All About Pocket Knives

hello all. i was wondering if anyone on AAPK does any steel trapping. i am just getting starting. and set 6 traps today. just curious. thanks denny

hey Denny,
I used to many years ago, and still have my traps - but haven't done any in about 15 years.
Ahhh the good old days of turtle traps, fish nets, jug fishin', hog traps, rabbit gums, and steel traps....
16 gage on my shoulder - I'm ashamed now to say I didn't know then what a hunting season was...
My motto was "if it has eyes, it dies." Of course my other motto was "If you kill it, you gotta eat it."

well blue, that two very good motto's you have.. i enjoy what i have done so far. haven't got anything yet.. thanks denny

More years ago (about 50+) than I like to think about, I used to trap alone and with my dad in southeast Texas. All steel traps, for mink, muskrat and an occasional otter. We duck hunted a lot and it was natural to be out in the marsh, so we trapped. Lots of fun and,now, mellow memories.
I don't know how much experience you have, but I would reccomend a subscription to "Fur,Fish and Game". An excellent outdoors magazine with an emphysis on trapping. Also, if you can find it, a book called "Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper" by a man named Woodcock. Not a lot of tips, but a great read about hunting and trapping in the last years of the 1800's.

thanks conslade. i am still a rookie on trapping. i have some mags called THE TRAPPER AND PREADTOR CALLER. still learning. i used to trap a long time ago and i missed it and getting to be more coyotes than deer here now. so time to thin some down.. thank denny

Denny, I don't trap, but my uncle does.
He started when he was a kid, it paid for a lot of the things he wanted, buy the real world took over and he gave it up. Now, in the last few years he is rediscovering his love for trapping. He has been very successful in the last couple years and he has caught quite a few different game species. He has a tag for bobcat so he plans on heading up to the mountains for a week, if anyone could trap one, it would be him.

It's definitely not the easiest sport in the world, it demands a lot of time and patience, but, I wish you the best of luck.
Catch something great.

thanks johnny. i love it so far. an tell your uncle i wish him the best on the bobcats. i would love to catch one. they are pretty. i am after the k9's mostly. later denny

Yeah Denny, they can be a challenge too.
My uncle lost a couple "Yotes" this season, they don't quit when their caught.

Good luck and shoot straight.

update. i caught my first yote today fellas. big ole male. hoping to catch his mate tonight... later denny

Awesome, keep it up Denny.
Are you gonna sell the pelts?

i will have this one tan and make a pelt out of it. may hang it on the wall here at home. an may sell the others, if i get anymore. thanks Denny

Yeah, I trap when I can. I trap bobcat and fox. I tan the hides myself. I've been keeping the cats(4). I take the tanned fox to the gun shows and either sell or trade for (you guessed it) knives. It's a good hobby, don't quit your day job. I also collect the old steel traps, oldest about 1885. Most are from the 30's.Good Luck to ya!

OK, that's great. i was thinking about collection some myself. if you get time show us some pictures. would love to see them. thanks Denny

I was hesitant to click on this thread because I thought it might be about "trapper" knives and not real trapper/hunters!

I have never trapped but have wished I did. Anyhow, I'll be subscribing to this thread Denny.....keep us posted!!

Good luck!!

I'd like to know what kind of knife you guys use according to the critter you trap.
Just wondering.

I trap for bobcats and fox. I tan 'em myself. I have been keeping the cats for myself but I take the fox to the gun shows and sell or trade for knives. It has been working for me. For skinning my #1 knife is a Green River paring knife that I put Axis "deer" handles on. I use one of the others for rough work around bones and the skull. It's a good hobby that pays enough to keep me in tanning supplies and such. Good Trappin' guys!

Things get tough around the winter time for me because I won't miss my chance to trap (a full time job by itself when you do it serious), but I gotta keep up with knife orders too. Actually, trapping is my first love but in this day and age it is not profitable enough to live on, so that's where my second love comes in, knives. Summer time is for fishin, froggin, turtlin, and groundhoggin, fall is for huntin, winter is for trappin. Gotta love it, be in the great outdoors doing something every day if I didn't have all these pesky knives to work on

muskrat man wrote:Gotta love it, be in the great outdoors doing something every day if I didn't have all these pesky knives to work on

That`s what happens when you get so good at your craft

True outdoorsman are a rare breed MM. I'm intrigued by your lifestyle!!