In recent years, my thought process has been " how much fun can I afford". Today, there isn't enough financial return on any of my local species (unless I'm doing paid damage work) to justify any notable effort. I started trapping during the mid 70's and haven't missed a single season since that time. With that said, the true cost of running a production line is not practical unless you're trading recreation for financial gain. I travel to trap all over the United States and just consider my trips to be the same as a hunting or fishing trip. To those that have some of the "best of the best" available to them, consider yourself lucky. Most trappers aren't that fortunate. The cost of running a trapline and marketing your catch easily surpasses the financial return received in most parts of our country. That is unless you are trying to sell yourself on social media or to move traps, lures, videos or anything else trapping related.
Damage work or predator control is the reality for those who seriously look at the dollars and cents. I think we try to justify our activities in terms of dollars and cents, but for most of us, it's something that we do because it's who we are. No more... no less.

all I have try to do the last few years is enjoy what I do, if I can break even, I'm happy, 15-18 average on coon would be nice, 4 dollars on muskrats would be good,

$10-$12 coon put up would be sweet. I love to target them and beaver. I enjoy putting up fur and realize its not going to be profitable. When I retire soon I have 1000's of acres within 4 wheeler travel
and a lot of river that I plan to hit as hard as I can. Right now deer season interferes too much to trap as much as I'd like.

I imagine its relative to what each of us have to work with and what amount of money want to pocket at the end. I look at the guys stacking up beaver right now and primarily see pain and agony. To me beaver are fun for about two minutes as you set the first trap and make the first catch of ghe season. After that everything is hard hard work and gotta respect the guys that can run hard after them. Coon on the other hand--- I find zero fun about them. But from a money stand point they could motivate me as 1) there is nearly an endless supply and theres not much involved in catching them in big numbers and 2) access is super easy. No half mile walks into the swamp carrying stuff in and out. Doubt if I ever step more than 25 yards from the tail gate of truck on coon line. The remakes take a couple minutes max as the coon is already dead and all you do it prop the trap back up. Its all about burning as many miles as you can over as many days as possible.

Relative to what I have to work with, they can be the better money makers. After expenses you are way farther ahead on a week long coon line with lower $ averages here than trying to run a month after high dollar average beaver or coyotes that are in non-existent supply. Money wise the only competitor to them around me is when rat market is hot. But since there is not really any money left on the table at the moment for any of them, its as someone else stated---how much fun can I afford to have

Trapping from a 4 wheeler is much more cost efficient than trapping out of a full sized pickup.
I can run the old trails and logging roads all day with my old 300 4 trax and only burn a cup of gas.

In the 1980's a good coon was worth 25 to 30 dollars maybe a little more And I enjoyed that kind of pay off But the theives and unethical side of it often made me wonder it was worth the problems I was most successful at running a coon line when coons when coons where selling for about $15 to $18 average and the best coons I was catching would sell for maybe $15 to $20 more for the Jumbos with a really thick fur At !5 to !8 dollar averages I could catch and put up a number of good coon and have a nice amount in my fur check Throw in some fox mink and muskrat and I had a nice mixed bag of fur It was a lot of effort to make it happen But the result as a good fur check to go along with the satisfaction of a nice pay off .In truth when the best ones I am catching ae only paying about 10 each I just can not get to motivated to deal with them I live in an area that has a lot of coon but I rarely catch more than a handful of 4x 5x or 6x /jumbo coons and when the majority of my catch is 4 or 5 dollar average I am not all that willing to walk very far to catch them.

Coon generally help offset my gas costs while pursuing more fun animals to catch. I catch a bunch of them while trying to catch coyotes or cats so might as well use them. Most of my farmers want them managed anyway. Crazy how many fill back in over the year after season so I know it’s not really managing them just always get to trap a bunch good habitat brings em in.
The $6 skinned and not finished coon I sold this may sound low, but hey it was about double what I got the last two years so sort of a turn around there in local market ha ha. If nothing else it was way more fun than not getting to sell any during that Covid crap stretch. I’ll take 6 over 0 any day.
Jim

Combined with a meat market a $10 average would be fine. Now like I do today with trapping, I wouldn't travel no further than the distance it takes to use 2 gallons of gas per day and would walk the trapline instead of using an ATV.

Unfortunately, trappers today have lowered their standards. Fortunately, they will be dead soon like me.

I can tell, you have never run a successful coon line. I've had days where the truck bed had 40-50 coon in it. Not gonna happen on any wheeler I've ever been on. Lol

one of old trappers I've known use to take the back seat out of his small car and use that space and trunk for dead critter storage when running the line vs driving the truck. it was something to see and smell lol. but i also knew him to stop at skinner/buyer half way thru the day to unload even when running the truck. i do miss the memories but still cant enjoy coon trapping!

I think he asked what a "reasonable" price would be, wouldnt making more money be a reason for increasing interest?

Yep, but pumping iron for a bunch of grey bearded guys isn't nearly as much fun as checking traps. It's still a thrill walking up to a set where you know you have a catch. I don't envision squatting with a couple hundred lbs. on a bar interests most guys here anymore.

I hear gyms are filthy places with fecies all over everything.
I'll stick to the bush.

The Golden triangle days and a 55 dollar avg , were very common

A $15 dollar coon today is not really the same a a $15 dollar coon was worth in the days of .55 cent gas And a new truck to use as your trapping machine cost less than $7000.00 I trapped for more than 50 years Fur prices where all over the place as was always the case Right after the stock market crash in 1987 deciding who to sell your fur to was easy Because the number of fur buyers at that time was a very small number From the late 1990's on I had some years where I Had a good fur check In the end though I still was enjoying running a trapline Because it provided me a way to enjoy my life in a way That nothing else could

$25 average. The way coon prices are now, you already lost money as you leave your driveway. Of course, we don't have ROW trapping here. I have to walk a lot to catch many coon. It's all work.

If they go to 15 dollars put up im buying a boat load of no bs 1.5's and hitting the river. I saw enough sign out there beaver trapping that I think 1000 would be do able. I live 2 miles from the ramp and my 16 ft john boat with 25 4 stoke can go all day on 3 gallons.

Based on what I got for four road killed raccoon in 1980 ($38 average), adjusted for inflation, that would make a reasonable, average price for raccoon today of, $143.11 This is an actual calculation, not a guess.

BTW, the 37 muskrat averaged $8.12 in 1980, today that would be, $30.58 each.

Being able to trap the ROW makes a huge difference in numbers and the time spent catching them.