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Post by garman on Jan 25, 2008 15:27:23 GMT -6
I do a little calling and used to do a whole lot more, along with spot and stalk but alas, job, marriage, and now child...LOL
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Post by edge on Jan 25, 2008 17:50:51 GMT -6
So who wrote it and what did it say?
I havent got that rag since they hired a new editor.Besides,I can get a$$wipe for pennies a roll at Costco.
Edge
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Post by Traveler on Jan 25, 2008 18:00:56 GMT -6
Edge......it was Jim Spencer that wrote the article if I remember right.He was giving tips on appling urine at a set.Squirt it instead of mist.Misting was unnatural and would therefore hurt your set.He also stated to never put urine over your trap pattern,never left urine get on any of your equioment(trowels,sifter etc.).
In other words a TOTAL crock....................couldn't handle that garbage any longer.
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Post by edge on Jan 25, 2008 18:23:52 GMT -6
Geez,jim seemed pretty sharp......his snaring stuff is good.
IMHO,hiring an editor who hadnt trapped(or called fur for all I know)was not a good move.It would be like me editing a cookbook.Too bad for sure tho;it used to be a hell of a mag.
Edge
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Post by bobm on Jan 25, 2008 20:16:24 GMT -6
I agree Traveler. When I read the squirt not mist part, I put it away. I guess he has his right to his opinion on anything but to pass that off as fact to new trappers is kind of a shame. It reminds me of the stuff I was reading 35 years ago that took 20 years of believing to find out it was merely someone's opinion and not a fact. Fact is, misting a finished set works just fine. Not much better than a set that's caught one fox to catch more. I don't know for a fact but I'm pretty sure then foxes caught after the first one have no idea how all that pee got spread all over the place!
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Post by stickbowhntr on Jan 25, 2008 21:34:29 GMT -6
My subs expired several months ago , guess I should be glad.....but what mags out there are good today. I have Back I ssues of the Trapper from 78 forward and as the years go by sure miss the old TRAPPER.....but what mags today are for guys that really can use good info? All Ad's and articles from 508 years ago redone for the NEW subscribers......What became of Locklears ...is it any good ?
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Post by edge on Jan 25, 2008 23:08:24 GMT -6
**but what mags today are for guys that really can use good info? **
Good question;they have all really gone downhill....or just gone.Sadly even fur fish game has become bland as white bread......maybe someone will chime in on the furtakers magazine;I have yet to read that one.
Edge
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Post by qwagoner on Jan 26, 2008 2:37:12 GMT -6
Dang!!! You guys are a tuff crowd!! I don’t have a dog in the fight but I have somewhat of an outsiders view. First predator hunting IS a good way to harvest fur for some species. I have done it nearly full time for the last 14 fur seasons. I don’t have any problem with good articles about calling predators. That being said there is one author in the mag that I think is an imbecile and completely out of place in the magazine. Not only do I disagree with much if not most of what he says the articles just don’t fit. Maybe I am like most of you and am kind of from the old school. It use to be all about the fur or the ADC end of it. In about 4 out of 5 issues I have to read about how he shoots random, summertime coyotes out in the Mojave Desert.
We are a dying breed boys. It is all about “sport” these days. On the calling side of things you see gun writers that are well-established columnists and field editors in big game magazines selling articles about predator hunting. Writers at that level know enough that they don’t know much about calling so there articles are “empty” well written but empty.
I know because of the California guy that I dislike so much I have thought about canceling my subscription also. I didn’t and I will not because as for now the Trapper and Predator Caller is the biggest magazine out there that supports Trapping and the fur industry. If that Mag goes under it would be a big hit against us. I do hate seeing some of calling articles taking the turn that they are though. The principles kind of undermine the direction of the magazine IMO
Just look at it this way. If you don’t like it or something about it let Paul know. All editors like to hear from their subscribers good or bad. Also you could participate in the mag as well if you submit an article worth printing. The problem is that most of you and many of the trappers out there are good at what they do and are as accomplished or more so than the writers them selves. It is very easy to be judgmental of someone that is not of your own skill level.
