How much did you spend your first year trapping

Title says it all. Anyone remember how much they spent their first year trapping? Did you start slow and only buy a couple things or where you all in and bought a bunch all at once?

I was six dad gave me the stuff

I started as a kid with some old traps dad had hanging in a shed, and went from there. Slowly got new and better equipment as time went on. I imagine a lot of guys on here started the same way.

Spent $ 0.00 . Had ten traps , wire , pack basket Hatchet, and bike. 1960 .
one coon, two muskrats, Two mink . total
Sold to E.J. Daley . $45.00

Grampa gave me a couple traps he had hanging in a shed. I Didnt know you could buy lures and stuff. Didnt know to use a sifter or pan covers. As I learned over the years I began accumulating stuff.

I don't think more than 50 bucks. Dad got me some old 1.5 and w long springs and I bought s couple of Dale Billings lets original line of lures .

I bought my first 3 traps second hand at10 years old for a dollar each.
After receiving 46 bucks for 1Coon and 4 rats in the round I was hooked.
I was actually hooked before I sold them but the paycheck was definitely icing.

Was having trouble catching a muskrat in a #1 that I found hanging in the barn after my grandpa got killed. Was telling 7th grade teacher about it and he said I needed a conibear. I ordered 2 #110's for $1.19 each from Montgomery catalog. Caught 1 muskrat and still didn't break even. Just about like now, lol.

My first year was 1980/81. I was in the front yard shooting birds when a grey fox stepped out of the brush along the field right next to our house. I shot it. I knew my dad had a could old long spring traps and I asked him how to set them. He said rub some bacon grease into the bark of a tree and set a trap under the grease. I pushed a dead snag into the ring of the trap, 1 1/2 Victor. It was a couple days later while I was checking it before school when I found the trap missing. About 30 yards away was another grey fox. I sold both in the round to Yoakum in Dixon for $40/each. I took that money and bought some 120’s. I trapped a local spring for muskrats. Used that money to buy more 110’s. In 1985, I caught enough to buy a Honda 200 3-wheeler. Next year I was starting varsity football and discovered girls.

Dropped it completely until last year. I started from scratch and have invested more than I want to admit to in the last couple seasons,

I think a dozen #1 long springs were about $7.95 from F.C. Taylor Fur Co., so, about $7.95.

My Great Granddad and Granddad both gave me my first 6 traps in 1955. Caught one skunk, one ermin, and two muskrats total. I sure was a happy young critter.

I borrowed 5 Victor 1.5 coilsprings with the large square pans from my dad and set them for muskrat. I caught 5 muskrat and 1 buck mink for the season. Not bad for a 10 year old boy on a bike. It got me hooked for life.

Nothing
Grandfather has my dad’s old traps hanging in the machine shed.
Trapped gophers in Carrol Co IA for 25 cents per front foot on a Honda z 50 for area farmers.. and walked beans…

Started a adc business years later 12 duke 330s, a bottle of Pete rickards beaver lure and 2 cage traps for under 200 bucks…

I had my Fathers #1 long spring that I found in a toolbox in the basement back in 1975, I rode my bike about five miles to set it in a small culvert.

Do you count the cost of a therapist or not?

Unfortunately more $$$ than I want to admit ~ I contacted 36 land owners this past year & rec'd 36 NOs.
Still haven't gotten any steel in the ground but am scouting other properties for next year during this frigid cold spell.

It didn't cost me anything, I got a handful of traps from my older brother and I was good to go.

I was 6 or 7. My Grandpa gave me 1.5 victor long spring and a few 110s. I caught one muskrat that year. So I didn't spend anything, but was given a gift that was priceless.

ol' dad

Nothing.Was only 6 years old and trapped with my father using some of his traps.

Same story here.

Cool to see how many people got their first kit from their family. How many of you have gotten to pass the buck to your own children?


So you also started thanks to your parents?

