I've had some inquiries about how we have progressed over the years in growth. I was able to go back five years to Feb 2005 when I upgraded the plan to one that had a Statistic Analyzer, and we had to start again from scratch.

For those of you who are bored by numbers, don't give a hoot, or are on dial-up, you may not want to go any further - lol.

For those who do, here are the stats by year. (What's a fella to do at 4:30 in the morning and can't sleep? Evidently, I didn't party last night - lol.)

The Year of 2005....



The Year of 2006....



The Year of 2007....



The Year of 2008....



The Year of 2009....



The Year 2011



The Year of 2012



So far in 2013

It sounds like unique visitors are actually pretty commonplace. :-)

Happy New Year, Paul.

Jim

Interesting. Ya get Buzzard on here more and watch those statistics, LOL.

uh huh ... pointing that taunting finger at us "dial uppers" and even throwing a "lol" at us ... all part of a greater conspiracy

Look what you started Paul...

I wonder how many new trappers started trapping because of this sight? We may never know, but I'll bet this sight has had a positive effect on our sport.

Thanks Paul.

I cant beleive it has allready been 5 years since the site was upgraded. I can still remember the old site very well when we lost everything and had to start over. It was hard buying and selling traps when your PM. would not go through!!
Thanks Paul for such a great place to come and visit with fellow trappers. If it was,nt for T-man, I would have no computer skills what so ever.. LOL, Thanks again Paul!!!

I might be wrong but I think Charlie Dobbins inspired/fueled the flame for this without even knowing it ... by sharing his knowhow with Benny ... and this place is the reward ... as ornery as it can get at times, including grumpy folks who will go unnamed ... this place has done far more good for newbies and inbetweens and even veterans than most will give it credit for or even realize!

You may be right hunterchub. Buzzy will get them fired up but expect a lot of molted feathers scattered all over the area.

Very interesting Paul. Right about August the gang gets pretty fired up and it's uphill from there. Critter catching time is a coming.

Pelts

P-Skinny - "I might be wrong but I think Charlie Dobbins inspired/fueled the flame for this without even knowing it ... by sharing his knowhow with Benny"

You're absolutely right about how this place got started. I often forget that there are many newbies who don't know this. In a nutshell, here's how it happened......

Dad was in Mississippi giving instruction to someone, and I don't recall who it was, perhaps USDA? Anyway, he ran across this fella named Benny who wanted to learn how to trap beavers. He told dad he couldn't afford the instructions, but dad stayed a few extra days anyhow and taught Benny how to trap beavers. Dad gave Benny some traps to get him started too. The traps you see in the headers on these pages are some of the ones dad gave him. When dad was fixing to leave, Benny said he was sorry he couldn't pay for the instructions, but dad simply said, "Pass it on".

After dad passed away, I got a puter that was able to go on the internet. This was in very early 1998. I soon found a trapping site called Otter Creek and found they had a chat room. So, I started going in there most every evening to chat with the regulars. I believe I used the handle Bvr1, but didn't say who I was, because I didn't think it mattered, since no one knew me. After a month or two, Benny, who went by Yup, I believe, was on the chat and asked if I was related to Charles Dobbins. I said yes, I was and that I was his son.

Well, he said that he had a debt to repay. He then laid out this plan for a trapping website for me. He was very adept at doing website graphics and constructing websites. I was hesitant because I wasn't mentally prepared to take this on, since I was dumber than a sack of hammers when it came to computers. He said he'd lead me by the hand and teach me all I needed to know, which he did. He asked what I wanted in a website and we hashed it all out and he said he'd get working on it. He also said it would end up being the premier trapping website on the internet. I had my doubts about me having such a thing, but that didn't deter his efforts.

In a matter of a few days, he sent me a link to Trapperman.com and the first page was a forum, called Trapper Talk. That was a single forum and was not expandable, like forums are today.

When I saw the header come up, I was flabbergasted at how great it looked. Soon he had many of the basic Trapperman pages done, such as Words from the Past, Trapper Tips, the Convention Calendar, the Gallery and Links page.

Then on Otter Creek one night I announced that I had a new website and gave the link. Ever since then, its done nothing but grow.

That folks is how Trapperman.com got started. I'd say Benny "Passed it on" more than a thousand fold. I'm sure dad looks down on this place with pride, and I hope to keep it a place he'd be proud of.

Geees Paul, brings back the memories of when I couldn't wait to get into the house to turn that piece of junk computer on and hope it would load the trapperman pages up. Thanks.

Pelts

Havent seen "Benny" on here for awhile...

Paul,that's a great story about your dad and Benny.thank you for providing us with this excellent site.All of your hard work is much appreciated and i to will "pass on" the knowledge gained from this site. thanks

I miss him ! Always would teach us some new computer trick.

