I helped a friend of mine load up his truck today. He's selling most of his lifetime collection of traps. Footholds and Conibears. One of the lots was lures both old and new...must have had 50-60 bottles in that lot. I had to look away...I wanted to buy everything!

Is that David W stuff ?

Yes

Seems like a lot of that going on today. As the folks who had an interest in antique traps keep ageing, the value will continue going down, Bear traps, except the most pristine seem to have begun a descent in value. And I have more than anybody I know.

Carl, Can you keep us updated on the sale? You should have a good beaver, cat, and otter sale, good luck with it, I know you guys run a smooth sale!

I won't be there and will be awaiting for news myself. I'll contribute anything I hear on here.

I hear that there will be about 165 beaver on the sale, less than 10 otters, and last I heard around 170 cats with only about 20 of those western Oregon cats (the crappy ones).

There should be about fifty north Idaho cats there. I know a guy who said he was taking them to Prineville this weekend.

Lots of times more fur shows up at these sales than what got called in. OTC still allows the fur to be displayed but I know they like it to get called in a week in advance to help attract the buyers.

If anybody is in attendance today keep us posted eh? Thanks!

TTT

Sounds like more cats than last year

The Prineville averages are posted on FB. Posted by the Idaho Trappers Association. I’m not bright enough to figure out how to copy them over here. Can some one help me out? Put aside your dislike of FB and help me out!! Please.

Some of the numbers look really good. But the report doesn’t show number of skins.

Beaver - $30.00 plus
Otter - $60.00 plus
Skunk - $21.00 plus.
Western Oregon bobcat - $121.00 plus. Last year it was about $50.00 or so.

Now before you guys go ballistic about $121.00 being a good cat price - these are western Oregon cats. Reddish with casty bellies for the most part. The good Oregon cats are eastern Oregon cats - they are listed separately on the report.

OTC ( Oregon territorial council) 2023 Prineville Oregon fur sale. Check out the western bobcat high…. Holy smokes…… overall it was a great sale. Coyotes were a rough one comparatively to just two years ago. Might have been 3 now I guess but nothing like it was. Cats……. Could have been a much higher average if fur was cared for better. Thank you everyone for the help and to the trappers and houndsmen. Predator callers too.

Sale Averages

Badger $17.93
Beaver $30.13
Bobcat ( out of state ) $433.75 High $661.16
Bobcat Eastern $380.21 High $1288.23
Bobcat western $$121.19 $377.16
Castor $26.52 lb
Coyote $19.37 High $43.23
Deer antlers $11.55 lb
Elk antlers $14.66 lb
Ermine ( weasel ) $11.17 tanned
Grey fox $12.41
Red fox $13.20
Marten $31.11
Mink $5.15
Muskrat $2.61
Nutria $2.17
Otter $63.91
Opossum $2.20
Raccoon $4.41
Skunk $21.57

Nancy is right about the average coast cats. Not all western cats are coast cats. Cascade cats can be in that average but can also be be well above casty types.
Few yeas back a young fellow from my town sold a western cat for $ 1000. Sometime before that his dad caught one in the same area and it sold for $600 so $121 is not really high for a western but still a good price.

Western Oregon cats are commensurate with some of the commercial grades coming from the southeast for the most part. Maybe a little more fur but mostly ugly reddish backs and narrow bellies.

Here's a pic of some nicer ones I caught a few years ago:

I know the western bobcat guys will just roll their eyes and scoff, but coming from a region where there's not a single critter that can bring a hundred bucks except on some crazy coyote year (I did sell a typical tawny yote my kid snagged in 2018/19 for $80 at auction), I do drool a bit seeing averages starting at $120 and up. I know, I know there's a lot more fuel costs driving around in the West so your operating coin costs are considerably higher than the Midwest trappers and say coon are may more plentiful per square mile here than bcats are in the West. I get all that. But still....

Anyway, I always enjoy looking at put up bobcat hides. Perhaps before I die, we'll actually have a season for them in my area, a local kid caught one 5 or 6 years ago so they are starting to show up here in the non-wooded. hilly land of East River. After I retire, I may have to negotiate a month-long deal with a motel owner in selected parts of West River SD and spend the whole month of January out there going after cats. Maybe that will pop my envy bubble of you all

I read you loud and clear on that. I actually have an unfulfilled fantasy of filling a 5 cat eastern Oregon card some year. In Oregon we have to choose which side when we buy a card. I know some places in eastern Oregon that are home to $1000 dollar cats. I actually just once would like to bag a cat that went for those kinds of prices.

My best cat ever so far went for $237

I am on the Oregon/Idaho border my best cat so far has been 1199.00 which was last year with a 400.00 avarage for 10 cats
You don't see that very often but it was nice!
Anyone know what the cat and beaver totals for the sale was
That's a pretty good beaver average

There was supposed to be about 165 beaver but I heard after that there was only about 120 or so, with 7 not sold. Haven't heard anything official yet.

$1199 really shines! Must have been a heck of a cat!

Prices seem pretty good esp. the eastern cat average. For hearing all the doom and gloom early on the prices on certain western goods are decent. Softness appears in coyote, coon, rats, mink.