How many Trappers....
 

I was just wondering since I'm new to this forum ... how many trappers we had on here?

Re: How many Trappers....
 

Haven't set a trap since the early 80s, but I wouldn't mind having a small trapline these days if fur was worth anything.

Re: How many Trappers....
 

Just the occasional hog.

Welcome to the forums. :)

Crpdeth

Re: How many Trappers....
 

But Crp, I thought you preferred just to zap them with your trusty old .270! :eek::D

Re: How many Trappers....
 

Ran a trap line when I was a youngester, but not in many years. Back then we could sell the furs, and the meat, what we didn't eat ourselves.

Re: How many Trappers....
 

25-06 My Friend... But for some reason that ol' trap doesn't complain about the mud, wind and cold like I tend to after about 4 or 5 hours of fruitless hunting. :D


Crpdeth

Re: How many Trappers....
 

Another schoolboy trapper here.... many years ago.

Nowadays I'm restricted to mice and an occasional live-trapped grey squirrel from the neighborhood.

Re: How many Trappers....
 

Unless live-trapping raccoons that try to steal food from around my campfire counts, I'm not a trapper yet.

I've been reading a lot about snares recently, though, and I think I'm going to try to get some rabbits when I'm back out in the country again (I'm living in a city for 6 months or so).

Re: How many Trappers....
 

I started trapping as a boy in Iowa. I trapped up through college and for about 4 years afterwards when I moved to Wyoming and then I stopped due to lack of time to run traps. I started again when my son was 12 and he wanted to do some. We trapped hard until he started college then we ran traps over he holidays when he had time off. This is the first Christmas we haven't set a trap or a snare due to low fur prices and spending time traveling to my parents for a week. Its addictive and a great way to learn more about wildlife. I now spend more time calling coyotes and bobcats but hope to run a few traps later in January for bobcats.

Re: How many Trappers....
 

Hi OKTrap,

I'm also fairly new to this forum and I'm an avid trapper. Mostly coon and muskrat, with the occasional coyote, here in Indiana! I was wondering too if their were any other trappers on the forum.

Re: How many Trappers....
 

I'm a long liner . Beaver , mink , cats , coyote . Pretty lame this year though , its almost not worth it .

Re: How many Trappers....
 

I ran a trap line my last several school years until I left home. Looking forwards to running another one after I retire.

There's some beaver behind my house where I fish. See them most afternoons. Sure is tempting to walk up to the high water and lay in some 10" conibears....but lucky for them mine are in a barn a few hundred miles away.

Re: How many Trappers....
 

Oh yea! Love it! I run a fox line here in VA. Manage between 30-40 Reds a year along with a few coons. Dang coyote is makeing it harder and harder each year to keep my averages up though.

Re: How many Trappers....
 

I trapped for muskrats,mink and foxes when I was younger. Caught quite a few "rats" and a few mink fewer foxes. I really loved trapping and was always amazed at the beauty of the fur. I felt really bad however when I found a muskrat had chewed his leg off to get out of trap that was staked. I always set drowning sets therafter or used conibear trap.
I cant stand to see an animal suffer. I kind of got away from trapping as I got older but am real glad for the experience. foxes are really sharp and hard to get I found.

Re: How many Trappers....
 

I set the odd fox snare for a problem fox until i can get out with the gun. I check it every morning and night although sometimes i think this leaves my scent.
Does anyone use Larson traps for magpies or greycrows? I love building them.
Im going to build a few mink traps soon.
We dont get paid for skins or furs over here anymore.

Re: How many Trappers....
 

Dusty, trappers barely get paid over here anymore. Fur prices are rock-bottom this year.

Skunks and raccoons are becoming a problem due to lack of trapping pressure. Coyotes too although they are hunted as well as trapped.

I've never heard of a Larson trap. What do you do with the magpies after you trap them?

Re: How many Trappers....
 

Usually they are killed. Myself, i try to give them to other trappers in the area. Magpies raid a lot of game birds nests and have been hitting my chicken eggs hard lately. Grey cros are worse as they will peck out sick lambs and calfs eyes. Are they not a problem over there??

A larson trap is made up of 2 or 3 compartments. One is for your "call bird" and they others are the trap compartmants.

Re: How many Trappers....
 

Next spring I will be running a trap line in my back yard to get rid of the tree rats. They got most of my fruit this fall so I will be getting rid of them next spring and summer. Sure do miss living in Iowa and running my trap line. The fur paid for my first few firearms plus it gave me something to add to my crockpot stew.

Re: How many Trappers....
 

Does anyone know if fur prices are any better now than they were? It might be a good way to make some extra cash this winter.

Re: How many Trappers....
 

They were down this spring; the demand is very selective. I'd think next winter/spring will still be low. You could still bring in grocery money from bobcat, but I'd hold a few for later...it's bound to go back up one day and you'll be sick if you let $500 dried furs go for $200ish.

Re: How many Trappers....
 

I really don't know much about trapping but there seems to be a lot of oppertunity here because of the large numbers of fur bearing animals and so few trappers.