I still have the 1.5 longspring and will pass it along to one of my daughters.

ol' dad

Nothing,trapped on foot as a kid with some traps I found in the basement,and some wire that I made snares out of.

Same at around 8... Added a few just scrounging around.. At 18 I got a $700 fur check with the like 18 traps I had by then and spent that entire fur check on traps...

Local general store had some #1 longsprings hanging on the wall, bought 2 if I recall , don't remember the price, walked to the pond and actually caught a muskrat, lol
This was pre body-grip days...

not much
wife was homeschooling the 3 kids and I was the only income , had to start very small

I think I started with 6 DP and 3 1.75 and some lure a shovel and home made 3/8 rebar stakes
doubled it the next year
added a little at time after that

I was 10 and a neighbor gave me 4 1 long springs to trapp pocket gophers. That fall we ordered a dozen from Sears and Robuck and with postage it may have been $10. This was 1957. That was my birthday and Christmas presents. I mowed hay and got enough money to buy a $5 single speed used bike and I was a long liner. Tails were .25 each and many of the farmers gave me an extra nickle or even a dime. Most profitable (on a percentage basis) line I ever ran. Did it for 4 years and then moved from home to be on my own working on a dairy farm.

Bryce

Bought 3 bridger 1.5s and I was gifted 1 used dp and I set and ran a line of traps for my uncle but they were his traps. Started to realize I really liked trapping so I spent about 200 my first year and that gave me an amazing start and it kept me busy.

FishingHoleFinder my great grand daughter just turned two. Couple years I will take her. Had 6 grandkids tagging along for a few days this year. Sending fur off to be tanned so they each can have one.

Heres a picture of my great grand daughters dad a few years ago




Here he is a few years later



Here is my great grand daughter this summer

Bought a 110 coni. Can’t remember what I paid for it

Caught a small female fisher. Sold it for 250$

Had to split it with my buddy cuz his dad skinned it for me

Spent the 125$ on traps and was off to races,,

12 yrs old

I was given 5-6? #1 longsprings from one of my uncles in the summer of 1955, I was 8 years old by season start and I walked 1 mile to 2 miles depending where I was trapping to get to the ditches or creek where I knew there were rats. Season opened on Thanksgiving Day and back then, things were already froze-up so I learned to catch rats under ice with foothold traps on my own! Nobody said put the trap here or there, I learned alone! I wore the old 5-buckles and had my Boy Scout hatchet for cutting holes in the ice because all trapping was under ice. If the weather was real bad, Ma would stop fixing supper and come pick me up in the old 1950 Oldsmobile for a ride home. I shipped rats about every Saturday down at the Sears & Roebuck Store downtown to Taylors.

Zero investment when I started 70 years ago!

I think I spent about $50. Got some traps, sifter, bait and lure. End of season I bought some fur handling stuff and probably spent a couple hundred.

The second year was a lot more because I bought about 4 dozen MB 450’s.

I since have stopped keeping record, because I don’t know or care to know. Because I’m not getting any ROI. So it doesn’t matter.

Got a couple of Victor #0 LS for my birthday and was expected to trap pocket gophers on our farm. My cousin showed me how to set them and gradually caught enough gophers to buy a few more traps. By the end of the summer I had saved up enough to buy a new bicycle so I could expand my operation. One of my neighbors was trapping muskrat and showed me how easy they could be to catch. Things spiraled down from there.

$3.00 for a license. Neighbor gave me six #1 victor long springs, 3 stretchers. That was it.

I was 12 when I got started. An old timer gave me some snares and I got my grandfather's #1 longsprings. My first season I snared a fox and I caught a mink. That's is when fur was good money. That money i bought 2 dozen coil springs and a dozen snares and still had money left. Those were good years.

I went with my old man from as far back as I can remember and then some. When I was able to set traps myself along side him he gave me some. When I sold my first furs couple coon and muskrats I bought 1.5 dukes and some of sunderlands lures local fur buyer back then. Still have a bunch of the old man’s traps that just hang up for memory’s and a couple 330s I still use to this day.

