•••O'Gorman•••?

Is there any other books/dvds etc. that bring more money than his?
Is he like the king of trapping or something?

Yes the Herb Lenon books went for twice as much a few years ago

You know someone who took instruction from him, pick his brain.

... just be thankful you don’t live within 300 miles of Broadus so you can buy one !

I’m in the process of writing “ hoofbeats of an alcoholic wildcat slapper” .... and it’s not to be sold within 900 miles of coldspring TX.. and a non liability waiver will need to be signed prior to purchase

Could you autograph one for me, legible of course.

King of marketing. I’m sure he can trap too. Ed Schneider spoke highly of him when I took lessons from him, he was one of Craig’s students. Anyone I’ve talked to that have worked with him 1:1 has said the same.

... yes, but that’s a 25% up charge

If coyotes had a hit list Craig would be right up there.

I know several guys who gave instruction to locals, and then got burned by the same locals.

Yes and Yes !

The paper market is soft right now, but certain material always moves. John Ehn material, even bootleg copies moves very fast. Hawbakers Trapping and trailling has only 500 copies, i know where there are 5 none for sale and can sell for well over 200 each. Thorpes Line camp methods can go very high if you can find them. there are rare methods written by early wolfer that bring some big dollars. Colvins little book, and EF Keith book are also very rare. We think in terms of books today but the rare methods were not quite books, they were pages of methods. As long as coyotes are king. rare wolfer material will be of value, understand this, old trappers that are still alive that were close to original thought trappers will have demand in the future. Tom Parr told me he hd letters from James Mast, priceless. Garold Weiland posted his Ehn material on this site a year ago. priceless, So listen to the nay sayers an the guys who boo hoo or think about the reality of rare material, like Wiley Carrol. Trappers who are popular now will be popular later, think about original Carmen material. So knock Craig all you want, the bottom line is what is collectible and marketability. I kow one fellow held in high regard on this site that needs a first edition Hawbakers Raccoon book another fellow i delivered a first edition Devoe Mystrey Method. Another a Hard Copy School Boy Trapper. For me Ogorman is a great investment, i do not think the boo hoo material is a good investment

one other item. when the trapper and some of the smaller magazines came out you can often find articles written by ehn, weiland, ogorman wiley and others these articles are very collectible and for the most part are over 40 years old, you will never see them again. boo hoo

Thanks for the info.
I just get this vibe that he could out trap June, Dobbins, Lucero, Jepson, Grawe, Carmen, Derrick, etc. (i doubt it), but you dont see Junes or Lucero's books goin for $100 and up.

From this website it seems that 75% trappers rave/ praise him while the other 25% badger him. For this 25% give him a break. For a man of his age and for the 10s of 1,000s of animals he has caught. The 100s of students that he has taught and the 1,000s of books that he has sold, he is entitled to brag a bit. Remember - Praise go much further than criticism.

it not about out trapping, its about knowledge, documented information. animal populations, terrain and weather are different subjects, its about knowledge. example thorpe talks about lew eckharts smokers, lost knowledge. ehn talks of a push pull trigger adjustment on his rat traps, most do not think of ehn as rat trapper. its about knowledge and the application of it.

I seriously doubt with equal circumstances - territory, permissions, animal populations, access, etc. he could "out trap" any of the aforementioned.

He would call them all copy boys though, Lol....He's like a trash talking prize fighter / psychological ploy artist / lure salesman / 7 ft. tall trapper.

I've never met anyone that enjoys trapping hunting and killin coyotes as much as O'Gorman there may be some better but I've never met them. He's out there 365 days a year 366 on the 4th year. Pretty tuff to compete against that.

All I know is that his books are packed with information and it seems like from their comments many "pros" have taken lessons from him and credit him with improving their skills.