At one time I was probably the most judgmental SOB there ever was while reading calling articles. I found my self picking apart the article rather than taking them for what they were worth. Now if I can get something out of an article fine if not, well maybe next time. Heck I just spent more on supper tonight with my girlfriend than I do for a year’s subscription to the T&PC. A lot of work goes into magazines like the Trapper, Trappers World and the Fur Taker. They are the fiber that is holding us as trappers and fur hunters together so I sure hate to hear people canceling there subscriptions over something that seams so petty.
The Fur Taker Magazine is smaller and has articles that would appeal to all levels of callers and trappers. Some are stories some are how to articles. I wrote a couple articles for it and then did a column for a year about predator calling. Dave is always looking for good articles. If you have an opinion about some aspect of calling or trapping or even a good story you should submit it. Don’t worry about grammar or spelling. Dave is a master at it. If he could make my articles legible he could help anybody. LOL
Good hunting.
Q,
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Post by foxcatcher1 on Jan 26, 2008 4:04:16 GMT -6
Alright guys I'm glad I'm not the only one. Man I thought I had lost my mind in the last few years. I catch many, many coyotes and a few foxes almost every year. I do ALMOST everything that Jimmy said was wrong. I really respected him as a trapper too. I have cut back on how much urine I use at a set but still use it some times to mist over a set. Now the other part is what would you guys like to read about??? I'm a budding writer and have written a few articles. I've got one for FFG coming soon and am waiting for Paul to get back with me on an assignment for T&PC. Give me ideas for my next article. What do you guys want to know or read about? I need ideas from people who are tired of the same old thing. I love to research so if I don't know about it I can find out and I get around pretty good. I don't want to write on topics that SOOOOOOO lets hear it. Don
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Post by bobm on Jan 26, 2008 7:09:48 GMT -6
I certainly would never cancel my subscription over anything I've read in it. But one can see alot of the old myths about trapping maintained by some well know trappers in their articles. Probably more of a generational thing than anything else as by following their own advice, they've been successful. As these folks are looked at as the experts by many young or new trappers, they need to be careful when voicing their opinions that they are not stated as what appears to be facts. For too many years I spent way too much time over analyzing what a fox thinks when approaching a set. They don't "think", they react. And I don't think they really know the difference if urine was squirted or misted. Many of these old myths have been debunked a long time ago. I do still enjoy the magazine though and continue to learn from it. The Wolf article was great.
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Post by garman on Jan 26, 2008 8:06:10 GMT -6
foxcatcher 1, here are some ideas I had always hoped to send off for publishing but alas timenever is on my side. A great article on under-ice muskrat trapping. You know talking about pushup trapping w/out digging in the house (it appears to be a lost art). Most articles on under ice rat trappping appear to talk about 110's and baited 110's, and alot know that catch ratio is very poor. #2 Raccoon trapping using all tools and not getting stuck on one type of trap. (exaple: cage traps, lil griz, cuffs, legholds, snares, and bodygrips) Also raccoon trapping by gang setting to catch many at a time.
Other articles I would just like to see, 1.) What are the old'timer big name guys doing now !.) o'gorman, wendt, carman, etc. and where do they see our tradition of trapping going. More articles on setting up sections for fox and coyote trapping with GOOD PICTURES. Finally the difference between trapping fox and coyote, and what happens and where to trap coyotes around DEC., or so when they appear to disapear, and what the "experts" think about what to do. I can also PM you some.
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Post by Chamacat on Jan 26, 2008 8:28:18 GMT -6
Yep, I laugh every time I open my subscription...usually out on the line after skinning and turning fur..anyway..I always get a kick outa all the new WIZ BANG lures that are there every month....I would bet half of em wouldn't even make a cockroach approach a set...LOL
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Post by edge on Jan 26, 2008 8:54:13 GMT -6
**We are a dying breed boys. It is all about “sport” these days. On the calling side of things you see gun writers that are well-established columnists and field editors in big game magazines selling articles about predator hunting. Writers at that level know enough that they don’t know much about calling so there articles are “empty” well written but empty. **
Well said,Q.
