Motivation

[bigjohn]

Groney has a video posted up on you tube titled "Most motivated trapper in the U.S."

Just goes to show you if you want it bad enough.

[trapdog]

That is a great video. Makes a guy realize that maybe he ain't got it too bad after all.

[bigjohn]

Truth trapdog

[bigjohn]

Took the wife to Dr. in Columbia the day before yesterday for a procedure. Get home and the next day she is sicker than a dog with a stomach bug. Seems like every time I take her over there she gets sick.

Woke up this morning and darn if I don't have it. No time for this crap so I dose myself with half bottle of Pepto and try to get it out of my system before I head to check traps. The runs while your wearing hip waders isn't fun.

If it had been 30's for today I'd have just waited a day as everything is bodygrips. By the time I got to the last set I was give out and had a beaver about 35 or 40 lbs to take out. Finally got it done and set remade so I beat feet home.

Layed the beaver on the cool ground in the shade and came in and crashed out after another dose of asprin and Pepto. Feel like I might live now lol

[krank]

Yup, hospitals and schools would make a Petre dish flip over from all the little microorganisms. I always carry paper towels or napkins just in case. I rarely do really need them so they just fall apart. That one time makes it worthwhile.
I ruptured my muscle in my gut and I have been a wimp since November. Still stay active but I can't lift much and the pain nags at me. If I let the Dr. cut on me then I really will hurt and be week. I have never heard anything good about hernia surgery.

[bigbob]

Howzabout it keeps it from getting worse, and allows you go about daily life without the pain? If I couldn't lift more than 10 lbs at a time, how would I take a whiz? LOL

[krank]

Feb 9, 2024 11:30:54 GMT -6 bigbob said:

Howzabout it keeps it from getting worse, and allows you go about daily life without the pain? If I couldn't lift more than 10 lbs at a time, how would I take a whiz? LOL

LOL.....it gets a little better everyday. Surgery would set me back to zero minus ten plus all the risk of infection and side effects that always happen......Ten pounds? How about two fingers?

[tjm]

On the subject of motivation, are there any fur buyers in Mo. this year? even as easy as it is to skin possums, it don't make much sense if the closest buyer is in China.

[bigjohn]

Derek Peterman in Weaubleau, Doren Miller in Clarksburg, Gronewald Fur has routes in Mo., Mo. Trappers Assoc. sale in Montgomery City coming up soon, and Trevor Barnes is going to be at Clay Creech's the 2nd of March.

[trapperw3]

I text Derek and he is not buying coons green or put up Doren is not buying coons or coyotes if i remember right

[segsarge]

People I have talked to are trapping coons and throwing them in the ditch. It's the idea that they are the reason there aren't any turkeys. Such a waste. But there isn't a market and MDC sold them on the idea. Some of the places they're trapping never had turkeys to begin with because there hasn't been habitat for a couple of decades. From what I've seen, the beaver market hasn't turned out like expected, although still better than years past.

[bigjohn]

Trapping a duck lake for beaver and the amount of coon tracks is unreal. Not gonna kill any but it sure wouldn't hurt. Up on the hill is a feed lot and that farmer traps coon year round there. His problem is using live traps instead of DP's. I showed him one and how to use it so now he's going to get a dozen lol.

Yup folks want their cake and eat it too. Too much trouble to fix the habitat,much easier to blame something else.

Mother nature will sort it all out in the end.

[trapperw3]

Groenewold is buying coons don't know what he is paying but better than just pitching them in a ditch

[bigjohn]

Paul no need bogging down an already flooded market, but that's just my thoughts and everyone needs to do what they feel they need to do.

Right now in my area you could probably kill 20 coon a day but only 1% would be good now. Even Groney is telling everyone it's time to quit killing coon for the fur market as they are too far gone.

Distemper has already taken care of some areas and I'm sure it will only get worse as summer wears on.

[tjm]

I had heard early in the season that Peterman wasn't buying, guess that may have been wrong, but at 3 hours each way, it wouldn't be economical. Farther east or north makes it an overnight trip for me, I don't have the stamina that I used to.
Market is the best motivator, and if MDC wants trappers, they need to look at developing a country buyer education program. And maybe set the dealer permit price at $10/year.
Nationwide the wildlife departments need to work on image marketing; fur is much "greener", "renewable" and "sustainable" than the petroleum based clothing that has replaced it.

[krank]

I saw the auction results up in NY state. Rats were 4 bucks and coyote was seven. $6 mink. Beaver and bobcat were okay along with otter. Not killing a mink for $6 and not skinning a yote for 7. This year I have skinned one yote for home tan and ditched the other due to bad pelt.

[bigjohn]

Never set a single coyote trap this year as much as I like catching them. Dryland trapping is much easier than water trapping but you have to go with the market.

Never set for coon either but caught my share in otter and beaver sets but didn't skin a one.

[krank]

I dont mind skinning coon and beaver and certainly not muskrats. I dearly despise skinning yotes. I used to skin them off the nearest limb in a few minutes but I lost that strength to pull.

[trapdog]

Feb 11, 2024 13:51:22 GMT -6 trapperw3 said:

Groenewold is buying coons don't know what he is paying but better than just pitching them in a ditch

I averaged $9.60 on 34 finished coons I sold to Groney a few weeks ago. Another guy upped his average to $11 by culling the heck out of them. I don't do that and just put up and sell what I catch. (with the exception of truly bad crap)

[trapperw3]

me too thanks