I spent 50 bucks to get a few traps. After that I did everything on my own. Even now I have only spent $200 on traps and the gas to get to the trapline. You do t need to spend a lot to have fun.

As with others I found a crate of traps stuffed under the house that belonged to my Dad. He hadn't trapped in years, but I got him restarted.
First catch was coyote. Set the trails around a deer, a cougar had killed. Caught the coyote and a bobcat. To this day that is the biggest coyote I ever caught. 58 years ago.

My best buddy Archie showed up at the house one day with two #1 victor long springs. We set them at a local pond and after two days caught a muskrat and had one wrung out. Didn't have any idea how to skin it so his mom took us to a fur buyer that bought the muskrat. We bought a new 1 1/2 vic coil with that money and a can of sardines. Set that trap and caught a coon. Sold that coon and bought more traps. About the third time we brought our animals in the round to the buyer he said "why don't you kids go out back and my boys will show you how to skin critters".
So my buddies mom spent an hour with us out in this old shack were two guys spent their nights skinning for the local buyer. It all snow balled after that and turned into one of my passions in life. I believe that was around 1975
So I spent zero money to start but my whole lifetime learning.

I can't remember the cost of a cage trap in the early 80's but probably about $25. Discovered that the local hardware store sold foot traps and bought a half dozen for my second season. Those six probably cost about the same as the cage trap.

This is my first year trapping anything other than groundhogs and what ever trys to get into chicken coop. But so far this season I spent over $1000 in traps,lures,beaver boards,skinning knife, flesh knife,gloves. How many beavers will it take to recover the money from trapping?

I bought 1/2 dozen maybe 1 dozen 1.5 dukes. caught a few coon and opossum sold them added money to that and got more traps. I was not a kid when I started but a just starting out on my own Ironworker apprentice with wife and baby so was fairly broke. Eventually I bought 12 used 1.75 Victor's and and set for coyotes. caught 4 that first year and since a friend connected me to a live market I actually made some money on those . for reference put up yote was $7 at the time and live market was $100. trapped a few years and stopped untill a few years ago when the boys showed interest in trapping. Not sure what I spent the first or 2nd time but a few dozen 550s and Bridger #2, some dukes, 2 750s some used #3 long springs. lures and gear. never sold a thing the 2nd round but the boys can trap successfullynon their own now. I never paid attention to the cost the 2nd time and seldom do when it stuff for the kids.

Depends on how you sell them. You can sell them hole to nick in Holland indiana and he will skinn them put uo the hide remove the caster and sell the carcuse to a place that puts it in dog food. or you could break it all down yourself and sell it to him for a little more. You could also be removing problem beaver for people and making money from that or gaining more trapping or hunting access. There is more value to trapping than just dollars.

My first Year I only bought traps with Fur money, after $150.00

I bought all gear by selling beaver mink and coon

A gob JAB357. if your fur trapping you wont recover cost till things improve. If you eat the meat and dont spend much on vehicle costs you might break even at 75 or so. To catch 75 here you would need to cover some miles. It wont pencil.

I spent everything I had just like any addict would do !

450's are the newest MTP brand right?

My dad had 3 #1 longsprings so whatever a bottle of Hawbakers #1 muskrat lure cost in 1966 Biked 2 miles to the marsh Dad mailed the7 or 8 rat hides at the post office somewhere Don/t know what they sold for didnt matter I was up there with Daniel Boone

I'm not worried about the money it's been great fun, just wish the weather would warm up so I can get back to the river before season ends. Bought some duke 330 super mags I want to try out. Holland is quite a drive from Harlan!