Cut the guy some slack. There is no "Best" trapper of any species. Does he (L. Craig O'Gorman) have an big ego? Yep. Does and has he killed a lot of coyotes, fox, bobcats, badgers, coons? Yep. Does he work very hard at killing coyotes? Yep. Does he set and have an ungodly amount of traps/snares working at one time? Yep. Was he one of the first to write about his trapping, calling, and denning methods for taking coyotes in modern times? Yep and Yep. Is he a salesman/promoter? Super Yep. Does he use his brain to advance and solve animal problems? Yep. Is he the king, holy grail, best coyote trapper alive? Nope,,,, but he is among them (the "Best) as his records show........ like I said there is no "Best" coyote trapper AND I venture to say there are a few non-professionals (call them what you want - hobby - part time - recreational - whatever) trappers that are very, very good at harvesting furbearers where they live. A few could be counted as exceptional individuals that possess the mental, physical AND ambitious drive to pursue furbearers in that "Best" category. ........................... my take.................. the mike

And the O'Gorman legacy goes on...somehow, somewhere, and in some way, most of us have been influenced by him and may not even realize it.
Heck just talk to any salty coyote trapper and mention something like "Powder River paste bait" or "Hoofbeats of a Wolfer" and they will know what you are talking about.
Not many achieve that kind of recognition in ANY industry without a sound reputation among the participants. Has to be some substance there or everyone would have a much different perception of him after all these years.

Is he in the Trapper's Hall of Fame? If not, he should be.

Also if there are any trappers out there who are as good as he is for marketing trapping supplies, I would work with him on transferring his VHS tapes to CDs. I am sure they would sell like hotcakes

Tom Krause told me something in 1984 that I still remember. I told Tom I was starting a lure company, doing a few demos, writing a book or two at the time, and he said, "Welcome to the trapping world where 50% will love you and and the other 50% will compare you, judge you, or worse. Just work hard, and stay honest."

Tom represents trappers all over the world as few could imagine. I know I had no idea, where he speaks, and all that he has in his noggin.

Craig has ridden the rapids a very long time, and is worthy of trapper's respect in that regard alone.

While I've never taken personal instruction outside FTA College in the 1980's, I know plenty of solid trappers who've ridden with Mr. O'Gorman and they routinely feel he did them well. That's the mark of an excellent trapper/instructor. Craig is a one-of-a-kind, and our industry is better, much better, for having him aboard. I've never met him (I don't think), but respect his accomplishments in a tough, peaks and valleys, industry none-the-less.

May he keep hammering away!

Blessings,
Mark

Mr. O'Gorman is a top-notch trapper, no doubt, and deserves a great deal of respect from trappers. He's built a legacy few can match and has done well with his marketing. As far as out-trapping other trappers, I'm sure there are many he could out-trap, but as mentioned, a lot has to do with animal population density, climate, etc. I do know that dad went to Broadus, MT to trap coyotes in 1978 and this was his 19 day catch.

Good post Paul. I love those old photos brother!

I know what I am about to say is blasphemous, but...

I picked up a copy of Hoofbeats form a guy on here, read it, and re-sold it for what I paid for it. While there was some good info in it, it was not my favorite trapping book. Difficult to read and follow and poorly edited. If you live out west as he does I’m sure the info would be more applicable to you, but I found a disconnect between how he traps and how I have to trap here in the southeast. Trapping large sheep farms in rangeland is nothing like trapping in the woods on small, couple hundred acre properties. I was seriously considering traveling out there to take instruction but after reading the book I decided against it.

Got nothing against the man and I appreciate the influence and success he’s had. Just my two cents.

I think the guy is probably great in three areas, trapping, lure making, and marketing. Some are great in one or two areas and maybe good in the other one or two areas but not all 3. I do understand he comes across as very confident and could see how that could rub some the wrong way but it doesn't disqualify his other skills.

Thanks for the posts. I have no beef with O'Gorman, but was curious why his writings sold for so much more.

Every word written on this thread might be correct but most of the information written has little or nothing to do with establishing value of his writings. There are lots of methods books that have little value. Some are poorly known or poorly written and that might have something to do with their value BUT mostly the determining factors are demand for the material and availabliity of the material. Some authors have few fans while others have many. In the case of Herb Lenon's books, they were published in 1946 and never reprinted or reproduced. The supply was always very limited and due to Lenon's legendary status as a Hall of Fame trapper, the demand for his books is greater than the supply, hence values that exceed most other trapping methods books. Books by most other trappers have been extensively reprinted so a book is easy to obtain for a reasonable price although a first edition of the same book might be very hard to find and expensive. Value(price) can be sharply affected by change in supply. A recent decision by Lucero to reprint several of his books is a example.

The OP specifically asked about O'Gorman books. In my opinion, the rather substantial values of his written materials are due to the popularity of him as a trapping legend and the rather limited availability of much of his (especially earlier)written works. His popularity is most easily understood when one looks at the prices obtained for his catalogs, some of which are not even annuals. His methods books were not produced in large numbers that were ever available for low prices as were many other books. With the starting prices of his written materials higher than most others, and with demand that has kept increasing over the years, the result is a pricing structure different from most of his contemporaries who have reprinted unlimited numbers of their books and sold as many as they could at relatively low prices.

