You folks ready for this season?

[ericp]

No worries on thread drift here, it's all still trapping! What I have been hearing echoes Trapper9260, the only thing that will be bringing money will be coyotes. I'll still trap rats and beaver though, can't really imagine not. I've been doing mink on the belly side, never had any complaints. Maybe I'll try the other way though.

Eric

[trapper9260]

I will trap like I always do.What ever the price is I go with it and it is better then nothing. As for the mink I use to send them to NAFA and that is why they came up with back side.I say talk to your buyer about what side to put the fur up and if it dose not matter then go with what works for you.I also put up also possum and skunk and squrriel also.What ever there is, the fur buyer I deal with will take and buy I will sell it to him.He also buy woodchuck skins also.but all needs to be put up.

[Rally]

The international fur auctions prefer the minks legs be on the back side, with the tails stretched wide and short, and the legs pinned square and bloused. The reason is so that when they are dried, it has a window on the belly side so the graders don't have to flip it open to check the quality or density of the fur just forward of the tail. By stretching them in this manner, the extra fur from the bloused tail and legs, draws into the window the grader is inspecting, and makes the fur in that window more dense. Ranch mink are stretched fur out, and dried on boards that have air forced through them to aid in drying time. In large ranch mink operations, all except breeders, are processed (thousands of them) in a week or so during the peak of primeness.

[trapper9260]

I am ready to start to set traps tomorrow morning ow all loaded up this afternoon.It will be interesting to see how it will go.anyone else from iowa will be setting tomorrow?

[472x1B/A]

Good luck trapper, hope all goes well for you.

[trapper9260]

Thank you .I have more ground to cover and hope it will work out for me for how it is for me but time will tell.I hope to get all the spots set this weekend,I have farmers that have coyote,beaver and coon problems and I also trap every thing else.It is ones I trap year after year for.i want to get as much I can caught before the weather get too cold then it will do a job on me for how my hip is now.

[Rally]

9260,
Good luck to you and keep your hat above water.

[trapper9260]

Thank you .So far got 4 beaver and 2 coon and one rat.The coon have distemper around here and can not hardly see much sign of them.I got the coon in my coyote sets.

[trapper9260]

this is todays catch the biggest beaver is 65lbs and then 55, 50 and 40 for the 4 biggest ones.You can see what the rest is.That is sofar 10 beavers and 3 rats and coon.No coyote yet.