About Us

Boddicker grew up in the hills and river breaks of Benton County, Iowa, during the 1950s. Hunting, fishing, and trapping were the major focuses of life from his earliest boyhood. By age ten, he was trapping gophers and red fox for bounties. By age 16, he had the third highest duck bag in the county. Between hunting trips, he was an all-state football player, heavyweight-wrestling champion of the WAMAC conference, and president of his class. He gave up football at St. Johns University, Collegeville, Minnesota, because the ruffed grouse and duck hunting were more important.

Boddicker chose to get three college degrees focusing on wildlife: a Bachelor of Science in biology, a Masters of Science in zoology/wildlife, and a Ph.D., studying diseases of sharp-tailed grouse. During summers, he fought forest fires for the U.S. Forest Service Smokejumpers in the Western U.S. and in Alaska in 1963-64 and 1968-69.

The basic concept and design of Crit’R•Call Standard was developed while he was in graduate school at South Dakota State University in 1968.

Boddicker has worked as an outdoor-education specialist in South Dakota, for the Kansas 4-H program, and served as an Extension Wildlife Pest Control Specialist at Colorado State University for ten years.

He has operated his own company­­­­, Rocky Mountain Wildlife Enterprises, since 1985. Crit’R•Call brand wildlife calls, and Rocky Mountain Wildlife Services are the current businesses run under his direction. Crit’R•Calls is a mom-and-pop operation based in Windsor, Colorado. Major runs the business with his wife, Jan.

Boddicker is a columnist for several magazines, writing about old guns, varmint calling, trapping, hunting, predator control, and his various adventures around the world.

He has worked for the Smithsonian Institution, surveying large mammal populations in the Peruvian and Gabon rainforests.

In his spare time, he enjoys gun shows and collecting and shooting anything that shoots. Coyote hunting is his favorite pastime. Major continues to trap and collect fur pelts when the opportunity arises.

Hunting and trapping was a family tradition for the Boddicker and Noeller clans. Early influences and teachers about varmint hunting were his uncle Cato Noeller, cousin Paul Noeller, and friends F. Robert Henderson, Murry Burnham, and Claude McCready.

Boddicker is one of those rare guys that makes his opportunities for an exciting outdoor life and does it all. He writes it as he sees it and does it, no veneer in his stuff to try to make everyone happy or to be “politically correct.”

How long have I been trapping?

My dad and Uncle Cato Noeller showed me the basics of trapping in 1949. We used Victor single long spring #0s for barn rats, pocket gophers, civet cats, and muskrats. Except for a stretch between 1960 and 1971, I have trapped to some degree every year since.

Were you brought up trapping?

Yes, uncles on both sides of the family trapped so I had lots of encouragement. However, I took to it more than any of them did. Over the years, I have had great teachers.

How did I get started?

We lived on a hillbilly farm, junk everywhere with thousands of rats and civet cats to eat them. So I set my first trap to catch them. I skinned the civet cats and sent them to Sears Roebuck in Des Moines.

From 1948 until 1960, I trapped lots of rats and pocket gophers all year. During fur season, I caught muskrats and a few mink, civet cats, and skunks.

Interesting, I can remember exactly where I caught the first rat, civet, muskrat, mink, fox, and raccoon, 60+ years ago. At least half of the farm kids in my class trapped in 1953.

What have I done?

The Russians asked our NTA trapper delegation why we visited Russia? Our answer? The trapper delegation sang, “The Bear goes Over the Mountain to See What he Can See.” That is me. I am curious so I go and try every new thing I can that has to do with wildlife. Lots of my articles in the Trapper Post and the American Trapper describes those adventures in detail. All of those experiences were filled with lots of adventure, danger, and fun.

My first great adventure was smokejumping, jumping out of airplanes to get to forest fires. We put out the most dangerous forest fires in the most dangerous places. From that I did wildlife disease research in South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. That was an adventure also. When someone asked me if I could do a tough ADC or trapping/wildlife job I took it.

Predator control work in the West?

From 1975 until now, I have worked on beaver, coyote, and prairie dog control in the West. Some of that work was pioneering work, large land area rattlesnake control, contract coyote control on enormous ranches, controlling prairie dogs on tens of thousands of acres, and beaver management on large drainages. Most work was done with some level of research to improve on techniques, which could be passed along to trappers and ADC folks. A lot of that work has been published in the American Trapper and in my books.

Favorite furbearers to work on?

• Coyotes
• Beavers
• Bobcats

To me, it is most fun to work with the toughest animals, the ones that challenge the body and mind. They have worn me down to a 75-year-old basket case.

Methods?

Anything that works are the methods I use. To me, the obligation is to get the job done the most efficiently and humanely as possible for my client or me.

My favorite method is to call and shoot. General foothold traps are next with Sterling MJ-600s being my favorite. Snares are next and there are lots of great brands.

For beaver, 330s are my favorite. On long hikes, I use Gregerson’s #4 snares.

My favorite dryland sets for coyotes, foxes, badger, and raccoons are diagramed and described in my book, Catch’N Coyotes. I like a combo type of set, step down slightly, multiple lures, tailored, curiosity, territory, sweet, sour food baits, and in season, sex odors (urine-blood mixes) with 9-inch spacing from lure to pan. In wet freezing and thawing soil, I bring in a dry sand mixture, 1 to 10 salt to sand, and bed in it. The MJ-600 trap goes in a Baggie Alligator bag to keep it operating and from rusting. I usually construct a set with materials at the set, but often bring items with me like bones, Grubstakes, etc.

Trapping Associations?

I joined the FTA and NTA in 1975–76. I helped start the Kansas Fur Harvesters and the Colorado Trappers Association. I am a life member of NRA and the Smokejumpers Associations. My preference is to advise and help through other people, like Marvin Miller, the FTA College, and articles in magazines rather than the administrative work.

Favorite story?

A Corpse in the Hayden Motel (https://majorboddicker.com/2019/01/12/a-corpse-in-the-hayden-motel/)

Wow, it is really tough to pick one favorite story. Trapping, calling, and wildlife work in general has been my life. Not one second of it would I change. From the disasters I learned, from the hard work I had lots of money to use to make my family’s life better and to contribute to other people. From the people I did not get along with, I learned to avoid or deal with, usually in a positive way, i.e. New York coat makers and animal rights wackos.

Instead of whining and pouting, I examined the bad situations, like the trap-use ban in Colorado, and made money from the disaster. I charge the Eco-wackos more when I save their butts—prairie dogs in their horse pastures.

Challenges?

Trappers today are looking at more opportunity in ADC than ever before. It can provide great opportunities for large incomes, challenging work, and lots of work.

On the fur side, look for long stretches of time with depressed prices and monopolization of the fur collection and marketing process. It will take new trapper innovative and effective methods and equipment to be successful financially. For recreation, lots of land to trap, lots of animals to catch, it will be great. I am guessing the quiet and low-key trapper will have more fun than the in-your-face trapper. As a percentage of the population, a future trapper will be a real hard person to find.

The future trappers will need to be politically active where it counts. Go to the meetings, get computer literate, and be able to speak and write to defend trapping in every aspect. Get to know your city council representative all the way up to the U.S. Senators. Give them campaign money and go to their meetings whether or not they agree with you.

Go for it! Hanta Yo!