Good luck on that one, Mister Ed. talked with some of the boys in the "camps" at the Houghton Lake Flats, and the adjacent Deadstream Swamp yesterday. They reported about a thousand rat huts. Guess that some of them headed over this weekend with the first weeks harvest. Here we go.

ttt

those boys puten up, or selling in the round?

The bulk will be skinned, not stretched. Of course, I'll get a few fresh on the hoof that were just caught.

have you got a price in mind? not tryen to pin you down,just so much talk going on, I would like to hear some firm numbers.

Wasn't me that posted.

Sorry, too many Eds, I guess.

ttt

I believe that $3.25 was mentioned earlier, dry, first week rats. A good place to start. These first week or so rats are not the rat that we will be looking at a couple weeks from now. Like I said, TODAYS rat. If it were Thanksgiving, I would probably say $4. Rats from one area to the next can differ greatly. A crick rat is different than a big marsh rat. Big Dec. marsh rats may be $5. The rats coming out of the Flats and Deadstream are not noted for their quality. The area produces large numbers of a commercial type rat, not noted for heavier quality.

sounds about right to me,all depends on the area for the rats...

Indiana $2 to $3.50

I just heard from my buddy in Wisconsin that Gronewold is paying $5 top on dry rats. He said coon prices werent bad either

First off, Mr.B, we know that you work for Groney. The 7 posts that you've made on Trapperman are always the same. I told everyone a month ago, that Groney would come through and pick out a few rats at $5. That doesn't surprise me at all. I paid as high as $6 last season, and will probably do the same this year. Most fellas are well aware of Groney' method of buying. He'll pay high on a few skins here and there, and end up with a lower ave. than any other buyer. Was talking to a dealer out of Indiana just the other day, and he told me that those exact words came out of Groneys mouth a short while ago. Told him that he could set up down the road, throw out a few fancy prices, and end up buying the rats cheaper than anyone else could.

I am sitting on a pile of finished SD late winter/spring rats that I didn't ship last year. What do think these would be worth as of today?

you better get after it then cause you aren't even close to the number you'll need for that project!

michael

ttt

They are big rats and the thongs are going to be "skimpy". Maybe call them "Muskrat Butt Floss".

In todays market, if you can average $3.00, grap it and run, you will see tops in the $4-5 range, but they will be select heavy rats, not the average grade swamp rat, skin a rat, dry it, if it feels papery, $2.00, if the leather is thick and heavy like a corn fed ditch rat, $4.00. Steve

Sounds good to me. I'll buy all I can get in that range, no commission. Of course, some rats will be pushed higher at the MTA Fur Sales, they always are. The ave. figure is what the trapper should look at, not some fancy top price paid by some travelling buyer.

that is true the top end price isn't always cracked up to what some think,the average tells the true picture,expecially if your talking about groney and his lure technique of the top price then the bottom always falls from that...