Post by lck on Nov 17, 2013 9:06:16 GMT -6
As I wait and wait for my new traps to rust I catch myself looking back a LOT! My, how things have changed. I catch myself living back in the 70's as a boy running my line.
My first trap was found while helping a local sheep rancher look for a couple strays in the desert. He had me get out and walk down a pinion ridge while he drove around to the point in order to pick me up. I found an old rust pitted long spring trap under a Juniper tree. Just the corner was sticking out of the ground. I dug it up and gave it a good tug. The chain was rotted to the point it broke and up came this old trap. This got me started. The rancher said it must have been one of his dads old traps and I could keep it.
My second big windfall came later that summer when our neighbors old shed burnt down. He paid me and my buddy's to help haul everything to the dump. In the rubble I found 6 more long spring traps, he let me have them. Here I was with 7 traps and ready to go. I started talking to anyone I could about trapping. I found out a man not far from town would actually pay cash money for pelts, so my Mother took me out to meet him. I took my traps to show him. Seemed like the mature thing to do for a 5th grader, well gonna be a fifth grader when school started again.
Mr. Stansfield was a big man and looking back a patient and kind man. He looked at my traps and gave me some chain and told me how to catch Bobcat and Coyote. The advise went something like this..... If you see a coyote track burry a trap and put a chunk of rotten meat on it. For Bobcats he said to burry a trap along the ledge rocks and hang a feather in a tree by it. He made it sound like free money would just fall from the sky once I had done this. I remember him telling me not to skin any of the animals I caught, he said to just bring them to him, he would rather to it himself.
He went on to instruct me to start picking up any dead animals I found along the road and to just put them in a barrel with a lid and then stir it once a week until winter, then use this on my traps as bait.
With the newly instilled wisdom of the ages freshly planted in my head all I had to do now was find a barrel and wait for winter. He said he would only pay for fur once it was freezing every day.
I remember this first meeting with him as if it were yesterday. Mom stayed in the car.
I did fill a barrel full of road kill, I did find coyote tracks and burry traps under them with a glob on top. I did burry traps and hang feathers in tree's along the ledge rock that first winter. I checked my traps every day, EVERY DAY. I did not catch one thing. I did however remain encouraged because animals were "almost getting in my traps!
The years went by and I continued to learn. I ended up finding and buying more traps, catching a few animals, mostly Muskrats but at $2 a rat I could by more traps at the pawn shop 30 miles away!
I also remember working on ranches for $300 a month room and board and making pretty darn good money on coyotes and cats. Mr. Stansfield bought every one of them and preferred to skin em himself to the day he died.
That was then, this is now. The UPS man has delivered 4 dozen MB 650's, 500 ready maid snares. All the hooks, swivels, springs, drags, wax, die, bait, lure spades, trowels, knives, hammers and DVD's any man can dream of (Ranch budget, not mine!!)
Many, many, many things have changed from then to now except for one. That old feeling is back. It's good to be a kid again!!
My first trap was found while helping a local sheep rancher look for a couple strays in the desert. He had me get out and walk down a pinion ridge while he drove around to the point in order to pick me up. I found an old rust pitted long spring trap under a Juniper tree. Just the corner was sticking out of the ground. I dug it up and gave it a good tug. The chain was rotted to the point it broke and up came this old trap. This got me started. The rancher said it must have been one of his dads old traps and I could keep it.
My second big windfall came later that summer when our neighbors old shed burnt down. He paid me and my buddy's to help haul everything to the dump. In the rubble I found 6 more long spring traps, he let me have them. Here I was with 7 traps and ready to go. I started talking to anyone I could about trapping. I found out a man not far from town would actually pay cash money for pelts, so my Mother took me out to meet him. I took my traps to show him. Seemed like the mature thing to do for a 5th grader, well gonna be a fifth grader when school started again.
Mr. Stansfield was a big man and looking back a patient and kind man. He looked at my traps and gave me some chain and told me how to catch Bobcat and Coyote. The advise went something like this..... If you see a coyote track burry a trap and put a chunk of rotten meat on it. For Bobcats he said to burry a trap along the ledge rocks and hang a feather in a tree by it. He made it sound like free money would just fall from the sky once I had done this. I remember him telling me not to skin any of the animals I caught, he said to just bring them to him, he would rather to it himself.
He went on to instruct me to start picking up any dead animals I found along the road and to just put them in a barrel with a lid and then stir it once a week until winter, then use this on my traps as bait.
With the newly instilled wisdom of the ages freshly planted in my head all I had to do now was find a barrel and wait for winter. He said he would only pay for fur once it was freezing every day.
I remember this first meeting with him as if it were yesterday. Mom stayed in the car.
I did fill a barrel full of road kill, I did find coyote tracks and burry traps under them with a glob on top. I did burry traps and hang feathers in tree's along the ledge rock that first winter. I checked my traps every day, EVERY DAY. I did not catch one thing. I did however remain encouraged because animals were "almost getting in my traps!
The years went by and I continued to learn. I ended up finding and buying more traps, catching a few animals, mostly Muskrats but at $2 a rat I could by more traps at the pawn shop 30 miles away!
I also remember working on ranches for $300 a month room and board and making pretty darn good money on coyotes and cats. Mr. Stansfield bought every one of them and preferred to skin em himself to the day he died.
That was then, this is now. The UPS man has delivered 4 dozen MB 650's, 500 ready maid snares. All the hooks, swivels, springs, drags, wax, die, bait, lure spades, trowels, knives, hammers and DVD's any man can dream of (Ranch budget, not mine!!)
Many, many, many things have changed from then to now except for one. That old feeling is back. It's good to be a kid again!!
