When I first found out about predator hunting as a sport I was also turned on to predator trapping. It is a conundrum to me why I did not discover this great skill when I was a youngster. I would have most definitely become a trapper as soon as I was finished with school. Trapping is an age old past time and income producer, it even helped build the Country we now know. Wait, income producing; say what, you can make money at this.
Yes, absolutely you can. In fact thousands of trappers take to the woods every year in search of furbearers. Even if you are predator hunting you owe it to the animal to put up their fur. In all honesty why kill an animal that you will not use a single portion of. Trapping can produce a nice supplemental income and for some that have structured their finances correctly it can even be a portion of a full time income.
The trapping of furbearers starts with education like so many other things in this world. I recommend taking an advanced trappers course. Don't let the advanced part scare you, usually this means that the course shows beginners in depth trapping techniques and is much more broad than a simple classroom style training. The one I took was three days and I left with the knowledge to go into the woods and be a proficient trapper. Another option to get some good experience is to help another trapper run his trap lines, this is a much harder option but you will get even better experience. The choice is up to you, I recommend both.
After you have taken a good trapper course, or tagged along with another trapper, most states require a furbearer permit which a trappers educaiton requirement is needed. This is usually a couple hour course very similar to a hunters safety course. You take the course, take the test and are eligible to get your furbearer permit.
Gear requirements are quite a bit more involved than for predator calling and hunting. Among the long list are the traps of your choice, most people use coilspring foothold traps, stakes; either rebar or cable, a trappers trowel, sifter, stake driver and puller in the case of cable stakes, hammer, pack basket, skinning knife, fleshing knife, fleshing beam and fur stretchers.
For a beginner trapper to get started is a fair investment. I purchased four dozen Duke coilspring traps, 12 Duke size four fur stretchers and all the requisite equipment listed above and my initial investment is in the $1000 dollar range. With my ability to dedicate a full time investment in my trap lines I project I will be able to recover that investment and more in my first season.
Selling your pelts after skinning, fleshing and drying is a matter of finding a small, local country fur buyer or shipping them to auction. Most auction houses have local drop off and pickup points. It's a matter of either shipping your furs to the auction, meeting the driver at a predetermined pick up point or dropping them off at a designated pick up point.
The furbearers can provide so much more than pelts. You can harvest the glands, skulls, urine, essence in the case of skunks and the meat of several furbearers is quite desirable. Don't let these profit centers rot in the woods. Take the small extra time investment and harvest these products to increase your profit margins.
It's a true statement that predator trapping is a lot of work and takes a fair upfront investment but it's also a very real profession and some have even developed careers in this exciting field. There have been a lot of people that have paid off farms or paid for college educations with the extra money that fur trapping provides. I hope to see you on the trap line, good luck and god speed.
