaction. Ok now the numbers......1,333 muskrats, 8 mink, 61 coon and 14 beaver (two blankets that went over sixty five pounds). I also caught 4 otters but released tham all as I did not have a tag to keep one. When I sold I thought I got a good price only to find out that muskrats jumped in price over $2 just a week later. I just finished dying my traps this last weekend and am planning to a bigger effort for my 52nd anniversary Trapper

[nitestalker]

didn't trap, but took 147 coon, plus bobcat,badger,coyote and fox with my terriers. average 11 dollars on the carcass on coon


brian harlow

[backwoodsman]

Last year was my 34th season. Low rat numbers hurt us but we still managed just shy of 300 which was our target. Released all the greys but a few the FIL killed before I got to the retreat($12 or so each). Got our 3 badger limit from the 2 zones($10-$20?each). Mink numbers were down but we still got into double digits(males$10-$12each, females $5 or so). Tried releasing all small and medium coons but the few from conibears and the large+ sizes we hovered right around 100($1-$8 each). Too many possums(.10-.50each) and skunks but the skunks brought good money from essence(around $20 oz.) and the meat is a big factor in our canine baits. Only sold a few of the skunk and they were green skinned and brought around $4-$6 if I remember correctly. Friends take all the hides we will give them and tan them for the buckskinner market. They sold all but a few tanned skunk already and are ready for our season to open back up. They sold good on Ebay last year but it was flooded this year so they sold them at the shoots for $12 small-up to $20 for largest. We whacked the yotes good during the summer ADC hunt and trapline so the fur line catch was down but they were worthless here anyhow, offers of $1 for 2 or 3 out of 20+. Friends tanned all the yotes we didnt sell too. Had a decent catch of reds and they brought $10-$14 or so stretched and dried. We only finished rats, mink, reds and greys and sold or gave away all others just green skinned. Beaver were plentiful but we prefer to wait till late winter or spring to do our bulk of the trapping for them(castor!) but I busted my ankle so missed the spring season but the kids of the family did ok with 18 or so and the castor sold well but the hides were a downer around $6 tops for prime plews and the few 8 or so off the fall line were around $4 tops. We enjoy the meat so that was a big plus from the cold/cooler water catch's. Rest were used as fresh bait or tainted in jars for next year. Some of the smaller beaver the friends tanned and made some beaver hoops some with feathers and all and some without and they sold all of them in the first 3 shoots they attended($15-$45 depending on setup/decorations). I tried starting a monthly trapping thread or least a topic thingy but interest in it seemed to wain so I figured we'd wait till closer to fall? We sold our rats too early but still got around a $7 average. They took a big $1.50-$2 jump here about a week after we sold but the kids split the money and got their Christmas bought with some of it. Im guessing at some of the prices and totals as all the reciepts etc are downstairs and I dont go there for awhile yet probably.

[backwoodsman]

Owldancer I meant to comment about your furs you'd like to buy. Most probably wouldnt be that expensive shipping and all but the bobcat would or could get real pricey, some brought over $500 each from the western/mountain regions. Ive got tanning recipes if you want to do it yourself? Friends sold out of about everything now, last time I talked to them they had turned the last of the yotes into purses for the state fair and motorcycle seat covers.

[Owldancer]

backwoodsman thanks for the reply

Since I live basicly in the city there is no way my wife or the city would allow me to do tanning. I would be interested in your tanning recipes. (Thank you ahead of time) So I would have to get it done commerically (do have a reenactor friend who does some tanning). But if the furs are inexpensive I would take a chance on tanning them at a friends place in WI (depending on the time involved only have weekends).

[Native87]

Last year was a bust for me. We had a snow and the next thing I knew.......... I went through the whole blame winter and got to see the ground 3 days out of 3 months. LOL It was the worst weather we had her since in the 60s. I really look forward to this year. One of my sons is interested and I would love to show him. We need these up and comers folks. If you can take a good responsible person with you and teach them this skill. The money may not be there anymore but the fact that these critters need balance will always remain. Also, the predator population here is devastating turkey grouse quail populations. I would like to keep a bit of all animals around. What say you?

[backwoodsman]

Your welcome, no problem. Owl you can do smaller hides in 5 gallon buckets, one for salt and one for Alum solution. Heres a basic recipe and method for hair on tanning. Scrape all fat/tissue from the hide and place it in the salt container. Each day take it out and scrape the hide again. After 3 days it should be clean enough to tan. Rinse all salt etc off the hide and place it in the alum container(heres where it gets tricky) some hides only need 2 days but some may take up to 7 days like deer etc. After 3 days is a good time to check it and every 2 days after. The hide will be a white(ish)/light yellow. Rinse all alum etc off of it and let it dry. Some have good luck rolling it everyday till it loosens up and becomes very pliable. We like to stretch it out by hand and then rub it over a counter edge etc. Some like rock salt for the solution but we've used table salt for years. 10lbs per 30 gallons of water is about right. In a 5 gallon bucket I'd salt it heavy myself and go with 5lbs. The salt really loosens the fat and tissue up. Alum can be bought at most drugstores/pharmacies. 3 lbs to 30 gallons of water is a good starting point. In a 5 gallon bucket or similiar I'd go with 1 1/2lbs. You could easily do coon hides and smaller in your apartment. I'd start with the cheaper hides possum, skunk, weasel etc or even non furbearers like squirrel, groundhog. Let me know if you need more info or encouragement. Its alot of fun also. There shouldnt be any rules or laws against this type of tanning anywhere that I can think of? If a person was using some of the mercury tans etc then yeah there probably would be a conflict.

[fishhead]

A taxidermist I talked with said that he uses an unheated clothes dryer to soften hides.

[IndianaWoodsman]

Been trapping for most of my 30 years. Last season was by far my worst and that was because prices were down. I don't trap only for the money but even as bad as coyotes are around here, I can't just shoot em and leave em like my fur buyer told me to.

[backwoodsman]

We destroyed quite a few last summer as they are a pest here. The few we trapped and shot during the fall and winter we gave away. Had pitiful offers of $1 for them, almost an insult. The summer ADC line we are required to destroy the carcass and cant salvage anything. We did do "necrocropsies" on the carcass's and found deer hair and cattle hair in abundance but if it was from dead ditchs or roadkills or predatory kills we have no way of knowing? Tan those yotes up Indiana. They are great as a conversation piece or worked up into possible bags, rugs, wall hangings etc etc. Prices were decent for some fur last season. I remember trapping coons for .50 and that wasnt all that long ago, early 90's and also early 70's. In '91 or '92 I was offered .25 for stretched and dried 'rats. We averaged around $7 for our rats this past season. Fur looks to maybe see an increase this year. Economy of several countries and cold weather will be the deciding factor plus price of crude oil. Wish we could trap some of these otter and bobcats that are everywhere!

[Owldancer]

Son of a gun, Backwoodsman your in Illinois. LOL Thanks for the taning info, and do want to try it. Now all I will have to do is put out the word to a couple friends and see about some squirrel, rabbit or something small to try out. It will most likely come from WI, where a lot of my friends live. I bet I can get someone up there to save me something. And a great excuse to go up north to shoot as well. Most likely it would end up as a possible bag or a hunting pouch depending on the size.

[big rockpile]

Haven't Trapped serious for years.Just enough to keep numbers down.I eat my Coons all else is just killed.We're told if we see Otters in Ponds to shoot them.People hate them here.

big rockpile