the people who think us trappers are dumb do not know how to do the stuff we do. They dont know how to catch a bobcat, or set a trap, or they think that a trap will take a hand off. They are afraid to get dirty or get off the road. And they dont know how to do mechanical stuff that most of us know or even how to weld.
I've never been called dumb because I trap, a couple of my teachers actually respect me better because they know how much work it is. Although there are still plenty of misinformed people, that have no understanding of the sport and have no skills like you mentioned possum. Since we're talking about welding, you guys that do weld, are you using migs or sticks? I use my dads mig for building trapping rigs, drivers, trap mods, etc. Do you use them to build trapping equipment?