And he'd probably keep your pen !!!
Dennis

The American Dream is achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking, and hard work and that is what O'Gorman has done

Excellent post cohunt.

X2

O’gorman Rocks!!!!

Sometimes when something is high priced, you think its better, and sometimes it is......other times ya get what you paid for.

Good people, I'm 3 hours from them.
My wife and i have been to there house a few times.
Got to see the mountain lion 's an penned coyotes.
About ten years ago i loaded up on wax for my waxed sand, got a good place to store it and getting ready to use the last 2 bags.
Be headed to broadus soon, for this coming spring anyway.

there are very few men who have caught more coyotes then OG, including all the guys you mentioned.

I think I said it before-If you have never met the man (OG) you have really missed out. Very intelligent-very well spoken-down to earth. And yes he would out trap any of those mentioned above-hands down!! The man really is a legend!!

....Ogorman parted the Red Sea to create a coyote travel corridor

So it would seem to some people...

Those of us who trap, make lure, and publish "how to materials" in the trapping industry in the late 20th and early 21st century are a small group compared to other vocations.
Fewer still make their living from it. Most times, it depends on what you desire as far as a lifestyle, or what your spouse (if married) may think.
Those, like OG, who've kept their rudder in the water for decades are the backbone of our industry.

Since I started, trappers seem to want to compare "who is best," or "who trapped more." I say; "Who cares." If you knew most, you can tell who works and who doesn't. Who is legit and who is sketchy. Trappers are really good at figuring out an animal's pattern and who sells good goo, etc.!

I've never said a disparaging word about another trap dealer, and I never would, because ours is an industry with a love for the outdoors that requires work beyond what most would do. I know. Or ask Ms. Donna.

God's speed to anyone who dares to trap hard, make goo, and sell how to goodies in a professional manner.
I wish we had more with young blood starting their own businesses, but we may be witnessing the Last of the Mohicans.
I hope not.

Blessings!
Mark

"God's speed to anyone who dares to trap hard, make goo, and sell how to goodies in a professional manner.
I wish we had more with young blood starting their own businesses, but we may be witnessing the Last of the Mohicans.
I hope not."

Mark, we are the last ones. Very sad, but very true.
Mac

Good post, Mark June. Craig is like a lot of us, he is a trapper. He started when he was a kid, and will be doing it until he dies. Numbers trapping boiled down is simply hard work, quick effective sets, and line management.

I've dealt with O'Gormans on a business level, and have corresponded with Craig about trapping topics. They are a class act.

I have nothing but respect for anyone who can make a living in this industry and stay close to their roots.

I sincerely hope I am wrong, but I think Mac is 100 percent correct, we are in a dying industry.

[quote=Gerald Schmitt]Good post, Mark June. Craig is like a lot of us, he is a trapper. He started when he was a kid, and will be doing it until he dies. Numbers trapping boiled down is simply hard work, quick effective sets, and line management.

I've dealt with O'Gormans on a business level, and have corresponded with Craig about trapping topics. They are a class act.

I have nothing but respect for anyone who can make a living in this industry and stay close to their roots.

I sincerely hope I am wrong, but I think Mac is 100 percent correct, we are in a dying industry.[/quote

+1111

Always treated me very good great to do business with , and his writing has helped me think outside the box.nothing but respect for that whole bunch.

As most have said on here Mr. OGorman is part of the trapping community and a trapper. A class act as mention above a good description. I never met Mr. OGorman in person but he would be high on the list folks in the trapping community that I would like to meet in person. I have sold his lures for years since I was a young man. Caught a quite a few critters over the years with Powder River.

Ha!

Almost spit out my whiskey!

Good one!

Since reading High rolling Coon trapping in the 80's, to experiencing products and information in books, video, articles etc, all through the years, I have concluded that O'G is the real deal and speaks truth. Not that others do not. Just that he most certainly knows what he speaks of. That should add much value.

He spent a lot of time with me on the phone back in the late 80s when I was trying to figure out our new predator, Mr. coyote. Deep respect for Craig , he helped me immensely. A true living legend.

He helped a bunch of us over a lifetime.