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Post by segsarge on Sept 26, 2021 19:53:23 GMT -6
Yup, the gas station in town had buyers that came in and you could take your fur there to sell it. My Dad had worked there when he was in high school. The owner was a great guy, had a bait shop and sold guns/ammo too. Saw the first Weatherby rifle I'd ever seen there. Even though my father was years out of school and working at McDonnell Douglas, he'd help the owner out and work there on weekends. Often I'd tag along, great place for a kid to hang out.
Fur buyers were there a couple of times when I happened to be there. A guy came in with a load of fur. The buyer made an offer on the beaver he had. One skin was twice the size of the others he had. Trapper wanted to sell it by itself. Can't recall the price that was offered but it sounded like a lot of money to me. The trapper got pissed at the price and started to haggle on the amount. The buyer stood his ground and the trapper got so mad he took out a pocket knife and cut the pelt in half then threw it on the ground. Said he'd destroy it before he sold for that price.
Sadly, the gas station is gone now (has been for years) the owner (Charlie) passed away. There's a beauty shop there now.
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Post by segsarge on Sept 26, 2021 20:16:09 GMT -6
I sold to Prouhet once. I couldn't make the trip to Perryville to drop my fur off at Stan's due to an ice storm that just hung on for two weeks. Prouhet was buying at a back room of a tavern in Bloomsdale. The weather had broke and roads were finally passable. It was typical selling for me. Had some items went higher than I expected, others that I thought I got raped on. At the time it was the only outlet I had and was glad just to be able to sell it.
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Post by tjm on Sept 26, 2021 20:31:57 GMT -6
The way we were, not how it could be. Those alternative markets are for rich old men that can afford the storage/overhead, not something that will attract a kid to the lifestyle. I've seen kids bring in road kill and get full price then become hunters or trappers because of that experience more than a few times.
I don't believe the fur auctions were ever a help for the trapper or ever will be.
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Post by bigjohn on Sept 27, 2021 5:46:48 GMT -6
Trevis,unfortunately I don't see anyway the association can help the fur market.
It's a matter of supply and demand. Less folks use fur ,less money in other countries, closed borders, and many other little things all make marketing fur harder and harder. Politics, economies, and social issues always seem to effect the fur market.
Wild fur is kind of the stepchild of the fur market anyway. Trappers just don't supply enough quality product whereas fur farms can provide a steady quality product.
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Post by krank on Sept 27, 2021 6:27:16 GMT -6
To say times are changing is an understatement. All them old memories are gone. Drive into a small town and you can get a tattoo or rent a video but nobody has a box of rifle shells or a horseshoe for sale.
Things get much worse and people will be trapping for food.
I will say that NAFA was a good deal. It was fun waiting at Walmart for the pick-up. All the local trappers were there and lots of tale swapping. Felt kind of odd taking all that fur and cramming it in sacks and throwing it in the back of the moving van. Later on you got a list of exactly what you threw in the truck and after that a check.
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Post by segsarge on Sept 27, 2021 7:37:14 GMT -6
It's very true that the fur trade is dependent on worldwide economics and political conditions. Fashions come and go, but people who live in freezing cold areas depend on fur to stay warm. In places like Korea it's just a utility item, however people have to have the money to buy it. Trade treaties between countries come into play and it gets really complicated.
When my boys were young I told them they needed to learn to trap/hunt and fish because it might be the only way to survive some day. Like Krank said, we might not be too far from it.
I wish NAFA could rebound and get back to selling fur. It would take a miracle though. Always liked dealing with them over the country buyers. Granted, you got paid right then and there with local buyers, but the excitement of getting a list of what lot your fur was in was fun. It also showed how your fur was graded and why. Spent lots of time listening on the laptop or radio to the auction, waiting for my lots to come up. When the check came in there was an itemized list of everything.
Some like dealing in person with a local buyer, and that's fine. It's just the way they like to do business. When I discovered that I could hear my fur being bid on by buyers from around the world I was hooked. The fact that my items were on display for the world to see and judge my skill as a trapper and fur handler drove me to try to constantly improve. I never got that from a guy who threw my catch in the back of a pick-up with no feedback.
As for kids just starting, it's a tough time to be a trapper right now. Even for those with years of experience. Unfortunately the heritage and history is often lost. The feeling of carrying on tradition just isn't enough in a lot of cases. For them, the local buyer could be a good thing given that person takes the time to explain how they can better handle their catch.
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Post by krank on Sept 27, 2021 13:32:12 GMT -6
With kids, there are two parts to trapping. One is the thrill of the catch. Secondly there is the reward of marketing a product. Most kids are mainly geared to the former.
I got my start catching rabbits for food. My Dad prototyped me a boxtrap design and away I went. I was proud to supply dinner for the family and my Grandmother always wanted cottontails.
The high school needed rodents for biology class and I became a live rat and mouse trapper.
I bought some 1 1/2 victor long springs and became a possum trapper. Caught a coon and I was hooked on steel.
If I could find 100 muskrats this season then that would be worthwhile. The $4 market value is actually worth the trouble.
