In 1982 I join the Pa Trappers Association as a life member at the annual convention That was at the South Mountain Fairgrounds in Arendtsville PA A subscription for The Trapper and Predator Caller magazine was includer in the cost of the membership .That magazine was the best trapper/ predator caller magazine in print at the time Over a 100 pages per issue with many of the best trappers /fur hunters in the USA where writing for the magazine Major Boddicker Willis Kent Bud Boda Carroll Black Charlie Dobbins Tom Mirana Kermit Stearns Dennis Kirk Jim Helfrich Don Schumacher and that is not even half of the people adding articles to the magazine It was a time when the fur market was booming and there was money to made Werther it was trapping fur selling supplies buying and selling fur There was money in the fur business And the fur magazine where all in the success of that era. Then in OCT 1987 the fur market crashed along with the stock market. Fur was not salable You could not sell the best fur in the North American fur market because there where no buyers Many large buyers closed their doors and never reopened And of course the fur magazines fell on hard times also Some went out of business others reduced their size and content to les than half of what it had been had been and continued to put out a magazine Well here is a shout to those involved in the what is now TheTrapper magazine Yesterday i received my issue for Sept 2024 It is 54 pages And what is even more noticeable is it has some great reading in it Jim Spencer has a very good piece about setting goals and how that can be a way to i improve your skill and catch levels I know having a goal keeps me motivated as I work towards a certain number of animals I want to reach Jim presents a good way to approach an improvement in your methods as to grow as a trapper It is to the point and yet as simple as doing it Than Jason Houser does a good job of explaining how to avoid problems with predator type animals before they become a problem Another great article Seve Bartylla has an article concerning the habits of coyotes plus other how to and whyfor articles are there for the reader /trapper to learn new skills But the thing that motivated me to mention this copy of the Sept 2024 issue of The Trapper magazine is the article is the fantastic piece by Emily Kanter on the history on the history of the PTA It is an excellent article with many really wonderful pictures that is worth reading several times to understand what the background of the oldest trappers association stands for and how it came into existence .AND AFTER ALL THESE YEARS IS STILL AN IMPORTANT PLACE IN MODERN TRAPPING Kudos to all that are part of publishing a sound and solid magazine that represents what is good about modern day trappers Thanks for reading!!

The magazine did drop off but the past couple years Spencer has done a good job of reviving it and as mentioned above it is a good publication. It has improved greatly since they dropped the Predator Caller part from the name, in my opinion. I have been getting it since I became a lifetime member back in the 80's.

Yes a very good story....I like the trapper .....jim does a great job ......

I have been reading Jim Spencer's writings for over 40 years, great writer. Jim loves trapping and it shows in his articles and editorials. I bet if you offered Jim 5 million dollars on the condition that he quit trapping and turkey hunting, he would tell you to keep your money.

West side 151, spot on about those Trapper magazines in the early 1980s, for a kid starting out, just full of information, a lot of the ads were as good as the articles. Happy day for me when I would walk home from school and the new
Trapper magazine would be in the mailbox.

i love the cover with the pheasants! as that is all i got in the mail was the cover! have to as the mailman were the rest of my magazine went?