PTA

[RonMarsh]

Who is going to the PTA convention 6/22-25?

[RonMarsh]

I wonder how the convention attendance will be this year. Last fall and spring I expected to see a lot used traps for sale. The ones that I did see were near the price of new.

[trappnman]

went to the PTA 6-7 times- always enjoyed it- its very similar in size, etc to the WI convention.

will be interesting indeed this year at conventions- last year if it wasn't coyote related, not much interest-

[Deleted]

Jun 18, 2016 5:51:14 GMT -6 trappnman said:

went to the PTA 6-7 times- always enjoyed it- its very similar in size, etc to the WI convention.

will be interesting indeed this year at conventions- last year if it wasn't coyote related, not much interest-

The infamous mink six PTA.  Do you remember the year?

[cameron1976]

I plan to attend Ron. The past two years I have been stationed in PA, and have attended the convention each year. This will probably be my last one however, as I am being transferred next spring/summer time frame. All in all the PA convention is a nice affair.

As far as attendance goes I would imagine it will be down a bit, but still plenty of folks I am sure. Used trap prices seem to be holding pretty steady, despite the drop in fur prices. What I don't think you will see is the mass quantity of folks peddling dog-proof coon bait. In 2014 the tailgate section was covered with folks who were selling some variation of cat food soaked in fish oil or some other coon attractant. Last year far less of them, and this year I would imagine they are about non-existent given the very weak coon market.

[redsnow]

Short notice, but where is it located?

[cameron1976]

Jun 19, 2016 13:53:46 GMT -6 redsnow said:

Short notice, but where is it located?

Gilbert PA, June 23 - 25.

[redsnow]

Just checked, looks like 2 hours past Harrisburg, that'd be almost 6 hours total for me, one way. Wish I could. Take pictures and give us a report.

[cameron1976]

Jun 21, 2016 12:23:34 GMT -6 redsnow said:

Just checked, looks like 2 hours past Harrisburg, that'd be almost 6 hours total for me, one way. Wish I could. Take pictures and give us a report.

Made it to the convention today. The attendance seemed light for a Saturday and the number of dealers in attendance was down a fair amount from last year. Several of the dealers I talked with mentioned sales being slow.

All in all I had a good time. There were some deals to be found if a guy hunted around hard enough. F and T had some of the better deals on new traps that I saw. I managed to snag 1 dozen of the new Duke #2 Square Jaw offset coils for $80 from them. The guy then offered me 4 others that were left in a box for another $10, so I ended up buying 16 for $90. Normally they are being advertised at around $99 or so a dozen, so I thought that was a pretty good buy. It looks like a decent trap for the money. 

[RonMarsh]

Attendance in general was down. I sold some stuff and picked up some. bought 2 bear traps and sold them now I am lookind for bear traps again.


The neighbors had a fire and a jam session so I joined with them. Good time.

[trappnman]

was the number of venders down as well, or about the same?

[cameron1976]

I would say the number of vendors was down. Clint Locklear, Dakota Line, Paul Dobbins, Bob Jameson, and Blue Ridge Trapping Supplies are just some of the dealers who attended last year, but were not in attendance this year.

[trappnman]

hard to justify driving too far in this market


Mark (Dakotaline) is in alaska

[cameron1976]

I agree Steve. Given the current state of the fur market I suspect dealer attendance will be down at many of the bigger shows this year.

[RonMarsh]

I only saw about 10 open tables total in the dealer buildings and that was in the one the farest away from the rest. Some smaller dealers got to move indoors.