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Post by ozarkmountainman on Oct 11, 2021 12:02:57 GMT -6
Huh.
Dale
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Post by tjm on Oct 17, 2021 11:43:24 GMT -6
"Trevis,unfortunately I don't see anyway the association can help the fur market."
They can't change the international market, but if each district provided a local fur buyer, access to those alternative markets might be extended to the kids/teenagers.
For example "Trapper Bill" is processing/storing/tanning his own pelts and selling them into craft or taxidermy markets, he could buy from the local kids and include their catch with his, thus encouraging a next generation. (Except he is regulated out of that by laws put in place to protect the old fur dealers who ain't there no more.)The trappers' clubs (all of them) could work on reg changes that would make that possible or provide a "Club Buyer" in or doing pickup in every county with the "club" then putting the pelts into the alternative markets.
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Post by bigjohn on Oct 17, 2021 16:55:17 GMT -6
Those buyer permits means the buyer is keeping a ledger of what animals he has bought and that information is used to keep track for management data.
Alternate markets are pretty limited and prone to have those markets flooded causing prices to drop below production cost. Those markets will never be able to compete with the international markets.
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Post by krank on Oct 18, 2021 8:11:34 GMT -6
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Post by krank on Oct 18, 2021 8:19:59 GMT -6
Also, an interesting creature that is not a furbearer, is the armadillo. Egg eaters.....The MDC agrees they dont belong in our ecosystem.
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Post by bigjohn on Oct 18, 2021 10:06:32 GMT -6
The MTA lobbied for a longer season on several furbearers. There are no provisions in the code for those who manage their lands for wildlife to control predators outside the season. We were told there would likely be reg changes coming but probably wouldn't take effect until the 2022/2023 season.
It's a shame to have to destroy furbearers without utilizing their fur but it looks like it might be coming to that on certain species. It's bad enough that some landowners are resorting to using fly bait to control coons.
The MDC doesn't provide use the ability to control the armadillo as it stands right now. Declared them as a naturalized species with no open season. They aren't welcomed around the levees.
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Post by krank on Oct 18, 2021 10:29:31 GMT -6
Well maybe the State needs to face up to the armadillo and put them on the same shelf as English sparrows and Norway rats.
It's a sign of the times. During the Depression, possums got scalded like hogs and roasted in the oven.
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Post by bigjohn on Oct 18, 2021 11:03:23 GMT -6
Mike, I had a black gentleman that used to buy 3 or 4 possums a year off me and did that very thing. I don't know how anyone could eat them greasy things that way.
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Post by krank on Oct 19, 2021 6:17:50 GMT -6
We had a guy from the inner city and he come out every year and bought all the coon we had. His father before him did the same thing. They were welcome to go for a rabbit hunt while they were there. One day the phone rang and it was the guys wife. She said he died and she wanted us to buy back a deep freezer full of $3 coon. We told her none of us eat that and she said her husband was the last of the last that enjoyed that BBQ.
Real shame. The vietnamese at work used to take anything with protein.
I am seeing more coon than ever at 6 am on the county road.
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Post by segsarge on Oct 19, 2021 14:08:32 GMT -6
Spoke to a MDC agent who came in the store Monday (yes, I was actually civil), had my Cumberland's Trap Supply T-shirt on. He asked if I trapped, and I said yes. Then he explained that MDC doesn't have the time or resources to respond to animal damage calls. Asked if I was interested. Explained my experience doing that in the past, but I might consider it. He took my name and number and said he would have those having problems to contact me. Mentioned that most were elderly folks who couldn't handle it themselves.
He made it a point to warn me that, unless trapping season was open, I couldn't use any part of the animal. Not the fur, meat or body parts (such as skulls). I already knew this, been there before. I asked what he wanted me to do with them. Said he didn't care, as long as I didn't use any of it. Wasting resources is hard for me to do. I'll follow the law but it sucks.
I told him that if the season wasn't open, I'd do the work for hunting or fishing rights. I need to get something in exchange for the work I do. Charging a fee didn't work well for me in the past. Some people don't understand that just because you remove a problem animal or animals, others will move in to take their place in the future. Whenever I did a job I told people that they need to find someone to trap it at least every other year. If it was me, fine. If not, find someone they like and have them do it. I've had calls two years later from people saying their problem was back, wanting to know why I didn't take care of it the first time. We'll see what happens.
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Post by bigjohn on Oct 19, 2021 14:52:02 GMT -6
With less people trapping, it's becoming more of a control job than fur harvesting.
I have no qualms about charging for my services. They don't call unqualified people to do their plumbing or electrical needs do they? I do explain that taking care of the problem now doesn't mean they might have another later on as new animals move in.
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Post by krank on Oct 20, 2021 8:48:00 GMT -6
I never made much money doing ADC but I have made friends and gained land permission. I like to trap something but not going crazy if there is no market for fur. I would advertise ADC if it wasnt for my full time job. I have had enough of showing up for work muddy and wandering around at 5 am with a flashlight.
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Goodbye 2020