I was already working in a logging camp, so I had a lot more pocket money than your average teen..I spent over $2k getting setup for my first season

1972. My grandpaw would tell me about supporting his family trapping mink during the depression. I would mow his yard with a HEAVY mixed gas Lawnboy and he would pay me $2. Bought a #1 B&L longspring and a #1 B&L jump from Mesler Trapping in Iowa. All of us can remember that first time you picked up a trap. I would walk in the dark, after basketball practice, over a mountain behind our house to a creek just to set 2 hollow trees. Catches and sales and it progressed from there.

In 1988, the fire department called and that stopped the trapping as our shifts were 24hrs. on and 48hrs.. We had a 24hr. check law. During those 22 years, all my traps were borrowed (stolen). About 4 dozen Victor coil pinch pans and some coni's. 2012 after retiring, I spent around $1200 to buy back in and discovered what a DP was. Blessed with good health and now paying it forward with grandkids and their friends. Traps for Christmas this past. But nothing takes me back to the 70's quicker than a trap. Still get told to "grow up". Well, I'm there with age but my mind is forever in the 70's.

Lol. Yep. Sold my furs and bought more traps & lure at the same fur buyer's place. If I did have any money left I probably spent it on BBs, pellets, or fishing gear

6 Duke DP’s and a starter kit of MB550’s from MTP…maybe $300-400 at the time, if that. First paycheck was $550 so it paid for itself the first month!

You have quite a few buyers within 50 miles of Harlan

I started trapping because coyotes were killing my fawns . I would guess when you figure everything I'm well North of 5 k in the hole very addicting.

My Dad didn't trap so I had to buy mine-1st trap was bought in 1976 for Squirrels so it was a size 0 Victor longspring-caught alot of squirrels in that trap-our neighborhood golf course would never be the same! first bunch of squirrels I sold for $2.50 each and bought 6 #110 victor conibears-and never looked back. Next was #2 and # 3victor longsprings for coon and beaver-I was off and running for the second season in 1977 pretty much figured I was loaded for bear LOL. Maybe a dozen traps but soon had an arsenal that was the envy of every 13 year old trapper anywhere! ha ha. by 14 I had about 2 dozen 110's caught ans shot over 400 squirrels that fall/winter-I was the richest kid in Junior High school !!

I started in 1972 by trading a buck and a doe rabbit for 3 110’s lol. I set them that evening it was the end of October and caught 3 muskrats. I walked to the old guys house and ask him where to sell them lol. He showed me how to skin them and I kept them in the freezer until the 2 nd week of December sold what I caught and one red fox and ended up at 74.00 I think I got about 1 dollar for the rat and 15 for the fox. It was a great Xmas .

I was 4, in 1956, family already had traps. My job was to set and check them for skunks coming into our mink ranch. In those days a black skunk brought $5.00, as much as a working man on a farm made in a day. Full stripes were a dollar (which would buy me 20 candy bars).

Nothing. We walked from home and used Dads old traps he had retired. No lure or bait used.

Found 3 old number 1 long spring traps in an old chicken house my dad was taking down in 1994. Didn't know a thing about trapping. Didn't even know you were supposed to bury and bed a trap. Wired them to saplings and put some canned suckers under the pans and one greedy coon messed around and caught himself that night. It's been a downward spiral into debt since.

Zero. Me and my trapping partner found a rusty #1 long spring hanging on a nail in an abandoned barn.
We ran a longline that first.winter. It was a long walk from his house to where we could set the trap. We missed a grade A #1 possum that first check.
My partner had a habit of wolfing down his dinner and barfing it up some time later. We made a blind set in the snow under a crabapple tree. He then puked just outside of the canopy of that tree. In the snow where he hurled up his unchewed spaghetti dinner, it looked like someone slaughtered a horse!
We came bad the next morning and every bit of that unchewed spaghetti dinner was gone. Just a very light hue of pink in the compacted snow where that 50+ pound possum trampled it down. Our trap was undisturbed. Nary one possum trap was found under that tree.
The one thing that did get settled on that fateful day, was that I was indeed Jeremiah Johnson and my woeful partner was the lowly Del Gue.