Damage control 2022

[Terrierman]

I used to coon hunt barns and abandoned houses in Iowa with terriers.  This was in the '90's and early 2000's.  Farmer's hated them.  Ruined hay, milk replacer, crapped on everything.  Wasn't hard at all to get permission.  We'd ask politely "Sir, would you mind if we Jack Russell your barn or would you rather have us come back later and burn it down?"  They pretty much all got the joke.  A few wanted to hang with us and watch.  It can be a lot of work moving hay to get to dogs and coons but it's a very exciting sport.

It was not at all unusual to kill 100 in a day.  We used to rate barns or houses as bronze, silver or gold.  Bronze was 10, silver was 20 gold was 30.  That's how all the holster wear got on this old friend.  I put it all there 100% on my own.

Big round bales and taxes on abandoned houses (they have almost all now been torn down) killed the terrier hunting.  Now it's trapping or nothing.

[fishinwrench]

14 minutes ago, Terrierman said:

I used to coon hunt barns and abandoned houses in Iowa with terriers.  This was in the '90's and early 2000's.  Farmer's hated them.  Ruined hay, milk replacer, crapped on everything.  Wasn't hard at all to get permission.  We'd ask politely "Sir, would you mind if we Jack Russell your barn or would you rather have us come back later and burn it down?"  They pretty much all got the joke.  A few wanted to hang with us and watch.  It can be a lot of work moving hay to get to dogs and coons but it's a very exciting sport.

It was not at all unusual to kill 100 in a day.  We used to rate barns or houses as bronze, silver or gold.  Bronze was 10, silver was 20 gold was 30.  That's how all the holster wear got on this old friend.  I put it all there 100% on my own.

Big round bales and taxes on abandoned houses (they have almost all now been torn down) killed the terrier hunting.  Now it's trapping or nothing.

I like the Pachmeyer 👍

[tjm]

I have never known anybody that could repair a boat motor in less than a year. Same thing. I can't fly an airplane but I believe some people can.

I never went full time trapping, six traps at a time  was my norm even though I own ~160,  but there were days when a ten minute trap check was equal to a few hours on the construction site. If your pals weren't working full time at it they weren't working it right to make money. If they were holding green fur over in the freezer they were  probably being docked when they did sell and if that was many years ago in Mo.  they would have been violating the law. We just got the right to hold fur past seasons end a few years ago. 

Stolen from the internet, about a  concrete finisher in Pa.

Quote

For more photos and his story pick up the June/July issue of Outdoor Life Magazine.
– 1202 fox caught in 90 days
– 1200 caught in 89 days
– 9247 traps check in 90 days
– 13 fox average a day for 90 days

Phil's 2017-18 season pic

 

The guy in the picture below with seven coyotes visible and three more behind the concrete pile is a veterinarian from Indiana that killed about 600 that year   two months in western Ks.  @ $90 ea. IIRC, on 24 hour checks. The shadow taking the picture is a "student"  riding with him to learn. 

[tjm]

Another of the concrete guys season pics, 2007 maybe, 1202 red foxes, 90 days.  And you can be assured he took a number of incidental coons, skunks etc. For several years Phil would make these house and driveway "barn pictures" at season end on the trapping forum.

The late Pete Leggett  took 1,220 fox in a 53-day trapping season in 2001 at age 76.

[Deadstream]

He ran a long way everyday.   I'm gonna call the card.

[BilletHead]

4 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

No, but I have buddies that worked it really hard.   They kept the hides frozen until an opportunity to sell at the best price came along.   

They had a couple of freezer loads of hides at one time....BUT they had been sitting on them, and accumulating them for several years.  Nobody that I knew continuously brought home truckloads of critters every time they ran their sets. 

In other words....the number of hours spent/per dollar made could have been topped by picking up soda bottles or selling wood.   

              Yes, for time spent you don't make a bunch of money. It is more than a paycheck for some as it was for me. It like fishing is a hobby except in this hobby you get a few bucks back. I made a grand one season while holding a full-time job. Up at 4:30 am to set and run traps. Drop off fur on way to work to be skinned after work. Repeat the next day.  I was young then and would not attempt it now especially with fur market down. 

[BilletHead]

3 hours ago, Terrierman said:

I used to coon hunt barns and abandoned houses in Iowa with terriers.  This was in the '90's and early 2000's.  Farmer's hated them.  Ruined hay, milk replacer, crapped on everything.  Wasn't hard at all to get permission.  We'd ask politely "Sir, would you mind if we Jack Russell your barn or would you rather have us come back later and burn it down?"  They pretty much all got the joke.  A few wanted to hang with us and watch.  It can be a lot of work moving hay to get to dogs and coons but it's a very exciting sport.

It was not at all unusual to kill 100 in a day.  We used to rate barns or houses as bronze, silver or gold.  Bronze was 10, silver was 20 gold was 30.  That's how all the holster wear got on this old friend.  I put it all there 100% on my own.

Big round bales and taxes on abandoned houses (they have almost all now been torn down) killed the terrier hunting.  Now it's trapping or nothing.

          Oh boy the devil's right hand!

[Terrierman]

3 hours ago, BilletHead said:

          Oh boy the devil's right hand!

I hope a person doesn't go to hell for killing coons by the pickup load.

[Terrierman]

The guy I hunted with in Iowa made some real money.  Skinned and sold green hides.  Froze carcasses and would make a Chicago run for them at $10 each.  Sold the footsies to our Native American brethern who would make a totem for some tourist and sell one to us.  

[tjm]

There are hobby fishermen and there are commercial fishermen, there are hobby trappers and there are commercial trappers. Although with no market place it's hard to sell fish.

No hobby trapper ever paid  for a farm by trapping and from the tales I hear and read most hobby trappers work harder at it than the pros and rarely break even.  No hobby fisherman ever paid for a boat by fishing but the pros do it all the time.