That is a great story.

This website is what inspired me to start trapping and if it wasn't for this website I might never have given it a try.

I have read EVERY post in the archives and try to read every post on the main pages but with 75,000 people posting it gets hard. LOL

And it's been a part of our Lives, more than a Website when it does for it's members what Tman has done for Mine...

Tman has been nothing short of a Godsend in My Life!

Thanks Benny and Thank You Paul!!!

I got an email from Benny a month or so ago needing some beaver lure, so he's still out there doing what dad showed him. He pops in from time to time.

I liked his appearance on here when he announced he was going to be on Emeril Live. I watched the show and loved the burger he had on there.

Benny is truly a man of diverse interests. He'll pop back in when he's needing to commune with us again - lol.

That's awesome, I really enjoyed learning about the birth of the site, Thanks Paul & Benny

You should just put that post of yours about how and why this place got started and is here about once every six months Paul, not just for the new comer's but also to remind us older members of why we're all here to begin with!

Your dad gave me a bottle of lure the last time I saw him. Besides being a great trapper I think his popularity in the trapping world came from his generosity and desire to always be helping someone.

Next weekend i'll be doing my little part of 'passing it on' at our next kids workshop. Id say your dad is probably responsible either directly or indirectly for getting thousands of new trappers started in this lifestyle of ours.

What an advantage the new trappers of today have with your site! Us guys that started back in the 50's would have given just about anything to be able to get all the info that is available today. I have been here since the beginning and I must say; " Its just keeps getting better ". Thanks Paul and Benny

LOL Yaa paul that has been a while back hasnt it. Havent thought a otter creek in quite a while.Iam sure yer poppa would be proud as can be a this place for sure. Always been a proud member a Trapperman.com.

Sure brings back memories. I wandered in on my first computer I got for my kids. Was back when they were obsolete by the day you took them home from the store. Still have my old 66MHZ with the then gigantic 450Meg HD that was told would never get filled up LOL.

If not for this place and the folks I have met on here I would not have become the convention addict I am today. Would not have met some of the friends I have now or my wife.

Drifter

Who is considerd a "Unique Visitor"?

I've been on for a long time. Learned a lot, shared a lot, looked a lot, sold a lot, and bought a lot from posts on this site. Even on years I'm not trapping I'm still drawn back weekly if not daily to look at stories and see whats for sale.

Thanks Paul for keeping this all going. All I can say is if I had this site when I was a kid I would have been a lot further ahead of the curve, cause now that I have some know how I don't have the ambition.


I too wouldn't have many computer or trapping skills if it weren't for T-man.


THANKS!!!!!!

Later Longear

I was a one finger typer when found this place and now have graduated to using two.

Drifter

Great history and info Paul. Thanks much for taking the time to put it out there. Have certainly met a bunch of great folks on here and even managed to keep a few friends.


Looks like a quantum leap in users and visits from 2006 to 2007. Any guesses why that is ? Does it coincide with Brent being banned :-))

LOL White, Brent has been banned a lot of times, so I don't think that's it. We did have a crash in 2006 and had to step up from the UBB Classic forums to the UBB Threads forums. I don't think that would cause such an increase in activity though.

By the way, do you recall when MTP had the MB750 with the square pans as shown in the header image of the ADC Trapper forum? I remember dad gave me some to play with a long time ago, but I don't recall when that was.

Yes I remember those but don't have a clue when they were made. All of mine are the round pans.

To just think how this all came possible through one mans generosity is humbling Thanks Paul and Benny, but and even greater thanks to Mr. Charles Dobbins.
I think most of us old timers try to give something to the young generation of trappers each and every year.

Thanks P-Skinny for drawing that piece of History out. Mr Dobbins was a great mentor from all counts that I have read and heard of. And a thanks to Paul and Benny for this wealth of information that use to take a life times collect.

Great story.Thanks for sharing.

I'm sure your dad is real proud of what you and Benny did here, Paul. This place has certainly changed a lot of young people for the better.

We should all try to keep this site something Charlie would be proud of. Sometimes it's easy to get aggravated when we see a post deleted, but that puts it in perspective for us.

Thank you Paul, wishing you and your family all the best this New Year.

well, I'm kinda glad I pointed out what I did ... reckon it all boils down to karma man ... yep, karma ... peace - love - and tight chains

You've been staying up and watching My Name Is Earl,haven't you P Skinny?

Nice story.

Alls I can say is WOW. 2009 was the first year I put steel in the dirt and I am grateful for this site for amy reasons. Thank you Mr. Dobbins for creating this site, I'm sure your dad would be proud.