Edge
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Post by thebeav2 on Jan 26, 2008 9:02:22 GMT -6
Fur Takers Is pretty much a news letter with really no how to articles and for the most part no stories.
I guess I must be the odd man out here because I feel the same as Spencer does about urine on the trap bed. I don't want any attention drawn to where that trap lies period. I think OG Is just a super sales men several others are just making It because of who their fathers were. Most of us have are own style of trapping and It works for us. But to say someones else's way Is wrong just doesn't cut It for me. When I posted on dip sticks forum I was called a radical and I was In most cases out In left field. Well I thought out of the box that's just the way Iam. And I feel most of us are that way. I get a kick out of the guy that tells me I'm all wet when In his posting he says he's caught 1 skunk 2 grinners 5 coon 2 rats. Give me break. There are lots of way's to put fur on the boards If It works for you then It's the right way but to say It's wrong because you don't use that method, well you get my drift.
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Post by garman on Jan 26, 2008 9:45:54 GMT -6
My main comlaint is just the quality of the magazine, the article was ok, I do not agree with some of it, but again maybe I am wrong or maybe MY style works for me. I just think the articles in the trapper have become so generic and basic it is boring. I do agree O'Gorman is a sales man just like most adverstising, he is just, hmm perhaps a better salesman. Either way the magazine is what it is. I guess I am just rambling too much.
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Post by thebeav2 on Jan 26, 2008 10:08:41 GMT -6
Well then It's time to send in some of Our articles and spice It up. I'm not a writer and If It wasn't for spell check no one could understand me In fact most times spell check can't figure out what I'm trying spell LOL.
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Post by CoonDuke on Jan 26, 2008 10:16:40 GMT -6
Well then It's time to send in some of Our articles and spice It up. Looks like a simple solution to me Beav! These magazines are constantly looking for trapping articles. They are relying on a handful of trappers to keep pumping them out month after month. It is not easy to write 2000 words every month and keep everything "cutting edge." Also, I don't think I ever read an article where I didn't disagree with at least something...
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Post by redeagle on Jan 26, 2008 10:52:55 GMT -6
A lot of the authors of the articles aren't so concerned with divulging their secret methods of trapping as they are with writing articles. They just rehash stuff that fills space so they can make money selling articles every month. Heck, if they were out to reveal what they really know, why would they do it so cheaply? They save the real info for personal lessons or for a trapping book to write because they can make more money at it that way than through a magazine article. The pros oftentimes take their "secrets" to the grave, rather than give them away so cheap. Too many profiteers take advantage of info that has been written and use it for their own income. Remember when Hawbaker wrote about using a notched tincan over the trap pan to pack dirt inside the jaws of your traps in his "Hawbaker's Supreme Fox and Coyote Trapping Method"? Well, then somebody comes along with the "Trapper's Cap" and capitalizes on Hawbaker's idea. The list goes on and on. Tom Krause wrote about cross-staking in The Trapper years ago, and then somebody comes out with cross stake swivels. There's tons of stuff to rehash and they do that by putting a slight twist on it to make it sound new. The beginners and new readers think it is new.
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Post by thebeav2 on Jan 26, 2008 11:02:52 GMT -6
I really don't think their are any great secrets out there but there are small tips that will make things easier and more efficient. Some of us do these things with out even thinking about It.
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tweedledumb
Skinner...
Someday I hope to live up to my name.
Posts: 62
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Post by tweedledumb on Jan 26, 2008 12:26:47 GMT -6
I started taking T&PC for the calling articles, but I read the trapping articles as well because I found them interesting. I guess that T&PC is partly responsible for the small line that I’m currently trying to maintain and my plans to expand it. I would bet that I’m not alone in that category but I have lost bets in the past. I think learning to trap will make me a better predator caller. Also this site and T&PC are responsible for my membership in the FTA.
Redeagle: “The beginners and new readers think it is new.”
Because it is new to US. If trapping and predator calling magazines focused on advanced methods or subjects that have not been covered before what would they have to write about? If there is something to write about where does that leave the beginner without the experience or basic knowledge to understand it?
Thanks for this tread though, now I know that I can squirt or mist at my sets giving a variety on my line.
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